Commentary: The Proper Post-IPCPR Mindset
6 Aug 2012
Last week we provided no less than five articles featuring coverage of the 80th annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Association Trade Show—the convention where cigar makers from around the world come to showcase their products and debut new creations. We’ve been covering this event for years—whether it has been hosted in Las Vegas, New Orleans or, as was the case this year, Orlando—with live updates from the convention floor. It was our pleasure to continue this tradition in 2012.
While I didn’t personally attend the event this year (Patrick S and George E did), I can clearly recall the experience of my first IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans. It was as overwhelming as it was fun. Away from the show, where it’s easy to keep your cigar selection focused on what’s available at your local shop, you can lose sight of just how huge the cigar industry has grown. But walking the convention floor, seeing booth after booth of new products, you find yourself wondering, “How will I ever find the time to try all of these new cigars?â€
True, some of the cigars that were “released†at the convention have been on the market a while. Others won’t be available for another month or more. Either way, this fall many cigar enthusiasts won’t know where to begin as a bevy of new smokes floods the market and competes for their attention and their hard-earned money. As such, I’d like to offer some advice about what I consider to be the proper post-IPCPR mindset. Here are three tips:
Let us do the heavy lifting. Websites like StogieGuys.com and others that make up the online cigar community go out of their way to acquire, sample, and review new cigars as soon as possible. Instead of trying to immediately smoke new products yourself, read as many online reviews as you can over the coming months. Then, based on what you’ve read from who you trust, make a manageable list of five new cigars that you want to try now. This will reduce the chances of you buying duds.
Save money by being patient. I see it every year. New releases hit tobacconist shelves in the fall and command relatively high prices simply because they’re new. Then, in the winter and the following spring, prices on many of these smokes start to drop as the sexiness associated with “new†starts to fade (and as products presumably don’t sell as quickly as once thought). Remember you don’t have to try new cigars as soon as they come out. Waiting will save you money and enable the tobaccos to improve with age.
Don’t forget your favorite smokes. Call me old fashioned, but every IPCPR Trade Show I like to remind StogieGuys.com readers that you shouldn’t abandon your tried and true favorites just to try new things. In my opinion, wise are the cigar enthusiasts who don’t alter their smoking rotations in September or October. While being patient to read reviews, listen for word of mouth, and wait for prices to drop may sound like a chore, that strategy doesn’t sound too demanding when you consider the fact that you can smoke your favorite cigars in the interim.
As always, I’ll be interested to read your thoughts in the comments below.
photo credit: Stogie Guys
Patrick Ashby
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
Patrick Semmens
Co-Founder & Publisher
George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
This is solid advice. Many 2010 and 2011 releases aren't even around anymore since they were duds. Others are lower in price now than they were when they were released. Since cigars tend to get better with age, I don't understand wanting to try new cigars as soon as they come out.
One of my personal separators in prioritizing newer smokes is source, and especially blenders, particularly the likes of EP Carrillo, AJ Fernandez and Espinoza. Always interesting to see their progress, like Oval last year, Elencos and such. Until they show themselves as settling into the pack, I look forward to their new releases.
Good point, DaveG.
This reminds me of June's Question of the Month (right sidebar). We asked readers what matters most when selecting a new cigar. “Word of mouth” topped the poll with 26% of the vote, followed by “written reviews” (24%), “price” (15%), “wrapper type” (14%), “blender” (11%), and brand (10%). Sounds like you fall into the "blender" category.
Either way, the point is cigar enthusiasts have varied reasons for selecting the new smokes they are willing to try right away. This falls into my advice for making a "manageable list of five new cigars that you want to try now."
Guilty as charged! I guess my list of five would be Inch, Pinolero, Daruma, Perdomo 20th and Emilio AF3. While I may consider myself a "blender", I do rely a lot on reviews and word of mouth. Thanks for providing a great resource for the ongoing great cigar explorations!
The best advice I have seen for all the madness for new cigars!