Welcome to another accessory or tool review if you would. This week I have for you the Humidor Notes cigar journals.

These are available at Humidor Notes for $12.95 + shipping.

If you want to ask questions you can also hop on twitter and follow HumidorMuse

Short summary. I think they are a nice thing to have on hand if you are a casual smoker so you can keep track of how well a cigar was for you.

Take a look at the video and let me know if you think these would be something you would like.

Yes, my head is cut off on most of it. Some may say that is a good thing.

I hope you enjoy the review and as always, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. If everyone who dm’d, pm’d, emailed or even called me about this unit leaves a comment, I may have a new record.

As many of you know, I had to send the RabbitAir back so I ended up snagging this at my local Sears to replace it for now.

This unit cost a bit over $300 and actually has a higher CADR rating than the RabbitAir did.

I will be doing a full review of this unit in the coming months and since I will never have to send this unit back, I hope to do a longer term review on how long the filters lasted, etc.

That’s it, enjoy the teaser/unboxing video and I will return next week with a cigar review.

P.S. If you get motion sick it is not my fault, it’s Brian’s.

We’re spoiled in the Atlanta area, with an abundance of cigar shops, and calendar chock full of events. The problem with abundance like this is that there is a glut of free hats and cutters in the closets and pockets of the customers. The opportunity to win a new baseball cap just isn’t enough to motivate people into shelling out for the box over the handful of singles these days. The rough economy isn’t helping either. So what do cigar smokers hope to win from raffles, and what will keep people at the event until the last number is drawn?

The question has been percolating in my brain, and the kettle started whistling this quiet Saturday morning. Here’s what brewed up. Whether you’re putting on a raffle at your shop’s annual cigar extravaganza (many of these were written with a shop setting in mind), or organizing something small for a herf, perhaps these ideas will help energize your event.

Cutters
I hate to say it, but everyone at your event has a cutter in their pocket, and they’re not going to be excited about winning a new one. That changes if the cutter on the raffle table is something swanky like Xikar’s Mayan, or the Prometheus Cutter Y. Less expensive, but an equally good idea is to go with something different than the standard guillotine. A couple of my favorite alternatives include Xikar’s XV V cutter or their MTX Multitool cigar scissors.

Lighters
Lighters are always a winner, and here’s why. Most of them suck and we all know it. There, I said it. (I’m not talking about yours of course. The one the other guy makes.) We all know the guy who has had the same lighter in his pocket for years, but we’ve never been so lucky. Or maybe we’ve been too cheap to buy one like it. Either way, every lighter I’ve ever had has been dead inside a year, despite my best attempts to bleed it before refilling and keep the jets clean. Not to mention that lighters seem to be lost or stolen more than any other cigar gear. The chances are, even if the winner of a new lighter already has one, it’s probably breaking down or out of fuel, about to be lost in a couch cushion or nabbed by a friend with sticky fingers. Cigar smokers can go without a lot of things and still enjoy the hobby, fire is not one of them.

Ashtrays
Everybody loves a good looking ashtray. Even though I have more than my share, I still secretly hope I win that shiny one with new look. And it never hurts to have spares, especially if you have company. A friend of mine keeps four on his deck for visitors, and I’ve gotten in the habit of giving them to friends to make sure there’s an ashtray handy when I visit. I’m still surprised by how many people I talk to that use a flower pot or a coffee can when they smoke. Even an small, cheap single-person ashtray is a step up from ashing in the fern on the deck.

Humidors
Who doesn’t need more humidor space? Small humidors are cheap these days, and if you take the time to season them before the raffle, even better. The winner can put the cigars he bought and any he wins for easy transport home. And consider this, now that he has more cigar space, he’s going to want to keep it stocked. It just might increase sales.

Travel humidors are nice too, I have them in surplus because they’re so handy. But most people at the your event probably don’t have one. If they did, they’d probably be carrying it with them. In my experience, only a few people at any given event do. To put a little icing on the cake, throw a five pack of smokes in one, and you’ve got a winner.

Hats
My problem with baseball caps is I don’t wear them and I always seem to win one. And I know I’m not alone on that, especially in the Atlanta area. But a here’s a few hat ideas that haven’t been done to death yet: visors, flat caps and panama or straw hats. I saw Jonathan Drew sporting some slick looking Liga Privada visors at IPCPR, and thought, why can’t I win a hat like that at a raffle, I’d actually wear it. And I’m a little surprised that I still wear the flat cap I picked up at a Nub event a few years ago, and even though it’s a little small on me. In fact, as getting the hat did have some influence over the purchases I made that day, and I’m not a hat guy.

Shirts
The great thing about shirts is everyone wears them, and it never hurts to have a few extras in the closet. I’m always happy to win one, even though I have dozens of cigar-themed t-shirts. In nice weather, I’m a walking billboard and I’m OK with that. But before you throw a stack of t-shirts on the raffle table, look at the tag, and take a look around the shop. We both know that nobody at your event has fit into a size large in at least a decade. Anything under a size XL will be received with disappointment. You might as well include a gym membership with it.

On the subject of shirts, let’s talk about guyaberas. Everybody likes them, and almost nobody has one. (Again look around, did I call it, or did I call it?) They are more expensive, of course, but they’ll also generate more excitement. Keep in mind, they always seem to run small, so anything smaller than a 2XL is going to fit like a tourniquet your well-fed event-goers.

Other Gear
Here’s a few things I don’t often see on the raffle table that might generate some interest: draw pokers, cigar savers and cans of butane. All things people will use if they have them, but also things they don’t think of buying. And in the case of butane, you can never have too much. The triple and quadruple flame lighters that are popular these days guzzle that brand new can like it’s water.

And how about throwing a sticker or two into the prize bags? I can already hear you muttering, “Stickers? Seriously? You want My Little Pony dolls too?” Yes. (And NO on the dolls.) Hear me out. They’re cheap, and our travel humidors are boring without some decoration. And there’s all that space on the bumpers and back windows of our cars. I slap the ones I get on my coolador at home, and it’s starting to look like luggage that’s seen the world. Or the world of cigars, anyway.

Another thing to consider when picking your prizes is what people do when they smoke cigars. They read, they listen to music, they eat and they drink. All things that can translate into interesting raffle items. Books on cigars, CD’s of Cuban music or gift cards to acquire said items work well. (Or if you’re feeling generous, how about an iPad some lucky guy can use to read and listen to tunes while he burns one?) One of the handiest things I ever won at a raffle was a Starbucks gift card. I don’t go there often, so that $25 card turned into several months of free house coffee. And I can’t forget the Oliva pint glass I picked up a few years back. I enjoyed a tasty craft beer with it just last night. On the subject of food and drink…

Consumables
Every time a full moon falls on a weekend, a fellow who goes by the handle “Old Boar” puts together an event called The Full Moon Herf here in Atlanta. One of the things the herf is known for is its expansive raffle which includes everything from cigars, to spirits, to flavored massage oil to homemade cinnamon bread. You know what I hope to win every time I go? The homemade cinnamon bread. And the more the better. Seriously, that stuff is great, and makes killer french toast. I also cross my fingers whenever a nice bottle of spirits or a bag of good coffee beans is in the drawing.

The point is, everybody who wants one probably already has a lighter, a cutter or a baseball cap. What they win at an event may be better than what they had, but either way, something’s winding up in a box or on a shelf somewhere. At some point, participants are going to start hoping their number isn’t drawn. You’re never going to have that problem with a bottle of scotch, some good coffee or a loaf of cinnamon bread.

Combustables
Look around, what is everybody doing, and why are they here? To smoke of course! Which is why it’s so surprising that cigars don’t make up a bigger percentage of any raffle. Maybe the reason for this is it’s thought that if a rep gives away cigars, he’s taking business away from the retailer. If you do it right, this really isn’t the case. If raffle tickets are based on purchases, and you hold the raffle at the end of the event, participants have already purchased all they were planning to buy. That box of cigars they win at the end of the night won’t make any difference, and increases the chances they they’ll be back and buying at the next one.

Other Ideas
By now, someone’s reading this, thinking, “Brian, you jerk, you’re going to cost me a fortune.” Nobody’s saying raffles have be about giving away swag and expensive product. At a big event I attended a year or two ago, one of the grand prizes was Rocky Patel coming to your house and cooking you and your guests dinner. I’m not making this up. (Though I never heard how that turned out.) As I recall, to be eligible for that drawing, you had to get a special raffle ticket, which had special purchase requirements. Kind of elaborate, but it didn’t cost the owner of the shop anything. I think you get the point.

You don’t have to start taking classes from Le Cordon Bleu to prepare for the raffle, you can substitute any sort of useful task in place of playing chef. Wash a car. Raffle off a month or a year of preferred seating in the lounge. How about that locker that’s sitting empty? Times have been tough, a lot of shops have one. How about giving away use of that locker for a year? Who knows, the winner might not be willing to part with it at the end of the year, and may pay the normal locker fee to keep it. If not, you can do it again the following year. That’s a win-win that doesn’t have anyone going for their wallet.

Another thing to consider is the cost of cigars and other products that aren’t moving, especially if you’re short on humidor space. How long has that box of cigars been sitting on the shelf undisturbed? It’s taking up valuable space that could be used to hold the new highly-rated cigar that’s selling like hotcakes. A raffle is an opportunity to blow that dud out and put something there that will help pay the bills. The same goes for anything else in the shop that’s obscured from view by a fine layer of dust.

The Rules
In my experience, nothing kills the buzz at a raffle than some guy buying 18 boxes of cigars, collecting his 8000 tickets, heading home and winning everything in absentia. If you want excitement, consider using the rule “you must be present to win”. Sure, you’ll have to draw again for some items, but consider this, you get the suspense of two drawings for the price of one. The longer you keep people around, the better the event (and sales) will be. And if you have that one special customer that has to leave, have somebody that’s staying act as his proxy.

Conclusion
Hopefully some of these ideas will come in handy the next time you plan a raffle, but it goes without saying what works in one place, doesn’t necessarily work in another. I spend a lot of time in cigar shops, but I’ve never been responsible for managing one, nor have I been a representative for a cigar manufacturer, and I’d hate for anyone to think I’m telling them how to do their job. It is my hope that this will be received as something like a customer survey by anyone reading this who takes upon themselves the job of organizing a cigar event with a raffle. (We thank you for your efforts, by the way.)

And for those of you reading this who don’t run a shop or work as a cigar rep, how about telling us a little bit about your raffle experiences in the comments below? What was the best thing you ever saw up for raffle? What didn’t you like? If you were putting on one yourself, how would you do it? Who knows, your idea may influence the next cigar event in your area. (Or maybe we’ll steal it for the Atlanta market. No promises.)

Welcome back once again my friends to another week of me battling this dang cold with a sore throat, cough and taste buds that seem to have been burnt off at the roots.

I am going to talk just a little bit about different cuts on cigars this week. I know most of you will groan but there are a lot of newer smokers or even veterans that have never seen nor tried anything other than the standard straight cut, so this is for you. I will not go into much depth on these cuts as you can ask questions in the comments or email if you wish. I just wanted to give a nice picture of each cut and tell you what I like or dislike about each one so hopefully you can broaden your cigar experiences by giving them a shot yourself.

Straight Cut

Let us start off with the most common type of cut that most people have used at one point or another in their smoking lifetime.

Basically this cut can be performed with and single blade guillotine, a dual blade guillotine, or even a pair of scissors. You have so many choices for straight cutting a cigar that you could get overwhelmed right up front.

For personal experience with this type of cut you can start off with a cheap plastic job and then progress up through the nicer cutters or you can start off in the higher end if you want, it really doesn’t matter except for the following. I will say the MTX scissors and the Xikar cutters have a bit of a learning curve but Kurt does a great job explaining the use of the Xi series of cutters in this video.

I received both my Xi and the MTX cutter as gifts from a very nice and generous man (whom I still need to bomb the hell out of – I did not forget you my friend, I need to build up some good sticks worthy of a nuclear attack) and they both stay in my pocket at all times.

V-Cut

As you can see the V-cutter creates an inward V to get you past the cap(s) but not totally remove it the entire way around the cigar.

I have heard of a lot of people having trouble with this cut as you have to make sure to keep the cigar firmly planted the the inset of the cutter so the notched V cut will evenly remove tobacco the whole way through. I admit, I have to run a cigar through the v-cutter twice sometimes to get it even the whole way across.

I only have experience with the Wolf plastic v-cutter which is okay but dis not last very long for me. I am going to try and get my hands on one of the Xikar VX cutters which is an all metal v-cutter. I think that one will do a much nicer job than the plastic ones.

V-cutters are bulky. No way around it. If you compare the size of a v-cutter to a normal gullotine or the MTX it is 3 to 4 times as deep (yes, I am guesstimating). I do not keep one in my pocket for this reason. I do however have it at the house, on the table right next to my big red comfy chair.

Punch

In my estimation, the punch is the second most common type of cut people use on a cigar. I myself used this cut almost entirely for my first 2 years of smoking cigars. Well smoking cigars that needed to be cut.

By far, this is the most troublesome cut I have ever used. I had tar problems, horrible draw problems, cracked cigars, etc. I would end up straight cutting over the punch at least 50% of the time. It could be because I always used cheap punches but I am leaning more towards the fact that I used smaller gauge punches.

Oh yea, as you read above you can get different sized punches for different ring gauge cigars or even just personal preference.

I still like the punch but the v-cutter would be my second favorite next to the straight cut right now.

Bye

As I said in the beginning this was just a simple look at 3 types of cutters, the most prominent ones, just to show everyone a picture of each along with a bit of a personal view on how each has worked for me.

Ask any questions in the comments below about the cutters mentioned above or even what your favorite way to cut a cigar is.

After typing all of this up, I noticed Walt did a much better look at cutters two years ago.

Welcome to my write up for this week. I have been battling this nasty cold/flu that is going around and have not been able to smoke a cigar since Thanksgiving. I am hoping I can smoke next week but the way this thing is hanging around, I am not sure.

Well anyway, this gives me the opportunity to introduce the world to the Stogie Review Travel Humidor. We have 5, 10 and 15 count sizes with that beautiful logo on the top so the whole world will know which review site is the best around.

As I am a nice guy and Walt gave me permission (LOL), I am going to give away a 10 count size of the above humidors to a random person who leaves a comment and tells me what accessory you would love to see the Stogie Review logo on?

Contest will run until December 10th at 11:59pm. Winner will be selected on December 11th and notified by the email address you used to post a comment.

We have been throwing around the idea of doing a group buy on these. If anyone would be interested in purchasing them, hop into the forums and post in THIS THREAD or just send us an email stating which sizes you would be interested in purchasing.

I am 99% sure the pricing will be
5 count – $25
10 count – $30
15 count – $35

There you have it, a nice little giveaway for a Stogie Review 10 count humidor and even an option where you may be able to purchase some of them if the interest is high enough.

Random Generator picked Matt B to be the winner.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from our good friend Steven over at Lighter Direct. Steven asked if I had any interest in reviewing a new line of lighters that he is having great success with. I was happy to accept and had a brand new Black Label El Presidente lighter in my hands just a few days later.

Steven explained that the Black Label line is made by the same manufacturer that makes lighters for both Porsche and Lotus. This particular lighter has what is called Flat Flame Technology. What this means, essentially, is that the torch flame on this lighter is thin but wide.

The flat flame took a little getting used to but I like the way it works. It is kind of a cross between the broad flame of a triple flame lighter with the fuel consumption of a single flame.

There were two areas where I found the lighter to be slightly problematic. First, when the butane level gets low, the flame begins to pulsate and causes frustration during the toasting process. Second, the polished metal cap, which the flame passes through, gets hot during toasting. A thin band of this polished metal is exposed when closing the manual lid. Not touching it while hot is difficult to do and results in accidental burns (nothing serious, just one of those “whoa, that was hot” moments)

The price on this lighter is a little steep but I’m very fond of it. It has a coolness about it that I really like. If you are interested in picking up a Black Label El Presidente, click through to Lighters Direct and order one.

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