The Stogie Guys

Raise your hand if you’re sick of reading about Congress’ proposed legislation that would increase federal taxes on cigars 20,000 percent. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Ever since news broke last week of anti-tobacco extremists’ most egregious and vile scheme since the adaptation of the smoking ban, the cigar world has turned upside down. It’s impossible to read anything stogie-related these days without some mention of the possible tax hike from five cents to up to $10 per stick.

But maybe that’s a good thing. Cigar manufacturers, retailers, and enthusiasts are more united now than ever before. This newfound camaraderie is largely a result of the media – television, newspapers, radio, and the Internet – and their willingness and ability to get the word out. After all, if we don’t band together and take some action, the smoking police will trample our collective rights faster than you can say “Connecticut Broadleaf.”

With that spirit in mind, I’ve thrown together a few interesting articles with oft-overlooked points that will add fuel to your fire and give you more ammunition when you call your senators.

For the Children?

This Human Events article points out that “the proposed tax will supposedly go to funding health care programs, but recent history should cause us to beware of such claims. Remember the big tobacco settlement that came about in the late 1990s? The funds from the settlement were supposed to go to healthcare, but as this article notes, much of it went instead to highway repairs and school construction. Who really thinks that the allocation of funds from a $10 cigar tax will be any different?”

A New Black Market

Aside from highlighting several retailers who predict they will be out of business if the bill passes, this Arkansas News Bureau article quotes a tobacco store owner who suggests “the black market, which supplies many Americans with illegal Cuban-made cigars, would be expanded to include the non-Cuban varieties” once the price of legal cigars is driven up by the tax.

Tobacco as the Enemy

Like many concerned aficionados, Sarah Soza, owner of a small, family-operated B&M in California, wonders why cigars are targeted over other, more dangerous goods. The Fresno Bee reports that “she doesn’t understand why the cigar industry is included in the health insurance funding bill, while other industries such as soft drink and candy makers are not…‘I believe in providing health insurance for children, but why are we the only ones paying for it?’”

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars

After recently smoking a few different cigars and finding most of them to be so-so, I began to seriously wonder just what it is that makes a smoke enjoyable to me.

Of course, the list of possibilities to consider is almost endless. Taste, flavor, strength, size, smoke, burn. And on and on.

I generally think of myself as leaning toward medium- to full-flavored sticks. But I also find myself frequently enjoying mild cigars. So it isn’t strength that determines my smoking pleasure. For starters, I examined a few of those I’d recently smoked.

A Punch Gran Puro Sierra (six and 1/2 inches by 48 ring gauge), for example, wasn’t bad. It produced tons of smoke, had an evolving taste, and burned just fine. My primary complaint was a bitterness throughout much of the stick.

Then there was a Henry Clay Rothchilde, a five inch by 50 ring gauge rough looking cigar with a couple of large veins. While the smoke volume wasn’t up to the Gran Puro level, it was certainly adequate. The aroma was light and the head had an almost sweetness before the light. While it was burning,I notieced tastes of nuts and leather. Overall, the Henry Clay had a harshness from beginning to end.

I wouldn’t call either of these cigars bad. But I also wouldn’t smoke them very often. Why not, compared to, say, some of my favorites such as the Excalibur, Partagas Black, Toraño 1959 Silver, or Hemingway? Those are all very different cigars. What is the common thread?

As I smoked an Excalibur maduro, I began to understand. It really came down to just one word: smoothness. When a cigar is rough or harsh, I have a hard time enjoying whatever other positive attributes it possesses.

Understanding why we like certain cigars, as well as find ourselves indifferent or negative toward others, can increase the likelihood of success in picking new sticks. I know that from now on, when I’m reading others’ reviews and impressions of cigars I haven’t tried, I’ll pay particular attention to the whether the smoker found them smooth or not.

–George E

Tags: cigars

A little over a week ago Rich Perelman published some great cigar import data at his always interesting CigarCyclopedia. Among the figures was the fact that imports are running well up from 2006 and 2005.

Looking at the numbers, though, prompted me to think about how important context is, and how you might want to utilize the data if (or when) your state is considering increasing its tax on cigars.

I think the first thing to impress on any legislator is that for tax revenue, cigars are a poor resource to mine. On a state level, in fact, the cost of collecting and recording the taxes could come close to the amount paid. And that’s not even factoring in the potential cost if the state starts trying to police Internet sales or is forced to deal with a black market.

For the truth is, cigar smokers constitute a small market. Consider the figures:

• Perelman notes that the record for premium cigar imports was 417.8 million in 1997. This year, he says, the figure might approach 335 million.

• Compare that to cigarettes. In 2006, according to the CDC, there were 371 billion cigarettes consumed in the United States. (I’ll save you the math; it’s 18.55 billion packs.)

While it’s difficult, if not impossible, to get an accurate figure on the number of people who smoke premium cigars on any sort of regular basis, the figure I’ve seen most often is about 1 million. Even if you want to multiply that by five, it still pales when compared to the number of cigarette smokers. There are 45.1 million of them, according to the CDC.

I could go on, but you get the point.

Perhaps the legislator will reply that, rather than increasing revenue, the goal of higher taxes is lowering underage smoking. You then might want to point out that virtually no children smoke premium cigars, either unaltered or stuffed with marijuana. As evidence, the CDC notes that the two brands preferred by those 12 and above are Black & Mild (22.8%) and Swisher Sweets (14.4%).

If cutting underage smoking is the goal, and the legislature believes increasing the cost will help accomplish that, then it should focus on the cigars favored by that group. For example, cigars that include paper, homogenized tobacco, plastic tips, etc., could be taxed at a much higher rate than those containing only tobacco.

Is that fair? Probably not, but then is it fair to tax beer, wine, and distilled spirits at vastly different rates? Again, probably not. But states do so all the time.

The truth is that the biggest impact of a major increase in the cigar tax is likely to be the bankruptcy of small business owners who have cigar shops in the state.

Will using this kind of information help persuade legislators? Probably not with those who are totally anti-tobacco. (To them, though, I would say they should have the courage of their convictions and propose a ban on all tobacco sales. But that’s another story.)

I would hope, though, that facts would make an impression on least some reasonable lawmakers.

–George E

Tags: cigars

We often rail against smoking bans via abstract concepts like liberty, personal responsibility, property rights, and freedom, but sometimes an anecdote does an even better job of highlighting the absurdity of such Draconian laws.

I’m writing to you from California, home of one of the first statewide smoking bans for bars and restaurants. During a visit to one of the Golden State’s many bars, a friend lit up a cigarette in violation of the ban.

All the other patrons (there were only three not in our party) were fine with her smoking. But when the bartender (the only employee at the time) saw her smoking he ran over, grabbed the cigarette, and put it outside.

Did he not want to be exposed to second hand smoke or was he trying to protect the other patrons (all of whom approved of the smoking in their presence) from the cigarette smoke? No, that was not his objection at all.

When I asked him later he said he didn’t mind the smoking, but that he was scared if the police saw someone smoking in the bar he would get a $6,000 fine.

So there you have it. Every single person in the bar – all adults over 21 – consented to the smoking. Only the bartender objected, but only because he was scared of the government bursting though the door.Can there be any justification for police handing out excessive fines when there is no one to protect?

Of course not. But in California, and the many states and cities with senseless smoking bans, this type of scene plays out everyday. And when you see it firsthand it reminds you that the harm done by smoking bans isn’t solely abstract.

–Patrick S

Tags: Cigars

When I worked at USA Today, one of the principles about which we had no doubt was that people like lists. They’re succinct, accessible, and often entertaining.

So, in that spirit, here’s a list of five “Don’ts” for cigar smokers.

1. Don’t buy a box too quickly. This is particularly true for new releases. Smoke a few over time to make sure the quality is consistent. It’s better to miss some “great deals” than to be stuck with boxes of cigars you don’t like.

2. Don’t confuse aging with magic. Keeping a lousy cigar in your humidor is just going to turn it into an older, lousy cigar. Unfortunately, Spanish cedar isn’t the philosopher’s stone.

3. Don’t pay attention to sales hype. Ignore it all, particularly when retailers tout some incredible buy or neglected stash they stumbled across in a factory. Do you honestly think cigar manufacturers don’t know how to run their businesses? Or that appropriating the name of an ancient Cuban brand makes any difference?

4. Don’t forget what you like and dislike. It’s not necessary to become an expert in the world’s tobaccos. But if, for example, you’ve really enjoyed several Cameroon-wrapped cigars, you’ll increase your chances for success with a new stick if you look for another Cameroon.

5. Don’t rush your smoke. In our speed-obsessed culture, cigars provide a rare opportunity to slow down. In the end, you’re probably better to skip a smoke than to try to squeeze one in when you can’t give it sufficient time.

Feel free to share your own cigar “Don’ts” with StogieGuys.com readers as comments below.

–George E

If you’re looking for proof that smoking restrictions and cigars can coexist, check out New Orleans. Yes, regulations imposed this year killed the opportunity to light up after a fine meal at a nice restaurant, but you’ll still find lots of places to purchase cigars and smoke them.

On a recent visit, I was struck repeatedly by the cigar-friendly nature of the city. The restrictions appear to be much like those in Florida where indoor smoking is generally allowed only in bars and cigar shops. And there are many of both. Smoking is greatly curbed (the photo below is a fading reminder of New Orleans’ storied cigar past), but not outlawed.

Take Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar, which combines the two, for example. It has a nice selection of cigars, soft chairs in which to enjoy them inside, patio seating for those who prefer the open air, a wide variety of alcohol, and some great music. Catch Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots for a rocking mix of blues, boogie-woogie, zydeco, and rock.

In the highly traveled tourist areas like the French Quarter and the Garden District, cigar shops abound. Check out the Crescent City Crawfish Cigar Crawl for descriptions of several shops as well as a great article on New Orleans’ cigar history.

I spent a little time at the Mayan Import Co. on a funky stretch of Magazine Street. The large walk-in humidor has a considerable selection, the lounge is cool, and the workers are friendly. (There’s also quite a bit of pipe tobacco.)

And if you’re interested in adding to your stock of high-end cigars, New Orleans could be just the place to visit. At Emeril’s Restaurant, nearly hidden back by the restrooms, there’s a standalone humidor – no longer much needed since smoking isn’t allowed there.

But what a humidor. Boxes of Fuente Fuente OpusX, Don Carlos, Hemingway, and other super-premiums abound. These days, said our waiter (a cigar smoker himself), the restaurant has them on display just to get rid of its inventory.

–George E

Cigars contain a heretofore unknown element that can have a dramatic effect on smokers, according to a new report released by the Hav-A-Tampa Institute of Leaf Research.

Scientists said the element apparently is a byproduct of the cigar rolling process and does not appear naturally in tobacco. Its impact can be felt when the cigars are resting in the humidor or upon lighting.

“We’ve named this element Gottabuymore,” said chief researcher N. Joy Puros. “It seems to exist in all cigars, but we found the greatest amounts in those frequently featured in special deals.”

Previously, scientists had believed that cigar smokers who bought more and more cigars without any regard to how many they could actually smoke were just plain nuts. Now, though, there appears to be a legitimate reason for the behavior.

Researchers did not limit themselves to new cigars. They reported that their tests confirmed the existence of considerably higher levels of Gottabuymore in current Cuban cigars than was present in those readily available in the U.S. before the embargo.

The report is the first to detail the findings of what has become an ongoing project. The next step, according to researchers, is to determine whether cigar manufacturers and retailers have already secretly isolated Gottabuymore and employ it.

“We’d like to know, for instance, whether catalogs are being impregnated with this odorless, colorless substance,” Ms. Puros said. “Or do cigar shops inject it into their humidors, disguising it as air emitted from a humidifier?”

The research is being funded by credit card companies around the world.

“We need to understand how this works,” said spokesman Moe Fees, “so we can take even more advantage of it.”

–George E