Cigar 101: Stocking Up For the Bachelor Party

When you’re the best man, you get tasked with a lot of party planning. Let’s face it — it’s great. You’re not matching the color of the napkins to the color of the table cloths. No Sir. You’re busy deciding whether or not to visit the Eager Beaver or Clam Diggers to see bonkers. Recon includes finding out whether or not he drinks bourbon or scotch. Whether or not he’s in the mood for hibachi or surf and turf.

If you’re planning the gentlemen’s night out, you know that this is the one evening a year you and your friends will probably end up chewing on a cigar. Problem is, you don’t know that much about cigars, and you’re the one that’s hitting the streets to find a local Tobacconist.

Assuming you’re not a regular cigar smoker, this should be a short and sweet guide that’ll help you knock that part of the night out. If you’re a regular stogie puffer, then you’ll have a better idea of what you’re getting into, but read along for some hints on stuff  you might not have thought about.

The Evening

When picking out cigars for this evening, keep in mind that cigar smoking is often reserved for the end of the evening once booze is flowing. In fact, you should save the stink for the end of the night. It keeps the level of stink down in the limo or your cars on a night when a good portion of your group is going to gastrically challenge themselves. Once your clown car is permeated with all of the smoke smell from your clothes, one of you is going to probably puke.

Also, consider whether or not you’ll be playing golf, doing a barbeque, hitting a strip club in the day or evening, or a football party or poker night. Whatever your chosen activity, that will determine how much concentration is going to be on the cigars, and if one or more per guy will be smoked. (Note: unless most of you are already cigar smokers, don’t count on more than one cigar/stick per head.) The venue will also determine your accessories: whether or not you’re gifting cigar clips for the golf course or making sure you have ash trays for the poker game.

The Sticks

A couple of please-all brands to go for are Macanudos and Romeo y Julietas. Macanudos are mild, with a light, consistent flavor that will smoke easy for the one-cigar-a-year guy. If you go for the black, oily, spicy ones, you’re not doing any of your crew any favors. (Unless, of course, that particular gentleman knows what he likes. He’ll probably show up with his own anyway.)

Romeo y Julietas are also widely popular, and you really can’t go wrong with them. There are many different kinds. If someones helping you, ask for a Connecticut shade wrapper. That’s a lighter outer leaf, and usually a milder smoke. This suggestion is of course assuming that your crew are not regular cigar smokers and that you need to please a variety of guys with one bulk purchase.

Example of what a bundle of cigars might look like.

You can also buy a “bundle” of cigars instead of a box. These are usually lesser known labels and cheaper tobacco and you’ll usually find them tied together with a ribbon or shrink-wrapped together. A lot of famous guys smoke cheap cigars. No harm. It’s only a single accessory to a long day or night and purchasing a bundle is just one more option for you.

The Budget

Since many of you will be red-cheeked with bourbon and Stripper Sally’s lipstick prints, a $25 stick will pretty much be wasted. Spend your money on food, strippers/entertainment, and booze. Not cigars. Forget the Davidoff! If you do have a little extra cash and want to purchase something a littler nicer for the group, then go for a Montecristo.

What about Cubans? Well, in the night club industry, you see a lot of guys in bachelor parties bragging about the Cubans they are smoking. That’s great. But here are two things you should know about Cubans that should bring you back down to earth: 1. The guy is probably a one-cigar-a-year guy, so his palate cant discern between the nuances of a $6 Romeo y Julieta stick and a rare, expensive, hard-to-get Cuban. The gift and the experience are most likely wasted. 2. Cuban cigars are no longer as rare. The economy has forced the blenders and rollers away from Cuba and into other places like the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, and other tobacco growers are now using Cuban seeds as well to grow their tobacco.

How many to buy? Consider how many guys will be showing up. Usually about 25 cigars come in a box. You can either pick out one per head, or get the box. Why a box? Many retailers offer a whole-box discount. Make sure you ask.

Not sure you’ll even smoke them, but want to have them on hand? Buy a bundle.

The Stuff You Might Forget

1. Make sure you leave the tobacconist’s shop with enough wooden matches. Usually he’ll throw in a few with every purchase, but if you need to purchase some additional ones, then it’s better safe than sorry. Most sell boxes of matches for 10-25 cents.

2. You need to cut it before you light it. You should purchase a cheap plastic cigar cutter for about $3-4 bucks. Your alternative is using a kitchen knife and crushing the end of the cigar while marring someone’s table top or kitchen counters.

3. Your environment and activity determines whatever else you may need. Like we mentioned before, if you’re playing poker at someone’s home, make sure ash trays will be available. Plastic cups aren’t going to cut it for cigars, since they take 30 minutes to an hour to smoke depending on what you’re doing. You’re gonna need to set them down. Also, if you’re playing golf, you might want to consider cigar clips as gifts for the guys. They are two clips in one– they clip onto the golf cart, and then have a little clip on the clip for your cigar.

Have a Great Night

Congrats on joining a longstanding tradition of gentlemen. Cigar smoking as a social event for men has been around since the Victorian times. Good luck with being the dude in charge.

Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Jim Luftman of Blue Havana 2 Cigars in Alpharetta, Georgia for advising me on this column about a year ago!