There are a number of different types of cigars in this line, which comes from the always-stellar Camacho factory. But the general premise is simple. A baccarat cigar has a sweet tip and mild Honduran tobaccos that offer a mild flavor and a smooth finish. In short, it’s a great introductory cigar for anyone.
I especially love to break out a Baccarat cigar for people who I know don't smoke much, or who I think will appreciate a less-heavy cigar. The sweet tip takes away some of the harshness that other cigars may input for a non-smoker, and the mildness makes it unlikely to offend. It gives me that extra option to ensure that everyone will have something to enjoy on the deck or around the poker table, which helps keep the evening flowing smoothly.
You can tell a lot about a cigar’s character from first glance, first taste and first smell. The Augusto Reyes Nativo cigar is one cigar that hits the nail on the head from all angles. First glance reveals a beautifully rolled Corojo wrapper, showing expert craftsmanship of this Dominican puro. First taste hits you with a nice, mildly spicy note and the smell of the pre-lit tobacco is just divine.
From the start, the cigar is mild and creamy with a very easy draw that quickly opens to a rich and smooth tasting cigar. With hints of licorice that progressively become more dominant and incorporate hints of leather and spice, each puff on this cigar produces massive amounts of smoke that leave you wanting more. While the Augusto Reyes cigar is advertised as a medium-bodied smoke, being a full bodied smoker myself, I can say that this cigar has what it takes to satisfy all palates as it is not too overpowering for someone who likes mild cigars. The burn is very even throughout and the draw remains perfect to the unfortunate end. Rated 91 by Cigar Aficionado, this premium Dominican cigar is an outstanding value you can’t afford to let pass you by. Pick up an August Reyes cigar for yourself and see what all the hype is about.
If you are buying cigars for a wedding, you can go
in two different directions. You can be egalitarian and purchase enough for everyone, or make it more of an honorific and just take care of the wedding party.
If you plan on giving cigars as a wedding favor, go with something like a Baccarat cigar. These are mild enough that a casual smoker will approve, and cheap enough that you won't start to seethe when guests take a couple of puffs and then snuff them out.
On the other hand, if you're buying cigars for the groomsmen and honored guests only, you have to go with something more elite. How about the Padron Serie 1926-9 Natural Toro? It was named Cigar of the Year in 2007, and is truly one of the finest cigars available.
Also, make sure you have cigar cutters on-hand, as well as enough cigar lighters and ashtrays for everyone to use. That way, everyone will get to enjoy a great smoke to go with the rest of the celebration.
Phillies Cigars are a sweet treat when you're craving a flavored cigar. Coming in a variety of shapes, sizes and wrappers, these little blunts pack a big punch at a small price. Produced in Puerto Rico, Phillies cigars feature tobacco filler from the Dominican Republic and Honduras for the perfectly mild-bodied taste.
"The Phillie Strawberry Blunts are one of my favorite cheapie smokes, but are getting pretty pricey if you pay-at-the-pump. Finding that Thompson Cigar had them in Boxes online for about 1/2 the price was a huge bonus. I bought a box for me - enjoyed them - and then turned around and bought a box for my uncle - perfect gift!"
Phillies cigars are advertised for the "value-conscious smoker" and while I believe this to be true, I think that only accounts for half the Phillies smokers out there. The reality is that every cigar brand has a demographic and Phillies is dominated by a younger, hipper group. How many cigar smokers out there start off with a Cohiba or Ashton cigar? Every cigar smoker starts off somewhere and for many that somewhere was a gas station Phillie or Swisher Sweet. Either way, these little cigars pack a lot of flavor at a cheap price, sure to keep you and your wallet happy.
One of the treasured pictures in my study is from our softball championship a few years ago. We had fallen just short of the Loudoun County (Va.) title for a few seasons in a row, including bowing out as the top seed the previous year when some of our best players were overseas and missed the game. So the victory was extra sweet.
So sweet, in fact, that one of the guys in charge brought cigars. They were White Horse Maduro Toros, a really nice stick and one of many cigars for sale about $1.50 a stick, and everyone lit up as soon as we got to the bar, before the drinks even arrived.
The picture is of the whole team in our softball jerseys, pitchers and glasses of beer surrounding us with the trophy smack in the middle of the table as we smoke away. It’s on my desk at home, and is a great reminder of what the team did – and of a pretty fabulous cigar as well.
There aren’t many people who aren’t trying to save money these days, and little luxuries like cigars are no exception. Obviously it helps to make your purchases at Thompson Cigars, which I’m guessing you know about since you’re here, because the prices are low and there’s the best guarantee in the business. But there are some additional tips that can help save you additional cash as well.
If you can, buy cigars in bulk (even a box at a time as opposed to individually). That saves a ton over smaller purchases. Even if that means you have to buy a humidor to store them in, the added cost of that will pay for itself quickly.
Also, check out theCigar Outlet, the Cigar Auction, and the daily deals. All of these are ways of picking up quality cigars at a fraction of the price you would pay at most stores, which will help anyone’s bottom line.
It's no surprise that the name of one of the greatest horses of our generation is "Cigar." The image of a gambler at the track smoking cigars and reading the racing form is an iconic one in the United States.
That’s because it’s a natural combination. Horse racing is an outdoor activity, and a tout would spend their time as close to the horses as possible, looking for any edge in either the animal or his jockey. With their cigar lighter at the ready for a fresh smoke, they would nervously eye the competition, place their bets at the last minute, and puff furiously as the animals raced around the track. At the finish, they’d either go collect their winnings or tear up the losing tickets.
Now, of course, a lot of the betting takes place in OTB parlors, and horse tracks are having a harder time coming up with the purses needed for big races. But if you go to the track – and everyone should every now and then – feel free to light up a fine Dominican cigar, stand by the rail, and curse your bad luck like your grandfather and grandfather did before you.
Introducing someone to the world of cigar smoking is a big job, one that carries a lot of responsibility. Among the key questions is: what kind of cigars are good for beginners to get a feel for the joys of cigar smoking without getting scared away by either the cost or the flavor of the smokes.
The first thing to remember when buying for a beginner is that you want them to enjoy the experience. Don't let them buy something super cheap from the local drug store. They aren't going to like it, and it will take them a long time to come back. Instead, steer them towards something a little nicer, with a mild natural flavor that is smooth and enjoyable.
I’ve always had luck with Baccarat Cigars, especially since the sweet tip is a pleasant start to the smoking experience for a newcomer. I’m also a big fan of the Casa Torano, which is great to smoke and pleasantly mild, though it’s a little more expensive so I try to make sure that the person I am giving it to will find it worthwhile. The price on those is very reasonable if you’re a smoker, but may cause a sticker shock to someone whose only experience looking at cigar prices comes from looking at those cheapies at the gas station.
I’m not as big of a fan of Flavored Cigars for beginners, though many would disagree. I usually have some on-hand if they are requested, but I like to offer something more natural for their first cigar-smoking experience. After that, hopefully they’ll enjoy it enough to start leading the way.
Much like mixing wine and food has become a science many leave to sommeliers, cigars also tend to pair best with certain fruits of the grape. However, there’s no need to make this rocket science, as there are general rules that usually hold true.
Cigars tend to be bad mixes with champagne and sparkling whites (which is why you need to be careful about when to bust them out at a wedding). The combination has a strange effect on the palate, and you probably won't be able to enjoy either. If you’re smoking at a special occasion – and why wouldn’t you – wait a bit after the champagne toast before whipping out the cigar cutter.
The best choice, rather, is a robust red, strong and flavorful enough to go toe-to-toe with a fine cigar. I like to pair Padron Cigars with a Malbec, because the flavors complement each other nicely. Add a medium-rare steak and a Caesar salad, and that’s about as good a meal as I could ask for.
Question of the day: Where is your favorite place to light up?
For me, it's outside on the deck. Lighting up cigars there is always relaxing. I’m at home, I have my beverage of choice at my side, the weather is nice enough to hang around and commune with nature for a bit, and for a brief few minutes all is right with the world. It is always how I spend my nights after a stressful day, as with each puff of smoke and chirp from a cricket I can feel the tension melting away.
I also enjoy a good Cohiba in a good cigar bar, and I love to smoke when I’m playing cards. In those cases, the allure is as much the social aspect as it is the smoke – I’m there to hang out with others and enjoy the company. And I love to light up at a steakhouse, though that is becoming more and more difficult as the anti-smoking laws get more restrictive.
What about you? What is your favorite place to break out the cigar cutter, or take your favorite stick out of your cigar case?
I've had terrible luck in the past joining clubs. The automated shipments seemed impossible to change, they kept sending me things after I requested them not to, and it often seemed impossible to quit. I still have books on my nightstand that were sent to me in error, a prime reason why I am no longer a member.
However, the Thompson Cigar Club has been great. I get my favorite cigars on a regular basis, so I never run low (or, perish the thought, run out entirely) at an inopportune time. For someone like me who can be scatter-brained about all other topics when I’m on a work deadline and am focusing on that 24/7, this is a nice safety net to have.
I love the discounts, but just as important I love the convenience and the flexibility. I can delay or cancel a shipment with just a week's notice, something I just had to do because of a vacation. And there's the money-back guarantee, so I could send it back if I ever got a bad batch.
It’s a cigar club I’m proud to be a member of, and the cigars Thompson Cigar sends me are a lot more useful than those books were back in the day. And of course, they don’t last nearly as long.
I seem to buy a lot more rum over the summer and early autumn, so I spend more time than usual combining rum-based beverages and cigars. As you might expect from products made in the same region of the world, they tend to go pretty well together.
Strangely, however, most don’t associate rum with cigars. I blame the rum industry for part of that, since a lot of what you see here are the flavored rums, which don’t go as well with a robust smoke. Because of that, it’s also seen as a less serious beverage. That’s a shame, because a full-bodied or medium-bodied rum can be a rich and complex drink as good as any spirit.
My idiosyncrasy is that I like to pair rums and cigars from the same country. I like Dominican Cigars (like a nice Arturo Fuente Don Carlos) to go with Dominican rum, because I like the authenticity. I can close my eyes and imagine I’m actually there, instead of in the humidity of a Washington D.C. summer. Anything that can give that illusion for even a minute or two is worthwhile – and if you’re from around here, you know exactly what I mean.
John Gonzalez, Don Pepin's VP of Sales, was at Thompson Cigar's corporate office in Tampa last week and was kind enough to sit down for an exclusive interview. Mr. Gonzalez was fresh back from the IPCPR 79th Annual Convention and International Trade Show in New Orleans and had some new brands that he was excited to talk about! At the IPCPR they featured three new brands, My Father LTD Edition, Jamie Garcia and La Reloba. Watch the video below to learn more about the history of the three new Don Pepin cigar brands. The video also features information about some potential Don Pepin My Father cigars that will hopefully be available before the end of this year!
One day a few years ago, I was at a steakhouse in downtown Washington D.C. It was very late, and we were winding down the evening with cigars and after-dinner drinks. Suddenly, there was a hustle and bustle among the staff that was, shall we say, extremely unusual for that hour. The reason became clear within a few moments, as a tall, very recognizable man and his several retainers marched in and set up shop in a private room in the back.
We couldn't see much, obviously, but every now and then we caught a glimpse of the superstar in his VIP area, smoking away at a mammoth cigar. At one point, he looked at our table and nodded in camaraderie. Or maybe he was just talking to the guys he was with. Or maybe he was trying to get the attention of the women at the table. But I choose to think that he saw us with our Padron Cigars and recognized me as a fellow cigar aficionado, and wanted to recognize me accordingly.
And that, my friends, is what I talk about when I tell people I once smoked cigars with Michael Jordan.
That’s all I got. What’s your best cigar-smoking story?
Washington D.C. seems to be the allergy capital of the world, and I share a house with a wife and two children who suffer from allergies, asthma or both. As such I'm pretty sensitive as to how and where I smoke my cigars, as it doesn't take much to cause irritation, particularly in prime hay fever season. That's part of the reason I have a large collectin of Cigar Ashtrays, which helps keep the smell contained.
That's also why I'm such a big fan of the Lampe Berger Essential Square Set. It leaves wherever I’m smoking smelling fresh and clean, even after a roomful of poker players have been smoking for hours. It’s easy to manage, lasts up to 250 uses, and is a huge relief both to my allergy-suffering family and to those visitors who are sensitive to the odor of cigar smoke. It’s been a great addition to my study, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
For a sport that has more gadgets and gimmicks designed to improve your game than anything else on the planet (just watch the commercials on The Golf Channel and you'll see what I mean), one of the most basic swing aids are quality cigars. At least, that's what I've found in my golf experience.
A cigar is a relaxant for me. Golf, contrary to its billing, is not. I tend to get angry and frustrated when I play poorly, particularly from the tee or on the green, and that tends to make me play worse. When I’m angry at myself, I’m not hitting a nice, easy swing – I’m trying to hit it as hard as I can and as far as I can, which means people in adjacent fairways are in grave danger.
Gispert Cigars on the golf course tend to calm me down, and therefore helps mitigate the tension. Of course, I always try to have an extra cigar or two on hand in my Andre Garcia 3 Finger Smooth Black Leather Case, in case I get so mad at myself that I bite one in half accidently. Yes, that has happened to me. No, I'm not proud of it. But that kind of tension is why I need my cigar on the golf course in the first place.
If you’re like me, you like to travel with a few cigars. That’s fine for an overnight trip. But when you're going away for an extended period, for business or pleasure, how many cigars do you bring with you?
Personally, I very rarely bring more than five. That many can fit easily into my Xikar Envoy V carrying case, is easily findable in my carry-on, and lasts me for the trip out to wherever I’m going and the first day or two there. Though it can be a pain to search for new smokes in some areas, I tend not to like bringing cigars onto airplanes with the expectation that I’ll probably be bringing some of them back – if it does them no harm when stored properly, it does them no good either.
Of course, that depends on where I am going. Usually, cigars are plentiful, and I almost always have to go to a tobacco shop overseas anyway to get a phonecard, bus tokens, or whatever else I need to get around town. If I'm going somewhere where I suspect they will be hard to get, or cost a fortune, I might be persuaded to carry more, but in general I’m happy with my cigar case from Thompson Cigar. And, of course, I usually try to fill it with something different for the trip home.
Thompson Cigar’s trusted cigar expert, Al Remp, has been in the cigar business for over 50 years. He started out selling cigars out of the trunk of his car and moved on to work with many well-known cigar companies such as Davidoff and JC Newman before joining Thompson Cigar. Al has smoked almost every cigar that has been produced and has extensive insight into the cigar industry. He loves cigars so much and knows so much about them that he could talk about them all day, and sometimes he does if we don’t stop him! So finally, to his liking, Mr. Remp is being recognized for his immense cigar knowledge and will now be hosting Thompson Cigar's "Al Remp: Cigar of the Week Video Series." Al, himself, will be picking one complete cigar line a week that he finds enjoyable and would like his fellow cigar smokers to try. The whole line will be 15% off plus you'll get free shipping & handling on that in addition to anything else (no matter what brand) you order!
This week Al wants to start with one of his favorite smokes, an exclusive to Thompson Cigar, the Gurkha European Selection. The European Selection cigars have the largest cigar bands in history and three shapes that are available: Churchill, Torpedo, and Toro. Watch Al's video below to find out why he thinks the Connecticut is the perfect morning cigar and why he prefers the maduro wrapper for evening smoking. Remember: This week only get 15% off the ENTIRE Gurkha European Selection line and free shipping & handling on your Gurkha European Selection purchase plus anything else in your order (no matter what the brand is)!
It seems hard to believe given the long-time associated between cigars and golf, but a growing number of courses are banning smoking while on the premises. Part of that is because of the anti-smoking forces that are particularly active in some areas, but it also may be because not everyone is a courteous smoker on the course.
For example, when I was on the course recently, a group ahead of us was apparently puffing away throughout their 18 holes, because we found ash around every green and butts around several of them (and actually on the green twice). Not only is that rude, but it also messed up a couple of my putts. Or at least, that’s my excuse. Dispose of your ashes in a way that doesn’t use the greens, sand traps, or fairway as nature’s own cigar ashtray, and you’ll make the people in charge of maintaining the course, as well as your fellow golfers, much happier. Cigar ashtrays are your friends.
Also, if you’re sharing a cart with a stranger, ask if they mind you smoking cigars before lighting up. If they strenuously object, it will be worth the added expense to pay for your own cart and ride alone. Trust me on that one. I’ve learned from sad experience.
Make things easy on your fellow smokers, and don’t do anything that would encourage someone to throw up their hands and smoking cigars entirely. And if you see a less courteous cigar-smoker violate these suggestions, you might want to gently encourage them to smoke in a way that won’t affect their fellow golfers.
It is a measure of one of our failures as a society that now, when a new father announces the birth of a son or daughter, it usually takes the form of a mass e-mail rather than personalized cigars.
Sure, e-mail is fine for telling casual friends who live far away. But there’s a reason that it became a movie and TV cliché to see proud papas handing out the cigars as a baby announcement, and those who received them smiling and congratulating the lucky dad as he puffed.
Special occasions should be savored, and earn something more than a “CONGRATS!” e-mail. What better way to do so than by with a cigar, one that is worthy of enjoyment and reflection, possibly even reverence, like the event it is meant to honor.
If you’re an expectant parent, consider going old-school and passing out cigars. It’s a wonderful event that deserves more than the superficial response we see all too often today.
One of the treasured pictures in my study is from our softball championship a few years ago. We had fallen just short of the Loudoun County (Va.) title for a few seasons in a row, including bowing out as the top seed the previous year when some of our best players were overseas and missed the game. So the victory was extra sweet.
There aren’t many people who aren’t trying to save money these days, and little luxuries like cigars are no exception. Obviously it helps to make your purchases at 
It's no surprise that the name of one of the greatest horses of our generation is "Cigar." The image of a gambler at the track smoking 
I seem to buy a lot more rum over the summer and early autumn, so I spend more time than usual combining rum-based beverages and 
A cigar is a relaxant for me. Golf, contrary to its billing, is not. I tend to get angry and frustrated when I play poorly, particularly from the tee or on the green, and that tends to make me play worse. When I’m angry at myself, I’m not hitting a nice, easy swing – I’m trying to hit it as hard as I can and as far as I can, which means people in adjacent fairways are in grave danger.
It seems hard to believe given the long-time associated between 
Sure, e-mail is fine for telling casual friends who live far away. But there’s a reason that it became a movie and TV cliché to see proud papas handing out the 
