Economics. Sell a man a pipe and it will last years. Sell a cigar its gone in an hour? And the man buys another. Same with a tin of tobacco vs a cigar. More money in cigars.
Cigar Lounges Flourish; Pipe Shops Disappear
- Thread starter rmbittner
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I'm sitting in a "cigar and pipe" shop now smoking my pipe and having coffee. They definitely lean toward cigars. But if you want to have a smoke and a coffee you can't bring in your cigar. You can bring your pipe and tobacco. Clearly cigars pay the bills.
Yes, very generally cigars are price protected and pipes and traditional pipe tobacco is not. I work at a pipe shop and again, very generally with pipes and traditional pipe tobacco you’re competing with your distributor’s mail order shop on price.
Somebody needs to bring Renaissance to the pipe smoking. Make it exciting again, like missionary style!!!
A man month per year, for 5 years, where there was an orifice...
Oh, good lord, I'll stop right here...
I feel certain some of you guys are quite warped.
Means I spent, in total, a month per year for 5 years. I suppose I'm going back to my days of managing big projects where we might say "that will take a man month".
Used to be just beer and wine but yes he eventually did partner with someone that had a liquor license, if you are ever in the Melbourne area Executive Cigars is a nice place. Where I am now further north by Cocoa Beach there is Smoke Rings which has at least beer I didn't really remember seeing if there was a full bar but they have a coffee bar as well which is pretty cool.
The only thing going for Corona i suppose is the location and massive store of sticks, they sell what they claim are pre-embargo cubans, a way to get around the embargo laws, a lot of them aren't pre-embargo what they are are sticks that Mitchell couldn't sell in his auction so the owner of Corona buys them for a discounted price then marks them up by about 100,000 percent .. which is only a slight exaggeration, cigars he paid under 100 a stick and sells them for 450 and up per stick, there are reasons no one bought them in the auctions because they just weren't good stocks, the Davidoff Dom Ps that he get's $950 a stick for when he paid about 8 grand for a box of 25, I know who sold him the boxes and those sticks were all flat and tasteless. There's one born every minute.
Come to think of it, we do have a microbrewery here with outdoor tables. Beer's pretty good and they don't mind people smoking outside. Weather's been weird and it feels like spring. Might call my friends and go for some brews. Will take cigars. Last time I had pipe with me and end up smoking cigars.
I often find that my pipes are more relaxing and more of a home thing, where as pointed out previously cigars are clip and burn and therefore just easier when out and about, plus for me I'm more social out and easier to be chatty and things with a cigar, though I have met people for a pipe, but also ended up having cigars.
I agree with the other posters that it is really a matter of economics and market demand. Cigar smokers dwarf that of pipe smokers and honestly, there's a pretty nice markup in premium cigars that simply do not exist in pipes and tobacco. I am not going to get into the ins & outs of my perception of cigar lounges or cigar lounge goers, but I will say that in my experience, there's just a different vibe there.
The question was asked why pipes fell out of favor in general after the late 1970s and I think there's a myriad of reasons why it happened, but not the least of which is the pace of life which skyrocketed to a furious rat race level, a desire for instant gratification which the cigar gives and the pipe does not, and an overall disdain for the "old ways" which permeated the 1980s & 1990s with a stench like a pair of dirty underwear. But as in all things, there's a pendulum swing. Much like we saw a younger generation in the 2000s start picking up wet shaving and realizing grandpa's badger brush & double edged razor did a better job than Gillette's Mach 27 $50 razor and gave more pleasure along with it, younger people are picking up the pipe again. Times can change.
Finally - I think as people begin losing the ability to afford a $30 cigar, they're going to take a look at the pipe again. Maybe one day fifteen years from now, some cigar smokers on a cigar forum will ask "why are pipe lounges replacing cigar lounges?"
The question was asked why pipes fell out of favor in general after the late 1970s and I think there's a myriad of reasons why it happened, but not the least of which is the pace of life which skyrocketed to a furious rat race level, a desire for instant gratification which the cigar gives and the pipe does not, and an overall disdain for the "old ways" which permeated the 1980s & 1990s with a stench like a pair of dirty underwear. But as in all things, there's a pendulum swing. Much like we saw a younger generation in the 2000s start picking up wet shaving and realizing grandpa's badger brush & double edged razor did a better job than Gillette's Mach 27 $50 razor and gave more pleasure along with it, younger people are picking up the pipe again. Times can change.
Finally - I think as people begin losing the ability to afford a $30 cigar, they're going to take a look at the pipe again. Maybe one day fifteen years from now, some cigar smokers on a cigar forum will ask "why are pipe lounges replacing cigar lounges?"
Many great points made regarding this topic, so no need to point those out again.
I've noticed that in my local area, (Porland, OR/ Vancouver, WA) that the cigar lounges in Portland, OR were given a grandfather clause to continue, but with the rules that no cigarettes, no pipes, and now no vaping to be permitted. So, in Oregon it's a law that a cigar lounge can only sell and allow cigar smoking. I believe the same is true in Washington, but the laws have changed a lot in the past few years so I can't say for sure.
I know some of the cigar lounges have had to close down due to more smoking laws. The only exception to that, that I know of, is Smokey Joe's Cigar Lounge in Fife, WA where the Seattle Pipe Club meets. As the lounge is part of the Indian reservation; they allow pipe smoking in their lounge, at least on the nights the club meets.
What's weird to me is I've been to casino's which traditionally allow smoking but will not permit cigars and/or pipe smoking. The ones that allow cigars still don't allow pipes. I've never understood this. I can be at the table sitting next to a guy chain smoking his cigarettes, but if I want a cigar I can't because the smell is off putting. The guy next to me is putting off far worse smoke, but that's okay. I don't get it.
I've noticed that in my local area, (Porland, OR/ Vancouver, WA) that the cigar lounges in Portland, OR were given a grandfather clause to continue, but with the rules that no cigarettes, no pipes, and now no vaping to be permitted. So, in Oregon it's a law that a cigar lounge can only sell and allow cigar smoking. I believe the same is true in Washington, but the laws have changed a lot in the past few years so I can't say for sure.
I know some of the cigar lounges have had to close down due to more smoking laws. The only exception to that, that I know of, is Smokey Joe's Cigar Lounge in Fife, WA where the Seattle Pipe Club meets. As the lounge is part of the Indian reservation; they allow pipe smoking in their lounge, at least on the nights the club meets.
What's weird to me is I've been to casino's which traditionally allow smoking but will not permit cigars and/or pipe smoking. The ones that allow cigars still don't allow pipes. I've never understood this. I can be at the table sitting next to a guy chain smoking his cigarettes, but if I want a cigar I can't because the smell is off putting. The guy next to me is putting off far worse smoke, but that's okay. I don't get it.
I need to send a few email reminders tonight — I’m tempted to remind folks that a couple meetings are in my orifice!
My cigar experience is limited to the Tiparillos I’d poach from my Grandpa’s pickup and smoke way out in a field while taking a break from cultivating or walking beans during the summer.
Since, I’ve never had the urge - just not man enough for a good cigar!