| nd them out during bachelor parties. We give them | | | | color, also drier-tasting, while Colorado Claro, is |
| to new fathers. We hand them out to potential | | | | medium brown and Colorado reddish. The next two |
| business partners and employees ("Sit down. Have a | | | | gradations are Colorado Claro and Colorado Maduro. |
| cigar."). | | | | Maduros are darker and tend to taste fairly sweet. |
| It's no wonder, then, that cigars are also a | | | | Recently Oscuro-wrapper cigars—entirely black |
| well-known father's day gift. (For example, a Google | | | | and also sweetish—have appeared on the |
| search turns up 442,000 possibilities for "father's day | | | | market again. |
| cigar.") Cigars have that reputation—they're the | | | | The choice is up to you. Chocolate stout and bitter |
| gift that you give someone to help him slow down, | | | | ale are both delicious, if they're well-made (and you're |
| relax, savor the moment. They have the classiness, | | | | buying premium cigars, right?), but they're very |
| the gentlemanly appeal you want in a father's day | | | | distinct tastes. |
| gift. And, digging deeper, they're deeply historically | | | | 3) How to smoke cigars (and, yes, if your dad's |
| rooted in ceremonies of generosity, well-wishing, and | | | | never smoked one before he'll need some pointers): |
| companionship. Ancient Native Americans living near | | | | Use a cigar cutter to cut off the cap of the cigar, |
| the Pacific Northwest Coast observed, for example, | | | | then, using a wooden match or a Zippo lighter or |
| a ceremony known as the potlatch, in which | | | | other full flame (not a paper match, which will impart |
| significant life events were observed by exchanging | | | | a chemical aftertaste to the cigar), turn the end of |
| gifts and sharing wealth, which wealth often included | | | | the cigar in the flame a full 360 degrees until every |
| tobacco. And, besides that, they're the one gift idea | | | | part of it is lit. Don’t inhale—this |
| you can be sure he'll be glad to get—even if | | | | isn’t a cigarette! Pull the smoke into your |
| you're not the only person to think of it. You can | | | | mouth and taste it thoroughly without allowing it into |
| have too many bottles of cologne, you can have too | | | | your lungs. Remember, it’s about the taste. |
| many books (if you try really hard), you can have | | | | 4) Consider buying a sampler. Instead of getting a |
| too many ties—but you can't have too many | | | | box of expensive cigars that, it turns out, aren't |
| high-quality premium cigars. | | | | exactly to dad's taste, some of the better cigar |
| Cigars, then, already are a staple father's day gift, | | | | stores allow you to choose your own sampler of |
| unless you know already that your dear old dad | | | | high-quality cigars. Make sure you're buying a |
| hates to smoke stogies (in which case, why are you | | | | premium-only sampler, as some online stores and |
| still reading?). For those of you new to the world of | | | | mail-order-cigar-catalog companies make use of the |
| cigars, here are some basics: | | | | following ploy: they advertise an "unbelievable deal" |
| 1) Choose good cigars. (After all, he's your dad!) Buy | | | | "super premium" cigar sampler (or some such name), |
| well-made, hand-rolled, long-filler cigars from a quality | | | | complete with photographs of rows on rows of |
| cigar outlet or online store. The better the cigar, the | | | | cigars, the front row of which is full of fine |
| better the taste, and the more permanent the | | | | stogies—expensive hand-rolled cigars from |
| memories. | | | | Dominican Republic and other cigar capitals—but |
| 2) Speaking of cigar taste: the outer wrapper (which | | | | most of which is padded out with "cigar pawns," |
| gives the cigar its outer color) generally tells you how | | | | off-brand cigars that cost the manufacturer under a |
| the cigar tastes. Darker outer wrappers mean | | | | dollar each and taste like it, and which you learn all |
| sweeter taste; tan- or lighter-colored cigars are drier. | | | | about when that too-good-to-be-true sampler arrives |
| 3) If you're ordering online, here's some terminology. | | | | and is full of cheapie cigars with one or two good |
| Double Claro cigars, also known as "American Market | | | | ones mixed in. Generally, the best online cigar sampler |
| Selection" (AMS) or "Candela" wrapper cigars, are | | | | stores will allow you to build your own premium |
| green and dry-tasting. Claro wrappers are light tan in | | | | sampler. |