Most people use "stogie" and "cigar" as synonyms. Frankly, you could look at the content on this blog and note that I am often guilty of that myself. But in fact, historically the word "stogie" refers to a specific type of smoke, and has story that reveals a little slice of Americana.
"Stogie" is short for Conestoga, the name for the valley in Lancaster, Pa. that was a cigar-making hotbed back in the day, as well as the wagons that transported people across distances in the 19th century. Stogies generally have both ends clipped during the manufacturing process, making them cheaper to roll by machine, and therefore are usually cheaper to make and inexpensive to buy.
A typical stogie is short (less than 6.5 inches), with a ring gauge from 33 to 37. It's designed as something to be smoked on the run if need be, by folks who want both good tobacco and good value and don't have an hour to sit and marvel over their cigars.
Nowadays, stogie has taken on a couple of other connotations. As noted above, it's become a synonym for any cigar, and it's also specifically been used as a pejorative for a cheap or less-well-made cigar. Do me a favor, and don't use it in either of those contexts when making conversation. It sounds silly to refer to your full-size Arturo Fuente cigar as a "stogie" at the cigar lounge, and it's an insult to the fine makers of smaller, thinner cigars to assume that they are anything but fine smokes.
"Stogie" is short for Conestoga, the name for the valley in Lancaster, Pa. that was a cigar-making hotbed back in the day, as well as the wagons that transported people across distances in the 19th century. Stogies generally have both ends clipped during the manufacturing process, making them cheaper to roll by machine, and therefore are usually cheaper to make and inexpensive to buy.
A typical stogie is short (less than 6.5 inches), with a ring gauge from 33 to 37. It's designed as something to be smoked on the run if need be, by folks who want both good tobacco and good value and don't have an hour to sit and marvel over their cigars.
Nowadays, stogie has taken on a couple of other connotations. As noted above, it's become a synonym for any cigar, and it's also specifically been used as a pejorative for a cheap or less-well-made cigar. Do me a favor, and don't use it in either of those contexts when making conversation. It sounds silly to refer to your full-size Arturo Fuente cigar as a "stogie" at the cigar lounge, and it's an insult to the fine makers of smaller, thinner cigars to assume that they are anything but fine smokes.
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