Why I Snub Cigar Snobbery

Given today's anti-tobacco legislative and tax climate, the LAST thing we need is snobbery. That old image of cigars as a rich man's diversion has got to go; if anything, it's just another arrow in the quiver of the anti-smoke Nazis. Despite what "they" would have you believe, cigars are more blue collar then blueblood.

A couple weeks ago I got a call from Rob Heming of the Blowin' Smoke Podcast. He had received several emails and phone calls decrying cigar snobbery, specifically that old gem, "if you can't afford to smoke brand x, you have no business smoking cigars." These guys always do a great job talking cigars, but this podcast in particular is worth a listen.

That argument is the kind of horse$#!t spewed by cigar "smokers" more concerned with status than enjoyment. If a cigar is good, does it matter what's on the band? Famous Smoke Shop buyer Jeff set the record straight.

Famous Smoke Shop is but one company striving to make cigars affordable to those who enjoy them. Smart buying allows us to pass on the savings, which is exactly why we:

• create private labels with manufacturers like Don Pepin Garcia and Rocky Patel, many of which are identical (or nearly identical) to national brands.
• buy up seconds and closeouts of perfectly good quality.
• obtain exclusivity on formerly-national brands like CAO CX2, CAO Vision, Carlos Toraño Signature, and Perdomo Cuban Parejo.

So the next time you're at the shop or a herf and hear someone waxing classist, take a moment to educate them. Cigars are about tobacco, not marketing, and anyone who thinks otherwise has clearly got a thing or two to learn.