A Letter to Someone Buying Their First Box

Dear new smoker,

First: do not buy a sampler. Samplers are designed to move stale inventory. Pick one cigar you can afford to repeat, and buy a five-pack. You will learn more from smoking the same cigar five times than from smoking five different cigars once.

Second: medium-bodied, not mild. Mild cigars are often boring; full-bodied cigars will overwhelm you. Start in the middle. A Romeo y Julieta 1875, a Montecristo White, an Oliva Connecticut Reserve.

Third: do not buy a humidor yet. Boveda packs in a sealed cedar box will outperform any cheap humidor for the first year.

Fourth: do not inhale. Cigar smoke is not meant for the lungs.

Fifth: the cigar is supposed to be slow. If you finish in twenty minutes, you missed it.

Welcome.

— Eric Schleien