Many people who enjoy traveling wonder if the ocean’s breeze can affect the quality of their cigars. The answer is a resounding yes and for more than the obvious reasons. The most obvious reason why the ocean cross currents might affect your cigar smoking is the wind, the trade winds to be exact. Naturally, attempting to smoke beside the ocean in an area close to, say, the Humboldt Stream or the Gulf Stream, would often be counterproductive due to the high rate of gust days. But this problem is one, primarily of location and won’t often be much of a concern.
There’s also the peculiar effect of thalassotherapy, which’s the utilization of seawater and sea air for the purposes of positive health therapy. Numerous studies have shown a wide array of health benefits produced from ocean salt air therapy such as stress reduction, clearing of mucous, increase in serotonin, improvement in mood stability, reduction of pain associated with migraines as well as improved air flow to the lungs. What this means is that, after a prolonged period of time next to the ocean, you’ll be more relaxed and have a improved and heightened sense of smell and thus taste. This may seem completely unconnected to cigars but consider the implications. Clearing out the mucous of the throat and breath pathways, improving focus and mood and general happiness will naturally lend itself to more wholesomely pleasurable cigar smoking experience.
What all of this means is that the ocean does indeed improve one’s enjoyment of any given cigar by allowing the smoker to more fully grasp the subtle nuances in flavor and aroma produced by their stick of choice. So next time you’re planning that island vacation remember to bring your lighter, your humidor, your cigars and a whole lot of time to enjoy them.