Episode 94
Beginner Cigars for Newbies, Tips and Tricks | Box Press 94
How do you pick a cigar that's right for you, especially if you're new to cigar smoking? Learn the top things to know before you shop for cigars. Includes helpful questions what to say when the humidor manager asks, "May I help you." Hosted by Boveda's Nate Beck and Rob Gagner.
Pick up a Boveda Humidor Bag to store those cigars you pick up at the smoke shop. A Boveda Humidor Bag makes a great first humidor, plus it's preloaded with a Boveda cigar humidity pack. Boveda preserves cigars by making sure they're well-humidified. If you don't store cigars with Boveda, cigars can be can be hard to light, burn to too fast or get moldy. Boveda has been keeping cigars tasting great for more than 25 years. Boveda Protects Premium Cigars. Guaranteed.
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00:00 " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">00:00 Cold open
00:18 " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">00:18 How to buy your first cigar
00:41 " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">00:41 Key flavors in cigars
01:24" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">01:24 The foods you like are linked to cigars
03:05" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">03:05 Best beginner cigar for under $10
03:44" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">03:44 Focus on taste, not strength when you pick a cigar
04:15" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">04:15 What size cigar is good for a new smoker?
04:32" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">04:32 How to get rid of queasiness from a cigar?
05:09" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">05:09 When do you take the band off of a cigar?
06:34" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">06:34 How to put out a cigar
07:58" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">07:58 Stick to major classic brands if you're new to cigars
09:19 " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">09:19 Why you need a cigar journal log book, like Big Sally's Diary, Cigar Edition
12:20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">12:20 #1 thing to know to smoke good cigars
Transcript
- There's a story inside every smoke shop
Speaker:with every cigar and with every person
Speaker:come be a part of the cigar lifestyle of Boveda.
Speaker:This is Box Press.
Speaker:(bright music)
Speaker:If you are out there looking for that beginner cigar,
Speaker:my first question to you is like what kind
Speaker:of spirits do you drink?
Speaker:if you don't drink what kind of coffee do you drink?
Speaker:And what are you looking for in as far as flavor?
Speaker:Like are you looking for some flavors to come through
Speaker:and just stick to the basics.
Speaker:You know, you got leather, cocoa
Speaker:you got spice and creaminess.
Speaker:You know, you just kind of have this like.
Speaker:- Yeah, what are some of the key flavors that you
Speaker:get when you're talking about cigars?
Speaker:Woody notes.
Speaker:- Yes.
Speaker:- Creaminess, spice pepper.
Speaker:- Yeah. - Can be in the same category.
Speaker:Earthy.
Speaker:- Yep.
Speaker:- Chocolate. - Yep.
Speaker:- Coffee could kind of fit in that same wheelhouse.
Speaker:You've got kind of herbal floral flavors
Speaker:that'd be a little smaller window
Speaker:but those are some of the key notes
Speaker:that you find when you're looking at flavor profiles.
Speaker:Especially like we've talked about that Cigar Sense
Speaker:and their flavor wheel.
Speaker:You know, nuts is another one.
Speaker:There's a lot of nuance
Speaker:and a lot of variety within the like nutty category.
Speaker:And I think Rob mentioned beverages.
Speaker:The same applies to the foods that you like to eat.
Speaker:You know, if you're a type of individual that eats
Speaker:cheese pizza, Fettuccine Alfredo, macaroni and cheese,
Speaker:chicken fingers, you know all of those,
Speaker:what I would think of as like really basic,
Speaker:kind of mild, maybe even bordering on bland a little bit
Speaker:you might wanna branch out every once in a while
Speaker:into something that's got a little bit of spice to it
Speaker:or it's got a little bit of, you know, punch.
Speaker:Like Rob and I have become really big fans.
Speaker:We were on our trip with Nick Hammond, our good buddy
Speaker:from England and we stopped in on our way home
Speaker:at a pizza place, a Neapolitan-style brick oven pizza joint.
Speaker:And none of the pizzas on the menu
Speaker:were really appealing to me.
Speaker:So I made one that I really like that's a favorite of mine.
Speaker:Anchovies, feta cheese, red onion, green olives.
Speaker:So you get a lot of these pungent,
Speaker:word I really love is piquant, like you know
Speaker:kind of tart, sour, briny flavors.
Speaker:But when it's done right, none of the things overpower
Speaker:because that feta kind of melds into the background.
Speaker:You get some saltiness and then you get
Speaker:the creamy cheese underneath and the tomatoes.
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:- And the breadiness of the crust-it gives this great round
Speaker:like wheel of flavor and it's fantastic.
Speaker:Now is everybody gonna order that?
Speaker:No, because I think anchovies are generally
Speaker:fairly off-putting
Speaker:for most people, but what you don't realize is
Speaker:that they're a flavor that sort of melds
Speaker:into the background if the balance is right.
Speaker:- But you could easily substitute green olives
Speaker:for that you know, kind of salty flavor
Speaker:if you're not that strong.
Speaker:Just looking up quick, you know, best cigars for beginners.
Speaker:And again, I see a lot of these kind of more mild
Speaker:looking cigars.
Speaker:- Right?
Speaker:- The darkest one on there is the La Aroma de Cuba.
Speaker:- Raw, raw, raw, raw.
Speaker:- Woo. - It's like saying rural.
Speaker:- But the wrapper on that is Broadleaf. Connecticut,
Speaker:Connecticut Broadleaf.
Speaker:But it's so good.
Speaker:So well-balanced.
Speaker:- Yep.
Speaker:- And it just like, you know eight bucks a stick,
Speaker:it's a pretty good cigar.
Speaker:- They've got the Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real.
Speaker:- Right.
Speaker:I just overall you gotta focus more on what are you used to,
Speaker:what are you looking for a far as taste?
Speaker:Really focus on taste.
Speaker:I do not like focusing on strength
Speaker:and those things because or or mouth feel like body.
Speaker:I'm like what?
Speaker:You know, what does that mean?
Speaker:You know how it lingers on your palate?
Speaker:To me as a beginner, I have no idea.
Speaker:I'm just looking at like flavor-wise,
Speaker:like what am I gonna get out of that cigar?
Speaker:Is it gonna be you know, more spicy forward
Speaker:like this [Henry Clay] War Hawk with a little bit
Speaker:more zing to it
Speaker:or is it gonna be smoother and creamier
Speaker:like the [Montecristo] Classic?
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:- That is where I would sit.
Speaker:- As our good friend Travis Pappenheim
Speaker:from Altadis educated us on
Speaker:is that buy a little longer cigar
Speaker:than you typically might buy,
Speaker:because you get a much cooler draw
Speaker:through that longer let's say Toro size and then just smoke
Speaker:as much as you're comfortable smoking, right?
Speaker:You get halfway through and you're like,
Speaker:"Ah I'm starting to feel a little lightheaded,"
Speaker:or "I'm starting to feel like it's hitting me
Speaker:a little bit harder."
Speaker:Grab a can of something sugary, Coke, Sprite
Speaker:Dr. Pepper, whatever you like.
Speaker:That'll really knock that queasiness off
Speaker:but just put the cigar down and walk away.
Speaker:You don't have to finish the whole thing.
Speaker:- I would say the number one cause to you not liking a cigar
Speaker:is probably the way you smoke it.
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:- If you're not digging it,
Speaker:it's probably because you're not keeping it cool enough,
Speaker:you gotta manage the temperature of it.
Speaker:You should be able to grab the cigar
Speaker:right behind where it's burning and not
Speaker:be like, oh I gotta put that down.
Speaker:Or it's really hot.
Speaker:- Like I'm taking off this band.
Speaker:And again, another lesson for beginners.
Speaker:Don't take off the bands until you get
Speaker:pretty close to the band.
Speaker:Because sometimes what can happen is that there might be
Speaker:a little bit of extra glue and if you try to take
Speaker:that off right away, you might actually peel
Speaker:a bit of the wrapper off and damage the cigar.
Speaker:If you wait until that, the cherry of that cigar
Speaker:gets a little closer, it warms up that glue
Speaker:and it just peels off super easily.
Speaker:But as I was doing that, this cigar is just warm.
Speaker:- Right - Burning beautifully.
Speaker:It's just warm - Really good cigars.
Speaker:What type of flavor do I want to get out of this?
Speaker:And you know, I guess you could say how long
Speaker:do you wanna smoke it?
Speaker:But then we go back to Travis's thing
Speaker:and it's like, just pick a bigger cigar
Speaker:and smoke so it's cool, it's easy to smoke.
Speaker:- Yep.
Speaker:- And then that way you're like, "Okay, I'm good."
Speaker:Like if you stop now you that's fine.
Speaker:- That's fine.
Speaker:For a long time I used to stop right before the main band
Speaker:because I didn't like how the cigar would get
Speaker:warmer down here.
Speaker:It was a little harder to hold.
Speaker:I smoke cigars much further down
Speaker:than I ever used to now because I just really
Speaker:like the flavor
Speaker:and I've learned how to manage that heat
Speaker:and there are some cool tools that you can use
Speaker:to allow you to smoke longer.
Speaker:Rob and I are both big fans of that Ciccar, the holder
Speaker:because it really does I think accentuate a lot of flavors.
Speaker:It lets you smoke really all the way down to the very end.
Speaker:But if you're done right here,
Speaker:just set that cigar down, don't smush it out.
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:- We often think that we gotta mash that cigar out,
Speaker:so it doesn't keep burning.
Speaker:- Don't do that.
Speaker:- But don't do that because what you do is one,
Speaker:all of those oils and sugars and some of that tar
Speaker:that's been mixing with your moisture and saliva,
Speaker:that's gonna create really acrid off-putting cigar smells.
Speaker:So the nice thing about a cigar is it will just go out
Speaker:all by itself.
Speaker:So when you're done just leave that cigar on the edge
Speaker:of the ashtray or just tip it in.
Speaker:That cigars just gonna go out and you'll be totally fine.
Speaker:- Right.
Speaker:- Plus you had a great thing that you have
Speaker:taught several newish sort of smokers
Speaker:by just setting that cigar down and letting it go out,
Speaker:that's a way that we can show respect to the couple hundred
Speaker:sets of hands that touched every one of these cigars
Speaker:that you're smoking.
Speaker:It's just a nod of respect to them
Speaker:that we're not smashing that-
Speaker:- It's not a cigarette
Speaker:- Piece of art that they created.
Speaker:- It's not easy, but it's also not that hard.
Speaker:Don't get too overcomplicated
Speaker:because it really is based on what types of flavor.
Speaker:And if you didn't get it right the first time
Speaker:go back and try something different.
Speaker:And ask your tobacconist to help you out.
Speaker:- And that's the learning process.
Speaker:That's, we don't learn things by succeeding.
Speaker:We learn things by failing.
Speaker:- Right.
Speaker:- So you might not get it right every time
Speaker:but you're gonna learn something new the next time
Speaker:and you're gonna learn a tip or a trick that works for you.
Speaker:And that's really what we're going for.
Speaker:- And here's the other thing I would say on that
Speaker:you know, picking a beginner cigar, I guess
Speaker:this something I overlooked would be maybe gravitate
Speaker:and go towards the brands that have been around for a while.
Speaker:Because the beautiful thing about that
Speaker:is they have cut their teeth in and out.
Speaker:They're consistent.
Speaker:The beautiful thing that I have there
Speaker:is I'm never probably gonna pick up
Speaker:a major brand cigar and go, I didn't like that
Speaker:based on construction.
Speaker:You might say, "I didn't really particularly like the flavor
Speaker:but you could still smoke it."
Speaker:Get all your money out of it
Speaker:and determine what about it did you like.
Speaker:What about it did you not like?
Speaker:Where did it fall flat?
Speaker:That's just gonna, that's more knowledge,
Speaker:more wisdom inside your own profile of what you like.
Speaker:- Yep.
Speaker:- So use that cigar to help you make
Speaker:your next purchase even better.
Speaker:- Yep, because if you can walk into a cigar shop
Speaker:and talk to that tobacconist or that humidor manager
Speaker:and say, "Hey you know what the last cigar I smoked
Speaker:was this one and these are the things
Speaker:I didn't care for about that cigar,
Speaker:but I liked these flavors.
Speaker:What could I smoke that would have that?"
Speaker:And not that they're gonna be more
Speaker:than happy to point you in a direction
Speaker:that's gonna give you the flavors that you want.
Speaker:- Right.
Speaker:To help you with beginner cigar stuff.
Speaker:- Oh, I love the name.
Speaker:- Yeah. Big Sally's Diary.
Speaker:- Come on, you Big Sally.
Speaker:- Caleb just sent me this.
Speaker:He's the creator of this.
Speaker:Sent me a really nice-
Speaker:- Oh, hand handwritten note?
Speaker:- Yeah, really awesome.
Speaker:- Who does that anymore?
Speaker:- I know Caleb Clark, he ended up making
Speaker:this Big Sally's Diary.
Speaker:He wanted to see, you know, obviously his-
Speaker:Oh yeah, even on the inside he wrote a really nice note.
Speaker:- That's awesome.
Speaker:- But it gets you pretty much, I mean the log book to me
Speaker:it shows you an example and then it also gives you
Speaker:some definitions.
Speaker:Some you can say like what cigars you liked,
Speaker:what ones you favored.
Speaker:- I like that.
Speaker:Cigars favored. Cigars not favored.
Speaker:- Right.
Speaker:- That's a great way of saying it.
Speaker:- Pretty easy.
Speaker:But I mean it, it goes all the way down to the brand
Speaker:the type, the style, the size, shade, wrapper,
Speaker:binder, filler
Speaker:if you can, if you know that.
Speaker:And then it's just like, you know, your raw smell,
Speaker:your overall taste, strength and then ash durability,
Speaker:which you know. And then I love this
Speaker:big section here of notes.
Speaker:You can just keep going with the notes and I love the fact
Speaker:that this can help you.
Speaker:Now the only thing that I think this is lacking
Speaker:is an opportunity to like stick the band somewhere.
Speaker:But you could just tape it.
Speaker:- Just Scotch Tape.
Speaker:- Yeah, you could tape it down here.
Speaker:There's no spot for it.
Speaker:Some of the other cigar journals that I've seen have a spot.
Speaker:- Get yourself a glue stick.
Speaker:- Yeah, glue stick.
Speaker:- If you have kids, raid your kids like, you know,
Speaker:crayon drawer and just grab a glue stick.
Speaker:- And the nice thing too is the definitions
Speaker:in the back. Cigar Aficionado on their website,
Speaker:they also have a really good definition spot.
Speaker:And then this is where, you know, you can just
Speaker:start listing those cigars that you really like
Speaker:and just say that brand, the style
Speaker:and then the page number.
Speaker:- That's cool man.
Speaker:- Which is great because all these are numbered.
Speaker:You can say, "Oh I really like that cigar and page 82."
Speaker:Boom and you can go to it and find out more about it.
Speaker:So really cool tool if you don't, you know, have this
Speaker:you can obviously just use a notebook.
Speaker:But this is nice because it's a little bit more
Speaker:put together.
Speaker:There's a outline that you just follow,
Speaker:you fill in the information
Speaker:and this should really help you get much better
Speaker:at understanding what cigars you like and what you
Speaker:don't like.
Speaker:- And it's a cool size, you know, it's small enough
Speaker:to put really in any backpack messenger bag.
Speaker:- Right. - It's not cumbersome.
Speaker:- And there's different cigar journals,
Speaker:like I said out there there's so many different ones
Speaker:and you can spend, you know a couple hundred bucks
Speaker:on a nice cigar journal if you really, really want to.
Speaker:- And you think of it you know, as a diary, like he wrote
Speaker:as in the note in the front that this is, you know
Speaker:hopefully something you can pass down to your child
Speaker:you know, your son or your daughter someday.
Speaker:And they can look at all the notes
Speaker:and think of all those memories that you had
Speaker:whether they smoke cigars or not.
Speaker:They now have a memory of your life
Speaker:through the cigars that you smoked.
Speaker:- So true.
Speaker:- I think that's really cool. - So true.
Speaker:So those are some of the tips and tricks
Speaker:we have for beginner cigars.
Speaker:We hope you enjoy your journey of smoking new cigars
Speaker:and as always, make sure they're protected by Boveda
Speaker:because it's the number one thing to help you
Speaker:smoke great cigars.
Speaker:- Absolutely.
