I hope you liked my selection, so I’m waiting for your favoring cigar sayings as well.

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Smoking Beauty

You thought enjoying a cigar would be very simple- just choosing whatever you like and buying it? No, sir, you’re terribly wrong! I think you forgot about something very important and this “something” is a place to smoke. I hear some sad sighs – yeah, yeah, I know too many places where smoking is prohibited, and they get even more with years. But some places actually think about different tastes of their clients, and make everything possible to make their guests feel comfortable.

Most people go to bars for only reason – to communicate with others. No drinking till we fall, no eating till we need a doctor – just chatting, and what’s wrong with the fact we want to smoke one (two) cigar(s)? Many of these places banned smoking, and the number of their visitors decreased significantly. But there are special bars where smoking is allowed: either the entire bar is smoker friendly, or they have two separate areas – for smokers and non-smokers to enjoy the atmosphere.

Cigar shops have become almost the only places where smoking is still not prohibited (and I truly hope this won’t happen soon). They sell their cigars to people who smoke tobacco, and have right to allow people smoking inside. I doubt these places are ever visited by those who don’t smoke at all, so no one gets hurt. I personally prefer such places to almost anything else – smoking brand cigars, drinking quality drinks and talking to people with same approaches to life – there’s hardly something better than that .

Hotels - what would a tourist be without a shelter to be able to stay and appreciate all the creature comforts of a hotel while admiring various places of interest? You’re a smoking person? Well, then you should find some other place to smoke – no room smoking allowed, only in special smoking places designated for that purpose. And if someone from hotel’s administration catches you smoking in your room or at their restaurant, you’ll need to fork out circa $250 for such self-will .

Restaurants are not on my list of preferences – they often ban smoking in such places, and though I understand other people have their rights to be angry with us (they simply envy us, guys ), I cannot but avoid such places. Yes, I like their kitchen and I would often call my wife there to have a date but these short sorties are a reason of my headache the next day.

I should recognize, I didn’t find too many places of a friendly smoking kind (with the exception of my back yard, of course) but I have some advices for you before you try smoking in an unknown zone.

1. Ask about the smoking rules at the place you are going to – be it a neighborhood bar, different state restaurant or another country hotel.
2. Also do not forget to learn the price for such misconduct if you somehow forgot about the banJ. It could be very useful for you later.
3. Be very polite and never offend people who work in non-smoking places – they’re not responsible for the Government and could be simple smokers who suffer from such bans as much as you do .
4. Be grateful the outdoor smoking in your backyard patio is not prohibited yet.
5. Hope for better times to come or at least a new planet for smokers only to be discovered, so that you could visit it with your friends whenever you have a 15 minutes break at work .

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The guys who introduced the crop to the world were the Native Americans, or Indians, in a different way. Actually, the tobacco plant was grown on their territory, and the Europeans introduced the crop to the other world in commercial purposes.

The Indians didn’t smoke tobacco everyday: this was a sacred plant mainly used in religious or medical goals, for celebrating the harvest and The Native American Pipe Ceremony. According to the Indians, the Pipe Ceremony was held to “tell the truth” and “the pipe is a link between the earth and the sky”.

So what did the Europeans when they finally understood the commercial benefit of tobacco? They started its mass growing in 1600′s and began selling it overseas to the continental Europe. Tobacco was no more a sacred plant used for high aims – everyone who had some money had the possibility to smoke it. And since smoking a pipe isn’t limited to only one, the need for tobacco became very strong.

Till 1865 there were no cigarettes/cigars commercial making, so people made them by hands, for personal use only. However, in 1865 an enterprising farmer Washington Duke, from North Carolina, made a batch of hand-made cigarettes that were sold to soldiers during the Civil War. And only in 1881 the first cigarette-making machine was invented by James Bonsack. The apparatus could make up to 120000 cigarettes a day which was an incredible achievement for those times.

Since then the tobacco industry grown very fast and became one of the most profitable and flourishing commercial branches. The 20th century was marked by cigarette making in large scale and divided the society into two camps – tobacco lovers and haters.

Anyway, this kind of business didn’t fade away even in the 21st century and notwithstanding various health campaigns, it is still as popular and flourishing as it was years ago. And though it did lost its spiritual meaning, tobacco smoking gained more cultural colour, uniting people of different religious and educations.

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The smooth and velvety sound of SoHo Suite serves as ideal background melodies, especially while enjoying a fine cigar. This was not an accident; “tobacco and jazz have always been intimately connected, my sense is that it has to do with emotions, music is all about emotions, when you are performing certain songs you can literally feel how the molecules in the room are shifting, and tobacco supports that process”, says Anders, who also enjoys a nice stogie from time to time. While filming the video for “Love Me Like A River”, from his album Five, he indulged in Cuban Cohibas with the group of individuals he had been working with at the time. Anders states, “it became a ritual of smoking Cohibas every night of that week, and it was great!!”

Read more about Anders and his work at www.andersholst.com

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So let’s start this thread with the world’s most powerful and muscular robot-Terminator of all times – Arnold Schwarzenegger and one of his most striking films – “Commando”. He used to smoke lots of cigars both while acting and during breaks. It is said young actors all started smoking cigars after the film shoot – because of their idol.

I think many of us remember this movie full of action and suspense where one of the most charming villains is smoking a cigar when talking with his henchmen and planning his next fraud. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome John Travolta in one of the best movies ever – “Swordfish” and his criminal personage Gabriel Shear.

Bill Murray is an actor who plays both comic and dramatic roles with equal talent and success. In one of his movies, “Lost in Translation” he plays a tired actor Bob Harris who met a young woman in a strange city Tokyo. He met her in a bar while smoking a cigar and thinking about sad moments of his life.

Jean Hackman never ceases to surprise us with the range of roles he played and will be playing if future, I’m sure. In the movie “The Quick and the Dead”, his character John Herod, a very cruel and despotic rich man, is smoking cigars throughout entire film.

Who’ll ever forget this tiresome man in a frayed beige coat who liked sticking his nose into other people’s affairs? And a permanent cigar in his mouth he liked to smoke while interrogating all kinds of criminals? Of course, it’s our dear lieutenant Colombo played by late Peter Falk and his love for smoking and truth.

Sharon Stone plays a woman called Ellen in the same movie “The Quick and the Dead”, – not similar to any other women because she’s brave and stark to give a dare to John Herod, she rides a horse, shoots from a gun and smokes cigars when she’s riding.

Another beautiful woman in this absolutely male topic – Angelina Jolie and her movie “Original Sin” where she’s playing the seductive vamp woman Julia Russell/Bonnie Castle. She manages to smoke cigars while seducing Antonio Banderas in the role of Luis Antonio Vargas – madly in love and maddened by passion.

And, finally, the last character in our list but not less beautiful than our previous female participants- Famke Janssen in the role of Russian beauty Xenia Onatopp. She’s playing cards in the movie “The Golden Eye” and smoking a сigarillo – same thin and refined as the woman herself.

I hope you enjoyed this list as much as I did, so I’m waiting for your further additions to it. I’m sure there are a lot of other interesting movie characters whose distinctive feature and favorite pastime was smoking cigars.

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I have had the luxury of spending a few mornings at Stella’s and have had nothing but great experiences there.  The coffee is great and the food has that great, small cafe feel.

Stella’s is a great place to relax and hang out!  Not only do we offer great locally roasted coffee, but our menu of hot and cold specialty drinks is second to none!  If you’re in the mood for breakfast or lunch, check out or healthy and yummy menu!  We offer free lunch delivery (within our delivery area) for orders of $10.00 per more.  Chained to your desk?  We’ll bring it to you!

Stella’s Coffee House and Cafe is a great place to come in, relax, enjoy a great cup of premium coffee and enjoy the atmosphere.  Stella’s offers free WiFi and a large lounge to sit and relax, get work done, or visit with a friend.

The Cafe features a great bar right in front with a spacious seating area in the back with a variety of different chairs and places to kick back and relax.

The also offer a fantastic patio out front that you can sit and enjoy the AZ mornings or the wonderful sunsets in the evenings.  With the great weather in Arizona we get for MOST of the year, there is nothing better then a place to sit outdoors and enjoy the weather.

Stella’s menu is jam packed with great coffee (hot and cold) and wonderful made to order cafe style food.  I recommend the house coffee.  It is locally blended and varies daily.  Great aroma and fantastic flavors. It pairs perfectly with a cigar and a newspaper.  I smoked a Davidoff Vintage 2000 on the patio last time I was there and it paired perfectly with the stellar coffee.  The food is also great, I had a breakfast croissant last time I visited and they have a Chili-Mayo that has a great kick and really makes the sandwich. Great Stuff.

After reading some flyers and reading up on Stella’s website I learned that they have a great selection of live music and events in the evenings.  I look forward to checking out a few of them in the future.

Stella’s Coffee House and Cafe is that perfect little neighborhood getaway.  It serves the Islands community well and is definitely a hidden gem.  The staff is wonderful and very accommodating.  If you are in or around the Gilbert area, I definitely recommend making the trip over to Stella’s.  You wont be disappointed.

Follow Stella’s on twitter: @stellascoffeeaz

Follow Stella’s on Facebook:  Stella’s Facebook

Visit Stella’s website for more information on events and operating hours information.

In no way is the next part of my analysis trying to single out any specific cigar maker or company but rather the top three companies I, and I think everyone else, thought would never face a “do or die” type of scenario (If the conclusion is drawn that such a scenario exists).

Padron, Fuente & General

Padron & Fuente Cigars – The creator of a few cigars that all happen to rank very highly each year in Cigar Aficionado.  Padron and Fuente have done a fabulous job of introducing a cigar that is great to smoke for everyone in every price range. They like to keep their options very simple and even introduce a new limited edition, high priced, cigar every so often to keep the fan base (and I suspect Cigar Aficionado) very happy. However, considering these things, has the Padron and Fuente company structure been too inflexible in working with retailers or becoming personable with the smokers in our community?

From a retailers aspect they have always stood behind their “quality” and refused to offer any great discounts or specials that can be passed on to their patrons through the B&M. The excuse was always made that the true smoker would always be willing to pay their inflated prices for the special cigars like the Anniversary or the Opus X cigar. Furthermore, they tend to abstain from doing live events on a regular basis with the presumption that their name is a known quantity, and no further live promotion need happen .

All advertising campaigns were also primarily reliant on the ratings given to the cigars via Cigar Aficionado and other small magazine publications. Occasionally both companies will publish some full page ads through these same sources. But they have yet to reach out to any alternative methods of advertising – online magazines, blogs or cigar radio programs.  On the same note Padron feels no need to interact through social networking whereas Fuente does run its own cigar forum/community but has shied away from all other mainstream social media applications.

General Cigar Company – Now this behemoth of a cigar company operates in a slightly different manner. They tend to produce multiple cigars, multiple times a year, in multiple sizes, under multiple famous names – and yet always seem to lack in quality and flavor. Their distribution is huge, but seems to rest solely on the established name of their cigars, rather than the quality of their cigars.

It does not take great explanation as to why this is unsupportive of the local Brick and Mortar establishments. General will offer some slight discounts and incentives to purchasing and carrying their products, but it never allows the retailer to price at the same level as most websites or even Generals own online retail website. However, retailers have always been stuck in a corner, almost forced to carry the products, because of the famous names behind the brand. These are the most asked for cigars by the newbie smoker or holiday shopper.

This is a direct indication as to how General Cigar Company has chosen to spend their advertising dollars. Most of the ads that are being placed cannot focus on ratings, because they don’t get any, and are forced to emphasize the “famous” names. General does this by placing most of their ads in men’s magazines or any other publication that is read by the mainstream population who might opt for a cigar during a frequent occasion. It appears as if they haven’t cared about the cigar blogs, review websites, magazines or any medium that a frequent cigar smoker would choose to follow, but rather instead bank on their “famous” name instead. This means that they have also opted out of all social media (Is this a way of hiding from the criticism?).

The Changes Across the Board

During these times of hardship the smoker has to be more specific on his choice and the retailer can be more specific in choosing cigars for his clientele. I can provide some information that the “boutique” cigar market is taking a big piece of the pie both financially and in loyalty of smokers from the large juggernauts who are resting on their laurels. Each company has displayed a change in operation as they have now realized what side of the table they are really sitting on.  While none of these companies will admit that the times are harder for them – I think it is.

Padron has come to the realization that the cigar, despite how great it may be, will not be sold unless the regular consumer feels some sort of bond with the manufacturer. They have now reversed the policy on events and will start doing appearances at local B&M’s across the country.

Fuente used to have the policy of shipping whatever cigars they choose for the specific account to receive whenever Fuente felt the B&M should receive it. This has also been reversed and is starting to ship cigars/orders, even the Opus X, to accounts as they request them.

General Cigar Company tried to appeal to the “boutique” market at the 2009 IPCPR by releasing a cigar that was “not associated” with the General line of cigars. Additionally, anyone who ordered this stick would also be required to place it in the boutique section of the humidor and make a promise to retailers that it would not be sold online. The only downfall was that they again, produced a cigar for the numbers and not for taste or quality. Now General cigars is connecting with bloggers by allowing them to preview and release information on certain products to help connect General back in the cigar community.

While these changes are being made everyone of these three have yet to jump into the social media realm (In Fuente’s case any further).

Are these first steps a sign that changes will be underway on how the companies interact/market/operate? Will they, or do they even have to, transition into the social media environment? Will the big guys really be able to compete with the boutique manufacturers (moving forward)?  And specifically to General Cigar Company – will they stop relying on the “famous” name and start dedicating resources into creating a truly great cigar?  As we have seen there are some like Gran Habano , La Aurora, CAO, Illusione, and Tatuaje (just to name a few), who are doing this already.  These companies are sizable outfits, yet dedicated to utilizing the web and word of mouth for the advancement of their product. Or to put it simply – they are transitioning into the new world of cigar smokers and enjoying sitting on the good side of the table.

So until the big three aforementioned companies decide to hop on the modern technological bandwagon, they are doomed to see diminishing funds and market share.  As many articles have pointed out this year, this will be the first time in history that print media will be eclipsed by online media advertising, shouldn’t the large companies come down off of their high horses and embrace the people and online market which is the cultural nexuses of this age? Or maybe they can keep relying in their name, tradition and … well whatever it is they are banking on.

Editors Note: We here at Puffing Cigars want to assure our readership that we are fully aware that there are indeed many cigar companies on both sides of the good and bad spectrum.  The companies we chose for this article are not a definitive list, but rather a few choice examples in the industry that handily illustrate our point.  You can fully expect in the days to come more articles that look at specific companies in the light of these current issues.  As always we appreciate your commentary, and always look forward to spirited debate when it comes to hot-button topics like this.

I tend to use this to my advantage when I visit one of my favorite bars in Tempe, Arizona during the winter season. I will light up cigar, stand by a crowded heater and watch everyone disperse while holding their nose. Not only do I have the heater all to my self but the waitress now gives me individual attention due to the “baller status” of smoking my $8 cigar.

So without further commentary, here is the post by Waiter Rant. You can check out his website by visiting http://waiterrant.net.

It’s a crisp winter’s night and I’m strolling though Union Square in Lower Manhattan. I’m supposed to be meeting a friend for dinner but when she texts to say she’s running late I suddenly discover I’ve got forty-five minutes to kill. So I duck into a cigar shop, select a Punch Maduro Rothschild from the humidor, snip off the end and walk back into the park. Finding a quiet corner I get the stogie going with a wooden match and settle back to enjoy my favorite pastime – people watching. Unfortunately, people are also watching me.

“That’s disgusting,” a smartly dressed young woman says as she walks past me.

“I beg your pardon?” I reply.

“You look obnoxious smoking that cigar,” she says.

I look at the woman balefully. She’s your prototypical New York babe – cute, dressed in black from head to toe, holding a cup of Starbucks coffee with an iPod plugged into her head.

“I may look obnoxious, dear,” I reply. “But you sound obnoxious.”

“What did you say?” the woman says, popping her headphones out of her ears. I repeat myself.

“What the…” she stammers.

“Have a nice night, Miss.”

The woman looks at me flabbergasted. She tries coming up with a witty comeback, fails, and walks briskly away. I shake my head. It takes all kinds.

Smoking’s bad for you. Don’t ever take it up. Quit if you can. But for me tobacco is like a dysfunctional ex-girlfriend you can’t let go off. Even though you know seeing her is bad for you, when times are tough you find yourself calling her at three in the morning anyway. One day I won’t need these things, but right now my flesh is mighty weak.

I walk over to a construction site and prop myself up against a concrete wall. I get in a whole five minutes of quiet time when a man and woman pushing a baby stroller stop alongside me.

“Can you move somewhere else with that thing?” the man says.

“Excuse me?” I say.

“The smoke,” he says, smiling passive aggressively, “It’s not good for the baby.”

“You don’t say.”

“I’d appreciate if you moved.”

New Yorkers are obsessed with real estate. I once knew a man whose father died from a massive heart attack. The next day, when he went to his father’s place on the West Side to sort though the paperwork, he discovered the landlord had already rented the place and changed the locks. Unfortunately for the landlord the son was a lawyer – and a grieving, pissed off lawyer at that. So Manhattanites turning feral to claim a square meter of asphalt in a public place doesn’t surprise me.

“I was standing here first,” I reply, calmly. “You came up to me.”

“But…….”

“If you were here first,” I continue, “I wouldn’t dream of smoking next to your child.”

The man stares at me lamely. I feel like busting him about his “man bag” but decide against it. Could be for diapers. No use escalating things.

“C’mon honey,” the man says to his wife. “Let’s go.”

“You’re a jerk,” the wife hisses as she walks away. Calm down babe. All that negative energy can’t be good for junior. I look at my watch. I’ve been smoking this thing for six minutes and have been insulted twice. From the reactions I’m getting you’d think I brought an assault rifle to an Obama rally.

I stay on station and puff away. Another woman walks by and breaks into a paroxysm of exaggerated coughing. I ignore her. She coughs some more. I just look at her and smile.

“Those things will kill you,” she says.

“Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?” I ask.

“What?”

“Would you like to pray with me?”

The woman rushes off in terror.. My mom grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Bronx and gave me an invaluable piece of advice for dealing with people in New York – if someone’s bugging you just act crazy. I’ve modified her approach somewhat. Public displays of religiosity work just as well as feigning psychosis.

I expel a mouth full of smoke and contemplate what a weird town New York is. People will walk past a naked bum shivering in the streets or a woman sobbing on a street corner but they’ll take time out to castigate a man smoking a cigar. A helluva town. I hope I can finish my smoke before I get stoned to death.

I start shivering so I decide to walk. The sidewalks are thronged with people. Not being totally inconsiderate of my cigar’s effects I walk alongside the curb. But when I notice that people are swerving to avoid me I decide to perform a little experiment. I move into the middle of the sidewalk with my cigar firmly planted in my mouth. The dirty looks I get are legion but the flow of people part ahead of me like the Red Sea before Moses’ staff.

For the next half hour no one else bothers me. Happy and content I continue my walk around the square, cocooned in the opprobrious privacy of smoke.

I was sitting in a dimly lit cigar lounge, after hours, enjoying a peaceful smoke and finishing up some work I had pushed to the side. Being the only one at the shop I was startled when a man walked in that had arms larger than my head and sleeves of very colorful tattoos.

“Mind if I join you for a smoke?” he asked a calm demeanor that carried a hint of exhaustion.

Never one to pass up good company during a smoke I cleared space and Jonathan, as I would later discover his name, and I began with the normal cigar conversation that encompassed everything and nothing at the same time. At one point he asked what my favorite pairing was with a cigar and I quickly answered with the standard three “Scotch, Whiskey, and Bourbon.”

“Wait right here.” he says quickly jumping from his seat and running to his vehicle. When Jonathan returns he has an elongated bottle with a prominent stopper that just captures your attention. Not telling me exactly what I was about to drink he pours some in a glass and asks me to enjoy.

Enjoy it I did. Sipping on this drink I was picking up something sweet, something spicy, something that reminded me of Cognac, maybe a whiskey, something I couldn’t put my finger on. It had a different taste in comparison to the “standard three”. That’s when Jonathan dropped the bomb on me and informed me I was drinking an “ultra premium boutique tequila” that was new on the market.

Without saying another word he stood up, excused himself politely, and asked if we could meet up again tomorrow – same place, same time.

The next evening he entered the establishment with a beautiful lady, Debbie Medina. We selected Tatuaje Red Label cigar based on Jonathan’s recommendation for pairing. Again we began an enjoyable a conversation but this time I was informed on the spectacular tequila I had tried the night before. Senor Rio.

The two explain that they had taken a trip to Mexico to meet with Debbie’s father. During this visitation her father was making some old-fashioned tequila moonshine that was absolutely fabulous. It was a process and recipe that would date back over 200 years in Debbie’s family.

The light bulb quickly went off in both their heads as they realized this was a recipe that needed to be brought out of hiding. Putting their careers on hold, as an accountant and real estate agent, they both sought to make the American dream come true.

After months of finding the perfect distillery that would produce the tequila the “old fashioned way” they were able to bring a blanco, reposado and añejo tequila to the states. It’s only fitting that Senor Rio tequila was born on Cinco De Mayo 2009. The tequila was named Senor Rio after her father and his image was laser engraved in the stopper of the bottle. Design of the bottle was a collaboration of both Jonathan and Debbie who wanted to create something that stood out in a land of the “standard” tequila bottle.

“It is in that spirit, the spirit of family and tradition that they proudly bring to you Senor Rio tequila.”

As their Gilbert, Arizona company grows and flourishes with every sip Debbie and Jonathan still meet up with me, and now us at puffingcigars.com, every week to enjoy a cigar and relax after a hard day of work. And with every meeting we proudly, smoothly, and enjoyably drink nothing but Senor Rio tequila.

For more information on Senor Rio tequila, event notifications, pictures, recipes or to contact please visit the Senor Rio website at http://SenorRio.com.