Cigars should never be placed in the same category as cigarettes. This would be like lumping a bottle of vintage, single malt scotch with boxed wine. The two are clearly very different and this extends to factors that go beyond their taste. While any ashtray will do for
cigarettes, cigars deserve something a bit more refined. They require ashtrays designed to hold them because they last much, much longer than any cigarette. The ashtray should be capable of catching and storing the ashes generated by a quality smoke, and its appearance should match the prestige of cigar smoking. Here are three ideas for quality ashtrays engineered for the cigar smoking experience:
- Xicar Portable Stainless Steel Ash Can: This small ashtray is perfect for the car, boat, or carrying around the house. Sturdy and svelte in appearance, it also has an internal cigar holder.
- Davidoff White Ashtray: This is an ashtray with a large dose of elegance. The simple, square design and fine, gleaming white porcelain make it one of the classiest ashtrays around. The two cigar holding grooves also make it perfect for sharing a smoke with a friend.
- Rosewood Guillotine Cutter Ashtray: This beautiful ashtray includes a guillotine cutter for providing the perfect, full draw slice.
Find these and other fine ashtrays and cigar accessories in
online cigar stores.
The best cigars are made of refined, aged tobacco that is expertly wrapped by experienced hands. The technology is actually just about as low key as you can get because making
fine cigars is an art form that no machine can duplicate. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that cigar smoking hasn't experienced improvements as a result of advancements in technology.
The biggest way in which aficionados of fine smoke have benefited from technology is related to the Internet. The Internet has made it possible to more easily learn about different types of cigars, their ratings, how to keep them, and where to buy them. Best of all, though, the Internet has made it much, much easier to acquire the finest of smokes. Now, with the Internet, all you need to do to buy cigars, your favorite
cigar holder, and other accessories is to go to
online cigar stores and place your order. They get quickly shipped to your house and you can enjoy a fine smoke without ever walking out the front door.
No more need to deal with traffic and fight for a parking space to visit the nearest quality humidor. No more worries about getting to the humidor before it closes or wasting time to buy your cigars. Just go online, pick out your smokes and order them. It really is as easy as that.
Cigars make for great gift items because they represent a unique, high quality item that the recipient can personally enjoy at his or her own leisure. However, some occasions will always be better than others for giving a box of
Casa Magno cigars or a beautifully crafted
cigar holder. The following are just a few ideas of occasions that merit the gifting of cigars:
- Retirement parties: Whether your own or someone else's, such a happy, lifetime achievement is the perfect time for a good cigar. After working for decades, the retiree deserves the best in hand-wrapped, delicious tobacco.
- Opening a business or new store: A good cigar is the perfect accompaniment for such exciting and promising endeavors. Although you could enjoy the smoke in the morning, it's more satisfying to relax with that special cigar at the very end of the first day.
- Graduation from university studies: Whether your son or nephew has earned a bachelor's degree, masters, or doctorate, give him a good cigar to celebrate this important accomplishment. In addition to giving him a cigar sampler, take a few of your own cigars to share with him and other family members.
Cigars might not make suitable gifts for every occasion, but they are the best gifts to give on the most special of events.
I always like to know who my cigars are named after, so when I first saw
Muriel Coronella cigars for sale I did some quick google searching to see who "Muriel Coronella" was. (This was years ago -- don't judge!)
Of course, that was dumb. There is no "Muriel Coronella," regardless of how much the company tries to trick you by putting a picture of a woman in historical-looking garb on the box. But that's OK, because that bit of research got me some historical trivia about the brand that some of you probably already knew about.
There was a woman behind the
Muriel Coronella cigars sales pitch years ago, but her name wasn't Muriel. Instead, Edie Adams became the face of
Muriel cigars in the 1960s. The singer and comedienne sang some classic bits advertising the products, famously parodying the hit showtune single from "Sweet Charity by crooning "Hey big spender, spend a little dime with me." Adams was one of the sirens of her day, and a sultry request from her would be enough to make even the most dedicated fan of a particular brand consider switching if it would please her.
Moreover, Adams was more than a spokesmodel -- she even patented a cigar holder-ring, designed to make women look more "ladylike" when taking a puff.
Incidentally, she was married during that period to Ernie Kovacs, a comedian who endorsed
Dutch Masters cigars instead. There's no word on how the two reconciled their cigar differences, but I've seen pictures of both Adams and Kovacs and I'm pretty sure I know who would have made the most convincing case to me.
If you want to impress at the next gathering where you're likely to smoke a single cigar, there's nothing better to whip out than the
Rocky Patel Charmian Carbon Fiber Tube.
On the surface, this is just a cigar holder. OK, it's a very snazzy cigar holder, silver and black, looking almost like a piece of oversized jewelry. But it's more than just a place to put your smoke (up to Churchill size). It has everything at the ready for you to enjoy your
cigar.
The extendable tube has a lighter attachment, a triple torch that makes sure you're never reduced to having to borrow someone else's lighter or ask for a match. In addition, the Punch Cutter at the bottom means that your cigar is just a twist of the wrist away from being ready to smoke.
There are plenty of great
cigar accessories for sale here, but what I like about this is that it's a quick and portable resource for me when I'm on my way out the door and want to make sure I have a cigar and the requisite gear at the ready, but don't want to overload my pockets. As long as I make sure there's always a cigar in there, I know that it will take just a few seconds to ensure that everything I'll need to smoke my cigar is right there for me when the occasion arises.
If you have quality cigars, you also want to make sure they are cared for properly. The
Hemingway Executive Traveler Sampler takes both needs into account, combining 10
premium cigars with a travel case to put them in.
Each sampler comes with 10
Arturo Fuente Hemingway cigars: two
Hemingway Classic cigars, two
Hemingway Best Seller cigars, three
Hemingway Signature cigars and three
Hemingway Short Story cigars. That's 10 excellent sticks from Arturo Fuente, enough for several smoking sessions with friends and family.
Obviously you don't need me to go on too long about
Arturo Fuente cigars and how good they are, because I've done it dozens of times here already, but especially when you're looking at options for gifts or special occasions it's critical to look at reliability. You know exactly what you're getting with a Fuente cigar, something excellent and hand-made that will be a pleasure to smoke. This is no exception.
Of course, unless you are lucky enough to live close to all your friends and family, odds are good that you have to travel to get to see them. That's where the travel case comes in. More than a simple holder, this is an aluminum travel humidor that will keep each cigar fresh until you're ready to light up.
Particularly around the holidays, this is a combination that is tough to beat. And at just around $80, it's a great price as well. And doesn't a good deal always make
premium cigars taste even better?
For those of you who smoke
cigars while you golf, here's a question: How do you handle your cigars while you're preparing to hit?
I mostly keep mine in the cart, balanced carefully to avoid messiness, especially when I'm on the fairway. It doesn't take me that long to hit, and if I bring it with me I can't
make a powerful stroke without ruining the
cigar. Before long, my teeth have nearly bitten through it, and it's unfit for further smoking. Some may argue that this is because my golf swing is too tense and I need to relax as part of my ballstriking routine, which is a fair point, but that is unlikely to change in the near future given the lack of success previous attempts to improve my golf game have had.
The exceptions are on the tee and on the green, since I never know how long it will be until it is my turn to hit, and in the case of the green I don't know how long it will take me to finish (sometimes it feels like hours). In those cases, I have a divot repair tool that doubles as a de facto cigar holder, to keep it nearby without getting it in contact with the pesticides, bird droppings, and whatever else has been scattered on the grass.
What do you do? Are you one of those people who can mash the ball 300 yards off the tee with a
cigar in your mouth and not even dent the wrapper? If so, what's your secret?
While the most treasured
cigar ashtrays are probably the ones that a child made for you in art class or in summer camp once upon a time, when smoking was more accepted and children still made them in arts and crafts, these days you have to consider both form and function when deciding which ashtray to use in a particular setting.
I love the Xikar Ceramic cigar ashtrays. The one I use is the
Xikar Havana Collection Black Ceramic model, for a number of reasons. I like how the four grooves that serve as a cigar holder to help keep my cigar from falling into the ash bin before its time, and it looks stylish.
It might not be lovingly made by a grade-schooler, but it gets the job done by keeping my cigar fresh and the ash away. Can’t ask for too much more than that.
We all know people who are the early adopters of technology, the ones with more electronics and prototypes in their car than most of us have in our office buildings. Fortunately, if they smoke, there are plenty of
great gifts for the gadget guy that will satisfy their need for something new and interesting while also being a nice asset to their cigar smoking experience.
Consider the
Rocky Patel Chairman Carbon Fiber Tube L. It’s a futuristic-looking cigar holder and a triple torch with a punch cutter to boot, making this a portable all-in-one cigar smoking apparatus.
Or for someone you know casually but don’t want to drop a lot of money on, how about the
Vertigo by Lotus Bullet Dual Torch Light? This Thompson Lotus Lighter has a dual butane torch with built-in cigar cutter, with the vintage logo on the side. It’s a nice way for the recipient to casually impress the next time someone asks them for a light.
There are a number of other great options here that will allow you to do your shopping at the cigar store rather than having to wander into Best Buy and risk getting lost among the DVDs and flash drives.
It didn't take long for me to realize a plastic bag filled with cigars isn't going to get me many points in the cigar world, no matter what it's filled with; in comes the Andre Garcia
cigar case from
Thompson Cigar.All of the
cigar cases offered by Garcia fit either three or four cigars. If you ask me, that is perfect for a good weekend trip. Being able to conveniently (and may I say stylishly?) carry your cigars when you're on the move is something that can really come in handy plus, who wants to ruin great cigars that got lost in the shuffle?
All things considered, these quality
brown or black leather cigar cases are fun to have and will really come in handy for the man that loves cigars - - in one piece! Currently we're only offering eight different styles of cases from
Andre Garcia brand however more are to come so check em' out and save your sticks!
