It is often said that gift giving is the perfect opportunity to show how little we know about the ones around us, by offering them a gift that does not suit their preferences. However, when it comes to offering a gift to a cigar enthusiast, choosing it should be less of a burden – plenty of useful and exquisite gifts are available for a smoker. In addition, we are here to provide you with some simple tips that will help you choose the perfect gift and further simplify the decisional process.
Before getting started, it should be noted that there is no one-size-fits-all cigar gift. Every smoker has different preferences when it comes to receiving such a gift, so its success will depend on how well you know the person to whom you are offering it. Even so, the list we’ve put together contains cigar gifts that will most likely have a high success rate among most cigar aficionados. Combining the knowledge you have about the recipient with our suggestions will certainly yield the perfect cigar gift to finely mark a special occasion. With this issue out of the way, let’s see what are some cigar gifts you can offer to the smokers in your social circle, or in general, to a cigar lover.
Cigars and samplers
The first idea that comes to most people’s mind would probably be … cigars. The recipient loves cigars in general, so he or she must love them as a gift as well, right? This will probably hold true for most people, and there are two possibilities when it comes to offering cigars as a gift. You can either choose to go with a box of the smoker’s favorite cigars, or a variety of samplers for him or her to try.
A gift consisting of a box of the smoker’s favorite cigars has the advantage of certainty – no hit-and-miss: the likelihood of him or her enjoying this cigar gift is as high as it gets – you can’t really go wrong here. However, there is an issue that clearly arises when choosing such gift, and that is knowing the cigar preferences of the gift recipient. If you have such knowledge, then you’re good to go; otherwise, you should somehow find out, obviously without spoiling the surprise, certain aspects of the recipient’s cigar of choice: favorite brand and body/wrapper preferences are a minimum when it comes to buying cigars. With such gift, there is no recommendation we can give, as the final choice fully depends on the recipient’s cigar preferences.
UPDATE: check out our article Gifting cigars: sticks you can’t go wrong with.
On the other side of the spectrum lies the option of offering a sampler pack consisting of a variety of cigars. Most cigar smokers, irrespective of smoking experience, enjoy trying out new brands of cigars, and as such, a sampler pack is a great gift. However, this type of gift is best suited for certain circumstances. First, you should give a sampler pack if you do not know the favorite cigar of the recipient. This way, you avoid giving an entire box of the “wrong” cigar that the recipient does not like. In addition, a sampler pack is the perfect gift for a new smoker, who might not even be decided upon a favorite blend. When buying cigars for a new smoker, you should keep in mind that he or she would probably prefer milder blends, as a medium-to-full cigar might be too strong. Offer the latter only to seasoned smokers. If you know the recipient does not yet have his or her own humidor, then the small travel humidor might be a great way to get started. Major online retailers always have a lot of sampler deals on their websites, so just browse around.
> We recommend CigarStash.com to compare prices on cigars
Cigar Accessories
Our next cigar gift suggestion consists of items required in every smoker’s arsenal, regardless of experience: it is only natural that every smoker possesses certain cigar accessories. The basic ones are cigar lighters, cutters and ashtrays. Going a tad further, a smoker will eventually need a humidor, quite possibly a travel case as well. Cigar lighters and cutters are a great candidate for engraving with the initials of the gift’s recipient or other meaningful symbol, as they can be carried around and are frequently used. Our recommendations for lighters are Z-plus, Nibo and Blazer. As for the cutters, you can’t go wrong with a Xikar.
Moving on, we would like to provide some tips on choosing a humidor. As you might know, a humidor is an extremely important piece in any smoker’s arsenal, as it stores your cigars and improves their flavor as time moves on. If the recipient of your gift is a new smoker, then a 25-cigar humidor is a perfect choice.
When choosing a humidor, the interior lining is one of the most important aspects to keep in mind. The quality of the lining will directly affect the quality of the cigars after a certain period of aging. We recommend choosing only a Spanish cedar lining – it is of the highest quality, maintains perfect humidity levels, protects against worms and with time, confers the cigars a great wood flavor. American cedar is a bit cheaper, but it spoils the delightful flavor of your cigars. You should avoid at all costs a humidor with Honduran mahogany lining – it is the cheapest, but also of very poor quality.
> We recommend CheapHumidors.com for all cigar accessories
As final thoughts, we would like to conclude that a great cigar gift is the result of a thoughtful chain of decisions. Take into account the experience of the smoker, his or her preferences when it comes to cigar blends, what cigar accessories he or she already possesses, and of course, our recommendations, and you will certainly find the perfect cigar gift, regardless of the recipient being a close relative or a formal acquaintance.
