What Sort of Cigar Smoker Are You?

What Sort of Cigar Smoker Are You? - Mr. Average

Written by Kevin Godbee

Monday, 12 October 2009

Tags:
•tobacco faqs	•tobacco terms and definitions

Article Index
1. What Sort of Cigar Smoker Are You?
2. Mr. Average
3. Mr. Maven

Page 2 of 3

Mr. Average

This is the category that many of the cigar smokers fall into. Mr. Average smokes cigars at least a couple of times a week. He will have his own humidor and he’ll have a good understanding of how to store his own private stash of cigars.

He will always have a good supply of cigars on hand too- somewhere between 50 and 200- and while most of them will be reasonably priced, he will have a few that are very special and he’ll be saving them for equally special occasions.

He’s the guy who is happy to sit back after a hard week and survey the world through his cigar smoke, and being able to do that will make him feel very contented.

Mr. Collector

This is the guy who knows all the power sellers on eBay who regularly have cigar collectibles for sale. He also knows many of the exhibitors at cigar shows by their first name and his collection of cigar related items is a feature of his home. This is his hobby and perhaps even his way of life and he is completely absorbed by it.

He might only smoke as many cigars as Mr. Average but he’s way out in front when it comes to collecting and storing good cigars. He may never be able to smoke all the cigars he already has but that doesn’t stop him from buying more just about every chance he gets.

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With less than 9 months of serious cigar smoking under my belt, my palette is still developing and am definitely Mr. Average - for now. However, I never see my self owning a free standing humidor as my experience and palette develops. I think the flaw your theory is that it's judged by how many times a week someone smokes and the amount of cigars they have in storage. However, in the future (5 years+ of cigar smoking), I may have the knowledge and quality of the Maven, but not the vast amounts of gars. The odd one out of the 4 types was "the Collector"...

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0 # Close... — M. 2009-10-16 03:01

... but close only counts in horseshoes and atom bombs.

I think as far as generalities go, you're on the right track... but having only four isn't quite enough.
I, and most of my cigar smoking friends, fall into a different category... We may just be Maven's in the making, but none of us have the finances to afford Mavenhood, being college students, young professionals, etc. We're also not necessarily frequent smokers, as in every day or even necessarily every week, but we are serious smokers, and when we buy spend a lot of money on the few sticks we buy at a time. We study cigars, and make a study of the cigars we smoke, and each of us can do the things the Maven can do, or are developing that ability. Many of us will never become collectors or mavens, we'll keep buying in small amounts and never having more than 200 on hand, but we'll remain among the more studied, experienced and discerning smokers in our own circles, and people to whom others come for advice.
I'm sure myself and my friends like me are not along...

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0 # good job — Drake 2009-10-16 04:45

I feel like you did a great job-- being in the tobacco business, cigars in particular, I can concur with these categories. Its important to see these 4 groups as generalities. Meaning, you might find yourself crossing over a few boundaries. I've worked in a busy walk in humidor for 5 years and I see these guys all the time. I also believe for the last 2 categories (maven/collector), its a much more discriminating generality (sp?). For Maven, you either are, or are not, the maven. There's no novice maven. For the collector, there is more of a grey area. Good job. Follow @smokingthis

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0 # Mr. Above Average — Roadlizard7 2009-10-16 06:39

I know a lot of folks like myself that have 500-100 cigars, of various types, and smoke 2 or sometimes 3 a night many nights.
I like all kinds, mild to strong, but couldn't describe a nuance if it hit me in the face. I've just tried a ton of different kinds, and finally pretty much found out what I like, and buy more of them now. I can also smoke a Don Pepin Black label, and follow it up with a mild Donseca Vintage. My moods and tastes vary from day to day.

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0 # Good not Great — Observer of the Observer 2009-10-16 12:32

Keep watching Mr. People Watcher. You haven't cracked the surface. People watchers range from poor to expert. You still need work. Your categories must over lap and not be so distinct.

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0 # Obviously no one read the 2nd to last sentence of the article........................ — Thoele 2009-10-20 03:31

"Of course these are generalizations and there are plenty of cigar smokes who are somewhere between any two of those categories."

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0 # Sorry but no Cigar!!! — Sorry but no Cigar 2009-10-21 09:59

There is no such thing as this maven you talk about. Blind taste test have proven this time after time. even the most discriminating Havanaphile will miss some if not several cigars in a Blind Taste Test.

Maybe you should find a different job?

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0 # it makes for good reading — Ron1369 2009-10-30 09:37

After reading your article I would say that you got close to getting it right on a couple of them, However, I think you need to open up your categories to a more wide spread generalization of more types of smokers.
Your article did however make for good reading and I thank you for that.

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