u/CigarStudent

We all have our own little rituals. The way we select, how we sit, the drink we pair with, the music or audiobook in the background, the cut we use, the lighter we grab... the "ritual" of having a cigar is part of the enjoyment.

What are your little rituals for when you indulge?

Show off your collections! Whether big or small, whether common or rare, or just the things you're most fond or proud of: there's no judgment here.*

* Excluding Oliva fans, obviously. We're judging you.

Are you a humidor enthusiast?

A tupperdor afficionado?

A winedor-o?

An electric humidor lucky bastard?

Do you yolo and keep them out naked?

Or do you only keep enough on hand for the week and go buy more?

How do you store your cigars?

In a fairly oppressive environment, where "smoking" is assumed to = cigarettes chop or vapes, and cigars unfamiliar to many, how do you approach telling people you're into cigars? Is it your secret hobby or do you flaunt it? What kind of reactions have you received?

Many of us have been there.

Check the blend, read the reviews, order the stick... and it falls flat. Sometimes because of circumstances. Sometimes because it's just a bad cigar.

Or the opposite happens, you spring for something random... and it's magnificent.

What are your biggest impulse buy swings and misses?

People wax lyrical about some of the flavour (tasting) notes they can get off cigars. Hints of cinnamon, lashings of dark chocolate, richness of coffee, the essences of barnyard and hay.

Some people get them. Some people don't. Lots of people don't even get the same notes off the same cigar (particularly Cuban where QC and vintage have a lot more influence).

Do you believe in flavour notes / tasting notes? Or are they just for the pretentious?

Many of us know the usual facts shared around as gospel.

• You need to keep humidity at 70F/70RH. Or is it 65/65 now? Hold on, aren't Cubans meant to be 62?
• It's not mould, it's pluuuuuuuuuume, you uneducated heathen. (EDIT: /s because some people don't seem capable of understanding unlabelled sarcasm)
• Yellow flame lighters are better than blue flame lighters.
• God help you if you use a Zippo lighter (unless it has a butane insert).
• Oliva is the best value cigar brand.
• Etc.

It's time to challenge the popular. What are your unpopular cigar opinions?

Some of us share reviews (to greater or lesser longwindedness) on this sub, or find reviews elsewhere on Reddit.

Some like the Katman, some don't like his style.

Some swear by reviewers like Developing Palates, or Blind Man's Puff, or other review websites.

No one seems to take Cigar Aficionado seriously.

I like watching Holt's YouTube channel, but have to discount some of what they say based on a lot of their cigars being made by the same parent company that owns Holts (Ashton, San Cristobal, LADC).

Do you trust cigar reviews? Who do you trust?

This is a tough question in a country like Australia where taxes are so high an Oliva can cost more than a Davidoff. But we'll try anyway.

Some people gravitate to the perceived 'higher end' of cigars - your Cohiba, Opus X, Davidoff, and so on. Others enjoy the (relatively speaking) 'cheep and cheerful' range, where (in other countries anyway) you might find the likes of Drew Estate, AJ Fernandez, Oliva, etc. (Not saying that everything they make is cheap and cheerful - just that they have a strong presence at that range.)

Are more expensive cigars better?

Some people swear by aging. Cubans are the traditional target, but non-Cuban cigars such as the Padron X000 series or Fuente Opus X are also frequently mentioned as benefiting from a long rest.

Of course, there's always the chance that you wait too long, and the cigars turn to paper, much like the reviews today of Cuban-era Davidoff that have lost their flavour...

What are your experiences with aged cigars? Where do you stand?

(Also, don't forget to participate in our Monthly discussion - this month we're recognising our favourite vendors.)

Some people talk to their B&M.

Some people buy only singles or samplers of everything and rarely go back to the same cigar twice.

Some people try to guess based on brand, wrapper, binder, filler, etc. what they might like next.

Some people, once they've found what they like, stick to that and nothing else.

How do you decide what to buy next?

It's regularly suggested (including in u/CigarStudent's Quick Start Guide to Cigars in Australia for Absolute Newbies on this very sub /shamelessplug) that people have some light snacks to the side while enjoying a cigar, both to help counteract potential nic queasiness, and also just because snacks are awesome. Some of us may even be lucky enough periodically to have a cigar with a full meal.

We talk plenty about drink pairings, but what's your go-to food/snack pairing?

There's not a lot of money to be made on cigars (in Australia, anyway - overseas vendors likely have it a lot better). For what many of them do, it's for love of the game, not the margin to be made.

Some vendors go above and beyond with the experience they give you.

Some vendors always have what you want in stock.

Some vendors are just cheap, and we love them for it.

There's lots of scattered posts and comments praising certain vendors if you search, but let's bring it all together and shout out specific vendors (whether Australian or international) that you find outstanding.

The age old question.

Some say bigger is better, waiting for those experiences which you need to take long and slow to make sure you get the most enjoyment out, lest you rush it and hurt yourself. But I'm sure we've all been there where we've had a big stick that, when it came time to perform, fell flat on us.

Others will try to convince you that something more 'average' feels better in the hand and hit all the right places without overstaying its welcome. But there's nothing more frustrating than it being over all too quickly and leaving unsatisfied.

So... is it about the size, or about how you use it?