Transcription
Welcome. Have you ever walked into a cigar shop or been chilling at your favorite lounge and you look up and you see somebody do something, you're just like, "What the fuck? Who raised this guy?" Yeah, don't be that guy.
My name is Cigar Life Banks and this is Cigar Life Cigars and Libation YouTube channel. Thank you. Welcome. Come on in.
Today we will break down the myths and the stereotypes about going into cigar lounges. Maybe you're new to cigar smoking and you want to go into a lounge, you don't quite know what to do. This is your stop right here. We're going to talk about the 10 things you should definitely not do when going into a cigar shop or a lounge. Whether you're on the East Coast, West Coast, or here in the South like the ATL, this should hold true to you. So, sit back, relax, grab your favorite stick, grab your favorite libation, and let's sit down and go down these rules for a second.
Number one, it seems like it should be a um a no-brainer, but guess what? There are a lot of people that do it all the time. They don't even realize they're doing it. So, when you go into a cigar shop, there are a lot of things at the cigar shop: supplies, i.e., cigars, a place to sit down, conversations, torches, and even cutters. But more importantly, I hate to see it. And one of the biggest ways you can embarrass yourself in a cigar shop is you go in, you pick out your stick, you come back, and then you lick on it, and then use the community cutter to cut your stick. That's nasty as fuck. Don't ever do that shit. And if you're doing it with your own cutter, great. But please never, ever, ever share your cutter with somebody else after you become a stick licker. Don't be the stick licker. It is absolutely nasty. I don't know where it came from, where it started, but somehow people feel like they've got to moisten the cap before they cut it. It isn't cool. It isn't sexy. It's fucking nasty. And you're a nasty dude if you're doing it. So, please don't do it. So, the guys in the shop are not looking at you and saying, "Who invited the stick licker?" Just don't be a stick licker. Just that plain and simple. That's number one. That's the most important in my opinion. Right.
Number two is know your shop rules. Know the rules of the shop. A lot of times you go into a shop and they say, "Well, we have a cut fee." If you're unfamiliar with what a cut fee is, a cut fee is very simple. If you bring in an outside cigar and you do not purchase from the establishment where you are, they charge you a cut fee. Some as minimal as $5, some as high as 10 to 20 bucks depending upon where you are, right? But you should know the rules. So, when you walk in, it's okay to ask, "Hey, what are the rules here?" You know, cigar etiquette would tell you that if you walk into an establishment that is a pure cigar lounge, and we'll get into that in some of my future videos as to what a pure cigar lounge is, that lounge revenue is a retail shop for cigars. So, they don't have, you know, they may sell accessories and things of that nature, but their primary source of business or income is through the sales of cigars. So, if you're going into a cigar shop, buy a damn stick. Don't be that guy. And even if they don't have anything, I've been places where you go in and they don't have the greatest selection or they don't have what you typically smoke. Find something in that humidor that you can smoke. It can be a golf stick. It could be a throwaway stick. It could be the stick that you sit in your humidor for the guys that come over to your house that don't really smoke and be like, "Yeah, take this," because they're going to mess it up anyway versus you giving them a good stick. Allow them to just smoke the trash, but you always patronize the humidor of the establishment of the shop where you are. Just common courtesy. If not, be prepared to pay the cut fee, right?
Cigar shops are known for vibrant conversations. I like to say that, you know, they're the new age barber shop, right? Everything from politics to job placements to marriage counseling and so forth. The number three rule is don't dominate the conversation. Allow the conversation to be what it is. Give your input if you're in the flow of the conversation and then allow the other people around the shop to have their input as well. Now listen, unless you've just got a dominant personality like your boy here, but then I do know where I am and I tend to dominate the conversation sometimes. It's just who I am. But my people love me. But if you're new to the lounge, just allow the personality to kind of, you know, learn the personalities of the room and don't dominate the conversation. It'll make for an easier transition for you and before you know it, they'll ingratiate you into the conversation and you'll be a part of that cigar lounge because whether or not you know it or not, every lounge has its own kind of ecosystem or culture, if you will, right? And you know, you've been a new guy there. Just don't be that guy to come in and be like, "Oh yeah," or the "Mr. Me too guy," one-upping everybody every time somebody says something.
Number four is all about home training. How you were raised. Now we all see these posts and everybody wants to have the longest ash and you want to have your cigar out and you want to look fancy and yeah, I've got the Winston Churchill with the long ash. Great. It's fine and dandy. But if that damn ash falls off your stick and it doesn't hit the ashtray, get up, ask for the house broom, and sweep it up. Now, if you're in a club setting, I understand that a lot of times there are some clubs that allow cigar smoke. You don't necessarily have that. But your mom and pop cigar shops, they're typically not like this. Typically, like a family. So if you ash something outside of an ashtray, your ash falls out into the seat and you go to cleaning it up and knocking it out of the way. Get up, clean it up, and take care of your own bit, your own mess, right? Don't be that guy. If you're sitting at a spot and they provide ashtrays, don't put your paper, your plastic, your cigar wrapper in the fucking ashtray. It's an ashtray, not a trash can. Another rule, you know, I look at it like it's home training, right? It's very simple. We might think it's difficult, but it's very simple.
Number five, now listen, this one here is going to strike a nerve to some of you people out there because you're going to say cigars are a leaf, but so is marijuana. And I know in the marijuana industry you guys want to puff puff pass and do all that, but in the cigar industry, don't you dare fucking ask to pull another man's cigar. It is nasty and it's looked at really, really strange. "It's just a leaf. It's just like weed. You pass a blunt, don't you?" No, don't do it. Don't do it. Different cultures for different things. I'm just going to give it to you that way. Period. Point blank. Ballerinas wear tutus, but they don't wear tutus in corporate America, do they? Different places, different ideas, different rules. Don't dare ever let somebody see you and your homeboy, "Hey, try this one. It's good," after you've already put your spit on it. Don't be a spit swapper. Just nasty again. And people are going to look at you crazy. Take it from your boy Cigar Banks. We look at people crazy and it's going to be looked at like, "Yeah, these people are a little funny." Call it what you want. Not that the cigar industry is kind of off-putting or not really with the social norms. It's just not. It's just frowned upon. All right. So, enjoy your stick your way. Now, I will give a caveat to that. I've seen couples, men and women, share a stick. Nobody looks at it twice. Don't ask me why. I didn't make the rules. But again, you've got a drink. You drink a bottle of water. Your wife asks you to hit the bottle of water. Nobody looks at it strangely. I'm sitting there with a bottle of water and my homeboy Eric said, "Hey, let me hit some of that water." And he doesn't do the lone man pour. And that's some old school shit. Don't, don't, don't do that. Now you look at, "Hey man, here's a dollar. Go get your own water." Right? Just take it from me.
Number six, be courteous about your smoke. Don't blow smoke in somebody else's face. Understand the airflow and where you ought to blow your smoke. Plain and simple. A lot of times it's very simple. Control your smoke. If the shop is properly ventilated, smoke should travel up where you should see the smoke. But there's nothing worse than sitting next to somebody and they're talking, "Yeah, Banks, blah blah blah blah blah," and they just blow the smoke right in your face. I don't want to smell your goddamn smoke. I don't want you, I don't want to be an exhaust smoker. I like my cigar the way I like my cigar. I smoke my smoke. Please enjoy your smoke. Blow your smoke up and allow it to travel out safely.
Number seven, don't camp out at a cigar shop or lounge. Simply put, if you are not spending money in that lounge, take your broke ass home. Just that simple. If you don't have a locker there, you're not paying a monthly or annual fee, and you're just camping out because you like the vibe, it is not for you. So, number seven, don't camp out. Enjoy the cigar culture. Enjoy the lounge. Spend money with the shop. Just that simple. Nobody wants a freeloader hanging around.
Number eight, for all you busy bodies, "I'm so busy my phone stays ringing," guys. Listen, it's okay to answer a phone call while you're sitting at the shop. Don't have your phone on speakerphone. Nobody wants to hear your conversation. And if your conversation's going to be over a minute or so, just politely get up, walk out of the area, walk outside, have your conversation, and come back in. Because one thing I will tell you, anything is subject to be said in the cigar shop. If you're on a business call and somebody might let off an f-bomb, might say something crazy to somebody else out of love, but the person on the line doesn't understand that. And it saves yourself some embarrassment and it saves yourself from being embarrassed by somebody telling you to take your ass outside and use the damn phone. It happens.
Number nine, don't ignore the lounge rules. Very simple, very plain, but a lot of people miss it. They're usually posted by the front door or back where most people are seated, right? And there are one to maybe 10 or maybe five rules that the house goes by, right? Find them, learn them, live by them at that lounge. And if you find that those rules don't apply to you or you don't necessarily like those rules, then it's probably not the shop for you. And it's okay. No love lost. One of my favorite shops says, "Guns are welcome. We just ask you shoot straight." I love it. I absolutely love it. So again, learn the lounge rules and follow them and you'll enjoy your stay.
Number 10, the most overlooked rule I think of all of them is smoke your smoke. Don't be a cigar snob. Don't judge another person's smoke. You may be a guy that, "Oh, I just only smoke Cohiba Blues and I do Great." And I may be a guy that smokes a Rocky Patel Catch 22 and I love it every day. Does it make you a better cigar smoker? Does it make your palate more refined than mine? You may find somebody that simply can only afford X, Y, and Z. What we do know about a cigar shop is there could be a guy sitting in one spot who's paycheck to paycheck sitting next to a guy who's a millionaire. But based on the love of this leaf, they find a commonality and they can have communication and conversation. So don't be the cigar snob. Don't sit around looking at wrappers and seeing who's smoking what and this, that, and the third. Or even if you find somebody that is not lighting a cigar properly or how you would light a cigar, it's none of your fucking business because you didn't pay for it. Did I say that? I'm going to say it louder for those in the back of the bus. It's none of your fucking business because you didn't pay for it. Now, if that individual asks you, "Hey, why is my cigar canoeing or why is it not burning evenly?" and then he asks and then you give him your opinion as to why you think that is, that is one thing. But to just offer up your opinion when nobody asks, you're being the cigar snob guy. And you're going to see guys that take a cigar and, "Oh, this is garbage." And if they paid for it, they'll do what they want to fucking do with it. They didn't ask you for any money to buy it. They earned the right to do so. They bought their sticks. You're going to see guys, me, me in particular, you know, people use the cigar picks. I use a small knife and I usually get it when it's down to the bare minimum and I tell you in a heartbeat, I paid for the entire thing, so I'm going to try to smoke damn near the entire thing.
These final four didn't make the top 10. I just call them my honorable mentions. They're almost good enough to be in the top 10, but they should definitely save you a lot of headache and hassle as you go in and out of these cigar lounges. When you walk into a cigar lounge and you see an empty chair, well, one, I'll say this, the first thing you should do when you walk in, it's just, you know, again, home training. You walk into a room, you should always speak a simple, "How are you good people doing? How's everybody doing?" You don't have to walk around and be the president and shake everybody's damn hand if you don't know everybody. But you must speak. Acknowledge the people that are in the room. That's just home training, right?
Number two is if you see an empty chair, simply ask, "Is this seat taken? Is somebody sitting here?" Because the wrong thing you want to do is sit down and somebody comes like, "Who the fuck is this guy? You see my lighter here? You see my cigar here? X, Y, and Z." Just ask. And they'll tell you, "Yeah, so and so is sitting there." Or, "No, it's yours. You have a seat, brother."
Number three, read the room. Read the room before joining the conversation. You never know the dynamics of the individuals in a conversation before you decide to impart some wisdom on a conversation that you know nothing about.
And the fourth one, the honorable mention, is for those BYOB shops. That's bring your own bottle. If you come into a BYOB shop, it is customary to offer whatever you bring. So, if you bring a six-pack of beer, "Would anybody like a beer?" If you bring a fifth, "Would anybody like some?" A lot of guys that are in a cigar shop already have their BYOB and they're more than willing to share what they have. It's a community. But if you're the guy that comes in and you bring a pint and you sit down in your little corner and you drink your pint and then as soon as your pint is gone, you want to go to the community cooler and grab a beer, that's a big fucking no. Don't do it. Don't be that guy. If you bring something to a cigar shop that you feel like it's so good you can't share it, maybe you should leave that outside in your vehicle. If you bring something to a shop, you should be willing to share it. And if you're not, then maybe you're in the wrong shop and you'll soon find out in that shop, right? But those are just some of the things that I found to be honorable mentions, that didn't make the top 10. But I think it'll make your transition into smoking a lot easier.
The cigar shop, the cigar world is an amazing world where you meet amazing people simply behind the love of this leaf. The brothers and the sisters of the leaf will welcome you in with open arms as long as you kind of follow certain guidelines. Now, those guidelines are not stringent and they're not hardwritten. They're kind of like unwritten rules, but most of those kind of go hand in hand from shop to shop. Now, if you found this content to be interesting and you like it and you'd like to hear more about the cigar life and the culture, please hit the like, subscribe button. But more importantly, if I missed something or if I've been wrong about something, please put it in the comments. I've got tough skin. Can't really ruffle my feathers. You're just on YouTube. What the fuck do I care for? But again, I'm just joking. No, listen. Put in your comments there and let me know. And then if you like what I've got on here, some of my gear. This is our Cigar Life Cigars and Libation license plate hat. This is the CGR LF shirt. Uh, you can find it online with a lot of our other gear at cigarlife.com. That's all one word, cigarlife.com. You can shop us there. You can also find us on your social media platform, TikTok, Instagram, and the Book of Face, Cigar LifeCL. Again, it's your boy Cigar Life Banks. Thank you guys for indulging me. And listen, if your mama's out there, listen. I apologize for cussing all the time. I'm sorry. I just got a bad mouth. I was a sailor though, so I do cuss like a sailor. But again, it's your man Cigar Life Banks. Thank you for tuning in. Look forward to our new episodes coming out pretty soon. We'll kind of bring you some more content. We're going to go out and look at some of the lounges here in the metro Atlanta area and we'll kind of give you our cigar lifestyle scale of 1 to 10 where we rank these lounges, right? So, thank you guys again. Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and uh we'll see you guys soon. Cigar Life, Cigars, and Libation. Put that shit on and put that shit up. I'm out.