Dos and Don’ts

IT’S easy to forget when you’ve been a cigar fan for a long time, that not everyone may be quite as assured as you in a cigar shop or lounge – or necessarily know what you’re on about when you begin to wax lyrical.

So, we‘ve decided to go back to basics and re-establish some sound ground rules for enjoying the cigar lifestyle. Fresh blood is always needed in any corner of life, and cigars are no different; we were all a newbie once.

In that vein, some useful tips; we are great believers in personal choice and freedom, so if you prefer to smoke your cigars while standing on one leg, we say go for it. These are suggestions only for a happier cigar life…

• Don’t try to run before you can walk…pretending you know more about something than you do is liable to land you in all sorts of trouble. Don’t be afraid of demonstrating your ignorance – if you don’t know, ask…
• Cigars are expensive and precious, so be careful when handling them – especially if you haven’t bought them yet! Don’t squeeze, stick your nose on, drop, or manhandle a cigar when you pick it up – you’ll get short shrift.
• Try some small cigars and try to find a flavour and strength profile that suits you. Remember those brands and experiment further.
• Befriend your cigar merchant – you’ll never get a better source of information, recommendations, ideas and suggestions. And once you’ve found a style that suits you, your merchant will remember and give you the heads up when something interesting comes in.
• Don’t be intimidated by groups of cigar smokers – we are a good bunch! Sit down, introduce yourself with grace and switch your ears on. There will be a lot to learn and more friendly cigar smokers in your contacts book is never a bad thing.
• Don’t worry if you haven’t got a massive collection. There will always be someone with more money than you, so it’s a waste of time and energy to compete. Slowly build up a small selection of cigars that you like and try and have a stick or two spares to share with other cigar lovers; you’ll find that the gifting and swapping of cigars is a fun and generous part of the camaraderie.
• You don’t need a Dupont lighter and a Cartier cutter. There is tons of flash kit out there, and bloody lovely some of it is, too, but they won’t make a jot of difference to how your cigar performs and tastes. Get yourself a reliable and practical cutter and lighter and go forth!
• Finally, don’t fall into the trap of bad-mouthing cigars you don’t like, or attempting to tell other cigar smokers what they should like. We get really cheesed off with that. Some folks like some cigars and some don’t, it’s as simple as that. If you don’t like a particular stick or line, simply say that it’s not for you and leave it at that. The world doesn’t need more negative energy than it already has!