Cigars for beginners: get started in the stogie hobby quickly
If you're new to cigars, you probably have a bunch of questions on how to get started. I know I did. Unfortunately, most online cigar shops are only bombarding you with information on this, that, and everything. Luckily, I don't run a cigar shop. So, below is a handy checklist (with explanations) on what you should get, where you could get it, and what the prices will likely be.
What you'll need to get started
If you want to get started in the cigar smoking hobby as a beginner, you'll need to put the following items on your list...
- A humidor (to store your cigars)
- A humidifier (to keep your stogies at the right humidity level)
- A hygrometer (to make sure the humidity level is correct)
- A cutter (to cut your cigars)
- A lighter (or torch)
- An ashtray
- cigars!
You don't necessarily have to get these items all at once, though. In fact, most humidors already have a humidifier and hygrometer built in, so purchasing these is entirely optional. What's more, many online cigar stores tend to have some kind of "humidor combo deal" that will include many of the above items in one low-priced package!
Try to get a humidor combo deal
A humidor combo deal is a cheap cigar deal where you (usually) get a starter humidor, a lighter, a cutter, and a few stogies at a very reasonable price, about $50 or so. The items aren't necessarily top-shelf, but who cares? This combination deal will get you started in no time. The best time to score a deal like this is in the Spring, especially around May and June, but you may be able to find them at any time of year. To see if there are any humidor combo deals available right now, check the deals page here.
While a starter humidor will do great when storing your stogies, its humidifier usually isn't all that good. I usually suggest using a different method of humidification - for more information about humidifiers, click here.
The cutter and lighter
You use a cutter to cut the closed top off of the cigar when you're about to start smoking. There are different kinds of cutters, but the cutter that comes with a humidor combo deal will usually do the trick just fine. Still, if you're looking for a good cutter, I suggest getting a Colibri like these.
The lighter (or rather, torch) that comes with a humidor combo deal is usually pretty basic; mine stopped working pretty quickly and I went through several torches before I found one I liked. Granted, I probably broke mine quicker than usual because I didn't use it correctly LINK, but a cheap one-flame torch isn't the ideal way to light a cigar anyway. I eventually settled on this four-flame torch, which has lasted me a while already and works great.
The ashtray
In the beginning, any ashtray will do and before you get one, you might even simply drop the ashes into a drinking glass (I did, if only for the first week or so). Ashtrays are not usually part of a deal, so you'll have to find your own. There are many different options out there, so feel free to take your time and see if any particular one strikes your fancy. Pictured is the ashtray I picked, the humorously named Stinky.
Two observations of mine:
- I like "deeper" ashtrays like this Stinky because I live in a location with high winds and I don't like my ashes flying out of the ashtray;
- I found that the large rectangular ashtrays that you often see in cigar bars can have wobbly cigar holders - but they are really cool-looking too.
The most important part: the cigars
Many beginners to the hobby ask: which cigars should I buy? There's so much out there that it can be confusing to find what you might like.
My suggestion is to get any sampler that has a good variety of cigars in it, especially if they are from many different brands and in various sizes and strengths. I tend to like samplers that have well-respected brand names in them - look for names like Cohiba, Diesel, AJ Fernandez, CAO, 5 Vegas, Oliva, Alec Bradley, Partagas, Punch, Camacho, Rocky Patel, Romeo y Julieta, San Lotano, La Gloria Cubana, Tatuaje, Don Pepin, Macanudo, Drew Estate, Montecristo, and E.P. Carrillo.
On occasion, there are even special deals like "8 cigars for $10" or something similar and I always jump on those; they're a great way to try new things.
For an overview of good deals on cigar samplers, make sure you check the deals page here.
What will I like? What's with the flavors and shapes of cigars?
Don't worry about which cigars you'll like and which ones you won't... and especially what others say they like. Smoking a cigar is a very personal thing and there really is no right or wrong cigar. You may enjoy a cigar that someone else dislikes, and that's okay! I've found that I sometimes absolutely hate a cigar that got a very high rating from the experts, while I very much enjoy a stogie that didn't do very well in the rankings. So what? As long as you enjoy what you're smoking, you shouldn't care what others - especially the experts - say.
That's not to say you should dismiss entirely what the experts and your fellow BOTLs/SOTLs (Brothers/Sisters of the Leaf) recommend. Most of the time, they know what they're talking about and you will likely enjoy what they recommend. It's just not something you should entirely base your decisions on.
The most important advice I can give you is to try different cigars and keep trying. There are so many brands out there with so many cigars in so many shapes, sizes, strengths and flavors (and price classes!) that you'll never run out of new stogies to try. Additionally, new cigars come out all the time, so even if you had smoked a ton of different cigars there will always be something new.
When I first started smking cigars, I could barely tell them apart. After a while, I started realizing that some were smoother than others, some were spicier, some were sweeter... the subtle flavor differences will start to come to you once you've smoked for a while. You'll all of a sudden realize that you like this one cigar better than the last one you smoked, so you remember (or write down) its name.
Before you know it, you might have a nice top 3 or 5 of cigars you'll want more of. And you may even notice that you like stogies from certain brands better than others. When that happens, you can see if you can maybe find a brand sampler containing 10 to 20 cigars (and 3-5 different "flavors") that you can order, or you decide you like a certain cigar so much that you want to order more of them - in which case I would recommend searching for a 5-pack.
Don't order full boxes, they usually have 20 or more cigars in them and you don't want to fill up your starter humidor with just one or two kinds of cigars! Instead, heed the advice above: try, and keep trying, as many different cigars as you can.
As for the sizes and shapes of cigars: I wouldn't worry too much about them, as (for example) a torpedo-shaped Oliva Serie V will usually taste very similar to a robusto Oliva Serie V. For beginners, I usually recommend starting out with the robusto size, as that seems to be the "standard" size (usually around 5" long and a ring gauge between 50 and 54). If you do want to know more about the different shapes and sizes, click HERE LINK.
Summary: how to begin
In summary, here are the simple steps you can follow to get started quickly and easily as a cigar beginner:
- Get a humidor combo deal (if available), or get the items mentioned above separately.
- Get any diversified sample (with as many different cigars in it as possible). Don't worry about the shapes and sizes of cigars - at this stage, that's not important.
- Start smoking stogies & enjoy! If you want, you can note which ones you like and don't like.
- That's it!