"Boutique cigars are theoretically limited production cigars made by people no one ever heard of before, and fabricated from tobaccos no one knew existed before. In other words, they're cigars that are targeted for brain dead people who happen to have money to burn."Besides the obvious offense to smokers of brands like Tatuaje, Padrón, Jesus Fuego and countless others, it presupposes that use of the term "boutique cigars" is little more than a marketing strategy. Seems to me the term could use some clarification.
To employ a hackneyed device, Dictionary.com suggestions: of, designating, or characteristic of a small, exclusive producer or business...
So doesn't this encompass just about every cigar manufacturer? Well, not really. There are a couple billion-dollar outfits that produce machine-made and/or handmade cigars. Altadis (Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo, Trinidad, etc.) and General Cigar (Macanudo, Partagas, Punch, etc.) come to mind.
Here's the rub: in my experience, those who regularly smoke these "non-boutique" brands tend to be one-or two-brand smokers. Call me crazy, but wouldn't "brain dead" sooner describe those who have limited their repertoire to the mechanical "enjoyment" of one or two brands? Not that there's anything wrong with that...
Okay, so the word "boutique" may not be an ideal descriptor; indeed, a purveyor of women's apparel on Rodeo Drive or a small-batch New England chocolatier are more probable candidates for the designation. But as I clip and toast my Cojonu 2006...Mmm, damn that's good...Well, I forgot what I was going to say.
What defines a boutique cigar manufacturer? Sales? Size of operation? Please share your thoughts with a comment.
- Hayward Tenney
2 comments:
"fabricated from tobaccos no one knew existed before"
That's why some can be so tasty! Because people get tired of the same'ol same'ol. Well, I do at least.
"So I found this tobacco in an abandoned barn, and it's fan-frakkin-tastic, but I'll only be able to make 500 boxes oh and its rated 99."
THAT would be a truly boutique cigar.
Mass produced cigars are just jealous because all the kool kids aren't smoking them anymore.
Most manufacturers use the number of cigars to determine whether it's boutique or not. I'm not sure of the number, but whether it's mass produced like the Montecristo or a boutique like a Tatuaje, the flavor, quality and consistency are all that matter to me. Of course, I find that most mass produced cigars don't stand to the test and the price point isn't all that great either for the most part.
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