Comments on: Three Herf Tips

By: jdb

jdb — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:08:10 +0000

I loved this post and I really loved the replies. I have had similar experiences to those listed. I turned down a few invitations to herf because I didn’t have many cigars and I was intimidated. I was finally convinced to go and the guys could not have been nicer. Like the posts above, I took home about 20 cigars which gave me a good foundation on what I like and what I don’t.

It can be a little intimidating when you have “budget” smokes and everyone else has upper shelf stuff. However, I have found that everyone I’ve encountered has been nothing but gracious. I think it’s important to try to share…within your means. It is also very important to remember to say, “thank you”…that means a lot and with some of the guys means much more than anything else you could give them in return. One final thing. Don’t be intimidated. When I give someone a “return” stick that is far more inferior than the one I received, I tell them, “This is for your brother-in-law box. Feel free to give it to someone else that you think might like it.”

By: Steve (Ratters)

Steve (Ratters) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:00:36 +0000

Yep with above. We have a good group of guys out here and get together about once a month, with impromptu herfs much more often. We get new people who come with five or six smokes and usually go home with several times that. We also have a “Herf Box” where one of our members puts in some nice smokes and you just trade out of it if you see something you’d like to try. We prefer people don’t trade out a Free Cuba for an Isom, but we definitely don’t require high dollar snooty smokes to trade out. Smoking is about bringing people together, not about what you smoke or what it cost. I’ve found in life that a cigar often means an instant friend.. Herfs are great events and the most important thing is that you are there to share yourself much more importantly than sharing smokes. Most of the guys I smoke with have more smokes that we know what to do with, so we don’t care what a new person brings, we just care that they are there to talk and have a good time.

By: Josh Caprell

Josh Caprell — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:39:39 +0000

EXCELLENT article!!!!! We all talk about herfs and how much fun they are, but it can be VERY intimidating. . I remember my first herf.

I was invited by friend and didnt know anyone else who was planning to attend. On top of that I didnt know jack squat about cigars(at that point I had only been smoking maybe two months!) So the day of the event I loaded maybe 8 smokes (all budget an nothing exciting too) into a tuppidor and headed to the shop. I was completely overwhelmed when I get there and see guys with 20 or 30 cigars (high end to boot) all talking with each other. But I will never forget the one guy who thought “he there is a noob, I should go chat it up with him and introduce him to everyone!” He walked up to me and handed me a 2 year old opus X!! I was floored and didnt know what to say! It was at that point that he explained what truly happens at herfs.

He said “its not about the smokes. It really has nothing to do with smoking. Everything that we are about boils down to friendships and meeting friends that will last for a lifetime through this common ground. Yeah, we are all smoking and it is was ties us all together, but we could have just as great as a time without the smokes. You see, when you get a group of people together, there is bound to a friendship or two that will be made that will last forever.”

Well, word got around that I was new to smoking. I was handed some 25 or 30 smokes that day (some of which are now in my regular rotation thanks to those guys) and smoked more than I have in a normal day to date. While the cigars that I received were amazing, the brotherhood and friendships that were made are what will forever stick out in my memory. Oh, and that opus x is still in my humi. Im going to a herf with most of the same guys as my first and will be smoking it with the guy I got it from!

So to new guys going to herfs, dont be shocked when you get some AMAZING smokes. I got an opus x, God of Fire, and 3 ISOMS! But dont feel stupid when all you have to pass in return are budget smokes and smokes that aren’t as popular (or have the same price point). Its the fact that you are indeed passing a cigar to someone else that means everything, not the smoke itself.

My $0.02

By: Al Nelson

Al Nelson — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:28:35 +0000

Thanks for the follow up Rich. I’ve been smoking a long time, yet am a herf virgin and had no idea I needed to come loaded to the gills. Thanks for the heads up.

By: Rich M

Rich M — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 06:37:23 +0000

Great article!
I recently went to my first herf and got some input from the guys on the forums, and the best advice I got was to come prepared! Its a great feeling making new friends and gifting them a stick you enjoy that they’ve not had. I brought around 20 xtra smokes with me, stuff that I enjoy and thought others would like as well. The first stick I gave away was a Camacho ‘62 to the shop owner. He walks into the humi and returns the favor with a TripleMaduro! Needless to say I gave him an additional stick lol. That kind of kindness and giving ran rampant at the herf. Another gentlemen gave me an Anejo Shark….(never met this man before that night) I had nothing left in my box to even come close to matching that (price wise), but he hadn’t had a Cubao, and was more than happy that I had one to give. Many times reciprocation wasn’t expected, but I recommend being able give back if possible. No one refuses a free stick lol.

Also… I recommend that you bring some big dogs out… If you’ve gotten your hands on the new V Maduro… take a couple… guaranteed you’ll be trading up with that one. The rarer the better. One gentleman at the herf had almost an entire box of OpusXs. he didn’t particularly enjoy them himself, but used them for trading. Don’t be surprised either if you see a couple ISOMs floating around (yet another reason to bring out the big guns). People will have some very rare stuff. I traded a gentlemen a couple sticks for an original 8-5-8 Sungrown (ya the 2001). You may see some stuff you may never see again pop up at a herf, so be prepared to be star struck a bit. Don’t worry about price…when trading, what matters is that you both walk away with either something new, or something you know you will enjoy.

Most of all… be social! Don’t be a wall flower, some great conversations go on at herfs, and I learned a TON from people way more versed in smoking than I.