Cigar stores can be a little overwhelming. Especially for those less knowledgeable or new to the hobby, walking into a cigar store presents you with sometimes thousands of choices. How do you know where to start? How do you know what you like, or other cigars that are similar to those you like? You can talk to the staff and they’re sure to point you in the right direction, but you may not want to rely on them every time.
Even if you’re not new, trying to select one (or more) cigars from a collection of thousands can be intimidating.
There’s an easy way to alleviate that anxiety—plus gain a lot more information about cigar appreciation—and that’s joining a cigar club. Not unlike a book of the month club, when you’re a member of a cigar club, you receive one (or sometimes more) cigar every month. It provides you with information about the cigar producer, tasting notes, brand information, and more, to help you get full enjoyment out of your hobby.
Not convinced just yet? Here are a handful of other reasons for why to join a cigar subscription club.
DISCOUNTS
Because cigar clubs are able to buy in bulk thanks to their large memberships, they’re often able to get cigars at a discounted rate. It works like this: the cigar club knows exactly how many cigars they need to order from a producer. All of their members have technically already paid for a cigar that month—or at least, they’ve paid club fees—and the club can then barter for a reduced price based on that. They’re then able to pass that discount on to you. This is also true for hard-to-find or new cigars as well. Purchasing these cigars at a retail store would likely cost you a significant amount more.
In addition to the discounts on cigars, some cigar clubs will provide their members more value-added incentives. The Klaro Cigar monthly subscription, for example, includes a premium cigar cutter and torch lighter with your first month’s order.
VARIETY
As the old adage goes, variety is the spice of life. That’s especially true for cigar smoking. While you’ll no doubt come to have a favorite cigar type or style, part of the fun of the hobby is trying as many as you can. This makes it easy to separate the ones you enjoy from the ones you don’t. And there’s no surer way to get that variety than in a cigar club.
They’re not going to send you the same types of cigars each month. Because their membership is diverse in their taste, it’s in their interest to send a wide variety of types, styles, and producers.
In the club, you’re more likely to get a wider variety than if you were to simply visit the store, which will help you determine the cigar flavor profiel you prefer. Plus, while the cigar store keeps a big selection of more common cigars (those are important for consistent revenue) the cigar club can focus on more unique cigars and better highlight them.
QUALITY
Like mentioned above, cigar stores have to keep a wide stock in supply. That includes really common cigars that may not be known for their high quality. While cigar aficionados may prefer particularly nice hand-rolled varieties, there are plenty of folks out there who love to smoke common, lower quality cigars on the daily. To each his own, obviously, but if you’re really looking to appreciate good smokes, you’ll want to focus on quality.
Because cigar clubs don’t require the stock of lower quality stogies, they’re able to invest more money in higher quality cigars. They’re able to procure rare, hard-to-find, and brand new cigars that are of a particular quality. While in a store, it’s more difficult to tell some of the differences in lower quality and higher quality, the cigar club takes all of the guesswork out of the selection. You know you’re getting a high-quality cigar, no matter what.
CONVENIENCE
Some of us have the convenience of living in areas with high quality tobacco stores nearby. It’s easy to pop into them, find what you’re looking for, and move along. For the vast majority of us, on the other hand, it’s much more difficult to find a good store with a good selection and known quality. When you’re forced to drive a good distance just to get a cigar, suddenly the hobby can become much less enjoyable.
A cigar club brings the cigars directly to you. So no matter where you live, you’re able to get high-quality cigars delivered to your mailbox. No driving across town, no wandering through aisle after aisle of boxes, and no asking questions. Just a great selection of stogies, every month, without question.
CLIMATE-CONTROLLED GUARANTEE
Much like you can’t guarantee the quality or selection available at your local cigar store, you also can’t guarantee that the cigars you’re buying have been stored appropriately. Sure, some nicer cigar stores will have a walk-in humidor to keep their high end selection stored in proper conditions, but it’s unlikely that their entire selection is climate-controlled.
This is where clubs have a great advantage. Because of their specific stock, they’re able to ensure plenty of space in their humidors to keep all of their supply in humidity and temperature-controlled environments. You can be sure well ahead of time that you won’t be lighting up a stale (or worse: soggy) cigar.
DAILY SMOKERS
When many people get into cigar appreciation, they have a tendency to smoke for celebrations, or at the end of a week. That’s fine—and you can obviously enjoy your cigars however you want to. But if the decision to smoke on special occasions is driven by the small selection available to you, then a cigar club is the perfect answer to this.
Cigar clubs send you a specific number of cigars. With this selection, and the knowledge that you have even more coming next month, it may make it easier to smoke up your selection without the worry of saving them, trying to extend them, or hang on to them for any reason. Plus, once you know that you like one or several of the cigars from your delivery, you can stock up on them and then have an option for a daily (or whatever frequency) smoker.