I find myself acquiring more and more
flavored cigars, even though I don't typically smoke them. Well-meaning friends and relatives pick them up for me on their travels, or I get them as gifts during the holiday season. Of course, I'm grateful for any cigars or
cigar accessories (hint, hint), and I do find that I know more people these days who prefer flavored cigars so I have been keeping them in my
humidor.
One recent bit of housekeeping I did as a result was to move all of my flavored cigars to their own humidor. Part of that was just an accounting trick -- that way I know where they are -- and part of it was a just-in-case fear that if I did not, the flavors would mix in with my regular cigars and I'd find my
Padron 1964 Aniversario cigars smelling and tasting like vanilla.
I should say, for the record, that I have not actually noticed that happening. I don't tend to age my cigars -- they don't stay in my
humidor for years or anything -- and I am definitely a smoker more than I am a collector. If you rotate your
cigars in and out frequently, this may not be an issue for you.
But because the flavored cigars are the ones that tend to stay around my humidor the longest, I invested in a
Zebra 50 Count Humidor. It was worth the peace of mind not to have to wonder whether I detected a hint of flavor in a premium cigar that was meant to stand well enough on its own.
As sure as the all-Christmas Music radio stations returning to the airwaves, a sign of the holiday season is the little Santa cap atop the logo of the
Thompson Cigar website. That's a not-so-subtle hint that it's time to start considering what
cigar gifts to give this December.
Indeed, to make it even easier, we now have a link for
top cigar gifts for the holidays. There, you'll find ideas that we think will be particularly appreciated by those on your holiday list. Each is a collection of fine
cigars or
cigar accessories that anyone would be grateful to receive -- and if you're lucky, to share.
Among the options you might like: The
La Gloria Cubana sampler.
This
cigar sampler features six limited edition
La Gloria Cubana cigars, plus a double-flame butane lighter to fire them up with. Everything comes in the stylish gift box you see here, colorful and compact, which will fit nicely under a tree or in any pile of presents. An added bonus: The box is see-through, so the cigars can be appreciated without taking them out and exposing them to the air right away. Particularly if you're giving these to someone who is away from their home, that will help these stay fresh until they can be placed in a
cigar humidor.
It's also very affordable at $39.99, making this one of the best-selling
cigar gifts on the site. There aren't many options more attractive for those looking to
buy cigar gifts online.
Many offices have charity drives this time of year, some of which are more elaborate than others. Ours is one of those that tuns into a competition where each division tries to raise more money than everyone else with various fund-raisers. A lot of these wind up being traditional events, like bake sales or used book sales, but there are also more social affairs like chili cook-offs and happy hours.
For this year's fund-raising drive, I'm suggesting something involving
cigars.
For a nominal fee, 100% of which will be given to the charity, I'll donate some
cigar bundles and the necessary accessories for an afternoon in the courtyard outside our building. Everyone can enjoy a
premium cigar and relax for some small portion of the afternoon, and if we combine that with a bake sale or wine sale it could raise quite a bit of cash.
Your office may not be quite that into the holiday charity drive, but there are other ways to make cigars part of your charitable giving. If your child's school holds a silent auction, for example, the
Classic Cherry Combo may be something that generates interest. It will likely fetch more than the $45 price tag, and because it includes both cigars and a humidor it is appealing to novice smokers as well as experienced ones.
I'm optimistic that my cigar day idea will be approved. After all, do we really need another bake sale this December? Aren't we all eating plenty of desserts on our own, between the Halloween candy, the pumpkin pie, and the Christmas cookies? I'm thinking folks might view
cigars as a nice change of pace.
If you're a newer
cigar smoker, you may be approaching the time of your first big humidor purchase. The holidays are a great time for a
cigar humidor upgrade, since everyone is in a giving mood and it's a great excuse for treating yourself -- or having someone else treat you, which is even better -- to something that's worthy of your growing collection.
But if you're new to the game, here's some advice. Get a bigger humidor than you think you need right this second.
I don't get any commission from selling
large humidors over small ones. But I do know from first-hand experience that getting something that seems "just right" right now means needing to buy another one sooner rather than later.
First of all, humidor capacity often isn't what you think. The maximum number of cigars that will fit in each depends on different variables, like the size and gauge of each. Besides, you don't really want your cigars jammed to the brim of the humidor -- it doesn't look as nice and it makes it easier to make a mistake and leave it open a crack at the end of the night.
Also, you'll find that you tend to acquire cigars much faster than you think, particularly once everyone knows you smoke. Unless they really know their stuff, most folks won't give you single cigars as gifts -- you'll get
cigar samplers, or
Cigar of the Month Club offerings. Those can pile up in a hurry, and you'll need to store them somewhere until you get a chance to enjoy them.
You may want to consider something like the
Lucky 7 humidor. It holds more than 200 cigars plus all the accessories you'll need, and even if you can't fill it right away, don't worry. It will be crowded soon enough.
Thompson Cigar has a lot of fun stuff to buy. I could and do spend hours looking through the various
premium cigars and
cigar accessories, and dream about who I can convince to buy me something off of my wish list for the holidays this December.
But not everything a cigar smoker needs is something flashy. Sometimes, you just need the gear to maintain the items you already have, or repair something that needs some tender loving care. That's why the Thompson homepage has that
Humidor accessories section.
OK, so nobody is asking Santa Claus for
Thompson Solution Plus humidifier gel. Everyone would rather get
cigars. But if you've ever had to deal with an over-saturated humidor, this is what you need to reactivate it to make sure those cigars are protected. And when that humidor needs a humidifier, the
La Veil DCH 210 humidifier gets the job done in a user-friendly, low-maintenance way that anyone can appreciate.
There are numerous other accessories available at Thompson Cigar that will keep your
humidors running at the right temperature with minimal fuss. Because what's the point of taking advantage of those great cigar deals if you don't have all that you need to take care of them once they arrive?
As I prepare for what will likely be another snow-filled freezing winter, one of my tasks is what I call "winterizing my
humidor." Which, as my wife notes, is a fancy way of saying "buying more cigars."
That's not far from the truth, but there's a method to it.
I know that I smoke more
cigars in the winter than I do in the summer, because I'm housebound more often. Cigars are one of the ways for me to relax when I can't go outside, and the worse the weather gets, the more I tend to break into the
humidor. It's one of the few things that makes the cold winter rain and ice bearable.
In the winter, I am also more likely to be doing tasks I don't necessarily like that I want to reward myself for completing -- shoveling the driveway deserves a cigar, for example, unless we get two feet of it like we did a year ago in which case it deserves three cigars. And yes, that's how many I smoked as I shoveled out from the back-to-back blizzards. Helped me forget I was cold.
Even when it doesn't drop from the heavens like that, however, I know that I'm less likely to bother going out for cigars or
cigar accessories when it's below freezing. And even though I know that I can
buy cigars online in any weather as long as my Internet works, I feel better knowing that I have them right there when I need them.
Particularly with the holidays getting closer on the horizon, it's important not to forget all of the
gift-buying opportunities that you'll find at the
Thompson Cigar Outlet.
You'll find a little bit of everything here. Cigars in either
boxes or
bundles,
samplers,
humidors,
cigar accessories ... anything you need, you'll find it here. And of course, because it's an
outlet store, you're sure to get some great prices.
A lot of people head to the outlet mall around this time to get some shopping done. We have one of the largest in the country an hour from my house, and I can't say strongly enough that this is not a good idea if you want to avoid being driven insane by filled parking lots, mobbed stores, and hastily-eaten greasy chicken in the food court. Stay in the comfort of your own home, take advantage of your favorite
online cigar store and get your shopping done the easy way.
When we think of cigar accessories, we think of items like humidors, ashtrays, cigar lighters and cigar cutters. But actually, the cigar itself plays an important role for many smokers as an accessory to their conversation.
Maybe it's just me, since I'm an animated talker, but I sometimes use my cigar as a prop as much as I use it for the sheer enjoyment of the smoke. I use it as an extension of my hand when I'm demonstrating a point, pause to grip it thoughtfully when I'm considering the merits of an opposing argument, and occasionally even jab it at someone when I get a little carried away.
Fortunately, I haven't yet done damage to anyone's clothing or person with the business end of the cigar, although knowing me that's just a matter of time and I should probably tone it down. But it's no accident that so many comics, from Groucho Marx to the present, have brought cigars onstage to accentuate their stage performance. Sometimes, a cigar can be a lot more than a cigar.
The great thing about cigars as compared to wines is that a large collection can be stored in a smaller space. You don't need to carve out a wine cellar in the basement, and even a large collection can be stored in something that looks and fits as classy as any bookshelf.
If you smoke enough that you’re looking at
large humidors, Thompson has plenty of options for you. Each will protect your prized smokes, and what’s more, they will do it in style.
For example, take a look at the
AV-5000 4000 Count Display Humidor. It’s a beautiful piece of furniture, and … oh, it will also display and protect up to 4000 of your finest cigars. It serves as a conversation piece as much as it does a cigar storage unit, and is a great addition to your home office.
If you don’t need anything quite that big, try the
Lucky 7 Humidor. It holds up to 200 cigars, plus all of the
cigar accessories you need. And at $99, it’s a great deal for something that is both beautiful and functional.
If you're like me, you like to take a few cigars (or perhaps a cigar bundle) with you on the road. It makes a business trip a little more relaxing, and who has the time to scout out cigar shops near the hotel?
I've learned some hard lessons about traveling with cigars, however. A decade ago, I was best man at my brother's wedding, and brought cigars on the plane to his bachelor party.
Unfortunately I had placed them in my checked suitcase without adequate protection from the elements. While they looked fine, they started to come apart soon after being lit thanks to the extreme temperature changes they endured on the flight. Now I know better, and carry them on with all the protection they need to survive the journey. I use the
Xikar Havana Case for short trips, and can vouch for its ability to take a beating and still keep my cigars fresh, but any reliable
travel humidor will do the job.
Another hard lesson came at the expense of one of my best
torch lighters, which now resides somewhere in the security area at Dulles Airport thanks to my decision not to take it out of my pocket before travel. That was just a brain cramp, but don't suffer one of your own -- play it safe and leave the
cigar lighters at home. Use matches instead, or just buy a cheap replacement when you get to your destination. When in doubt, leave the
cigar accessories at home -- even if you're a lawyer, you'll have little luck getting your possessions past a security agent who is determined to confiscate that treasured
cigar cutter.
This nifty little
Xikar humidifier is made specifically for those cigar lovers out there who fill their humidors to maximum capacity and no longer have enough room for the rather inconveniently shaped standard humidifier.
You see, for this cylindrical humidifier, all you need is room for a single cigar, because that's more or less the size of this convenient cigar humidification device.
This
"Drymistat" humidifier will keep up to 75 or more cigars at the proper humidity. If you want more options I suggest using
TCC Humidifier Solution as that will do the trick as well.
Simply throw this cigar-sized humidifier in with the rest of your cigars, and you'll have an optimum humidity for months.
See the price on this humidor accessory
See all humidor accessories offered by Thompson Cigar.
It's probably not a huge surprise that I am a giant fan of
cigars; all cigars, I try my hardest not to discriminate (although
Rocky Patel will always have a very special place in my heart!). If you asked my colleagues when I started smoking, they would probably guess that I started smoking when I started here at
Thompson Cigar, however how wrong they are! I started smoking a little over 10 years ago (working here for three) so I've been buying cigars for quite some time. With all of that said, I know what it's like to crave a great cigar but not the high price tags. This is where the Thompson Cigar Auction comes into play, saving you boatloads of cash.
The
Cigar Auction site is your one stop online auction where you can bid on all of your favorite
cigars,
humidors,
cigar memorabilia, cigar accessories, and more for great deals you can't find anywhere else! Most cigar auctions start at just $1.00 and inventory turns quickly as there are literally thousands of cigars and cigar products just waiting for your bid! Shop top of the line smokes,
cigar lighters,
ashtrays, humidors and
humidor accessories, and so much more - and get them all at the price you want! To start bidding now, register here.
Do you love cigars but not the prices? Well, I've got great news for you!
Thompson Cigar offers cigars and cigar products at heavily discounted prices in their
Outlet that is updated daily. Only here can you shop big and save bigger! Find savings on premium name cigars, including Gurkha, Partagas, and H. Upmann, as well as a wide selection of
cigar samplers,
cigar gifts,
cigar cases,
cigar accessories,
cigar humidors, and
cigar combos. From
final markdowns to
newly added items, you'll find everything you need and want from Thompson Cigar at unbeatable deals.
No experienced cigar smoker wants to be surprised by the initial taste of a dry, stale cigar from his humidor. Thompson Cigar has researched and designed our own special crystals and humidifying solution specifically designed to keep this misfortune from occurring.
Many other products will work too hard, causing your cigars to become too wet or even grow fungus. But our product will never get ahead of itself. Probably the best feature of the crystals is that they emit moisture only when needed, which keeps your humidor at the perfect humidity level of 70%. After you add the solution to the crystals, the crystals will last 90 days before requiring a recharge. Apart from the cigars themselves, this is the most important asset of your humidor.
Consider which package to purchase based on the size of your humidor:
For 100-count humidors
For 50-count humidors
Extra bottles of solution
Humidor accessory kit (made complete with hygrometer)
The Crystal Humidifier is the perfect way to protect your cigars not only from dryness, but also from becoming too wet. All things considered, it could improve the taste and enjoyment of your cigars significantly.
