My Favorite Cigar
Moe Cason • BBQ pitmaster
Liga Privada No. 9 Corona Doble
Moe knows smoke. “Beef short ribs are my favorite to smoke,” explains Moe Cason, 54 years old, winner of numerous BBQ competitions and star of TV’s “BBQ Pitmasters.” Cason now has his own line of rubs, sauces and knives, and a 1,000-gallon smoker named “Big Booty Judy.” He also loves cigars. “My go-to is the Liga Privada No. 9 Corona Doble,” he says. “The spiciness is what I like.” Cason also enjoys Cubans. “Love Montecristos, Partagás and Cohibas. I love cigars that have depth, but not too heavy.”
Cason served four years in the Navy and learned more about cigars from his ship’s captain, who “always had a big cigar. He was just cool.” After his service, he spent 24 years at Des Moines’ water treatment facility, leaving in 2017 to pursue his ion, BBQ. Cason is a self-taught pitmaster. He doesn’t save a special cigar to celebrate wins at BBQ competitions. “Man, I smoke all the time,” he says, adding that he even puffs while driving to events. He’s about to star in “Appetite for Adventure” on the National Geographic channel and play a BBQ judge in a Dennis Quaid movie. “I’m living my best life,” Cason says. “I don’t really smoke bad cigars anymore.”
