Ken Gargett Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Some days, you just have to play nice. Was at a little cafe in Paris and had a beer for lunch (they asked, small or medium or large – I said large and got a bucket!). Came out and thought, that is an odd smell. Bloke at an outside table with a cigar. All in black with a big cowboy hat but he was not American. Could not pick the accent tho. Nice chap. We got talking. It was a big fattie with a Cohiba band. I asked if a Siglo VI. No, he says. It is a Double Corona and starts to explain what they are. I’m about to explain to him that, 'no it was not, not with that band'. But then I thought he seemed like a nice guy and he was clearly enjoying it. Best to let him, I thought. So for once, I bit my tongue. No guarantee it will ever happen again. Would you have kept stumm?
Scdalak Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Kudos to you Ken for not pulling the "Don't you know who I am card" I am sure your engine was revving at a high RPM to expound on the topic. I find that being the "know it all" in these situations doesnt equate to making new friends.
nick17 Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 I've been there ken and had to just smile and nod for fear i would have ruined what the person thought was a good smoke
TankerT Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 If he's enjoying it... and I don't know him... and likely won't run into him again, then I wouldn't say anything.
Puros Y Vino Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Yeah. Best to leave him in his state of bliss. You'd come across as a tool if you started "educating" him.
riazp Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 yeah If i dont know the guy and he is clearly enjoying the cigar then good on him, just keep my mouth shut.
Colt45 Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 But then I thought he seemed like a nice guy and he was clearly enjoying it. Best to let him, I thought. So for once, I bit my tongue. And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.... I think you did the right thing.
Michel1968 Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Sometimes peace is soo much better than truth! Wel played, a true gentleman!!
Phillycyclocross Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 I don't have enough cigar knowledge to school anyone in that instance but I have this happen to me almost daily when it comes to bicycles. Someone will chat me while I'm out training on one of my race bikes. They will compare their low end Trek to my bike or talk about how they rode 50 miles once, etc. As much as I sometimes want to tell them that my bike costs more than their car or I'm just finishing up 600+ miles this week, I've learned to just listen and encourage them. It's just nice they are riding bikes and not throwing their mcdonalds cup at me while yelling curse words out of their mini van in front of their obese children. Same with this case. At least he was enjoying a good cigar and not asking you to put it out. Don't squash his enthusiasm.
bc8436 Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 If he's enjoying the cigar and having a good time, there's no point to intrude upon that. So my lips are sealed.
Van55 Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 I would have straightened him out. I guess I'm the only one who thinks it is a good thing to make a tiny effort to stop the counterfeiters. There is a way to do this without being confrontational or cominfvacross like a snobby know it all.
Ken Gargett Posted October 17, 2011 Author Posted October 17, 2011 I would have straightened him out. I guess I'm the only one who thinks it is a good thing to make a tiny effort to stop the counterfeiters. There is a way to do this without being confrontational or cominfvacross like a snobby know it all. van, that was exactly the thing that almost tipped me. on one hand, if he is enjoying something then theoretically he should enjoy it as much whether it is real, fake or a dog **** in a leaf, but humans being what they are, we don't. so you don't want to knock that. on the other hand, by saying nothing, you think that he is possibily continuing to buy from a source that is not reputable. and that is the last thing that should be encouraged. i actually hope that it was a real one but that he got it wrong and it was a sig vi and not a DC - it was fat enough. then everyone is happy.
Orion21 Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 This happened to me about a month ago at my local B&M here in the states. A blowhard that comes in all of the time was bragging about a Cuban cigar purchase he made in LA over the weekend, which peeked my interest. I asked what he picked up and he said "some Cohiba 'BeeeHikes' and they were mad expensive bro." I asked him if they were the 52's, 54's or 56's and when he stared back at me with a blank expression I knew something was up. He then responded "all of them brother!" When I pushed him for how many boxes he purchased he went on the explain how he got a "bundle" of 25 each for $500 and how he was so put off by the price that the "source" gave him a box of Partagas for free. After the exchange I sat back and enjoyed my real H. Upmann with much joy knowing that the local showoff was actually the "town idiot" and got taken. I didn't bother to explain reality to him because it wasn't worth the time or effort. More real Cuban's for everyone else...
Ken Gargett Posted October 17, 2011 Author Posted October 17, 2011 This happened to me about a month ago at my local B&M here in the states. A blowhard that comes in all of the time was bragging about a Cuban cigar purchase he made in LA over the weekend, which peeked my interest. I asked what he picked up and he said "some Cohiba 'BeeeHikes' and they were mad expensive bro." I asked him if they were the 52's, 54's or 56's and when he stared back at me with a blank expression I knew something was up. He then responded "all of them brother!" When I pushed him for how many boxes he purchased he went on the explain how he got a "bundle" of 25 each for $500 and how he was so put off by the price that the "source" gave him a box of Partagas for free. After the exchange I sat back and enjoyed my real H. Upmann with much joy knowing that the local showoff was actually the "town idiot" and got taken. I didn't bother to explain reality to him because it wasn't worth the time or effort. More real Cuban's for everyone else... if this bloke had been anything like that, i would have made certain he knew he was dudded (and thoroughly entertained myself doing so) but he wasn't. he was, or seemed to be, a genuinely nice bloke who enjoyed cigars. he didn't push it. it more or less came about because i asked him if it was a sig vi as that was what it appeared to be. only when he told me it was a DC did the bells go off.
JohnnyC Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 You were right on the money Ken for not telling him. I have had similar incidents happen to me on the beach in Varadero Cuba. As I was baking in the Sun, three younger gentleman lite up cigars right in front of myself up and my wife. I heard the one gentleman tell his buddies how he got such a great deal on these " Authentic " Cuban cigars from someone on the beach. You know the old story of someone has a relative or friend that works in the Cohiba factory and smuggles some out. I did not have the heart to go over and tell these three guys that the cigars were most likely fake. They seemed to be enjoying them along with a number of Cuba Libre's. I just minded my own business and let them enjoy the beach. Kudo's to you Ken.
Plato Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 In this case, it seems like you made the right decision. Although an argument could certainly be made for the opposite. Mike
Ken Gargett Posted October 17, 2011 Author Posted October 17, 2011 In this case, it seems like you made the right decision. Although an argument could certainly be made for the opposite. Mike not hard to see why you go under the tag, 'plato'!!
bassman Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 If the guy's enjoying his cigar, why harsh his mellow? If it was a friend buying boxes, that a different story.
Diamondog Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Some days, you just have to play nice. Was at a little cafe in Paris and had a beer for lunch (they asked, small or medium or large I said large and got a bucket!). Came out and thought, that is an odd smell. Bloke at an outside table with a cigar. All in black with a big cowboy hat but he was not American. Could not pick the accent tho. Nice chap. We got talking. It was a big fattie with a Cohiba band. I asked if a Siglo VI. No, he says. It is a Double Corona and starts to explain what they are. Im about to explain to him that, 'no it was not, not with that band'. But then I thought he seemed like a nice guy and he was clearly enjoying it. Best to let him, I thought. So for once, I bit my tongue. No guarantee it will ever happen again. Would you have kept stumm? Ya you know a guy like that doesn't know what he's smoking and is obviously not an avid cigar enthusiast so let him enjoy feeling good about it. One that is serious about the hobby or at least in my mind, really starts to research and learn about what you are/want to smoke and about the cigars in general. Many of the things we learn along the way make us question ourselves, our experiences, our collections and we learn...but for a guy smoking a cigar once in a while thats not going to happen so let him enjoy!
Rushman Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Ken, you did the gentlemenly thing - in the case of the "blowhard" mentioned earlier, I agree with you, that would have been fun educating him (or trying to). Each and every day, tourists walk by my store and wave at me with their little glass top box of 5 exquisito sized cigars as if to say "Im good, thanks". I just smile back and wave.
sg1234 Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 On his honeymoon, a good friend of mine bought a box of "Cohiba Esplendidos" on the beach in Jamaica (first red flag). If I remember correctly, he paid US$250 for a box of 25 smokes (second red flag). When I saw the cigars sitting in the humidor, the bands and wrappers looked way off (third red flag). Out of curiosity, I asked to see the box. The box was a decent knock off, but the bands were WAY off and the wrappers were extremely veiny and wrinkly... very uncharacteristic of Cohibas in my experience. My philosophy is that I would want to be told if I were smoking counterfeit cigars and didn't know it. Therefore, I always tell personal friends. Strangers are another story. You never know how stubborn the person might be. They could react violently or argue incessantly. It's just not worth dealing with if the person doesn't want to believe you.
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