These days it seems, that your schedule is filled with a triangle of fake news, opposition of fake news and political correctness. One big part is contemporary marketing, which really takes the mouth full.
Another trend are millennials which seem to fake it until they (never) make it - they are confusing their own perception with facts.
The big loser on this war of information is good ol' culture. Not contemporary arts, galleries and artists, which seem to do just fine (and probably also fake it until they make it)... it is more the culture of being a grown up - a lady or a gentleman.
It is about drinking culture (I am cringing, when people are ordering a Bloody Mary in the evening - well this is still better, than people ordering drinks, which I don't want even to remember...), it is about cigar culture, table etiquette, dress code - and so on.
The question is - should you go with the flow and with the trends and join - or should you stand up actively and try to combat (knowingly or unknowingly) bad behavior?
You can do a lot with education of guests - or even better edutainment. If you know about the "culture", you can explain it- and I found a lot of guests, interested in this. It is not very invasive - it is not the "primary teacher" way - it is a soft way which a lot of people appreciate.
Consuming cigars is a very cultural thing - unfortunately people often don't get it. There are loads of people, lighting a cigar like a cigarette... again cringe-worthy (well the cigar for sure will taste harsher and probably doesn't burn evenly - most "rules" have a reason).
A trend, which goes against "good taste", "good culture" and overall common sense, are cigars with huge diameters. Don't get me wrong here - I like the occasional "football" cigar - these cigars are exceptions and quite exotic.
However I came across one brand called Mehusa which just have cigars at a ring gauge of '66. This brand is selling it, that other brands are not producing these type of cigars, because it takes the roller double the time to produce the cigars (well those guys never came across artisan rolled FF Opus X - with "pigtails" shaped into roses - or two tone wrappers.
The thing with a very large ring-gauge is, that it is like a gag-bit. You probably get a cramp in your mouth while smoking it. Oh - and the good guys from the more traditional cigar makers found a reasonable answer to it: shaping the cigar as torpedo (pyramide, belicoso) - or chisel (which is a newer invention - but I really like the feel of this not often seen cigar shape). There are even some other special sizes, which have a changing ring-gauge, to deal with very big gauges.
A torpedo (or other special shape with a smaller ring gauge at the mouth piece) gives the smoker the opportunity to comfortable smoke, while still appreciating the advantages of a big ring.
But... truth to be told: there is really no real reason, why you should have a ring bigger than 56 or maybe 58!
But there is more to it. Even small cigars have its place. "Uninitiated" people might think, that a small cigar is made for women, or for novices - but that is not the case. Especially when you are looking at Cuban cigars (Cuba has a rich cultural tradition with cigars), smaller cigars are often stronger and "more straight forward". A Cohiba Panetela is not at all a "larger cigarillo" - it is a real cigar, which is pretty strong... and is perfect, when you would like to have a quick espresso and an about 20 minutes smoke (espresso is also quite strong flavored, so the strong tobacco notes are easily balanced by the coffee). A Culebra on the other side is an "odd shaped snake" which is rooted in Cuban torcedores tradition. It is perfect, if you like to share a cigar with 2 friends. because 3 cigars are braided into one stick - and can be just taken apart, when you like to smoke...
It is important to share this insight with customers and guests. For some of us smokers, a short stubby like a Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto is a great cigar, if you just have 20 or so minutes time and you still want to have a "full" smoke - but in practice, the cigar should just fill a niche - and these type of cigars are far too prominent. Maybe because of smokers, which are not understanding the smoking culture sufficiently.
The question is, would you like to just serve this wrong perceptions or would you like to actively educate people and bring them onto the right path?
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