George’s fun blog or Paul’s serious rebuttal?

I vote George, but Paul…man that is some good stuff too and edumacational.

It’s not that I “don’t get the point.” Sometimes questions intended to be rhetorical actually have legitimate answers, and if we ignore them, then we are missing something (like that answer to the question).

I too often wondered about the low-end no name bundles, or even boxed smokes that retailed for a dollar or two. We had a number of customers that never strayed from that corner of the humidor, and they ranged from police officers, to retirees, to the local weatherman. It seemed to come down to people who smoked one or two a day, and couldn’t fathom spending more for a cigar (regardless of whether they could afford it or not). For some of these guys it was all they could afford, but for most it was the bargain aspect.

As for “boutique cigars,” that term is used simply because it needs no explanation. “Boutique,” though French in origin, is widely used in the English language to mean small, but of high quality. From boutique clothiers to boutique wineries to boutique hotels, it’s simply the simplest, and easiest to understand way to say small batch, premium cigar maker.

As for the other questions, well the humidification beads just don’t seem to be as widely available yet as the foam alternative, increased frequency of catalog publication likely results in increased order, and the picture of the capless stogie probably slipped through. Cigar catalogs seem to be somewhat hastily thrown together. Poor Photoshop usage is the norm, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just a poorly made cigar.

You make a good point about the word “boutique.” I’ve always thought they should be called “tabacaleritas,” since “tabacalera” seems to mean “cigar maker” and adding “ita” to the end of a word in Spanish makes it mean “small.” Just a suggestion from a guy that took six years of the language and couldn’t speak a decent sentence.