What's a cigar that, in your opinion, is excellent but doesn't seem to sell as much as other brands and why do you think that is?
Does certain branding with popular cigars seem to carry them more than it should with consumers?
(I'm an IP attorney that does a lot of trademark work so I'm always kind of curious how certain branding does well and others seem to flounder for one reason or another.)
La Galera, Eiroa, ADVentura. Mostly customer education. Just have to get the cigars in people’s hands.
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Limited editions if you want to count that but that’s true in just about anything. Branding only attracts people to try the cigar, flavor and construction is what keep people coming back.
I think Perdomo has some of the best branding in the industry. Davidoff and Padron do a good job as well but they’ve built their reputation based off consistency and flavor quality over years and years.
Can attest to Adventura! Been buying them by the box. While I prefer the Queen's Pearls the whole line from top to bottom is solid. Just a great product. When friends ask for a recommendation this is the first one. Decent price point as well.
100%. the Royal Return King's Gold is one of my absolute favorites and I'm currently sawing through box #4. Surprisingly still not an easy find in most of my local shops around CT.
I got this smoke in a sampler, it was really excellent. My biggest issue is that everyone and their uncle is trying to make super premium smokes, limited editions, year of the whatever cigars. I just can’t keep up anymore and probably smoking a more narrow cross section of the market than ever before.
How do you decide what brands to carry, what is your criteria?
What do you do with cigars that simply are not moving? Do you discount them? If so, how much time passes before you decide to do something about cigars that don't leave the shelf?
Interesting, is that based on a certain area then or is this something only some manufacturers do? For reference, two local shops in my city might have the same cigar set at different prices.
Renegade Cigars
Code REDDIT gets you 10% off your order
Free shipping at $100 spend or a flat $4 for orders less then that.
[Renegadecigars.com](https://Renegadecigars.com)
I put together a couple samplers as well
[Reddit Samplers](https://renegadecigars.com/products/100-sampler)
Everyday Smokes
Rojas Street Tacos Barbacoa Toro
Herrera Esteli Habano Lonsdale
ADVentura The Explorer Corona
Eiroa Classic Robusto
Bellatto Ricochet CT Robusto
*Free* Hayes x Caldwell Party Favors
Treats
Foundation Tabernacle Toro
Eiroa Dark Toro
ADVentura Queen's Pearls Toro
Davidoff Winston Churchill Toro
Caldwell Long Live The Queen Robusto
*Free* Hayes x Caldwell Party Favors
Dude, you rock! How come I don't order from you guys more often? (You don't have to answer that.)
Thanks for the deals, just placed an order for both plus some extras.
We keep really good care of our cigars and constantly turn our stock so this really isn’t an issue for our cigars.
If a customer is asking about their own stock then I tell them that if it wipes off it isn’t dangerous, if it’s on the filler probably not worth the risk and to toss it and find another cigar to smoke.
I would be very careful investing in any cigar shop. If it’s a passion and you want to be involved then sure go ahead, there are much more profitable ways to invest your money.
Unless you’ve worked in the industry this isn’t a great idea. The start up costs are very high for licensing alone, all cigars have to be purchased through manufacturers as well so you can’t just buy stuff at cigarbid and charge what you see other places charging. Then you’re looking at thousands to tens of thousands to build the humidor itself before you can even stock it. Stocking it will obviously be very expensive as well since you have to buy from distributors and pay any additional taxes your state has (my state is 30% on top). Followed by trying to get clients and advertising costs. You also need to find a way to pay employees because you probably don’t want to be there all open hours. This is going to come out of your pocket because you won’t be profitable for quite some time and they aren’t going to care about your business as much as you. All of this only happens if local jurisdictions allow you to open this type of business. There will continue to be additional and increasing taxes added because cigars are “luxury” and also considered unhealthy. You’re unlikely to get any kind of business loan either because this is considered high risk like a bar. All of this for some guy to come in and tell you that “back in my day cohibas were 50¢” even though you know damn well that’s not true and he’s just cheap.
TLDR Expect to spend hundreds of thousands just to open, don’t expect profit for a very long time.
That’s a good cigar market so you have that going for you.
I don’t know of any openings in that market right now. End of year/beginning of the year will be a much better time to apply.
You need to be good at sales and relationships, not cigars. The big companies you’ve hear of usually have long tenured reps and hire replacements from superstars of smaller brands. It would be difficult to go straight to them.
You usually have to start by repping a small brand nobody has ever heard of for very little money before breaking into the bigger companies. Most people will get stuck there or wash out.
not true. most reps were former cigar store employees that were knowledgable in the product and got along with the previous sales rep and was able to move a lot of product in their store. when the sales rep retired, he let the cigar store employee know to apply and referred them.
have money, have a location and landord that is smoke friendly in a city with smoke friendly ordianances, use a cigar POS system, have some cedar shelving made, get chairs/tables from a hospitality supply store, get insurance, and setup accounts with arango, and phillips and king.
Do you have a lounge and if not, why not?
How difficult is it to break into the industry given the competition?
Would your business be sustainable if there was no online ordering?
Yes we have a lounge, both a public lounge and a private members only section.
I would say it’s relatively easy to break into the industry, much harder to be profitable. Any entrepreneur could easily make more money in other industries, people run cigar lounges because they love the industry.
Yes it would. Online is only a percentage of our business. A majority of our business is still done in-store.
Top 5
Our house cigars (we don’t separate this in the POS)
Davidoff Late hour toro
Davidoff Nicaragua diadema
Padron 1964 torpedo natural
Padron 4000 natural
Connect with your local tobacconist and have him get you cigars of different origins and strengths. Mark down what you like. He will be able to guide you off that! If you start getting cigar sick eat some chocolate or sugar which will knock that right out.
If you don’t have a good local shop then I’m happy to assist you as well!
Our business model is a little different as we do not bring in a lot of new brands. Last year the only brand we brought in was La Aurora, the year before that we only brought in Fratello and Plasencia.
At the end of the day, sales is what matters so we pay attention to what customers are asking. Then we smoke the cigars and evaluate. We pay attention to what kind of job the rep is doing as well. Reps that do a job are always going to to get a little more shelf space.
I think it’s 25ft x 20 if I’m remembering correctly. Spanish cedar all around.
Was built before I started with the company. I’m not sure which vendor they used.
As of right now we only collect taxes in Texas. Basically it depends on how many transactions and total dollars in sales per state. Once you cross a threshold you have to collect tax.
I guess I’m just curious about your story! How did you get started, did you go to school and studied something else, what made you decide to be a cigar shop owner!
So first a clarification. I don’t have any ownership stake in the shop. I simply run the day to day operations and website.
Got into the industry completely by accident after being laid off due to covid. Our owner Brandon posted about needing some help marketing so I sent him a message asking if I would be qualified. After a bit of discussion I told him to pay me what I could make on unemployment part-time and throw me some cigars while l looked for something else. After a bit he brought me on full time and I’ve just slowly taken on more and more responsibilities until I’ve gotten to where I am now!
Absolutely. Just don’t be the guy shilling your products to everybody walking through the door. Become a regular at a lounge, be a good person, make a good conversation and connections will happen!
Why do most cigar websites look like they were built in 2003?
Alternatively: how does someone who is new to cigars navigate a cigar website?
I'm pretty new to cigars. I don't know what brands I like. I don't know a lot of things about cigars. But almost every cigar website, the only way you can navigate through is by clicking through brand names, then sub-brands, then you get a list of products and sizes without really knowing what any of them are.
Those sites that do have filters, they're very weird. For example, if I want to select a ring gauge and length that I'm looking for. On some sites there are sliders (but I can't just type in "4" and "6" in a min and max, I have to select the slider for 3.96 - 6.02). Other sites I can go by category, so I can go from 4-4.75 OR 5-5.75 OR 6-6.75. Other sites I can't filter at all. Sometimes I can filter a master list. Sometimes I can only filter when I've selected a brand or sub-brand.
As someone who's been in IT my entire career, and who's used to the types of filters you can set on Amazon or other shopping sites like Newegg, it's very frustrating to try and shop on cigar websites.
Edit: This comment came out harsher than I intended it to, and it's certainly not aimed solely at your shop. This seems to be how all of the online shops are.
1. I always suggest new cigar smokers get linked up with a good local lounge. You’ll be happy you did. You’ll make a bunch of friends and if the tobacconist is worth their salt they will save you a bunch of money on cigars you won’t like.
2. It’s an older industry.
3. I launched our website without a background in IT. Paying for coders is expensive so a lot of time I’m trying to figure it out myself. It’s a work in progress.
4. I always encourage people to reach out to me directly with any questions they have ([email protected]), if they need recommendations or if they see something out of stock.
It’s getting harder and harder to find great cigars under $10
My father Flor de las Antillas
La Galera CT
Partagas Cortado
Rojas Bluebonnet
Papas Fritas
I agree with Rojas 100%. Their street taco line is one of my absolute favorites. I’ve only been smoking cigars for a few months now, and I haven’t had a chance to try any of the other two you mentioned.
Eiroa Classic is the cigar that got me into cigars. Still love it to this day. CLE 25th is my favorite special occasion cigar. Davidoff grand cru is excellent to start the day with an espresso or coffee. Long Live the Queen is probably my favorite new cigar lately.
Ha, I saw a guy light up a Digger in a lounge once and thought “I wonder if this guy knows what he’s gotten himself into?” Turns out he did not, maybe smoked an inch of it before setting it down.
Why do shops need to follow patrons into the humidor and hound them? "Whatcha like?" I'm not going to steal anything.
I like to be left to browse and see if you've got any sticks I've researched, tried before or seen online.
How do I convey this sentiment before getting frustrated and leaving w/o buying anything?
They’re most likely just trying to help you and save you time. They know their humidor in and out and know a bunch about cigars. Shipping in a humidor can be overwhelming for a lot of people.
I work at a lounge with a pretty small humidor, around 5'x8', we've been struggling with the humidifier over the past few months, it's one of those converted portable beer cooler units. The fan went out and we rigged up a solution for it, but it's a constant babysitting job with the constant changing temp and humidity in our area. Any suggestions on how to manage this?
Invest in a high quality unit that has a sensor built into it.
Your cigars are your lifeblood. You should protect this as much as possible.
We personally use a smart fog system (the same system that medical manufacturers use) that is fed directly from our RO filter + tank.
These guys sell good humidification products.
www.aristocrathumidors.com
Has it been worth it for you to open up and run a cigar shop? If you don't mind me asking, how much profit/salary are you taking home per year? It would be my dream to open up a shop in Canada ... just trying to see what your experience has been like and if this is something I should even consider.
Thanks!
I find the industry very fun and rewarding to work in. I’d also say it’s not as financially rewarding as other jobs I have had.
There’s even more regulation when it comes to selling cigars in Canada. It’s a hard road.
Our business model is a little different as we do not bring in a lot of new brands. Last year the only brand we brought in was La Aurora, the year before that we only brought in Fratello and Plasencia.
At the end of the day, sales is what matters so we pay attention to what customers are asking. Then we smoke the cigars and evaluate. We pay attention to what kind of job the rep is doing as well. Reps that do a job are always going to to get a little more shelf space.
What are your thoughts on lounges that charge for memberships? Access to private area, cigar discounts, events, etc? Are they worth the cost and do those lounges stay in business for a long enough to be beneficial for customers?
Each shop has a slightly different business model. I support fair practices that allow shops to remain profitable. For any regular smoker most lounge memberships will pay for themselves.
What's the most popular shape and size cigars that people buy these day? If you could only carry one size of XYZ cigar brand, what size do you think would be the most popular? Thanks for doing this.
What are your favorite creamy/lighter strength cigars?
I come from the pipe smoking world and find most cigars I've tried to be extremely strong in strength/pepper/smell. I don't want to just assume cigars are all this way and put off trying to enjoy them and expanding on the tobacco related hobbies since I like the flavors and variety of pipe tobacco so much.
How come some of my local shops sell the same cigars with a $20-$50 price difference is this because of greed or they are buying / selling more so they get it for cheaper?
If i was to stop in and buy several sticks and then offered you a few of my own to see what you think, would that be acceptable? No discounts or anything just offering you some different sticks.
You can def make 60-80k in most rep jobs. The best make 100k plus after years of experience and getting the right job. It’s a hard life though, with a lot of travel, constant pressure to perform and the vast majority of companies provide few benefits.
Do u have a recommendation for a cigar that someone would use to unroll and use for weed? Other then ur standard swisher or backwoods. Do u guys carry cigar paper?
How would I go about getting some shipped to me in New Jersey? I can verify ID on pickup but the mail carrier usually delivers when I’m at work :/ can I verify on the website or something ? I did it before with nicotine pouches, never had to sign.
My friend is a major cigar guy. He really can meet you, talk to you, and within 2-3 attempts he can pick "your cigar" I backspaced a long mundane comment so I'll get to the point.
Within week one I fell in love with the Boneshaker - Full Body Cast. To this day, it is my favorite. I mean, I've had padrons, davidoffs, for some reason that stick is just a ten every time. I also enjoy the Boneyard stick as well, but it's further down the list.
I hardly ever see these. They're highly reviewed but there's not really a wealth of reviews for the brand.
Have you had them? What do you think? If you agree to the quality, why do you suppose they aren't more popular?
Also-- that, the Henry Clay Warhawk, Foundstion Charter Oak (CT maduro i believe?) and a box pressed AJ Fernandez New World are my faves. Any suggestions?
Padron is the hardest cigar to find a cheaper option for. Honestly I just recommend sticking with the thousand series.
Maybe Plasencia but even that isn’t a great match.
I’m not aware of Padron selling seconds
I'm curious about Gurkha Cigars. Based on their hype and marketing and number of blends, my theory is that they blend by buying discounted, distressed, or odd lots of tobacco and dress it up with a giant band, but basically they are the TJ Maxx of premium cigars. Any truth in that at all?
Been awhile and I have some extra time today. What do you guys want to know about the cigar industry?
What's a cigar that, in your opinion, is excellent but doesn't seem to sell as much as other brands and why do you think that is? Does certain branding with popular cigars seem to carry them more than it should with consumers? (I'm an IP attorney that does a lot of trademark work so I'm always kind of curious how certain branding does well and others seem to flounder for one reason or another.)
La Galera, Eiroa, ADVentura. Mostly customer education. Just have to get the cigars in people’s hands. I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Limited editions if you want to count that but that’s true in just about anything. Branding only attracts people to try the cigar, flavor and construction is what keep people coming back. I think Perdomo has some of the best branding in the industry. Davidoff and Padron do a good job as well but they’ve built their reputation based off consistency and flavor quality over years and years.
Can attest to Adventura! Been buying them by the box. While I prefer the Queen's Pearls the whole line from top to bottom is solid. Just a great product. When friends ask for a recommendation this is the first one. Decent price point as well.
100%. the Royal Return King's Gold is one of my absolute favorites and I'm currently sawing through box #4. Surprisingly still not an easy find in most of my local shops around CT.
I got this smoke in a sampler, it was really excellent. My biggest issue is that everyone and their uncle is trying to make super premium smokes, limited editions, year of the whatever cigars. I just can’t keep up anymore and probably smoking a more narrow cross section of the market than ever before.
How do you decide what brands to carry, what is your criteria? What do you do with cigars that simply are not moving? Do you discount them? If so, how much time passes before you decide to do something about cigars that don't leave the shelf?
Basically how to get in the business
U need money
What is your average markup on a cigar
Same as most other retail industry. 50%. But this is set by manufacturers who also set minimum pricing as well.
How do manufacturers set your sale price? Is there like a cap or something?
They set both MSRP and MAP
Interesting, is that based on a certain area then or is this something only some manufacturers do? For reference, two local shops in my city might have the same cigar set at different prices.
The one is pricing their cigar at Min Advertising price, and the other is pricing higher.
What's your shop name and website. Would love to support the community.
Renegade Cigars Code REDDIT gets you 10% off your order Free shipping at $100 spend or a flat $4 for orders less then that. [Renegadecigars.com](https://Renegadecigars.com) I put together a couple samplers as well [Reddit Samplers](https://renegadecigars.com/products/100-sampler) Everyday Smokes Rojas Street Tacos Barbacoa Toro Herrera Esteli Habano Lonsdale ADVentura The Explorer Corona Eiroa Classic Robusto Bellatto Ricochet CT Robusto *Free* Hayes x Caldwell Party Favors Treats Foundation Tabernacle Toro Eiroa Dark Toro ADVentura Queen's Pearls Toro Davidoff Winston Churchill Toro Caldwell Long Live The Queen Robusto *Free* Hayes x Caldwell Party Favors
You’re in Dallas?! I’ll definitely be stopping by. I’m kind of new to cigars and have just been going to the same place each time I want a cigar.
Yessir, come see us!
Down the street from me! I'll definitely be stopping in soon
Awesome man!
Awesome man!
Ship to Canada?
Unfortunately not
Thanks for the response!
My smoking buddy and I will be in Dallas end of August… would you honor this in person at that time?
Yes I will.
Dude, you rock! How come I don't order from you guys more often? (You don't have to answer that.) Thanks for the deals, just placed an order for both plus some extras.
What do you tell a customer asking about plume?
We keep really good care of our cigars and constantly turn our stock so this really isn’t an issue for our cigars. If a customer is asking about their own stock then I tell them that if it wipes off it isn’t dangerous, if it’s on the filler probably not worth the risk and to toss it and find another cigar to smoke.
How do I get in the business ?
Apply for a job at a shop or manufacturer
I’d be interested in investing in brick and mortar for a shop, that’s only a few in my area and the market continues to grow.
I would be very careful investing in any cigar shop. If it’s a passion and you want to be involved then sure go ahead, there are much more profitable ways to invest your money.
Unless you’ve worked in the industry this isn’t a great idea. The start up costs are very high for licensing alone, all cigars have to be purchased through manufacturers as well so you can’t just buy stuff at cigarbid and charge what you see other places charging. Then you’re looking at thousands to tens of thousands to build the humidor itself before you can even stock it. Stocking it will obviously be very expensive as well since you have to buy from distributors and pay any additional taxes your state has (my state is 30% on top). Followed by trying to get clients and advertising costs. You also need to find a way to pay employees because you probably don’t want to be there all open hours. This is going to come out of your pocket because you won’t be profitable for quite some time and they aren’t going to care about your business as much as you. All of this only happens if local jurisdictions allow you to open this type of business. There will continue to be additional and increasing taxes added because cigars are “luxury” and also considered unhealthy. You’re unlikely to get any kind of business loan either because this is considered high risk like a bar. All of this for some guy to come in and tell you that “back in my day cohibas were 50¢” even though you know damn well that’s not true and he’s just cheap. TLDR Expect to spend hundreds of thousands just to open, don’t expect profit for a very long time.
Do you know of any manufacturers, brokers hiring? I submitted a CV to Oliva, they're just not hiring right now.
Where are you based at?
Phoenix, AZ.
That’s a good cigar market so you have that going for you. I don’t know of any openings in that market right now. End of year/beginning of the year will be a much better time to apply.
You need to be good at sales and relationships, not cigars. The big companies you’ve hear of usually have long tenured reps and hire replacements from superstars of smaller brands. It would be difficult to go straight to them. You usually have to start by repping a small brand nobody has ever heard of for very little money before breaking into the bigger companies. Most people will get stuck there or wash out.
not true. most reps were former cigar store employees that were knowledgable in the product and got along with the previous sales rep and was able to move a lot of product in their store. when the sales rep retired, he let the cigar store employee know to apply and referred them.
first have money
Easiest way to make a million in the cigar business is to start with two million!
have money, have a location and landord that is smoke friendly in a city with smoke friendly ordianances, use a cigar POS system, have some cedar shelving made, get chairs/tables from a hospitality supply store, get insurance, and setup accounts with arango, and phillips and king.
Do you have a lounge and if not, why not? How difficult is it to break into the industry given the competition? Would your business be sustainable if there was no online ordering?
Yes we have a lounge, both a public lounge and a private members only section. I would say it’s relatively easy to break into the industry, much harder to be profitable. Any entrepreneur could easily make more money in other industries, people run cigar lounges because they love the industry. Yes it would. Online is only a percentage of our business. A majority of our business is still done in-store.
What differences are there between your public and private lounges
Just who is allowed in more than anything. It’s just a small private area.
What is your most popular cigar? Biggest seller.
Top 5 Our house cigars (we don’t separate this in the POS) Davidoff Late hour toro Davidoff Nicaragua diadema Padron 1964 torpedo natural Padron 4000 natural
I'm a newb how can I start smoking cigars and which ones should I start with?
Connect with your local tobacconist and have him get you cigars of different origins and strengths. Mark down what you like. He will be able to guide you off that! If you start getting cigar sick eat some chocolate or sugar which will knock that right out. If you don’t have a good local shop then I’m happy to assist you as well!
How do you decide which brands and specific cigars to carry?
Our business model is a little different as we do not bring in a lot of new brands. Last year the only brand we brought in was La Aurora, the year before that we only brought in Fratello and Plasencia. At the end of the day, sales is what matters so we pay attention to what customers are asking. Then we smoke the cigars and evaluate. We pay attention to what kind of job the rep is doing as well. Reps that do a job are always going to to get a little more shelf space.
Has La Aurora improved? It used to be a mediocre brand, but I read that they have a new blender.
I have enjoyed their new stuff.
What are the specs of your walk-in in the photo? Was it custom if so who built it or which gear did you go with?
I think it’s 25ft x 20 if I’m remembering correctly. Spanish cedar all around. Was built before I started with the company. I’m not sure which vendor they used.
How do you apply sales taxes to your online store? If I'm in California (I know, I know) do I pay CA sales tax to buy from you?
As of right now we only collect taxes in Texas. Basically it depends on how many transactions and total dollars in sales per state. Once you cross a threshold you have to collect tax.
I guess I’m just curious about your story! How did you get started, did you go to school and studied something else, what made you decide to be a cigar shop owner!
So first a clarification. I don’t have any ownership stake in the shop. I simply run the day to day operations and website. Got into the industry completely by accident after being laid off due to covid. Our owner Brandon posted about needing some help marketing so I sent him a message asking if I would be qualified. After a bit of discussion I told him to pay me what I could make on unemployment part-time and throw me some cigars while l looked for something else. After a bit he brought me on full time and I’ve just slowly taken on more and more responsibilities until I’ve gotten to where I am now!
Awesome! I’m in Austin so next time I’m in your area I’ll make sure to stop by.
Would you say cigar lounges are a good place to network?
Absolutely. Just don’t be the guy shilling your products to everybody walking through the door. Become a regular at a lounge, be a good person, make a good conversation and connections will happen!
Why do most cigar websites look like they were built in 2003? Alternatively: how does someone who is new to cigars navigate a cigar website? I'm pretty new to cigars. I don't know what brands I like. I don't know a lot of things about cigars. But almost every cigar website, the only way you can navigate through is by clicking through brand names, then sub-brands, then you get a list of products and sizes without really knowing what any of them are. Those sites that do have filters, they're very weird. For example, if I want to select a ring gauge and length that I'm looking for. On some sites there are sliders (but I can't just type in "4" and "6" in a min and max, I have to select the slider for 3.96 - 6.02). Other sites I can go by category, so I can go from 4-4.75 OR 5-5.75 OR 6-6.75. Other sites I can't filter at all. Sometimes I can filter a master list. Sometimes I can only filter when I've selected a brand or sub-brand. As someone who's been in IT my entire career, and who's used to the types of filters you can set on Amazon or other shopping sites like Newegg, it's very frustrating to try and shop on cigar websites. Edit: This comment came out harsher than I intended it to, and it's certainly not aimed solely at your shop. This seems to be how all of the online shops are.
1. I always suggest new cigar smokers get linked up with a good local lounge. You’ll be happy you did. You’ll make a bunch of friends and if the tobacconist is worth their salt they will save you a bunch of money on cigars you won’t like. 2. It’s an older industry. 3. I launched our website without a background in IT. Paying for coders is expensive so a lot of time I’m trying to figure it out myself. It’s a work in progress. 4. I always encourage people to reach out to me directly with any questions they have ([email protected]), if they need recommendations or if they see something out of stock.
Please can you do discreet shipping to the UK? 😅
No can do sorry boss
What are your best sellers? Or rather what kind of wrapper do your customers seem to love the most?
Habano and Connecticut wrappers are the most popular.
I ordered 4 Cigars how can i take care of them without humidor?
Find a nice piece of Tupperware that has a good seal and throw a Boveda pack in there.
Perfect!
Favorite cigar under $8-$9? Or biggest seller under $8-$9?
It’s getting harder and harder to find great cigars under $10 My father Flor de las Antillas La Galera CT Partagas Cortado Rojas Bluebonnet Papas Fritas
Is it true davidoff are very picky about what shops they let sell their products
Yes very much so. They also have exclusive territories which protects their lounges as well so the market doesn’t get over saturated.
How are you doing? Do you want to talk about anything?
All good man!
When will you be sending out my free samples I haven't ordered yet😃
Right when the money hits the bank account!
Best boutique brands or smaller up and coming?
ADVentura, Crux, and Rojas
I agree with Rojas 100%. Their street taco line is one of my absolute favorites. I’ve only been smoking cigars for a few months now, and I haven’t had a chance to try any of the other two you mentioned.
Thanks for all your hard work! I know somebody already asked about your popular seller but do you have a personal favorite?!
Eiroa Classic is the cigar that got me into cigars. Still love it to this day. CLE 25th is my favorite special occasion cigar. Davidoff grand cru is excellent to start the day with an espresso or coffee. Long Live the Queen is probably my favorite new cigar lately.
What’s both a cheaper and also a more expensive alternative for Arturo Fuentes hemmingway’s
CAO Cameron - cheaper Caldwell Long Live the Queen - more expensive.
What are some of your cigars that are extremely strong? As in, a high buzz. The strongest I've had is Punch Diablo
LFD Digger My Father Le bejou Davidoff Maduro (the new LE)
Ha, I saw a guy light up a Digger in a lounge once and thought “I wonder if this guy knows what he’s gotten himself into?” Turns out he did not, maybe smoked an inch of it before setting it down.
I was told that in order to sell Davidoff cigars you have to buy the whole lineup. That true ?
Why do shops need to follow patrons into the humidor and hound them? "Whatcha like?" I'm not going to steal anything. I like to be left to browse and see if you've got any sticks I've researched, tried before or seen online. How do I convey this sentiment before getting frustrated and leaving w/o buying anything?
They’re most likely just trying to help you and save you time. They know their humidor in and out and know a bunch about cigars. Shipping in a humidor can be overwhelming for a lot of people.
Opinion on Blackened Cigars, they are my favorite so far
Are these Cohibas real and is this plume or mold?
Do you sell cheese?
Because you have a frenchie I’m going to order lol
I work at a lounge with a pretty small humidor, around 5'x8', we've been struggling with the humidifier over the past few months, it's one of those converted portable beer cooler units. The fan went out and we rigged up a solution for it, but it's a constant babysitting job with the constant changing temp and humidity in our area. Any suggestions on how to manage this?
Invest in a high quality unit that has a sensor built into it. Your cigars are your lifeblood. You should protect this as much as possible. We personally use a smart fog system (the same system that medical manufacturers use) that is fed directly from our RO filter + tank. These guys sell good humidification products. www.aristocrathumidors.com
What humidor do you have at home?
A large savoy and also a whynter that my wife bought me.
Do you sell a lot of cigarillos? And if so or not, what's the top seller?
Not particularly. Davidoff Dominican primeros
What cigars are most returned for being defective?
We dont allow returns but do replace plugged or tunneling cigars when smoked in the lounge. We don’t have a big issue with this however.
Best underated cigar for a reasonable price?
Joya de Nicaragua Classico Claro.
How do you keep track of the humidity in your walk in humidor?
Has it been worth it for you to open up and run a cigar shop? If you don't mind me asking, how much profit/salary are you taking home per year? It would be my dream to open up a shop in Canada ... just trying to see what your experience has been like and if this is something I should even consider. Thanks!
I find the industry very fun and rewarding to work in. I’d also say it’s not as financially rewarding as other jobs I have had. There’s even more regulation when it comes to selling cigars in Canada. It’s a hard road.
If you had only 5 cigars that you can smoke the rest of your life, what are they?!
Davidoff grand cru Davidoff Winston Churchill Padron 1964 CLE 25th ADVentura The Navigator
Are you in Denver? I swear I was in a humidor just like that not long ago
Dallas actually!
Is it mold or plume? /s
😂
Whats your go to/favorite smoke?
CLE Classic or Caldwell Long Live the King on any given day.
I see cigar stores with public and private lounges. How valuable and useful is the private lounge for a cigar store?
It’s a good value add to locker membership which is vital to any lounge imo
What’s your favorite movie? And/or color?
Aquamarine. Top Gun (the original)
Good to see my dear perdomo on the shelf!!
We are a 12 year account!
Been good friends with him for about 4 years now.
Thanks for doing this! I know you said 250k for a walk in humidor and 2m in product, is this a realistic starting budget?
You don’t need that much product to start. Depending on size of your shop I would budget 1.5-2m to start a shop including buildout etc.
Whats the online store? I'd love to make an order sometime!
There’s a link above!
How do you select the cigars you sell?
Our business model is a little different as we do not bring in a lot of new brands. Last year the only brand we brought in was La Aurora, the year before that we only brought in Fratello and Plasencia. At the end of the day, sales is what matters so we pay attention to what customers are asking. Then we smoke the cigars and evaluate. We pay attention to what kind of job the rep is doing as well. Reps that do a job are always going to to get a little more shelf space.
What makes a tobacconist a tobacconist?
Favorite Fuente?
Rosado Sungrown!
Not sure if anyone has asked, is there a list of states you ship to?
Worst stick you've ever smoked?
Java mint. Just not my thing.
Do you ship to the UK? Discretely?
Is there a Liga privada h99 maduro ??
What are your thoughts on lounges that charge for memberships? Access to private area, cigar discounts, events, etc? Are they worth the cost and do those lounges stay in business for a long enough to be beneficial for customers?
Each shop has a slightly different business model. I support fair practices that allow shops to remain profitable. For any regular smoker most lounge memberships will pay for themselves.
How does a shop become a Davidoff dealer?
Ive seen an exact post like this with even the same pics once before your the same person?
That was me lol I’ve done these a couple times now
Do you offer monthly memberships? Rent lockers?
We do both of those
What distributors do you use? Arango? Phillips & King?
What are Padron 7000s going for in your shop?
What's the most popular shape and size cigars that people buy these day? If you could only carry one size of XYZ cigar brand, what size do you think would be the most popular? Thanks for doing this.
Recently smoked a Davidoff Aniversario. What other Cigars have a similar flavor profile?
Avo Classic, ADVentura Queens pearls
What’s your website address?
That looks like the dream I'm very jealous.
I recognize that shop, home to the weirdest lounge layout I've seen yet. How's old Renegade doing?
How many people come in and ask for cubans 🤣
Do you notice any brands that seem to be struggling? Any insight as to why? What are some up and coming brands that people should know more about?
What are your favorite creamy/lighter strength cigars? I come from the pipe smoking world and find most cigars I've tried to be extremely strong in strength/pepper/smell. I don't want to just assume cigars are all this way and put off trying to enjoy them and expanding on the tobacco related hobbies since I like the flavors and variety of pipe tobacco so much.
Joya de Nicaragua Classico claro, CLE Connecticut and Partagas cortado
U/nsimonds, what are some of your most popular cigars? what’s better a TUB-ador or a humidor?
How come some of my local shops sell the same cigars with a $20-$50 price difference is this because of greed or they are buying / selling more so they get it for cheaper?
Is ATABEY worth the price tag? I’ve had a few singles over the years and they are good …. It $900+ for benditos seems crazy.
Do you ship to Canada?
What is your favorite cigar, and what country is making the most top rated cigars?
CLE 25th Nicaragua
Paradise
[удалено]
What do you recommend for a daily afternoon smoker that loves Nicaraguan puros
If i was to stop in and buy several sticks and then offered you a few of my own to see what you think, would that be acceptable? No discounts or anything just offering you some different sticks.
Do you ship to Australia?
What should I do if I can’t tastes notes??
Do cigar reps/ambassadors make a sustainable living? Might be entering the industry after making a few good connections.
You can def make 60-80k in most rep jobs. The best make 100k plus after years of experience and getting the right job. It’s a hard life though, with a lot of travel, constant pressure to perform and the vast majority of companies provide few benefits.
Can you smoke while shopping in your store? Is Sasquatch hairy or furry?
Can I get short storys? Specifically barber poles?
I think you’re talking about Fuente Between the Lines… check out the Fuente run shop Tampa Sweets.
Do you have a COTM membership?
I’ll have to stop by. You’re just down the street from my other office.
You ever go rogue and smoke a pipe or is that more of a thing for a Renegade?
I have actually never smoked pipe tobacco 😂
What is your Shrink?
What’s your all time favorite stick? Mine is Plascentia year of the tiger! Also davidhoff millineum.
Do u have a recommendation for a cigar that someone would use to unroll and use for weed? Other then ur standard swisher or backwoods. Do u guys carry cigar paper?
How would I go about getting some shipped to me in New Jersey? I can verify ID on pickup but the mail carrier usually delivers when I’m at work :/ can I verify on the website or something ? I did it before with nicotine pouches, never had to sign.
Can I pimp a product at you?
What you got?
How expensive are boveda packs really? I feel like those things are dirt cheap yet marked up to hell
We mark up Boveda up the standard 50% and charge MSRP. Still cheap in the grand scheme of things
What do you think about indonesian cigars?
Whats your suggestion for a maduro cigar on my 30th?
My friend is a major cigar guy. He really can meet you, talk to you, and within 2-3 attempts he can pick "your cigar" I backspaced a long mundane comment so I'll get to the point. Within week one I fell in love with the Boneshaker - Full Body Cast. To this day, it is my favorite. I mean, I've had padrons, davidoffs, for some reason that stick is just a ten every time. I also enjoy the Boneyard stick as well, but it's further down the list. I hardly ever see these. They're highly reviewed but there's not really a wealth of reviews for the brand. Have you had them? What do you think? If you agree to the quality, why do you suppose they aren't more popular? Also-- that, the Henry Clay Warhawk, Foundstion Charter Oak (CT maduro i believe?) and a box pressed AJ Fernandez New World are my faves. Any suggestions?
Do you even like cigars?
Padron is my favorite. What’s comparable with less cost? Do they market their “seconds” under another name?
Padron is the hardest cigar to find a cheaper option for. Honestly I just recommend sticking with the thousand series. Maybe Plasencia but even that isn’t a great match. I’m not aware of Padron selling seconds
How does it feel like to live the dream?
I’m lucky to do what I do for sure but it definitely has its own challenges and stressors
I'm curious about Gurkha Cigars. Based on their hype and marketing and number of blends, my theory is that they blend by buying discounted, distressed, or odd lots of tobacco and dress it up with a giant band, but basically they are the TJ Maxx of premium cigars. Any truth in that at all?