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.

Haters gonna hate.
It’s easy to get drawn into a debate with someone who’s not open to another point of view, no matter how well you argue the point. Whether it be conceiving of a world where cigars taste like something other than smoke, or accepting that consenting adults should be allowed to enjoy fine tobacco in an establishment that welcomes it. As much as I think it’s a stupid saying, there is a shining bling of wisdom to “haters gonna hate”. It’s a dismissal of an unnecessary and unwinnable battle, and liberation to return your attention to what matters: that fine roll of premium tobacco in your hand. Not everyone who disagrees with you is biased or being irrational, of course, but when you encounter someone who is, just let it roll past you like a plume of aromatic smoke.

Whatever, just be consistent about it.
People new to cigars often ask what the ideal humidity is for their humidor. I generally answer that it depends on the palate and the cigar, but in most cases I find that a humidity a little under 70% results in the best smoking experiences for me. But the real answer is 65%, 75% or any number in between, it doesn’t matter, so long as you maintain a consistent, stable environment. Inconsistency accounts for many of the burn and flavor problems people encounter, like tunneling, uneven burns and wrapper splits. A cigar isn’t like a digital hygrometer, it takes some time for all the tobacco in that stick to reach a consistent humidity. Pick a number and stick with it.

Cigars, the breakfast of champions.
Traditionally, cigars fit into the later part of the day with the after dinner drink. So what I’m about to tell you will come across as heresy to some. (And I’ll refer them to the part of Jerry’s Three Things that discusses breaking the rules.) If you really want to drink in the flavor and nuance of that cigar, light it up first thing in the day. Studies have found that your senses are at their sharpest in the morning, and gradually dull as the day passes. Like many people these days, your palate works long hours, and by the end of the day, it’s a little tired. It’ll still get the job done, but just not as well it does immediately after a night’s rest. (Of course, all bets are off if your after dinner drink is followed by five more the night before.) And if you smoke a lot of full-bodied powerhouse puros, you might consider trying it something a little milder. Cigars you find a little to mellow for that evening scotch may surprise you with a morning coffee.

The idea to write a little bit about herfing came to me after I was asked for the third time by as many people about the subject, all in the space of a week. What’s a herf? What happens at a herf? How do I throw a “cigar party”? They asked. I was a little surprised. I just assumed people knew what I was talking about when I threw the term around. I have to wonder how often I was on the receiving end of the smile-and-nod. To clear it all up, I will address all three questions.

What’s a Herf?
If (dare I say, when) “Herf” is added to the dictionary, allowing the term to graduate from the school of cigar geek jargon and enter the vast world of proper English words, I image the entry will look a little like this:

Herf /hurf/ n. 1. A gathering of people for the purpose of smoking cigars. 2. A group of people smoking cigars. 3. A sound made by a cat whist coughing up a hairball. v. 1. To smoke cigars with other cigar smokers. 2. To smoke many cigars in a short period of time.

Regarding the history of the word, I’ve seen all sorts of clever stories involving foreign word etymologies and people of yore with unfortunate names and a penchant for tobacco. But the tale I’m inclined to believe is that it was coined on the alt.smokers.cigar forum some time in 1996. At one point I spent hours reading through threads on that newsgroup trying to get to the bottom of it. I found that several people claimed to have said “herf” first, and with different meanings. One likely candidate used the term in place of “draw”, while another used it as shorthand for a group of people. Who’s right? Who knows. What’s important is what it means now.

In answer to the first question, what is a herf, technically, it’s nothing more than a gathering of people for the purpose of smoking cigars. What sets it apart from the average cigar shop visit is that a herf usually takes place somewhere other than a cigar shop. In a cigar-friendly bar, or at someone’s house, for example. Accordingly, the participants bring the cigars they’re planning on smoking with them. (That being said, I have attended herfs at cigar shops.)

What Happens at a Herf?
The answer to this question varies from one event to the next, it’s up to host and the attendees what happens. The one thing you can be assured is that aromatic qualities of numerous cigars will be set free with the assistance of fire. At most herfs I have attended, a good deal of trading and gifting takes place. Something about the atmosphere inspires generosity, and encourages the enthusiast to light up a rarity. And of course, when get a group of cigar smokers together, you can bet food and drink are close at hand.

On occasion, more elaborate events take place at a herf, such as box passes, poker or domino games, long ash competitions, raffles and cigars-for-troops collections. For someone who hasn’t been to one before it can sound intimidating. The thing to keep in mind is that these extra curricular activities are rarely mandatory, and you will be welcome to drop by even if all you do do is smoke your favorite cigar and make some friends.

How Do I Host a Herf?
Hosting a herf isn’t much different hosting any sort of party. The major difference is that it works better if everyone you invite smokes cigars and you hold it in a place that will not be adversely affected by the perpetual cloud of premium tobacco smoke. And bonus, because it’s a herf, you don’t have provide the cigars (other than your own), but it’s a good idea to have some food and beverages on hand. Cigar smokers are always looking for new and interesting places to light up their favorite sticks, if you provide them with that, the rest is gravy.

Hot Herfin’ Tips From You
Have some herfing tips and/or experiences you’d like to share? Or perhaps I missed something? Feel free to make use of our top-notch comment functionality (now with hyper-threading!) and share the love!

Video runs a little over 11:30 and I hope you go easy on me…I’m not known for my “how to” or “educational” videos but I did try my best.

I dropped everything, pulled out the drawer. After an hour or so of careful evaluation of the cigars, I found 5 other cigars, all Graycliffs that had been raped and pillaged by the evil marauding insects. Worse still is that I came face to face with the little criminals. They were pretty brazen. A few of them just sitting on the sides of the drawer, surveying the vast tobacco tobacco landscape. I happy to say that I gave them a close look at my thumbprint.

After I quarantined all the cigars in plastic I wiped down the cedar drawer with distilled water to remove any remains of bugs and dust. (You have to be very, very careful of that dust. A pile of tobacco dust to us is a honeymoon suite to an amorous tobacco beetle.)

I was thinking of leaving it at that. Infected cigars gone. Beetles eradicated. Stogie citizens of the United Sticks of Brian’s Humidor (USBH, for short) were once again safe. From beetles anyway. All citizen stogies still faced the danger of small, controlled burns. But then it occurred to me, this is an opportunity to speak with the manufacturer about this issue. These are $20+ cigars, after all. There should be someone available for me to talk to about this.

I started out by sending the following message to Graycliff, using their web contact form:

Hi, I was wondering what sort of measures you take to prevent beetles in your cigars. Do you freeze your cigars like many manufacturers do?

The reason I’m writing is that it appears a few of the little guys made it through whatever measures you take to elimate them.  I was VERY surprised this morning to discover a break out of beetles in the Graycliff drawer of my humidor. After some careful analysis, it appears the source of the beetles was in my selection of blue label (professionale) sticks, and spread into a red label cigar or two. Needless to say, I am a little disappointed. Fortunately only six cigars had to be thown away. I’m moving the remaining sticks to a quarantine humidor for now.

I just thought you should be aware of this. The only other cigar I’ve had a beetle problem with was an inexpensive bundled Dominican smoke.

Regards,
Brian Hewitt

P.S. If this gets through, it appears that you have a bug with your feedback form.

But the contact form errored out when I tried to send it. I tried again, but no dice. It’s lucky I wrote my message in notepad, because having to rewrite my questions would have just added insult to injury.

Since I couldn’t use the web-based contact forum, I decided to call Graycliff directly. I was a little surprised to find their direct line busy, so I tried again with the 1-800 number. Wow, two strikes! This time I got through and asked to be forwarded to someone who could speak with me about the cigars.

A lady with a great island accent answered the phone. I told her about the breakout of beatles in my Graycliff stash and asked her what measures Graycliff takes to prevent beetles in their cigars. Do they freeze their cigars before they ship? Do they use any sort of pesticide on the tobacco? She told me they don’t use pesticide. The only thing they do is ship their cigars in a freezer container to Baton Rouge where they are distributed.

I then asked her if they get a lot of calls regarding beetles. Initially she responds no, but then qualifies that they do get calls from warmer places like California during the summer. The key here is heat. Heat is what causes the bugs to hatch and start eating. She recommends to people who call that they do not freeze the cigars, saying that freezing the beetles can cause damage to the smokes. That seemed a bit contradictory, given they ship the cigars frozen, but I didn’t challenge her on the point.

What she tells people who call about beetles is that they should immediately throw out any cigars that have beetle damage and put the rest of the cigars from the box in tupperware in the bottom of the refrigerator until the end of summer. Of course, being careful to keep this container away from food items like onions and other produce with strong aromas. This advice seems to be a little suspect to me, as the cool temperature will not kill the eggs and even the most humid part of the refrigerator will considerably dry out your smokes if left there very long. Perhaps the idea is that this approach delays the problem long enough for you to smoke the cigars. Problem resolved by fire.

Of course, the 800-pound gorilla in the room (or on the phone in this case) was whether or not my smokes would be replaced. I decided not to ask for a replacement, rather waiting to see if an offer would be made. My rationale was that when I purchased these cigars, there was no obvious indication of bugs, so their germination had to do with my storage conditions. (I have had temperature problems in the past.) In my opinion, they didn’t owe me a replacement. However, it would make good business sense for them to make the offer. As anyone in customer service knows, you’re chance to score real points with your customer is when they come to you with a problem. Address it the issue well, and have the power to make an unhappy customer both happy and loyal.

The offer to replace the cigars was never made. Maybe it was because I didn’t sound angry on the phone (I wasn’t), or maybe they get calls all the time from people lying to get free cigars. I was a little disappointed, I have to admit. I don’t need replacements and probably wouldn’t have accepted them, but I would have appreciated the offer. I mean, hey, these are $20 cigars after all!

You might be wondering why I didn’t contact the retailer. In this particular case, I know that the cigar that seemed to be the epicenter of the beetle party was purchased from a cigar shop that has since changed ownership. Even if they wanted to generously replace any of my cigars, they couldn’t. They don’t carry Graycliff.

So what did I do to address the problem? I’m trying a multi-stage freezing process I’ve read about in the past. My plan is to put my stogies in the fridge for a day or so, before moving them into the freezer for around a week. And then transition them back out to the fridge before returning them to normal, though isolated, humidor storage.

So what, if anything have we learned? I’ll leave you, dear Stogie Review reader, with a few pointers for avoiding the evils of beetles.

• Monitor and regulate your humidor temperate carefully.
• Act quickly if you think you have a problem.
• Don’t try to keep or rescue a cigar with beetle damage.
• Quarantine all smokes that were in direct contact with the beetle-gnawed cigars. Consider freezing them to ensure safety.
• Clean up that tobacco dust. That’s beetle breeding territory.
• Per my conversation with lady at Graycliff and my past experience, there may be a slightly higher risk of beetles with Graycliff cigars. I’m not going to advise against buying them, I’d just recommend you be careful in where and how you store them.

Check out the video below to see the step by step process in building your own.