Receiving cigars as gifts
I manage a medium sized office (20-22 staff, mostly female) Every birthday or Christmas time, they are thoughtful enough to take up a collection and buy me what they know I’ll like--cigars. But they never seem to get it right. For example, this year the designated buyer was a secretary who claimed to know cigars, because she buys them for her boyfriend, who’s a real cigar connisseur. (His favorite? Garcia y Vega!). So I ended up with a box of low end cigars that I mostly smoked on the golf course. How does one handle this situation? or should I just shut up and be grateful for whatever I can get? After all, beggars can’t be choosers.
Comments
1. Each year, the person who is in charge, (and who gets you bad cigars) just fire them. In this economy, quality replacements are abound.
2. Use rob's ideas. Hiring a BOTL would be a great idea; you could smoke outside together, and he/she can be in charge of your gift.
3. Fake your own death. Leave a 'coroners report" on your desk. Have you cause of death listed as 'bad cigars, specifically ___________." A day later 'rise from the dead.' Attribute it to smoking an Opus, or whatever you want.
4. (My real advice.) You can never have too many sticks, and even the low-end ones can be passed on to friends who smoke casually. Be happy, be healthy, brother.
And be thankful that you get something.
To get people to try a new cigar and using their tastes (instead of their preconceptions) to see if they like the stick, they are sending out 3 unbanded cigars to everyone who signed up for the project. Basically what beta is saying is have Al give this guy an unbanded cigar and have him smoke it, see how he likes it and have him compare it to his Garcia y Vegas.