“Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” This quote is famously attributed to psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, who was asked about the ramifications of cigars. If he said it at all (accounts on the factual basis of this quote are varied), he was simply trying to convey the notion that we can sometimes just take things at face value. It behooved Freud to say this, as his colleagues took note of his many phallic fixations, when he was going through a reputed 20 stogies per day.
On the World Stage
Freud was hardly the only well-known figure to enjoy a good cigar now and then. President Ulysses S. Grant was an avid cigar smoker, and remains the only U.S. president to die of cancer. Mark Twain supposedly smoked 22 cigars a day (at the alleged price tag of $4 a barrel). President John F. Kennedy supposedly imported 1,200 Petit Upmanns from Cuba before hitting the island nation with an embargo. Winston Churchill enjoyed Romeo y Julietas. George Burns, perhaps the most famous cigar-smoking celebrity, was a fan of El Productos.
Celebrity Smoke
Today’s known cigar lovers include actor and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is partial to La Aroma de Cuba, and Colin Powell (a Macanudo man). Basketball megastar Michael Jordan smokes Cuban Montecristos, as does actor Jack Nicholson. Rapper/producer Jay-Z prefers Zino Platinums, considered the Cristal (champagne) of cigars. Talk-show host Rush Limbaugh touts Punch Double Coronas as his favorite cigars, after trying out many. John Travolta is more of a Davidoffs man. Actress Demi Moore goes for Cuban Cohibas. Others enjoy Don Thomas Cigars or a Flor de Olivia.
Whatever cigars the celebrities are smoking, you can bet they’re expensive and hard to find. Schwarzenegger, for instance, was seen buying an embargoed Cuban cigar while on official business in Toronto. He caught some media flak for this, since he’s supposed to be the model of ideal health. When it comes to his taste for cigars, the Terminator might just agree with Freud.
You to can enjoy Heavenly cigars.