7 ms·

There is at present a sort of golden age for the cigar afficionado, individual countries highly regulate and tax cigars (priced even more highly than cigarettes

by dageshi 10y ago

There is at present a sort of golden age for the cigar afficionado, individual countries highly regulate and tax cigars (priced even more highly than cigarettes for reasons that escape me), but are quite happy to allow vendors to sell internationally, the upshot is for any country outside the US it's far cheaper to buy from neighbouring countries or from the other side of the world for that matter... How long it will last, who knows, sooner or later cross border sales of tobacco will be banned, but for the time being those who can are stocking up while they can. Cigars last for decades and peak in the 5-25 year range depending on the cigar so right now there's no downside to buying as many as you can, even the none special editions (cuban) are probably good for about 10% a year in appreciation. Personally I'm buying a box a month.

brianwawok 10y ago
To smoke or as an investment? For someone who doesn't smoke it would seem an odd investment vehicle.
- dageshi 10y ago
  To smoke. I do know people who make a point of buying a couple boxes of the Cuban UK Regional editions as long term investments but personally I'm not interested in that, I buy what I enjoy to smoke in years to come, the trick is not smoking them all before they've had chance to age well, I've not really mastered it yet...
ghostbrainalpha 10y ago
If you are not currently working for Big Tobacco, then you should be. You just convinced me to start smoking.
- dageshi 10y ago
  Hah, I'm very hesitant to discuss cigar smoking outside of forums dedicated to it because people tend not to know a lot about it and lump it in with cigarettes. In reality they're quite different, for one I have personally never found cigars in any way addictive, they certainly do have nicotine in them, lots of nicotine but since you don't inhale (mouth only) cigar smoke it seems like you don't get the super fast hit that cigarette smokers do which in turn means they're not addictive? I'm not sure of the science behind it, all I know is myself and the others who I know in the hobby do consider cigars a hobby to be picked up and put down, in a weird way the actual collecting becomes more important than the smoking. I know people who maybe smoke 1 cigar a month but are constantly buying and selling to expand their collections.
  - CodeMage 10y ago
    As someone who used to smoke an average of one pack of cigarettes a day, for five years before quitting, I am curious: what's the appeal of smoking cigars? I only smoked one once and even then I missed out on the authentic experience, because nobody told me you're not supposed to inhale the smoke...
    - dageshi 10y ago
      I've never smoked a cigarette so I really don't know how to compare them, but I personally find them a great way to relax and wind down, even though you're not inhaling you will absorb nicotine through your mouth. And then there's the flavour, the best comparison there I can give is it's a bit like single malt scotch, if you give someone who has no experience of spirits a 20 year old speyside Single malt chances are they're just going to think it's fire water initially, someone with more experience is going to really appreciate what they're drinking, their palette is more tuned to Scotch and they'll pick out flavours the newbie can't.
    - pc86 10y ago
      I have a few friends who I regular smoke a cigar with, sometimes as often as once a week when the weather is really nice but usually at least once every 4-6 weeks even in the winter. 1) The taste is objectively better. Sure some aren't great but even when I smoked a pack of day many years ago I always smoke menthol because I thought regular cigarettes tastes like ashes (imagine that). 2) No noticeable effect on breathing. I often could feel it in my chest after having multiple cigarettes back-to-back or at the end of a day of heavy smoking. Never had that problem with a cigar, even after having two back-to-back. 3) Social. Very few people smoke a cigar by themselves. For me it's a social event. I sit around a table with friends and beer and we talk about whatever we want for the 60-90 minutes we're there.
    - fapjacks 10y ago
      The thing about smoking cigars is that you smoke them however the hell you want to smoke them. It's your cigar, you inhale if you want. Do you like ice in your scotch? Have ice in your scotch. Do you like to chew on your cigars and never light them? Have at it. You're supposed to enjoy them, and nobody can tell you how to enjoy something.
- eth0up 10y ago
  Big Tobacco has hardly a thing to do with cigars. They are very different concepts and implementations, with a different market. At the very least, skill, culture, reasonably honest marketing, and enormously different end products distinguish them. I think most people's opinion of tobacco might change if they observed it start as a plant, be picked and cured, pressed and aged, then simply rolled before their eyes into a cigar. And for those who make the careless assumption that tobacco is evil, they might inquire into products such as Swedish snus, which are processed without heat and undergo minimal fermentation, resulting in a pure tobacco product with negligibly low levels of nitrosamines (the culprit for carcinogens).
- tptacek 10y ago
  All it takes for you to start smoking is a scarcity argument? I'm not making fun of you, just saying, loss aversion is powerful.
- RobertDeNiro 10y ago
  I think he's just convinced me to buy them, not smoke them.
gingerlime 10y ago
Even in Europe? I always thought there's heavy duties for importing tobacco and alcohol. How do you store your cigars? Humidors aren't that cheap and require some maintenance to keep cigars in good shape for longer. Don't they?
- dageshi 10y ago
  Yes, partly due to the way cuban cigars are sold (regional monopolies), partly due to the EU Single market and partly due to... how shall I say it... customs being very busy... It's vastly cheaper to buy internationally in the UK, like 1/3 the cost. As for storage, you don't really need a humidor especially if you buy by the box. You need a large tupperware container (or cooler) and some Boveda packs (self regulating humidity packs), to seal in the tupperware with your cigars. If you want to get really serious, you get a wineador which is basically an electric wine chiller, put your cigars in with some humification device and it'll keep them at the exact temperature and humidity you need.
  - gingerlime 10y ago
    Thanks! I think customs are far more strict in places like Germany where I now live. Any other tips on getting started? forums / websites to buy from etc? (I enjoy the occasional cigar, but feel quite lost in this world).
    - dageshi 10y ago
      Actually Germany is a pretty cigar friendly country, it's not the absolute cheapest but it's far better than the UK, I know people who regularly order from www.cigarworld.de due to their range and fairly reasonable prices. Another site worth checking is www.top25cigars.co.uk (this is actually a Polish site). Both those should be no issue with German Customs because they're inside the EU (and one's in Germany obviously). If you want some advice, head over to reddit.com/r/ukcigars that's where I hang out and bore people about cigars, I have the same username there. I'll be happy to answer any questions you've got.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
alanpca 10y ago
May I ask where you are purchasing from?

by dageshi 10y ago

brianwawok 10y ago

To smoke or as an investment? For someone who doesn't smoke it would seem an odd investment vehicle.

dageshi 10y ago
To smoke. I do know people who make a point of buying a couple boxes of the Cuban UK Regional editions as long term investments but personally I'm not interested in that, I buy what I enjoy to smoke in years to come, the trick is not smoking them all before they've had chance to age well, I've not really mastered it yet...

ghostbrainalpha 10y ago

If you are not currently working for Big Tobacco, then you should be. You just convinced me to start smoking.

dageshi 10y ago
Hah, I'm very hesitant to discuss cigar smoking outside of forums dedicated to it because people tend not to know a lot about it and lump it in with cigarettes. In reality they're quite different, for one I have personally never found cigars in any way addictive, they certainly do have nicotine in them, lots of nicotine but since you don't inhale (mouth only) cigar smoke it seems like you don't get the super fast hit that cigarette smokers do which in turn means they're not addictive? I'm not sure of the science behind it, all I know is myself and the others who I know in the hobby do consider cigars a hobby to be picked up and put down, in a weird way the actual collecting becomes more important than the smoking. I know people who maybe smoke 1 cigar a month but are constantly buying and selling to expand their collections.
- CodeMage 10y ago
  As someone who used to smoke an average of one pack of cigarettes a day, for five years before quitting, I am curious: what's the appeal of smoking cigars? I only smoked one once and even then I missed out on the authentic experience, because nobody told me you're not supposed to inhale the smoke...
  - dageshi 10y ago
    I've never smoked a cigarette so I really don't know how to compare them, but I personally find them a great way to relax and wind down, even though you're not inhaling you will absorb nicotine through your mouth. And then there's the flavour, the best comparison there I can give is it's a bit like single malt scotch, if you give someone who has no experience of spirits a 20 year old speyside Single malt chances are they're just going to think it's fire water initially, someone with more experience is going to really appreciate what they're drinking, their palette is more tuned to Scotch and they'll pick out flavours the newbie can't.
  - pc86 10y ago
    I have a few friends who I regular smoke a cigar with, sometimes as often as once a week when the weather is really nice but usually at least once every 4-6 weeks even in the winter. 1) The taste is objectively better. Sure some aren't great but even when I smoked a pack of day many years ago I always smoke menthol because I thought regular cigarettes tastes like ashes (imagine that). 2) No noticeable effect on breathing. I often could feel it in my chest after having multiple cigarettes back-to-back or at the end of a day of heavy smoking. Never had that problem with a cigar, even after having two back-to-back. 3) Social. Very few people smoke a cigar by themselves. For me it's a social event. I sit around a table with friends and beer and we talk about whatever we want for the 60-90 minutes we're there.
  - fapjacks 10y ago
    The thing about smoking cigars is that you smoke them however the hell you want to smoke them. It's your cigar, you inhale if you want. Do you like ice in your scotch? Have ice in your scotch. Do you like to chew on your cigars and never light them? Have at it. You're supposed to enjoy them, and nobody can tell you how to enjoy something.
eth0up 10y ago
Big Tobacco has hardly a thing to do with cigars. They are very different concepts and implementations, with a different market. At the very least, skill, culture, reasonably honest marketing, and enormously different end products distinguish them. I think most people's opinion of tobacco might change if they observed it start as a plant, be picked and cured, pressed and aged, then simply rolled before their eyes into a cigar. And for those who make the careless assumption that tobacco is evil, they might inquire into products such as Swedish snus, which are processed without heat and undergo minimal fermentation, resulting in a pure tobacco product with negligibly low levels of nitrosamines (the culprit for carcinogens).
tptacek 10y ago
All it takes for you to start smoking is a scarcity argument? I'm not making fun of you, just saying, loss aversion is powerful.
RobertDeNiro 10y ago
I think he's just convinced me to buy them, not smoke them.

gingerlime 10y ago

Even in Europe? I always thought there's heavy duties for importing tobacco and alcohol. How do you store your cigars? Humidors aren't that cheap and require some maintenance to keep cigars in good shape for longer. Don't they?

dageshi 10y ago
Yes, partly due to the way cuban cigars are sold (regional monopolies), partly due to the EU Single market and partly due to... how shall I say it... customs being very busy... It's vastly cheaper to buy internationally in the UK, like 1/3 the cost. As for storage, you don't really need a humidor especially if you buy by the box. You need a large tupperware container (or cooler) and some Boveda packs (self regulating humidity packs), to seal in the tupperware with your cigars. If you want to get really serious, you get a wineador which is basically an electric wine chiller, put your cigars in with some humification device and it'll keep them at the exact temperature and humidity you need.
- gingerlime 10y ago
  Thanks! I think customs are far more strict in places like Germany where I now live. Any other tips on getting started? forums / websites to buy from etc? (I enjoy the occasional cigar, but feel quite lost in this world).
  - dageshi 10y ago
    Actually Germany is a pretty cigar friendly country, it's not the absolute cheapest but it's far better than the UK, I know people who regularly order from www.cigarworld.de due to their range and fairly reasonable prices. Another site worth checking is www.top25cigars.co.uk (this is actually a Polish site). Both those should be no issue with German Customs because they're inside the EU (and one's in Germany obviously). If you want some advice, head over to reddit.com/r/ukcigars that's where I hang out and bore people about cigars, I have the same username there. I'll be happy to answer any questions you've got.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

alanpca 10y ago

May I ask where you are purchasing from?