You are handed a cigar....do you

[cellinisart]

Short answer not getting into the many reasons why You always say it's excellent and you loved it.

[El Presidente]

i am a "patsy" and always smoke the bloody thing. if someone I don't know well gives me a cigar ...and expects me to smoke it then I will always do so and be as gracious as I can be. even with a poor cigar i think to myself "Rob, you have wasted plenty of hours in your life due to your own incompetence..don't need to screw up someone elses day just because they have shown a little bit of kindness."

Hell, an hour or two never killed ayone.

[ewipper]

Oooooh, this happened to me twice actually. I have started smoking cigars steadily in 2008. And as a novice at the time fell for the NC hype machine. So I started seeking them and believed that they were superior. Add to that the fact that NCs are rare to find in the Middle East and therefore is considered "forbidden fruits" due to their HTF nature in the region. Luckily, within a year I discovered that NCs are a waste of money, effort and time and became what my mates call the Anti NC. Now, to answer the question. Being the Anti NC my NC loving friends would gift me an "excellent" nc every now and then in their endivour of making me "see the light". The most memorable ones were:

1- a macanudo Maduro perfecto: horrible, sour and had a nicotine kick akin to one of a mule.. The gifter kept asking me for my opinion every 2 puffs while waxing lyrical about how greatly misunderstood and under appreciated macanudos are. I had to soldier on. Nub the darn thing "as a friendly gesture" and then tried to be as polite as possible and say that it was an ok smoke.

2- Don pepin my father: pepper, pepper and some more black pepper.. Through this hellish black pepper ordeal I had to set there wipe the sweat of my bolding head and pretend to like the cigar. Again thanking the gifter and praying for all the gods in every single religion that existed in humanity to get it over with. At the end I managed to leverage my delight of finishing this stick from hell into saying that it was a decent cigar. The gifter was delighted

So I guess the short answer would be accept, smoke and LIE

Just twice??

[brian1]

Yes, me too. For me this is the only way to go. If anyone cares so much about my opinion and is seeking my validation, I would be humbled and compelled to smoke the thing over a few drinks and a good chat!

i am a "patsy" and always smoke the bloody thing. if someone I don't know well gives me a cigar ...and expects me to smoke it then I will always do so and be as gracious as I can be. even with a poor cigar i think to myself "Rob, you have wasted plenty of hours in your life due to your own incompetence..don't need to screw up someone elses day just because they have shown a little bit of kindness."

Hell, an hour or two never killed ayone.

[Jnaube]

I would smoke it. It's just a cigar after all. . Then, I would give him one of my cigars and educate him by comparibg both sticks.

[rcarlson]

I'd smoke the whole thing and thank him for the thought and for sharing it with me. I'd dig deep to find something positive about the experience. And I'd give him a smoke on the way out.....

Been there.

IMHO, this is the right approach. I think telling someone their stick sucks is like telling them their favorite band or movie stinks. Why do it?

Maybe tell him/her that your tastes run in streaks, that you used to be really into what was offered, then offer a payback stick of something that works.

[Habanos2000]

Be honest, but polite. Tell him that he may find it a great cigar but unfortunately it's not for you.

Agree with this 100%. Plus offer one of your favorites to him so he understands what you like in a cigar.

[MattW]

Sigh. Tell the truth. How hard is it to say thanks but this really isnt what I like.

Also agree with this completely!!

[jazzbass]

I WOULD thank the guy for the cigar and smoke it down. It is a generous gesture regardless of the quality of the cigar....

[kwsaw63]

Happened to me once before. I politely smoked 2/3rds of it then ditched it as I felt I'd smoked enough not to give offence.

[Oscar300]

I got gifted a Luis Martinez Silver humongus thing over christmas, I saved it for best, Its smelt like...........................Ass .

[Pedro2486]

I'd like to say I would let the gifter down lightly and politely after smoking a small amount.

However, due to me being a bit of a social retard sometimes I would either choke it all down or something like this: "aaaaaahhh Jesus that's horrible. Have one of these mr."

[andrprosh]

I had this happen to me, someone gifted me a backwoods cigar and in my head I was "This must be a joke", next day this same person gives me a Padron 85th.

[Hoshneer]

I would say that it was decent but not in my wheelhouse. Everyone has different tastes.

[Stogieninja]

I'd be gentle but honest - an explain that everyone has different tastes and let him know a couple cheapies I love.

[poisonowns]

I had this happen to me tonight before the superbowl. I smoked it and said it was pretty good. Luckily the game started 15 min after I lit it so everyone put their cigars out to go inside.