Cigar Blog 101

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Thursday, February 01, 2007

Cigar Club tips from Al Remp

Recently I attended a very new cigar club- 25 members, that had all cigar lovers could ask for- good friends, good discussions, good cigars, before and after food and beverages, plans for the next meeting, exchanging cigars, and a very cordial evening.

As the cigar industry continues to grow, this type of venue, has and will always be important, if you are a club member, congratulations, if not, I will give some pointers that I have witnessed.

First, you will need a location- it can be a local tobacconist, or a local eatery (smoking of cigars encouraged).

Secondly, gather names of local cigar smokers, this is simple if your local tobacco shop displays a sign-up “Join our Cigar Club” sheet. When names are gathered- someone has to be a leader- remember this is a social group- egos stay out.

If you have a plan for the first meeting- it should have a charter- the reason you will gather and develop a name.

Then you are ready to invite someone from the cigar industry.

All manufacturers will participate, but they must have a structured meeting schedule- and they “will come”.

Food and/or beverages are from Gourmet to BBQ- beverages- optional- and some beverage suppliers are anxious to attend cigar club meetings- someone in the group knows someone, etc.

Keep all meetings informational- several hours of length- with a strong willing desire to come to the next one.

How Fun-cigar clubs do that!

By Al Remp, product specialist and trainer, Thompson Cigar.

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4 Comments:

  • At 7:53 AM, Blogger Unknown said…

    Thanks for the topic. One thing I'm noticing lately is that there are local cigar shops that open, want to charge $200 - $350 a year to "join" and they have no real structure. (ie., benefits, meetings, list of who the other members are, discounts, etc.) They just expect you to pay to smoke there. (and even the smoking lounge is minimal) I'm looking for some fellowship and networking.

    Maybe I'm missing the boat here, but it seems like charging $ to smoke is a poor marketing strategy. I'm looking for one to join for all of the right reasons, not just so that I have a place to sit and smoke a cigar while I stare at the wall. ha

    Thanks!

     
  • At 2:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Al,

    How did the swimsuit calendar come out?

    You tan does look nice.

     
  • At 10:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Great post.
    As these rampant smoking laws make it impossible to smoke anywhere private "clubs" may be the only place left!

    Skooch you're 100% right.
    The most fun cigar shops are the ones where everyone just sits down, smokes, and gets to know each other.

     
  • At 2:09 AM, Anonymous Brad Dieno said…

    Hey Al,

    Brad Dieno here from Protocol Hamilton. I just started a cigar club on Facebook and I added your Blog link. Thanks for all the great cigar stories. Hope to here lots more.

     

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