Help me fill my 60 box humidor...

[Jaybird]

Well as many of you know I bought a MASSIVE 3 section 10 foot long 7' tall humidor for my homebrew store. Well I have only been smoking cigars for about 8-9 months I think I need a little help. The question is am I missing anything or is there anything on this list that really should be ousted!. Keep in mind I am not wanting to order EVERYTHING on this list I am wanting to get a well rounded offering for my local customers to choose from. If you would check it out and give me some feedback. I am looking for what will sell obviously not just my favorites..LOL Knowing I cannot get all these in my humidor why I listed all of them is to maybe get some feedback on things like the Padron the 2000 are not worth buying if you have to choose get the 4000. and the OHhhhh DAMN Jay you forgot ******* Things like that.

Padron 1964 anniversary torpedo
Padron 1926 40th anniversary
Padron 2000,3000,4000,5000 both Natural and Maduro
Victor Sinclair Series 55 Robusto
Victor Sinclair CT Yankee Robusto
Drew Estates Herrera Esteli Norteno
Drew Estates Undercrown Corona Viva
Drew Estates Nica Rustica El Brujito
Drew Estates Liga Privada T52
Drew Estates Liga Privada No. 9
Drew Estates Liga Privada Papas Fritas
Rocky Patel 1992 Toro
Rocky Patel Decade Toro Sumatra
Illusion Rothschilds
Illusion Fume D Amour
Ave Maria Knights Templar 60x48
Sosa Toro
Crowned Heads 4 kicks
Crowned Heads JD howard Reserve
Crowned Heads Jericho Hills
Crowned Heads Headly Grange Sumatra Robusto
Nat Sherman Epoca
H.Upmann Sungrown Short Churchill 4 ½ x 54
H.Upmann Rothschild Natural
H.Upmann Vintage Cameroon Robusto
H.Upmann Vintage Cameroon Churchill
Arturo Fuente Hemingway Best seller Natural
Arturo Fuente Hemingway Best seller Maduro
Arturo Fuente 8-5-8 Natural Lonsdale
Arturo Fuente Double Chateau Sungrown
Arturo Fuente Anejo #46 or any of them from that series
Arturo Fuente Casa Cuba
Arturo Fuente Shark 77
Ashton VSG Torpedo Sungrown
Ashton Classic Connecticut Robusto
Punch Delux Chateau L EMS Double Corona
Punch Rare Corojo 6 1/8 x 50
Punch Rothchild Double Maduro
Punch Cigarill EMS tin
Camacho Ecuador is the one I want But please check them all for me
Partagas 1845 Black Label Magnifico Sun Grown
Partagas #2 Cameroon Corona
Partagas Miniatures Camaroon mini 3 ¾ x 24
Macanudo Café Hyde Park Connecticut Robusto
Macanudo Crystal Café Maduro Robusto
Macanudo Café Miniature Connecticut MINI
Macanudo Gold Label Gold Court tins small Panetela
Cohiba Pequenos Cameroon
Cohiba Pequenos Maduro/black
Cohiba Black tubes Maduro Robusto
Oliva Series O torpedo Sun Grown
Oliva Series V double Robusto Sun Grown
Oliva Series G Robusto Cameroon
My father No. 1 Natural Robusto
Alec Bradley Prensado Gran Toro Corojo
Rom Y Julieta 1875 Reserve Bully Sumatra Robusto
Rom Y Julieta Vintage ANY SIZE VITOLA
CAO Brazilia GOL Robusto
Gran Habano #5 Gran Robusto
Montecristo White Label Court Connecticut Corona
Montecristo No. 2 Connecticut Torpedo
LGC Series N
LGC series R
Quorum Small offering of their stuff for a SUPER cheep cigar

As always I really appreciate the help gents.

and for your viewing pleasure...As she sits in the store right now....

Cheers
Jay

[Tobias Lutz]

I would instantly become a regular if you had these sticks:

Camacho Connecticut
Camacho Triple Maduro
Kristoff Sumatra
Kristoff Ligero Maduro
Kristoff Maduro
CAO Mx2

These are all sticks that I look for when making my "obligatory purchase" when I'm visiting a B&M to smoke.

[jhedrick83]

Since it is a homebrew store, have you thought about the smaller or more "boutique" companies? Caldwell, Vijae, Illusione, La Sirena, La Palina, Ortega, etc. I would think most people who like to home brew would appreciate the smaller cigar companies as more of the "craft" option. It doesn't always make them better than the big boys, obviously, but could be a big seller for your market.

[jhedrick83]

I would instantly become a regular if you had these sticks:

Camacho Triple Maduro
Kristoff Ligero Maduro
Kristoff Maduro

These are all sticks that I look for when making my "obligatory purchase" when I'm visiting a B&M to smoke.

Excellent options to add! I love the Kristoff Maduro!

[Indyhp]

You're missing most of my favorites:

Padron 1926 No. 9 natural
Tatuaje Reserva Regios
Camacho Corojo toro
Arturo Fuente Don Carlos double robusto
Arturo Fuente Rosado Sungrown Magnum R52
Flor de las Antillas toro
Torano Exodus 1959 50 Years box pressed
La Perla Habana Black Pearl Morado belicoso

I'd also add some AVO Classic and Perdomo Champagne for some decent milder smokes

[Browns7213]

Introduce your community to the wonderful, cost effective offerings from RoMa Craft.

[WNYTONY]

^^ or Curivari

[Jaybird]

Exactly the type of feedback I am looking for gents!

Cheers
Jay

[AlanS]

Jaybird let me know if you need help with quality control! I'm sure we could scare up a couple guys to burn some just to make sure all iis well in that Humi of yours. Enjoy

[Nevermore]

I would add some Tatuaje offerings.
I love the Havana VI and the tattoo as well as the Reserva.
Also, I know it's not popular here but ACID is what kinda got me into smoking cigars in the first place. I consider them the gateway cigar to bigger and better things.

[jhedrick83]

Jaybird let me know if you need help with quality control! I'm sure we could scare up a couple guys to burn some just to make sure all iis well in that Humi of yours. Enjoy

Yeah, where is this store of yours?

[HIM]

Since it is a homebrew store, have you thought about the smaller or more "boutique" companies? Caldwell, Vijae, Illusione, La Sirena, La Palina, Ortega, etc. I would think most people who like to home brew would appreciate the smaller cigar companies as more of the "craft" option. It doesn't always make them better than the big boys, obviously, but could be a big seller for your market.

My thoughts exactly.

[Cool Breeze]

Good luck being able to stock Liga Privada stuff. Most B&Ms can't even stock them around here because of the insane amounts of stuff they make you stock in order to have the good stuff.

But your list looks very good.

I would probably include some infused stuff, as they sell pretty well.

[B daddy]

Introduce your community to the wonderful, cost effective offerings from RoMa Craft.

^^^THIS!!!^^^

+ Don Pepin Garcia Blue and Black.
Room 101 (maybe the Namakubi Ecuador or the Payback)
Tatuaje Petit Cazadores

[Jaybird]

I would add some Tatuaje offerings.
I love the Havana VI and the tattoo as well as the Reserva.
Also, I know it's not popular here but ACID is what kinda got me into smoking cigars in the first place. I consider them the gateway cigar to bigger and better things.

They are on the horizon but I need another Humidor just for them. I am looking like crazy because I know the ACID stuff does sell well for sure.


Yeah, where is this store of yours?

Redding California.

www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com


Good luck being able to stock Liga Privada stuff. Most B&Ms can't even stock them around here because of the insane amounts of stuff they make you stock in order to have the good stuff.

But your list looks very good.

I would probably include some infused stuff, as they sell pretty well.

The great thing is I MAY be able to get these from a CA wholesale company that does carry a CRAP LOAD of their stuff so I might be able to get a box or 2 a year. But we will see.

Cheers
Jay

[Cool Breeze]

Man, if you could get them you would definitely have no trouble selling them.

I wish we had a store like yours close by. When we move out of the apartment and get a house I want to give home brewing a try. My wife works with a lady whose husband does a lot and he sends me samples. He makes a stout that is amazing. I've always found it interesting.

[BMack]

Quesada Oktoberfest, fits with your store and it's an amazing cigar.

[OnePyroTec]

I see you have a couple from the Illusione lines. How about adding a Cruzado from the Illusione line?

I suggest that because the Cruzado holds a special place in my heart as well as MrJerry (if he has one) :p

[Jaybird]

Man, if you could get them you would definitely have no trouble selling them.

I wish we had a store like yours close by. When we move out of the apartment and get a house I want to give home brewing a try. My wife works with a lady whose husband does a lot and he sends me samples. He makes a stout that is amazing. I've always found it interesting.

when you are getting geared up (if you do) shoot me a PM Ill help steer you in the right direction.


Quesada Oktoberfest, fits with your store and it's an amazing cigar.

Noted. LOVE THAT CIGAR!


I see you have a couple from the Illusione lines. How about adding a Cruzado from the Illusione line?

I suggest that because the Cruzado holds a special place in my heart as well as MrJerry (if he has one) :p

I'll check it out. I personally have never had one.

Cheers
Jay

[SmokinSpider]

There is so much out there I couldn't imagine trying to pick just a few, good luck to you sir.

I really like the idea of smaller/boutique cigars though. Here in Medford the B&Ms are pretty much set in the old stand by cigars, (Lower AF and DE, Perdomo, CAO, HdM, Punch, RP, Macanudo, Oliva, RyJ) So things get boring, I always hoped to walk into a place and see Tats, Viaje, Warped, Padron, OpusX/anjos, illusione, Crowned Heads, Ave Marie, Quesada.

Jay,
If you ever need help I'm free Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I would be more than happy to make the trip south to help you. I do plan on making the trip done to see you once you're up and running anyway.

[Aithos]

To be honest I think you have far too many high end cigars and not enough mid range, as came up frequently in the discussion you started on Puff.com - most of your customers aren't going to be cigar smokers and you need to focus on what is affordable and recognizable. Not high end, rare or boutique brands that won't mean anything to 99% of the people who walk in the door. Add more stuff like Romeo y Julieta and think of less stuff like Liga Privada, speaking of which: if you're not a distributor you won't be able to get those at a reasonable price anyway, my understanding is DE limits the number of places that can carry their high end stuff in an area.

Also, don't forget that you are going to owe taxes on anything you sell, so the more expensive stuff you buy the more taxes you are going to owe. That's why B&M can't really compete with online in most areas and if you forget that you're going to lose a LOT of money.

[Hardheaded]

Dont forget Brickhouse or Brickhouse Maduro. Nice, affordable, always good and fills a much needed cheap to mid range priced cigar.

You have a lot of high end cigars on that list, which is good in a dedicated smoke shop. Probably not so much in a homebrew store.

[Jaybird]

There is so much out there I couldn't imagine trying to pick just a few, good luck to you sir.

I really like the idea of smaller/boutique cigars though. Here in Medford the B&Ms are pretty much set in the old stand by cigars, (Lower AF and DE, Perdomo, CAO, HdM, Punch, RP, Macanudo, Oliva, RyJ) So things get boring, I always hoped to walk into a place and see Tats, Viaje, Warped, Padron, OpusX/anjos, illusione, Crowned Heads, Ave Marie, Quesada.

Jay,
If you ever need help I'm free Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I would be more than happy to make the trip south to help you. I do plan on making the trip done to see you once you're up and running anyway.


Don't know what kind of help your offering up brother..... But I am ALWAYS open to getting much needed help in EVERY department in the store and fab shop..Can you cut and weld stainless??? I REALLY REALLY REALLY need another guy in the fab shop.


Hay guys what kind of mid range cigars are you all talking about? I have 3 sections to fill about 20 boxes in each and I want section 1 to be low end with some low end boutique stuff. Section 2 mid range and some mid range boutique stuff and the 3rd to be mid to high end stuff and some hard to finds. I was looking at my list thinking there were a fairly well rounded basic selection there but maybe I am just not sure of the actual RANGE of the offerings.

Great feedback guys!

Cheers
Jay

[Aithos]

Hay guys what kind of mid range cigars are you all talking about? I have 3 sections to fill about 20 boxes in each and I want section 1 to be low end with some low end boutique stuff. Section 2 mid range and some mid range boutique stuff and the 3rd to be mid to high end stuff and some hard to finds. I was looking at my list thinking there were a fairly well rounded basic selection there but maybe I am just not sure of the actual RANGE of the offerings.

I would be more focused on having a split like 30% low, 55% mid, 15% high or something of that nature. I know the idea of having each case be a range is symmetrical and and sounds attractive but from a money making standpoint it would be a big mistake. I can tell you right now that high end will not make up even close to 30% of your total sales. Out of 60 boxes I would say no more than 6-8 should be high end.

Keep in mind that if you end up selling a ton of high end cigars you can always skew the numbers that way later as you sell low/mid boxes. It's a lot harder to do the opposite...

Edit:

I would say low end would sell for 3-5 dollars, mid would be 6-9 dollars and high would be 10+ if you want a dollar range. The vast majority of what you stock should fall into the mid range, even your high end should be mostly on the low side. Not many people are going to buy homebrew and then grab a $15-20 cigar...

[Hardheaded]

Don't know what kind of help your offering up brother..... But I am ALWAYS open to getting much needed help in EVERY department in the store and fab shop..Can you cut and weld stainless??? I REALLY REALLY REALLY need another guy in the fab shop.


Hay guys what kind of mid range cigars are you all talking about? I have 3 sections to fill about 20 boxes in each and I want section 1 to be low end with some low end boutique stuff. Section 2 mid range and some mid range boutique stuff and the 3rd to be mid to high end stuff and some hard to finds. I was looking at my list thinking there were a fairly well rounded basic selection there but maybe I am just not sure of the actual RANGE of the offerings.

Great feedback guys!

Cheers
Jay

It is a very nice list, that skews a bit to the high or HTF end of cigars.

Some mid range, or $6-$9 cigars based on normal, B&M pricing would be...

Diesel
Punch
Partagas
Brickhouse
Room 101
CAO, Brazilia and Mx2 specifically
Asylum
Ave Maria
Most Fuente Offerings.

I would also suggest a small section of smaller smokes, maybe in place of some of the low end sticks. A small selection such as Cult Blood Red Moon, The Nat Sherman .5s in all three options and MUWAT Baitfish give a pretty good range flavor wise and are affordable. Nive size for a ride home from your shop too.

[Jaybird]

I would be more focused on having a split like 30% low, 55% mid, 15% high or something of that nature. I know the idea of having each case be a range is symmetrical and and sounds attractive but from a money making standpoint it would be a big mistake. I can tell you right now that high end will not make up even close to 30% of your total sales. Out of 60 boxes I would say no more than 6-8 should be high end.

Keep in mind that if you end up selling a ton of high end cigars you can always skew the numbers that way later as you sell low/mid boxes. It's a lot harder to do the opposite...

Edit:

I would say low end would sell for 3-5 dollars, mid would be 6-9 dollars and high would be 10+ if you want a dollar range. The vast majority of what you stock should fall into the mid range, even your high end should be mostly on the low side. Not many people are going to buy homebrew and then grab a $15-20 cigar...

Gerat feedback my friend! I like how you are thinking! Its right about where I would like to be...



It is a very nice list, that skews a bit to the high or HTF end of cigars.

Some mid range, or $6-$9 cigars based on normal, B&M pricing would be...

Diesel
Punch
Partagas
Brickhouse
Room 101
CAO, Brazilia and Mx2 specifically
Asylum
Ave Maria
Most Fuente Offerings.

I would also suggest a small section of smaller smokes, maybe in place of some of the low end sticks. A small selection such as Cult Blood Red Moon, The Nat Sherman .5s in all three options and MUWAT Baitfish give a pretty good range flavor wise and are affordable. Nive size for a ride home from your shop too.

That is a great list right there. I was thinking Diesel too because I really like them myself. I do have about 4-5 boxes of small cigars on that list too.

I think you guys are all onto something!

Love the feedback gents!

Cheers
Jay

[chris19]

To be honest I think you have far too many high end cigars and not enough mid range, as came up frequently in the discussion you started on Puff.com - most of your customers aren't going to be cigar smokers and you need to focus on what is affordable and recognizable. Not high end, rare or boutique brands that won't mean anything to 99% of the people who walk in the door. Add more stuff like Romeo y Julieta and think of less stuff like Liga Privada, speaking of which: if you're not a distributor you won't be able to get those at a reasonable price anyway, my understanding is DE limits the number of places that can carry their high end stuff in an area.

Also, don't forget that you are going to owe taxes on anything you sell, so the more expensive stuff you buy the more taxes you are going to owe. That's why B&M can't really compete with online in most areas and if you forget that you're going to lose a LOT of money.


I am going to have to agree. As I was reading through I was saying to my self this is all high end stuff. High end isn't bad but it isn't what is going to sell day in and day out. Drew Estate has a wide variety, Tatuaje White label are very affordable and still very good.

[Ropey]

Might be best to ask the people who will be frequenting your store. Like somebody else said, 99.8% of the general population have never heard of the brands that hobbyist sites like this one take for granted.

Therefore I'd go for brands that more people have heard of... Macanudo, Montecristo, Punch, RyJ, Cohiba, etc.

[SmokinSpider]

Don't know what kind of help your offering up brother..... But I am ALWAYS open to getting much needed help in EVERY department in the store and fab shop..Can you cut and weld stainless??? I REALLY REALLY REALLY need another guy in the fab shop.

Sorry Jay, its been a long time since I have welded stainless, wasn't very good at it if memory serves. Cutting, polishing, painting refinishing etc I'm pretty good at.
Just general help I suppose, restocking, heavy lifting, grunt work lol.

[Jaybird]

Sorry Jay, its been a long time since I have welded stainless, wasn't very good at it if memory serves. Cutting, polishing, painting refinishing etc I'm pretty good at.
Just general help I suppose, restocking, heavy lifting, grunt work lol.


Ha Ha ha... I can see how that weekend would play out. We would sit around the fab shop smoking cigars and drinking beer talking about cigars, woman and booze. Baahhaaaa

Hay man thanks a BUNCH for the offer and I would totally take you up on it, 1 because I would like to meet you.... But as for the shop and the store man were not really doing anything major where I need any major help. BUT that said, if your ever down here you better find your ass in my store so we can waste a day away smoking cigars :)


Cheers
Jay

[SmokinSpider]

You got it brother, just let us know when the boxes start landing. :stogie: