Last Friday I talked about the release of the 5 Vegas Relic. Last Friday, I was very, very excited for the weekend, as I had intended to go to the local cigar shop, purchase said cigar, smoke it, then do some reviewing on it. Saturday almost broke my heart.
I did indeed go to the local shop. I asked the gentleman sitting behind the counter if the new 5 Vegas was in. He said “No!”.
“Do you know when it is coming in?” I questioned.
“No!” he replied.
Ok, I will look around (I had come to purchase a cigar and I meant to do just that) (plus the little lady was perusing the wine section).
Being new to the area and only having been to this particular shop once before, I was unsure as to the quality of the selection. The selection was not good.
There were a couple Partagas, The Edge by Rocky Patel, All of the Nubs and a couple other Olivas, a couple Acid, lots of the normal cigars, none of the stuff that makes a selection great. No Ghurka, no Graycliff, Drew Estate Natural, NO 5 VEGAS. That’s right, they didn’t even have the 5 Vegas Gold, or the 5 Vegas Classic.
Now that being said, maybe that is just what the people in this community like to smoke. I am not one to judge. I would have been content to leave the cigar shop and continue looking for a new one. But then it happened.
I ended up purchasing a Rocky Patel Edge. I noticed on the counter, several Makers Mark infused cigars. I pointed and said “Those are some good cigars”. To which he replied and I quote “I don’t like flavored cigars”. I am sorry, that was the proverbial straw. I can forgive a piss poor selection, I cannot forgive a salesman that mislabels a cigar due to ignorance. Makers Marks are INFUSED, not flavored. Is that semantic? No, absolutely not, two completely different processes are used.
Flavored cigars have flavoring added to the cigar as it is being rolled or right before hand, usually in the form of a crystal or a paste.
Infused cigars are…well…infused with (in this case Maker’s Mark Whiskey). The flavoring is slowly allowed to absorb into the tobacco. There are different proprietary methods in which to do this, but the cigar is still constructed with leaves and only leaves.
I will post a more in depth contrast of the two, and be assured, I am not knocking flavored cigars. I am just irritated that an “expert” would not know the difference between the two.
