The "New" Cigar Boom

     So, many of you may be new to the cigar and pipe game and might have heard about the "cigar boom" of the early 90's.  Well, we are experiencing another boom today in the game, the difference is, today's cigar/pipe aficionado appears to be wiser and more educated.  In the boom of the 90's, it was more about celebrities, athletes and Wall Street types, meaning all of a sudden it went from being just the fat cat boss chomping on a stogie (a negative image in America), fowl smelling cigars, "because you smoke cigars, you think you're better than me", to, its cool to smoke cigars, just holding one will make you cool etc.

    What that phenomenon did was flood the market with a lot of inferior cigars, everybody had a company and a cigar, and subsequently, prices skyrocketed.  For instance, my go to cigar in the late 80's was the Arturo Fuente 8-5-8, which cost about $3.00.  Once the boom hit, that became a $8.00 cigar within a year because the demand became so high, and of course the American free enterprise system kicked in.  Also, at the start of the boom, magazines like Cigar Aficionado debuted and with their celebrity laced covers, and everybody wanted to smoke cigars and be like Mike (yeah Jordan was a cover boy for CA).  While those folks only wanted to be part of the trend, they were killing the game because of the demand on manufacturers.  Inventories were short, less quality was put in blending and It was an amazing sight to see.  It seemed like literally everyday, there was a new company debuting, with the "next big thing" in cigars, most were crap.  Eventually, the fad died, the smoking Nazi's started campaigning for smoking bans, and the game got back to normal.  Can you believe economic terms and philosophies like "vertical integration" was a part of the early 90's boom?  Meaning, less creative freedom for the most part.  Everybody, was mimicking everybody etc. 

     Today's boom has not only brought a more educated consumer, but a more educated manufacturer.  Cigar manufacturers today, understand the market, they understand their consumers, they consider economic factors in pricing their products, they are better with advertising and have literally gone back to cigar roots.  Yes, you still have a few opportunists, but with wiser consumers, they fall off quickly, especially if they have an inferior product.  So this is the reason a blogs like this are important.  Hopefully, there's enough knowledge and information being shared to make your smoking experience a more enjoyable one, and you pass on info to newbies so that this passion continues to be affordable and enjoyable.  I hope this helps you understand just a little more about the "other" side of the game and the significance of enjoying cigars and not just smoking them.  Long ashes.  (_____G_________]]]]]]]~~~~   CLP  (Clip, Light and Puff)