Flavored cigars; why are they so popular?

Remember these?

Tuesdays are good in my neighborhood.  That’s when the local cigar store has its “buy two get a third cigar free” sale.  It’s a good opportunity for me to try new sticks without making a big financial commitment.  The store’s inventory is mostly static from week to week, but this morning I found myself next door and stopped by to see if anything new had shown up.

It was the usual suspects: Fuente, Rocky Patel, Montecristo, Ashton, etc.  All cigars I was familiar with, except for one.  In an instant I found myself reaching for something I thought I would never try…the Drew Estate Java.  I have heard that flavored cigars were the most popular type of cigar, and having never tried one, I thought I should “try it before I knock it”.  So I bought three (remember the “three for two “deal?).

Although I’m a picky person, I think I’m pretty open minded about trying new things and I was going into this without prejudice.  Besides, someone once told me the Java was a great, occasional “treat” for a traditional cigar smoker.  I was actually looking forward to trying this chocolate/mocha-flavored stick.  (As a child, I liked those Chocolate Flav-R Straws…you know, the ones that never really tasted like chocolate but were fun to use).  The Java had the same sort of appeal.

Heavenly chocolate aroma.

The Java is a beautiful cigar.  The color is a gorgeous dark brown and the thing looks almost edible.  To the touch, its wrapper is moist and silky.  Plus, upon taking off the cello, I was struck with the most delicious chocolaty smell I’d experienced since my last Hershey bar.  My mouth was watering.

Like smokin’ a chocolate sponge!

But upon cutting the cap, I experienced something I would never tolerate in a “legit” cigar: it was very soft and squishy.  So much so that the cap disintegrated under the pressure of the double guillotine cutter.  For me this was particularly bad; I hate smoking cigars with a crumbled cap.  To continue I would have to ignore the sensation of wet confetti on my lips.  But that chocolate smell was so good, and so powerful, I felt compelled to continue this journey of discovery.

The chocolate sponge effect.

What I encountered was a cigar of exceptional smoothness and mild strength, with a good blend of chocolate and tobacco flavor.  A taste treat right from the start, the Java tasted more like a dessert than a cigar.  I quickly understood its appeal: it was unchallenging.

Critical cigar smoking has a degree of difficulty, an element of danger.  When trying a new, highly rated cigar, we never know how our bodies will react.  These cigars tend to be very strong with a high level of nicotine.  In some cases a cigar can be overpowering, requiring us to put the stick down for a period of recuperation.  Plus a high rating often means intense flavor.  This is great if the flavors are agreeable, but sometimes the reviewer’s palate is different from our own.  We end up smoking a cigar that (for example) is too “earthy” for our tastes.  Or the heightened “spiciness” of a highly rated cigar may seem out of balance.  So you see, we take a chance when we buy those 90+ cigars.  We simply don’t know if we will like them.

Flavored cigars offer a respite from the challenge of critical cigar smoking.  These sticks have low nicotine, are candy-sweet, and draw like a warm breeze.  If we smoke cigars for pleasure, there is no better argument for smoking flavored cigars.  But for those of us who smoke traditional cigars, how we define pleasure is very different indeed.

The road less taken.

In the article The Flavor-Color Connection, we discussed the various flavor components of cigars and the words we use in their descriptions.  In that context, the subtle flavor variations we pick up in these fine cigars are what we look for when we smoke.  It is the REASON we smoke.  Take that away and the cigar flavor journey has no beginning or end.  There is no journey.  When flavoring is added to a cigar, it overpowers its flavor profile, obliterating all other flavor variants.  To the critical cigar smoker this is akin to a foodie shaking sugar onto his/her Chateaubriand, or a wine connoisseur drinking Harvey’s Bristol Crème.  It’s anathema to what we are all about.  To some, flavored cigars have no credibility.

Ah, now I get it!

There is no doubt that flavored cigars are delicious.  They are engineered to be so.  It’s no wonder they outsell traditional cigars.  The fact is, we critical cigar smokers are in a very small minority.  An industry insider once told me that the total number of cigar smokers that participate in online cigar forums is no more that 1000.  I realize that not all traditional cigar smokers follow online cigar news, but such a small number of forum participants serves to illustrate just how low our numbers truly are.  Perhaps it’s snobbery to dismiss flavored cigars as second class, or maybe it’s just a different take on how a cigar should taste.  But one thing’s for sure, flavored cigars are profitable and a beloved commodity.   And I’ve got two left in my humidor.  You know I’ll be firing them up sooner or later, but next time I think I’ll use a punch cutter.

A “hole” lot better!

Thanks for listening,

Joe