For years, a fat stogie and tumbler of single malt have padded out portraits of well-connected big spenders. But the reflexive pairing of cigars with whiskey is rapidly eroding, tobacconists say.
“It’s what works for you,” says Addy Sandler of Valentia Cigars, one of hundreds of exhibitors at the recent International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association’s trade show in New Orleans. Sandler compares the shift to the relaxation of rules that swept the wine world a few decades ago: “They used to say red goes with meat. But it changes with every person.”
According to Sandler, many cigar manufacturers are promoting the after-dinner practice of cigars with coffee or rum, “so it all comes from the same soil.” For smokers who prefer other spirits, there are now cigars designed to match specific cocktails, taking the guesswork out of simultaneously lighting up and getting lit.
Still, the industry’s focus has largely moved away from dining culture and evening glamour. Although trade show participants clearly weren’t overjoyed by New Orleans this year adopting a smoking ban over the protests of some bars and restaurants – the theme of the 83rd annual get-together was “Band Together” – they’re the rare tobacco peddlers with reason to celebrate. Cigar use has surged at the same time that cigarette smoking has plummeted.
According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, cigar smoking steadily declined throughout the 20th century, but the trend reversed course in 1993. Between 2000 and 2014, when cigarette consumption dropped by 40 percent, cigar use increased by 122 percent.
Cigars are especially popular with high school students, who smoke cigars and cigarettes at the same rate (16 percent), the Center for Disease Control reports. Boys in their final year of high school and African-American students are more likely to smoke cigars than cigarettes. Anti-smoking advocates attribute the statistics partly to the increased availability of flavored cigars. About half of cigar smokers aged 18-29 smoke cigars infused with chocolate, vanilla, coffee, strawberry or other flavor.
At the trade show, cigar makers don’t mention marketing to children. But they say flavored cigars are extraordinarily popular with women.
“A lot of people, especially ladies, can’t handle the powerful strength of tobacco,” Christian Celuzza of Remember Cuba Cigars says. “And I’m not saying that to put anyone down.”
Smaller, flavored cigars solve the problem, he says. They’re also appreciated by secondhand smokers, another dealer added: “I know women who won’t let their husbands smoke anything else.” And dealers point out infused cigars may eliminate, or at least simplify, the complexities of spirit pairings: Flavors exhibited at the show included Irish cream, whiskey and rum.
Still, a backlash might be brewing. The next big thing in cigars, according to multiple exhibitors, is all-natural: Think of it as something to smoke when sipping on organic vodka.
“It’s what works for you,” says Addy Sandler of Valentia Cigars, one of hundreds of exhibitors at the recent International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association’s trade show in New Orleans. Sandler compares the shift to the relaxation of rules that swept the wine world a few decades ago: “They used to say red goes with meat. But it changes with every person.”
According to Sandler, many cigar manufacturers are promoting the after-dinner practice of cigars with coffee or rum, “so it all comes from the same soil.” For smokers who prefer other spirits, there are now cigars designed to match specific cocktails, taking the guesswork out of simultaneously lighting up and getting lit.
Still, the industry’s focus has largely moved away from dining culture and evening glamour. Although trade show participants clearly weren’t overjoyed by New Orleans this year adopting a smoking ban over the protests of some bars and restaurants – the theme of the 83rd annual get-together was “Band Together” – they’re the rare tobacco peddlers with reason to celebrate. Cigar use has surged at the same time that cigarette smoking has plummeted.
According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, cigar smoking steadily declined throughout the 20th century, but the trend reversed course in 1993. Between 2000 and 2014, when cigarette consumption dropped by 40 percent, cigar use increased by 122 percent.
Cigars are especially popular with high school students, who smoke cigars and cigarettes at the same rate (16 percent), the Center for Disease Control reports. Boys in their final year of high school and African-American students are more likely to smoke cigars than cigarettes. Anti-smoking advocates attribute the statistics partly to the increased availability of flavored cigars. About half of cigar smokers aged 18-29 smoke cigars infused with chocolate, vanilla, coffee, strawberry or other flavor.
At the trade show, cigar makers don’t mention marketing to children. But they say flavored cigars are extraordinarily popular with women.
“A lot of people, especially ladies, can’t handle the powerful strength of tobacco,” Christian Celuzza of Remember Cuba Cigars says. “And I’m not saying that to put anyone down.”
Smaller, flavored cigars solve the problem, he says. They’re also appreciated by secondhand smokers, another dealer added: “I know women who won’t let their husbands smoke anything else.” And dealers point out infused cigars may eliminate, or at least simplify, the complexities of spirit pairings: Flavors exhibited at the show included Irish cream, whiskey and rum.
Still, a backlash might be brewing. The next big thing in cigars, according to multiple exhibitors, is all-natural: Think of it as something to smoke when sipping on organic vodka.
| Source:http://www.postandcourier.com |
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