What's a reasonable amount of cigars to have on hand?

[shilala]

What do you think is a reasonable amount of cigars to keep on hand?
Not how many you personally have or how many you'd like to have. As a matter of fact, it might be better to take yourself out of the equation completely.
If you want, post your line of thinking, as well.
I don't want to hear what you may think is unreasonable, because it's common knowledge that you can never have too many and you can never have enough.

My thought is that 20-30 boxes, as well as a gob of singles is reasonable, so let's call that 1,000 cigars. That would allow a nice selection for a lot of different moods, lots of favorites, and some space for long storage.
Honestly, I don't think figuring long storage into the number is sensible because they're not in the rotation. I'm assuming that the long stored smokes are active, as in they're getting sampled at some sort of intervals. Boxes that are hidden from the wife in closets, garages, trunks, attics, etc. don't count unless they're being smoked from time to time.

So I'm going with 1,000.

[Ogre]

I would agree with that!!!

[Mikess]

I'll say 730, gives you a years supply (figuring 2 a day smoked). Also gives plenty of room for special occasion/holiday smokes. I am not taking into account long term storage, strictly smoking.

[TheTraveler]

I figure one per day through the week and two to three per day on the weekend. Throw in a couple of vacations and some holiday celebrations, two weddings and one funeral each year, that comes to about 260 (weekdays) + 260 (weekends) + 30 (vacation) + 15 (holidays) + 5 (supplying for uncles or cousins at funeral) + 20 (supplying for friends and family at weddings) = 590 cigars. So, straight out buying to smoke immediately is about 600 cigars per year. Add in a few boxes you keep put away for long-term enjoyment and I'd say 800 is about right for personal use.

Now, figure you're a CA member and there will be some bombing, herfing and general mayhem thrown into the mix, that number creeps on up to about 1000.

So, 1000, final answer. :D

Unless of course the actual storage space is an issue. In which case get a cooler for the long term storage and a 50-count desktop for daily use and just learn to time your purchases with the emptying of the desktop. So in that case, on-hand would be about 400.

So, 400, alternate final answer. :D

[Bill86]

I'll agree with Scotts assessment at 1,000. Especially since that says I need to buy more :r :tu

[68TriShield]

20-30 boxes, as well as a gob of singles is reasonable

This is about right for me,if that's 1000 I don't know.

[CigarNut]

I'll say 400 for me -- this takes into account that I am not aging sticks, I just want enough of a variety on hand to be able to smoke some different things and to be able to buy a box or two a month.

[BlindedByScience]

My cabinet is wall to wall full....I have smokes in bags in between the boxes.

Feels about right - I have plenty to smoke, nice selection, some down for aging....and I would say I have....about what the OP said was the right amount. Guess I'm doing it right after all.....:D

[Sherlockholms]

1,000? Amazing stuff.

[Silound]

I would say that entirely depends on your personal consumption habits, but...if you're like me, it would go something like this:


~100-300 singles laying around, ranging from things to grab every day to smoke, rare/HTF singles, or smokes I picked up to try (I always buy 3 when I try a new smoke), gifts, etc etc.

~20 20/25 count boxes of cigars I know I like, because when I like something, I buy in bulk to get better prices.

~5 50-cabs of smokes I love and just can't stop buying (*cough* Partagas Shorts)

~100 three & five packs of various smokes, same deal as boxes, but these are usually something at the extreme ends of the price range (too expensive to buy a lot, or so cheap I bought a ton)




So overall I'd say for a mass buyer like me, 1500-2000 sticks total, of which I probably smoke 300-500 per year and give away another 300. Many of those are sitting there, not being smoked, but that's more a factor of having too many options or forgetting about boxes of things I have than a factor of attempted aging :)

[icehog3]

I am good as long as it is never less than 1.

[Remo]

I am good as long as it is never less than 1.

This :tu

[kelmac07]

I'm good with 1,000!! :tu :tu

[Ashcan Bill]

What's reasonable???

Definition of REASONABLE (From Merriam-Webster)

a : being in accordance with reason <a reasonable theory>
b : not extreme or excessive <reasonable requests>
c : moderate, fair <a reasonable chance> <a reasonable price>
d : inexpensive

For many years, I made do with a desktop that holds around 50 cigars. That humidor saw me through the cigar boom of the nineties, and well into the last decade. It always allowed me to have a couple of everything I wanted on hand and I was quite happy. For me, that's what I would call reasonable.

Of course then I started smoking more cigars, realized boxes are cheaper in the long run, discovered the world of cigar forums, and started meeting the enablers that dwell on them. :D

Nowadays if I fell down to only 1000, I'd be seriously concerned. :lr

Funny how our perceptions change.

[SvilleKid]

The 1000 number and thoughts behind that number sounds really solid! Therefore, I agree fully with that figure!

Now, how the heck do I get my collection back down to that range??? Seems to me I might find a method if I try hard enough!

[688sonarmen]

Reasonable? About 20 singles, for us:sh:r

[neoflex]

Reasonable is 20 to 30 sticks on hand. Than there is this group myself included who think a lifetime of smokes is perfectly fine.:D

[Old Sailor]

1000.........I only wish..........me.....75;s

[GolfNut]

4,242

[maninblack]

1,466.

[Cornrow_Wallis]

4,242

The Ultimate Answer...but what is the Ultimate Question?

[Drez]

1000 sounds like a good number to me :tu

[yourchoice]

Scott, something tells me you are asking this to the wrong group of people! :r

[OLS]

I'll say 730,

731, Bob.....

[Subvet642]

This is an asylum; just who expects us to be reasonable?

OK, jokes out of the way, I've been getting by with about 100, but I think that 500 would be closer to an ideal for me. That would be enough storage to stockpile some favorites, age a few boxes and store some random singles.

[lostark374]

eleventybillion

[NeuRon]

right now i have about 900-1000, and i think that is "adequate", but not nearly as much as id like it to be. but then again, im out of room in the aristocrat, so i guess i have to be content... But in all seriousness, that is reasonable.. I used to have 100+ boxes and i started to feel like i was a nutjob.

[Wanger]

I am good as long as it is never less than 1.

:tpd:

Other than that, I'll plead the 5th. LOL

[timj219]

I'm a weekend/holiday/vacation smoker. I only smoke outside which means not as much from November through March (upstate NY - we have winter here). For me "reasonable" means having a choice of around ten of my favorites plus another half dozen that are waiting to be tasted for the first time. Buying boxes to save a bit on the favs means around 200 on the favorites. Thirty untried/miscellaneous. And another twenty or so HTF or special occasion cigars. That's roughly 250 which for me is more than a year supply. I don't actually have that many but I'm working toward it.

[Apoco]

In all reality - I had a small(ish) desktop that held 250. That would get me through about a year at my current rate. That seems pretty reasonable to me.

...which is why I bought a 3,000 count 6 foot tall behemoth :banger
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[shilala]

This is an asylum; just who expects us to be reasonable?

I'd say this is probably the perfect answer. :r

[Ranger_B]

So 3 cigars a day is 1095, add maybe 4x52=208 for weekends and that will cover friends and maybe vacation. So now you have 1303 add 20%for aging thats 260.6 so I guess 1563.6 so in asylum math I will now take that and multiply by 10 and you get 15,636.

But realistically I will stick with maybe 1500 to 2000.

[lbowles2]

I think I'm happiest with my Vinos about 90% full. At that level I have a really good selection and just a bit of room to add something I don't have with out having to make room.

[CasaDooley]

1,000 sounds good to me, and if I take a break from buying I may get down to that number...some day.:r

[N2 GOLD]

1K is a very nice round number that works... :tu

[Bax]

So it's decided... everyone must have 1000 cigars on their person at all times. If you have less you will be mocked and shunned. If you have more...well, then stop being such a brown noser. :tu

[DBall]

eleventybillion

This dude beat me to it... :r

[J0eybb]

1000 cigars at my rate would last me +- 20 years.

[CasaDooley]

So it's decided... everyone must have 1000 cigars on their person at all times. If you have less you will be mocked and shunned. If you have more...well, then stop being such a brown noser. :tu

"I didn't get a harumph out of that guy.":r

[pektel]

Now, how the heck do I get my collection back down to that range??? Seems to me I might find a method if I try hard enough!

bomb Greg? :D

[Subvet642]

"I didn't get a harumph out of that guy.":r

http://www.themoviescene.co.uk/reviews/_img/42-3.jpg

[OLS]

I would say speaking from the Habanos perspective, I would think that a person would need 3-5 boxes of Cohiba,
5+ boxes of Partagas, 3-5 of Montecristo, 5-6 Bolivar and 5-10 boxes of other varied brands and you'd be set
for awhile, and happy, I might add. So I would say between 500 and 900, provided you had good storage. I would
also say that was bordering on sick, so I would say reasonable is 500 cigars.

[acarr]

About 30. Enough to have for friends when they come over and enough to get me at least through 2 weeks to 3 weeks. That is reasonable. I have to now ask myself why I am so unreasonable:D

[markem]

I usually have about 45 on hand. Mind you, by "on hand" I mean in the zero waiting to be smoked and gifted.

[kaisersozei]

I'm a weekend/holiday/vacation smoker. I only smoke outside which means not as much from November through March (upstate NY - we have winter here). For me "reasonable" means having a choice of around ten of my favorites plus another half dozen that are waiting to be tasted for the first time. Buying boxes to save a bit on the favs means around 200 on the favorites. Thirty untried/miscellaneous. And another twenty or so HTF or special occasion cigars. That's roughly 250 which for me is more than a year supply. I don't actually have that many but I'm working toward it.

My thinking is along Tim's lines, so around 250 for me. It also keeps my routine purchases low, which keeps the wife quiet/happy, which makes living in my house reasonable.

But what's interesting is when I have non-forum friends over, who point out-- "Man, you have a LOT of cigars!" So to them, I'm not all that reasonable at all.

[jjirons69]

My thinking is along Tim's lines, so around 250 for me. It also keeps my routine purchases low, which keeps the wife quiet/happy, which makes living in my house reasonable.

But what's interesting is when I have non-forum friends over, who point out-- "Man, you have a LOT of cigars!" So to them, I'm not all that reasonable at all.

:tpd:

Any number that makes my wife think I'm in control is the exact same number my non-forum friends think is bordering on out of control. 200-250 fits that bill. If I had the funds and space, I could probably convince my wife Brad's idea of cigars management made some sense. Then 900-1000 would do. If she, or my friends, saw some of the collections posted here, they wouldn't believe it. I guess I'm numb to it by now. Hey, you can't take it with you...

[Cornrow_Wallis]

If she, or my friends, saw some of the collections posted here, they wouldn't believe it. I guess I'm numb to it by now. Hey, you can't take it with you...

Yep, most of my friends are the same way. They come over and see my desktop with 40-50 and ask why the hell I need so many cigars. I usually forget to tell them about the cooler sitting beside the desktop that is packed full. :r

[Skywalker]

What's reasonable???

For many years, I made do with a desktop that holds around 50 cigars. That humidor saw me through the cigar boom of the nineties, and well into the last decade. It always allowed me to have a couple of everything I wanted on hand and I was quite happy. For me, that's what I would call reasonable.

Of course then I started smoking more cigars, realized boxes are cheaper in the long run, discovered the world of cigar forums, and started meeting the enablers that dwell on them. :D

Nowadays if I fell down to only 1000, I'd be seriously concerned. :lr

Funny how our perceptions change.

I agree with Bill!

If I were a non-connected cigar smoker, that would be one thing but keeping up with bombs, trades, and Herfs makes it almost impossible to keep a reasonable collection.

If I went off the grid, I would think 500 would be resonable.

[Noodles]

Reasonable "on hand" - two boxes. One box to smoke, one box in waiting. As soon as the other box is gone, you order another one. That's what I am going for.

[area51]

For me it's about 100, it seems management is just so much easier. Would I love to have 1000, yes but for now 100ish does me well and keeps the wife happy.

[scottdurand]

So overall I'd say for a mass buyer like me, 1500-2000 sticks total, of which I probably smoke 300-500 per year and give away another 300. Many of those are sitting there, not being smoked, but that's more a factor of having too many options or forgetting about boxes of things I have than a factor of attempted aging :)

I can vouch for the giving away of the 300, as i've been fortunate enough to receive some of these! :pi

[bobarian]

1036:banger

[forgop]

Nobody is obviously asking the wife's opinion on this, are they?

[pektel]

10,000. In a walk-in.

/thread
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[hotreds]

I plead the 5th.

[688sonarmen]

Nobody is obviously asking the wife's opinion on this, are they?
:r:r:r

[shilala]

Nobody is obviously asking the wife's opinion on this, are they?
Mine wonders why there's an empty spot in the display humidor, she thinks it looks silly. I don't there an unreasonable number for her so long as I keep her wineadors stocked. :tu

[Wolfgang]

All of them.

[DPD6030]

Currently less than 100 in my vino. So sad...let the rock throwing begin. I never used to be like this. I'm Andrew and I'm in need of a cigar therapist.

[big a]

I would say...

5-6 boxes = 125

20 x 5ers = 100

Randoms = 100

I'll go with 325. Gives you a couple boxes to ages, couple boxes of everyday smokes, some new smokes to try and some to give to friends when they come over. Looks like i have some catching up to do :r

[Blak Smyth]

I wish I could afford hundreds of cigars, however I am still getting started.
I have only been buying 5rs and singles to get a feel for what I prefer.
I currently only own about 20, very depressing.

[MurphysLaw]

All of them.

:tpd:

[kaisersozei]

I wish I could afford hundreds of cigars, however I am still getting started.
I have only been buying 5rs and singles to get a feel for what I prefer.
I currently only own about 20, very depressing.

Not at all--everybody here was where you are, at some point. It sounds like you are being very pragmatic about it. No sense spending money you don't have on cigars you won't like.

Enjoy the ride!

[cort]

Anyone who has more than 500 is just a show off;)

[Da Klugs]

Depends on:
How much you smoke
What you like to smoke
The economics of smoking what you like

Lets say you like fresh cigars. Don't really care about sales and such and just pay the going rate when you need them. You also like a rotation of 8 different cigars and smoke 2 a day. Assuming you have 25 count boxes that means 200 cigars. Add in a couple week order cycle and a 3 month "stabilization period" and you get ..... Figure you start with 2 boxes of each and order a new one when you run out of the first.... so 400 in this example.

But.... what if you like cigars that are aged more? It becomes complicated if you are aging them yourself. If you pay the price to buy vintage, assuming they are available (bad assumption) then you don't need any more than in the first example.

Reality is in some form or another many of us purchase cigars with the intent to age them for future smoking pleasure. How long? Dunno, but lets take the 8 cigar rotation out to a 10 year aging cycle and see what happens.

You buy 720 cigars a year for 10 years = 7200 cigars
Then you can start smoking them as 10 year old cigars for the next 10 years. Of course you needed to be smoking along the way as well, so at the beginning of this cycle you need to buy the same 720 cigars a year for "consumption = 7200 cigars. So for the initial 10 year period you buy 14,400 cigars. You consume them fresh for the first 10 years and then smoke the 10 year aged for the next. Of course if you are planning on continuing the cycle... you need to keep buying.


This is all a personal choice that we arrive at by our own logic and preferences. Mine seems to yield around 25,000 as a good number to have on hand. :)

[Blak Smyth]

Not at all--everybody here was where you are, at some point. It sounds like you are being very pragmatic about it. No sense spending money you don't have on cigars you won't like.

Enjoy the ride!

Thanks, something deep inside me just wants to swim in a bathtub full of cigars though!

Depends on:
How much you smoke
What you like to smoke
The economics of smoking what you like

Lets say you like fresh cigars. Don't really care about sales and such and just pay the going rate when you need them. You also like a rotation of 8 different cigars and smoke 2 a day. Assuming you have 25 count boxes that means 200 cigars. Add in a couple week order cycle and a 3 month "stabilization period" and you get ..... Figure you start with 2 boxes of each and order a new one when you run out of the first.... so 400 in this example.

But.... what if you like cigars that are aged more? It becomes complicated if you are aging them yourself. If you pay the price to buy vintage, assuming they are available (bad assumption) then you don't need any more than in the first example.

Reality is in some form or another many of us purchase cigars with the intent to age them for future smoking pleasure. How long? Dunno, but lets take the 8 cigar rotation out to a 10 year aging cycle and see what happens.

You buy 720 cigars a year for 10 years = 7200 cigars
Then you can start smoking them as 10 year old cigars for the next 10 years. Of course you needed to be smoking along the way as well, so at the beginning of this cycle you need to buy the same 720 cigars a year for "consumption = 7200 cigars. So for the initial 10 year period you buy 14,400 cigars. You consume them fresh for the first 10 years and then smoke the 10 year aged for the next. Of course if you are planning on continuing the cycle... you need to keep buying.


This is all a personal choice that we arrive at by our own logic and preferences. Mine seems to yield around 25,000 as a good number to have on hand. :)

I can't beleive I read your whole post, haha. 25,000 :jd

[loki]

i like to have enough to survive the rapture, zombie apocalypse, and the next time the pirates win the world series

[loki]

Depends on:
How much you smoke
What you like to smoke
The economics of smoking what you like

Lets say you like fresh cigars. Don't really care about sales and such and just pay the going rate when you need them. You also like a rotation of 8 different cigars and smoke 2 a day. Assuming you have 25 count boxes that means 200 cigars. Add in a couple week order cycle and a 3 month "stabilization period" and you get ..... Figure you start with 2 boxes of each and order a new one when you run out of the first.... so 400 in this example.

But.... what if you like cigars that are aged more? It becomes complicated if you are aging them yourself. If you pay the price to buy vintage, assuming they are available (bad assumption) then you don't need any more than in the first example.

Reality is in some form or another many of us purchase cigars with the intent to age them for future smoking pleasure. How long? Dunno, but lets take the 8 cigar rotation out to a 10 year aging cycle and see what happens.

You buy 720 cigars a year for 10 years = 7200 cigars
Then you can start smoking them as 10 year old cigars for the next 10 years. Of course you needed to be smoking along the way as well, so at the beginning of this cycle you need to buy the same 720 cigars a year for "consumption = 7200 cigars. So for the initial 10 year period you buy 14,400 cigars. You consume them fresh for the first 10 years and then smoke the 10 year aged for the next. Of course if you are planning on continuing the cycle... you need to keep buying.


This is all a personal choice that we arrive at by our own logic and preferences. Mine seems to yield around 25,000 as a good number to have on hand. :)

i think the answer is 17...but i was never good with word problems

[shilala]

This was fun enough to recycle it a bit.

[AlohaStyle]

Fun thread...

I do think it's reasonable to allow and expect long term storage. I don't have the stash that some BOTLs do have, but I have purchased some boxes for long term storage knowing I will have some nicely aged cigars down the road. Even though they're not my current rotation, they are cigars I smoke regularly and have extra boxes to ensure I have some aged ones down the road.

So with that said, I think 1,500 - 2,000 is a good reasonable number...

[Kneo]

Man, I feel out of place. Currently I only have about 15 in my vino, but I have another 15 coming from a cigar monster order. Need to save some more pennies to get caught up I guess:).

[Matt-N-Ga]

You know, I've never counted how many i have in stock currently. I've always done my purchasing based on room. If I have room in my cabinets, I buy more, if I'm stuffed so full that I can't fit another stick, I try to give to the troops, give to friends, and make a few sales here and there. If I had to guess, I'd say I have 600-700 cigars in stock. to me, that feels about right.

[shilala]

I'm putting a couple hundred more smokes this week just to create a major storage issue. I'll have to reassess what I think reasonable is.