The most perplexing thing you have been told in a B&M?

[El Presidente]

I have visited hundreds of B&M's across the world. Love doing so as I learn something most times. In general, staff are good and regularly you will come across that character with a love of product and life who just makes you smile. When I have time for a smoke (and they permit it) I will purchase one of their own cigars and sit back for a yack. One of my favourite past times.

One of the most perplexing comments I came across recently in a B&M.....by someone who had been in the industry a long time was the following:

" Hoyo De Monterrey as a marque does not age well. Ageing is for cigars such as Partagas. Hoyo De Monterrey is best in it's younger years".

I almost fell off my chair

I thought of the brilliance of aged Dieux, DC, Churchill and wondered how many hundred or thousands of times he has expoused his opinion to people walking into the store over the years.

What are the crackers told to you by people who should know better

[Puros Y Vino]

I am always disappointed by experienced B&M owners that swear that mold is actually plume. Runner up? To season your humidor spray it down with water and just wipe off the excess.

[NJP]

As above. Mold is plume. And talking me out of cuban cigars that are smaller than Robusto because they are all machine made.

[gr8eman]

In the U.S. a LOT of cigar store owners charge exorbitant prices for NCs and will swear up and down that his cigars are better than Cubans. Guess they figure no Americans know the difference (prob true). It actually becomes entertaining after a while if you start agreeing with them and ask specific questions about different marques.

to you by people who should know better

[TCContender]

OK, well there is obviously an embargo on Cuban products in the US. Because the government has elected to allow visitors to Cuba to bring back $100 in Cuban cigars, there is no longer any way to enforce individuals' consumption of Cuban cigars as an untold number have been legally imported into the US from Cuba by visitors. How does one discern which cigar was legal imported and which was illegally imported?

Well, this logic was lost on a cigar bar proprietor in town. Before arriving, I called to inquire whether outside smokes were permitted and was told yes, with a lighting fee or two drink purchase. Showed up to the place, ordered drinks and lit my P2. A few minutes pass and the proprietor stopped by my table and asked if the cigar was Cuban. I let him know it was, and he advised that I could not smoke it in his bar. He stated that if he was raided by Customs, that he would be fined $100,000 per Cuban stick discovered. I replied that I would simply remove the band, making the cigar indistinguishable from any other pyramid in the place. No, the owner stated, Customs would do a DNA test to determine the origin. I asked if he thought Cuban seed tobacco grown in DR would have different DNA from the plants grown with the same seeds in Cuba. Of course, he stated, didn't you take science in school?

Alas, I must have missed class the day we discussed the geographic location impact on plant DNA.

[BBS]

As other guys have said, mold passed off as plume. Saw some cigars covered with thick, furry, white growth the owner was proudly proclaiming as 'heavily plumed' cigars. I asked him how that much plume could grow in such a short time (months), he rolled his eyes and told me that "...clearly, you don't have a clue what you are talking about....".

What I've always wondered is if it's willful misinformation or abject stupidity. Either isn't a good sign......

[Guest rob]

We don't have B&Ms here. The last time I was in one was in Toronto, at Smokin Cigars. Great crew, and nice atmosphere. The 'library' in particular is very cool.

As far as being told crazy stuff, I must admit that I haven't got any tales to tell. All the crazy stuff I hear is online.

[cigarbreak]

Mold is Plume;, turns me off everytime; Illusione Epernay's (an NC) are like Hoyo de Monterrey; Nat Sherman (Or some NC in the walk-in Humidor) blends tasting like Cohibas. I admit I loved the experience i had at Nat's a couple weekends ago and the staff that served me was articulate and knowledgeable, but I sensed a bit of his NC sales man pitch coming out, despite his apparent experience with CC's, which honestly didn't bother me, as I expected it. But generally when someone is comparing NC's with CC's saying they closely share same taste characteristics, I tune them out bc im not there to buy CC's and find one exactly like a CC, i'm there to explore something completely different. Plus I have given up the whole logic of finding NC's that closely resemble CC's. If I smoke one that reminds me of a CC I smoked that is merely a bonus. I will choose an NC specifically for a change of pace and sometimes that mindset allows me to enjoy it more as i'm not constantly expecting it to posses the same notes that I always enjoy in CC's.

[kuma]

When I first started smoking about 3 - 4 yrs ago I would go to a very famous cigar shop located in

the small city (120,000) i which I lived. This place was famous because not only did they sell

high end Nic.'s Dom.'s Davidoff's, Opus X's (twice a yr) but also a hugh amount of whiskeys, bourbons,

malts, Scotch, you get the picture. Also they made great coffees, sandwichs and get this the gent

who worked there for 40 plus years also has loose pipe tabac. for retail. Good thing here

they do not care if you brought your own smokes into the place, buy theirs or for some people they would

be cig. smokers and bought the cig.'s either there or from the outside. What the owner and manager

cared about was if you bought a drink(s) or food something anything and you could stay.

What came out of the managers mouth (kinda dower young man) was comments like "the rest of the

cigar industry has caught up or passed the Cubans cigars in quality"

Mind you this was in 2012 - 2013 a banner yr(s) for Cuban tabac and it still

is going strong as I write this. Getting long winded so after we talked awhile I asked

him if he would like one of my Cubans from Rob's PSP program and his reply was "I thought you

would never ask".

[DoubleshotTimbo]

Before I discovered FOH I visited a local that argued that Vegueros were not in fact Cuban. He'd never heard of them, and was Cuban cigar expert; therefore he could not be wrong.

[archosaur]

No, the owner stated, Customs would do a DNA test to determine the origin.

[CigSid]

In the U.S. a LOT of cigar store owners charge exorbitant prices for NCs and will swear up and down that his cigars are better than Cubans. Guess they figure no Americans know the difference (prob true). It actually becomes entertaining after a while if you start agreeing with them and ask specific questions about different marques.

to you by people who should know better

It really chaps my ass when "all Americans" are stereotyped about their knowledge of cigars, especially Cuban Cigars.

Whenever I am traveling abroad, I always find time to go to the lcdh's, to smoke and talk. In Europe, they (most of the time, but not all) talk down to me or my friends, saying "most Americans" cannot tell the difference between a NC or a Cuban, until I start talking and they say "you are not like most Americans"... A few weeks ago, I was in Hong Kong, and the manager at the lcdh tried to sell me Partagas LE's saying they were just like the best NC's in America... I proceeded to let him know how wrong he was, and to never say that to anyone ever again...

[btp1979]

Hmmm my favorite was Cuban cigars are illegal not by the embargo, but for their high percentage of marijuana. Followed by the mold plume thing at Casa Fuente in Las Vegas and that was only 2 months ago

[Habana Mike]

I always loved the line about how "fresh" cigars were the best and they had the "freshest"!

[polarbear]

Was once told by a NYC B&M clerk that Buying Cuban Cigars is supporting communism

[TCContender]

Was once told by a NYC B&M clerk that Buying Cuban Cigars is supporting communism

That's rich, especially in NYC...

[Elvis]

OK, well there is obviously an embargo on Cuban products in the US. Because the government has elected to allow visitors to Cuba to bring back $100 in Cuban cigars, there is no longer any way to enforce individuals' consumption of Cuban cigars as an untold number have been legally imported into the US from Cuba by visitors. How does one discern which cigar was legal imported and which was illegally imported?

Well, this logic was lost on a cigar bar proprietor in town. Before arriving, I called to inquire whether outside smokes were permitted and was told yes, with a lighting fee or two drink purchase. Showed up to the place, ordered drinks and lit my P2. A few minutes pass and the proprietor stopped by my table and asked if the cigar was Cuban. I let him know it was, and he advised that I could not smoke it in his bar. He stated that if he was raided by Customs, that he would be fined $100,000 per Cuban stick discovered. I replied that I would simply remove the band, making the cigar indistinguishable from any other pyramid in the place. No, the owner stated, Customs would do a DNA test to determine the origin. I asked if he thought Cuban seed tobacco grown in DR would have different DNA from the plants grown with the same seeds in Cuba. Of course, he stated, didn't you take science in school?

Alas, I must have missed class the day we discussed the geographic location impact on plant DNA.

Smoking a CC in the States in public can invite a lot of unwanted attention. I'm sure most will just mind their own business, but there seems to be one in every crowd, not the least of which are the "experts". I really don't have the patience for that.

I usually resort to lighting an unbanded cigar and claim it was just rolling around in my glove box and I have no idea what kind it is.

As for DNA testing, that is not the first time that misconception has been asserted.

There is a test, however, thanks to Lay-Keow Ng, a scientist at the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. It relies on gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric profiling, whatever that is:

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf001210y

[Habana Mike]

Was once told by a NYC B&M clerk that Buying Cuban Cigars is supporting communism

My feeling is not that I'm supporting Communism, I'm burning their crops!

Heard that a couple of times. usually misattributed......

[LordAnubis]

A few days ago at a B&M in Perth.

Clerk "what do you normally smoke?

Me "Bolivars, I like PC and CJs"

Clerk "Oh ok, flavours of mint and fruit"

Me *confused look*

Tastes are personal preference, but anyone ever tasted mint in a Bolivar?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Habana Mike]

A few days ago at a B&M in Perth.

Clerk "what do you normally smoke?

Me "Bolivars, I like PC and CJs"

Clerk "Oh ok, flavours of mint and fruit"

Me *confused look*

Tastes are personal preference, but anyone ever tasted mint in a Bolivar?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

After a couple of Life Savers perhaps.....

[Al3xanderdelag]

That Cuban cigars are not puros anymore, that they import tobacco from NC, the DC, etc. That they're of a lesser quality than NC smokes, so why would one go buy cubans when you're practically getting the same thing or less? I don't like the concept but I like the guy who owns the shop who said this. I know he's trying to sell a product, that's what's with all of this misinformation. They know it's BS, but they don't want you to know how good CC's are.

[DrunkenMonkey]

A long time ago a tobacconist gave me the hard sell on how this Camacho candela cigar was the best thing he's ever smoked. Never having had a green cigar before, I bought one. Less than 10 minutes in, I pitched it. By far the worst tasting cigar I've ever had. Just disgusting. But I can understand why he felt he had to push these on whomever looked stupid enough to believe him. ? No way these things were going to sell themselves.

[polarbear]

That Cuban cigars are not puros anymore, that they import tobacco from NC, the DC, etc. That they're of a lesser quality than NC smokes, so why would one go buy cubans when you're practically getting the same thing or less? I don't like the concept but I like the guy who owns the shop who said this. I know he's trying to sell a product, that's what's with all of this misinformation. They know it's BS, but they don't want you to know how good CC's are.

I've heard this a number of times too

Cuba importing tobacco from Nica or the DR to be used in their sticks

I've heard manufactures actually claim to have seen bales of tobacco marked for Cuban delivery in DR tobacco warehouses

Would be interesting to know if any Non Cuban tobacco is imported into Cuba to be used in local, short filler sticks or Cigs but anyone claiming that a Cohiba actually has any NC tobacco in it is full of S**T

[saintsmokealot]

I usually block out and ignore ignorance.

[dvickery]

ignore ignorance.

this is so funny .

Thank you

Derrek