Everyone has a story of their first cigar, and everyone has a particular cigar associated with the story. Perhaps your first was a machine-made drugstore brand like Swisher Sweets, Phillies, or White Owls, which you'd later abandon when you found yourself to be thicker of wallet and more sophisticated of taste. Or maybe you grew up outside the U.S., where you could initiate your cigar hobby with a fine Havana instead. Maybe today, you're a person of means who keeps a walk-in humidor stocked full of favorites at home; or maybe you hold down a blue-collar job or toil away as a student, and scrape together funds to purchase a few of your favorites for the weekend at your local tobacconist.

Cigar smokers come in all shapes and sizes, from all backgrounds and all strata of society. And for the last 10 years, we have tried our best to make all of them feel welcome. Whether you're a six-figure potentate who sees cigars as only one element of a five-star lifestyle, a hardcore hobbyist who laps up news and gossip from the cigar industry like stock quotes or sports scores, or one of the many who fall somewhere in between, we hope you enjoy our anniversary issue - and feel free to stick around for the next 10 years.

E.H., M.B.