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Discussion: If You Could Snap Your Fingers...

Discussion: If You Could Snap Your Fingers...

Happy Monday, folks! 

I was chatting with some passersby about tobacco and cigars the other day and it got my wondering: 

If you could snap your fingers and change anything cigar related, what would it be? 

This was a fun conversation last week, especially when everyone started thinking about bigger and broader strokes.  Here’s what I’d change, and I look forward to hearing your wish list as well! 

Distinguish cigars from cigarettes 

We know cigars are where it’s at, but the U.S. has joined the rest of the world in demonizing cigars along with big tobacco.  If I could snap my fingers and give everyone an appreciation of the leaf and our differences from the rest of the tobacco industry, I’d forego everything else on this list. 

License that chisel! 

I’d love it if Litto Gomez would license out his patented chisel shape to some of my favorite blenders.  Can you imagine an El Futuro, White Knight, Signature Selection, or El Gueguense in a chiseled format?   Wooooooo boy! 

Cuba 

Whereas introducing the American market to Cuban cigars by itself may be seen as a bad move for quality assurance, imagine if Cuba and America could course correct?  How amazing would it be to see the minds of Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic would together to lead the next cigar boom? 

Make Cigar Theatres a Thing 

I’ve heard of these magical places, but I’ve never seen one in person…

Black Honeys For E’rybody 

No shame.  Original release Black Honeys for you, you, and you! 

Cigar World 

Carve out a piece of Montana and create a cigar smoking version of West World with different lounges taken straight from some of our best eras.  Egypt is practically there already, but that’s a long flight.  

Delicious

Yep, I’d remove the word delicious from our cigar vocabulary.  Something about it just doesn’t sit right with me. Lol. 

10-ct Boxes

There's just something about a 10-ct box that makes me wish 25-ct boxes were non-existant.  The 10 count fulfills the incredible sensation of opening a box without having to drop several hundred dollars.  Usually.  And then there's the stress relief of playing tetris with a 10-ct box in a tupperdor instead of a 25-ct or a cabinet of 50! 

Note: I’d love to list the FDA up here, but I don’t think even Aladdin could change that outcome. 

 

What about you!? What would you change in an instant if you could? 

 

DISCUSSION CONTEST DETAILS

One of the comments below will win a $25 gift card.  The gift card will automatically be sent to the email address that you login to comment with, so please use your regular sign-in.   

I’ll be randomly selecting a comment below this Sunday after sending out the Weekly Newsletter. The winner can expect a comment with his or her name in it, a congratulations email, and an email with the $25 gift card information.  The actual gift card email takes some time to generate from the system and may lag behind by up to 48 hours. 

Only available to U.S. customers. 

 

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Comments

7/22/2019 5:52 AM
Eliminate all 6x60's so I don't get them in a random sampler. I'd say get rid of anything over 52 ring gauge but I feel that may be too selfish.
7/22/2019 8:21 AM
Wish the smell/lingering wasn't a problem, so I could smoke in the house, in friends cars, etc.
7/22/2019 9:58 AM
I wish cigar companies wouldn’t double the price of a cigar because they add a tiny strip of a different wrapper. Especially when the blend itself stays the same. I couldn’t agree more with eliminating ‘Delicious’. It’s unsettling to hear anybody over age 7 use that word.
7/22/2019 11:15 AM
I wish I had access to a good lounge close by. There are only 2 shops within an hour of my house and only one allows smoking and they both lack a large selection and lack boutiques. I prefer buying from SBC and smoking at home, but it’d be nice to have a place to go when I’m feeling more social.
7/22/2019 11:38 AM
Complete transparency with blends, locations, and aging time would be a very cool thing to bring to the cigar world.
7/22/2019 12:01 PM
Legality to purchase Cubans or the ability to magically not have cigar smell linger so I could smoke inside all day!
7/22/2019 12:15 PM
Knock out some of the nicotine (not all though!). I have to schedule cigars around my meals to keep from getting sick as I generally smoke full bodied cigars. Don't mind a bit for the relaxing effect, but it would be nice to be able to smoke a double ligero or something whenever I wanted to.
7/22/2019 1:37 PM
Remove the fat cat stigma from Cigars.  Or that people seem to think you need to buy a $10 cigar for it to be "good."
7/22/2019 4:12 PM
Smaller box counts, more usage of tobacco from the Philippines, and more use of box dates on boxes.
7/22/2019 6:41 PM
Make the post-cigar aftertaste and breath be minty instead of ashy.
7/22/2019 8:30 PM
I totally agree with the other poster about eliminating 60 ring gauge cigars, nothing worse than getting a sampler or COTM pack with a horrid 60 ring in it. Also I would change the fact that you cannot enjoy a cigar in a bar or pool hall anymore. And last but not least not exactly cigar related but I would eliminate vaping, its got to be the lamest thing ever.
7/22/2019 8:46 PM
I would eliminate unnecessary regulations on the cigar industry. The FDA needs to leave us alone! It would also be cool if all cigar companies had date codes on their boxes.
7/23/2019 1:18 PM
I would make medio tiempo easier to grow!
7/23/2019 3:45 PM
Cigars are always constructed perfectly; draw, burn, light. Nothing more frustrating than a good stick that falls apart
7/24/2019 12:20 AM
I'd love social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, to allow paid advertising for tobacco to adults 21+. It'd  be great to see what new products and deals cigar shops can offer that way.
7/24/2019 1:10 AM
I couldn’t agree more. Cuban tobacco becoming fully “accepted”/incorporated potentially leading to the next blossoming in the cigar world. AND the complete disassociation of cigars from other actually internalized tobacco products! Will Smith make it happen!
7/24/2019 10:31 AM
More effort into having legit affordable events. Went to the one in PA two years ago awful! Half the vendors didn't show.
Event was held @ a dirty fireman hall. Mildew room, pouring rain, & cigars not a good combination. Ever since that experience, I hold my own events. Up in smoke.........
7/25/2019 8:04 AM
Very interesting question. I would love to have more cigar friendly venues. Around here we are limited to cigar lounges. Other than that there are plenty of cigars I wish were less expensive and more readily available, but in general you get what you pay for (I do know there are some overpriced & overhyped sticks out there also).
7/25/2019 10:34 AM
I'd like to see the communist regime in Cuba overthrown,its leaders and functionaries get the Ceaușescu treatment, a true liberal republic established, and private property rights restored so I can have a Cuban with a clean conscience. And so, like, the people will be free and prosperous and stuff.
7/25/2019 11:40 AM
Continue separation from the stigma/health risks associated with cigarettes.  I really don't see how they can be classified into a similar category.
7/26/2019 3:08 PM
No more describing cigars as "smooth."  The most over-used, un-helpful adjective used by smokers.  Half the time I don't think the people saying it even know what they mean - do they mean "mild" or "not harsh" or "not spicy" or some other random attribute that they couldn't adequately articulate?
7/28/2019 7:46 PM
Congrats to the second Joseph, with the comment starting with "smaller box counts"!

Thanks to everyone else for participating!