Your Personal 5-Step Purchase Guide for Cigar Store Shopping - 
for Newbies & Those too Embarrassed to Ask for Help!.

On recent visits to Cigar stores, I have observed a trend that seems to affect many shoppers. They appear a bit overwhelmed at the number of selections and are unsure of where to start.  They have little idea on how to pick a few cigars to match their budget, tastes, and appropriate Cigar size & style to match their level of experience.

OK, so shopping in a Cigar store can feel a little like a coffee shop novice holding up the line on a busy workday morning because they don't know how to interpret the exotic flavor names and cool coffee lingo that the Java Insiders do.  What the heck is a Venti anyway right?  Like the blends, complexities, and sizes of coffee, so too are the rules of Cigar shopping.  Many novices, and non-novices alike simply don't have a set of rules to help them navigate the tremendous Cigar selections available to them.  Let's face it, many of these Cigar superstores can present a fairly daunting, and sometimes scary proposition:

Eeeek!!  Don't let the seemingly endless rows and shelves panic you just yet.  There are a few very basic rules that you can apply to your shopping experience that will definitely help you. They may even give you a fun, interesting, and satisfying Cigar experience (you can clear that image of Bill Clinton from your mind right about now).

Well, here are my 5 very basic rules to Cigar store shopping:

1.  Figure out your Price Point:

Generally, there are no rules for how much cigars can cost.  They can run anywhere from $2 to $100 each. 

So, it really falls to you to figure out how much you would like to spend.  Try to establish your overall budget for the purchase, and know about how many Cigars you would like to leave the store with.  The rest becomes a basic exercise in mathematical division. Remember the general rule; great tasting and enjoyable Cigars don't necessarily have to be expensive. There are many different values, bundles, promotional, and clearance items available to accommodate all budget ranges.  My personal quest in life is the pursuit of the perfect sub $5 Cigar.  I love a good bargain, and if you ever met my Mom this would make a lot more sense.  I digress, but the point is to make sure you set your price goals first.

2.  Know your tastes:

If you really are a Cigar Newbie, let me say Welcome!  This is a fantastic hobby on which you are about to embark, so sit back and enjoy the ride.  If you have any experience with Cigars, think about those enjoyable experiences, and what was really good about them.  Also consider those experiences that were not so good, or maybe even downright suckish.  That really helps in the navigation process by eliminating many, many, stock items cramming the rows and shelves. For you Newbies, let's review the elaborate and rather confusing Cigar style and sizing guidelines. 

3.  Picking Size & Style to match Experience Level and Tastes

When it comes to Cigar sizes,  its more of an Art than a Science.  This means that these sizing rules don't apply to all sizes, growers, blenders, or manufacturers.  If that wasn't confusing enough, there are two different methods for establishing and communicating the size of a Cigar.  

Sizing Option 1:  Ring Size & Length

Ring Size is the width of your cigar. You can get an idea of how thick your cigar is by taking     the ring size and dividing it by 64. This will give you the width in inches. A cigar with a ring   size of 64 would be one inch in diameter. A cigar with a ring size of 32 would be a half of an     
inch (32/64). From that, you can determine the basic nominal size of any Ring size.  The Ring Size will usually appear either on the Cigar's band (label), on the box, or on the store shelf itself.

The length of the cigar is often referred to in inches, so easy enough.  They range from shorties as small at 3-5 inches.  The general majority range from 5-8 inches long.

Sizing Option 2:  Exotic and Dorky Sounding Size Names

Lets face it, "Ring Size" and "Length" really doesn't pay the appropriate homage due such an elegant and stylish tradition, nor does it have a very sexy Marketing methodology.  So growers & manufacturers use an elaborate list of unique and confusing names for Cigar sizes. As mentioned earlier, and as that bad guy in Pirates of the Caribbean said, "its more of a set of guideline than rules".

Again, the names don't always directly match up to the exact sizes, and they are not 100% standard among each manufacturer.  But they do loosely correlate to the following:

• Newbies want to start on top with the Rothschild, down to about the Corona Gorda
• Intermediates, can safely go down to the Lonsdale or so without a risk of overload 
• Experienced smokers, can handle pretty much anything listed that appeals to them

Again, no hard, fast rules here, but this will give you a general idea of where you fall on the list.

4.  Pick something that catches your eye

Using the first 3 Rules above, browse with your eyes, feel with your fingers, and smell with your nose (this works best as you may look a bit silly feeling with your nose).  Pick up different cigars that appeal to you visually.  Smell for aroma, and feel for firmness and dryness.  Generally, the more moisture a Cigar loses, the harder and drier they become. This is usually a good indication of overall age and freshness.  There are countless numbers of cool sizes, shapes, colors, and smells that you will encounter in your shopping experience.  Find some Cigars that look really good to you, or represent something that you may want to try.  

I generally split my shopping experience in half.  One half is represented by those smokes that look interesting, those that I had seen or heard about and wanted to try, or based on my general likes/dislikes might be something that I want to give a go.   The other half are those "old loose fitting jeans" types, safe old standards on which I can rely for that smooth and enjoyable Cigar smoking experience.

5.  Rely on your fellow shoppers and store staff

I generally put a good deal of stock into how my fellow shoppers answer questions that I ask them.  They usually provide excellent, first-hand feedback, which can be helpful in making your purchase choices.  First off, Cigar smokers are generally friendly, content people.  They love Cigar smoking, are generally very approachable, and happy to share their experience & knowledge with you.  It's a bit of a "pass it on mentality" I believe.  We experienced Cigar folk extract a great deal of satisfaction in seeing Cigars becoming more and more popular. This helps us all with cost, selections, sales, and promotions.  One other cool thing that I really, really LOVE is that there are so many more women smoking Cigars these days.  I especially love to share any knowledge with women who smoke Cigars themselves. I'm sure guys understand that and agree!  Anyway, I have met many great people shopping and received some great suggestions and knowledge from them, so please don't be afraid to ask for their insights!

Cigar store staff can be very helpful as well.  However, there are a couple of things that you need to be careful of.  Generally store staff want to make as much money for the store, and thereby themselves.  Stands to reason right?  So they may direct you to some Cigars outside of your desired purchase price.  They also need to rotate stock as quickly as possible, so keep that in the back of your mind.  The reality is that the product does have a limited shelf life, so they are only doing their job by guiding you to what is best for both the store and livelihood. Often, if you decline on a suggestion that falls outside of your 4-Rules presented above, they will gladly help guide you to something that will work better on the second try.  So be sure to keep a smile, use their advice when it fits, or simply tell them that it may not be right for you and ask for alternate suggestions that will work better for you.  They have awesome knowledge, so be sure not to miss out on it!

OK, well there you have it.  CigarManDan's 5-Step Guidelines for Cigar store purchases. Please put it to the test, and provide me some good feedback on your experiences in Cigar store shopping. Online ordering does have it's place, but nothing beats and awesome Cigar store for the selection, bargains, knowledge, and awesome people that you meet.  Enjoy your purchasing, and until next week, keep em Long and Lit.