Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Here’s why you probably shouldn’t buy a box of cigars as a gift

Plus, some cigar gift ideas that would work much better for the cigar lover you know.

Romeo y Julieta cigars in box on table
JV / Unsplash

As we’re nearing the holidays and getting closer and closer to gift-giving season, I thought it would be a good idea to chat about cigars particularly, why you should probably avoid buying a box of cigars as a gift. Now, before we get into it, I should add that this will not apply to everyone. There are instances where giving your favorite cigar person a box of cigars would be a fantastic idea. If you decide to go through with it, good on you. It’s always going to work best when you know the recipient well — which is one of the reasons why I say avoid buying a box of cigars as a gift.

Nevertheless, it’s a better option to buy a cigar sampler, pick out a few single cigars that you know the recipient likes, or just opt for cigar accessories to gift instead. Let’s get into it.

Recommended Videos

Why you should probably avoid buying a box of cigars as a gift

Nondescript cigar bundles for when were cigars invented.
Darling Arias / Unsplash

Simply put, no two cigars are alike. Through the sorcery of master blenders and flavor gurus, cigar makers blend entirely unique experiences in every cigar. In fact, even cigars that use the same tobacco configurations can have totally different flavors. The soil, the region where the tobacco is grown, the curing and fermentation process, and even the rolling can all influence the experience a smoker has when they get their hands on that cigar. Why do you care?

Think of cigars as you would food, sweets, or even candy. Every cigar has a unique flavor profile. Some will be bitter, others sweet, and the flavors you pick up — from nuttiness to cream or chocolate — are all different. Cigar smokers tend to migrate toward a particular experience. Cuban cigar lovers, for example, like distinct flavor profiles in those types of cigars. New-world cigar smokers tend to like different flavors. Over time, your palate grows more sophisticated and changes, but the real point is that everybody likes something different.

When you buy a box of cigars, you’re getting anywhere from ten to 20 cigars, sometimes more. But they’re all identical. If you gift a cigar smoker a box of cigars and they don’t like that cigar, the flavors, or the blend, that’s a huge waste. Now, it’s not that the recipient won’t be grateful — the cigar community is wonderful, so I’m willing to bet any cigar smoker would love the thought. But unless you know your recipient’s favorite cigar brand or label, you’ll want to avoid buying a box of cigars as a gift. Plus, they can be pretty expensive.

What do I get a cigar enthusiast as a gift?

Man passing a few La Palina cigars over a dinner table to a friend.
Valiant Made / Unsplash

If buying a cigar box as a gift is a bad idea, what should you get your resident cigar lovers this holiday season? It’s a valid question.

Here are some quick ideas:

  • Get them a gift card to their favorite online cigar retailers, like , , or .
  • Buy them a sampler from any of the online retailers such as .
  • Buy them accessories such as lighters — — ashtrays, brand merch, and other gear.
  • Find them like personalized lighters, ashtrays or even drinking glasses.
  • Think about buying them a small , also called a , or a .

If you decide to go with a sampler, or you want to grab a few cigar singles to gift, make sure you talk to your recipient beforehand — or someone who knows them well. You’ll still want to plan your gift around what kind of cigars they like.

Are cigar boxes a bad gift, then?

Close up of cigars in humidor at home - Briley Kenney from The Manual
Briley Kenney / The Manual

Not always, no. It depends on the recipient, how much you know about them, and whether or not you know what kind of cigars they prefer.

The world of cigars is vast and there are many, many, many brands, labels, types, and experiences to choose from. Even down to the vitola, the size of the cigar, and that also affects the flavors and experience. Some people like a particular vitola over others. For instance, I tend to prefer robusto and toro vitolas. Others, like a bigger ring gauge size 60 or greater. Some like a short and sweet cigar they can finish in under an hour. It really just depends on the person.

If you’re going to buy a box of cigars as a gift then definitely take some time to get to know your recipient’s preferences better, if you don’t already. The other reason I caution against buying a box of cigars is that if it’s a particular blend the smoker has never had, the same thing might happen. They might try one or two and discover they don’t like the cigar. That’s a lot of cigars to waste if that were to happen. Sure, they can always gift them to someone else, but some people don’t like when that happens.

All I’m saying is, to keep the fact in mind that there’s a chance you could buy a whole box and the recipient won’t like them. I know it’s not always smart to predicate an idea on “what if” scenarios, but cigar boxes are expensive and there are so many different kinds, I really just think there are better cigar gifts to give. That’s all.

Topics
Briley Kenney
The Manual's resident cigar enthusiast and expert. Branded content writer. Purveyor of all things tech and magical.
The ultimate Jake Gyllenhaal movie ranking: 13 films you can’t miss
Gyllenhaal is a Hollywood staple with a storied career
Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. in Zodiac.

He may still be hunting for his first Oscar, but Jake Gyllenhaal has already more than proven that he's one of modern Hollywood's greatest leading men. What's made his career so fascinating is that he's mostly shied away from the biggest projects that were offered to him, barring the occasional video game adaptation.

Movies with Jake Gyllenhaal show his best performances, which speak to the wide array of roles he's willing to take on and how different his approach seems to be from project to project. He's not the kind of actor who repeats himself, and that makes every one of his performances a revelation. These are the best Jake Gyllenhaal movies over the span of his long and winding career.

Read more
A new comedy series is coming to HBO from the mind behind ‘Ted Lasso’
The series will follow an author dealing with a complicated relationship with his daughter.
The cast of Ted Lasso

When it first premiered on Apple TV+, few people saw Ted Lasso becoming the phenomenon that it ultimately was. Now, Bill Lawrence, one of the show's creators, is bringing a new comedy series to HBO. Variety is reporting that the new series will star Steve Carrell and Phil Dunster, who played Jamie Tartt on Ted Lasso.

The show was first picked up back in May and has been ordered for ten half-hour episodes for its debut season. The series will be “set on a college campus, centering on an author’s complicated relationship with his daughter.” It's unclear what role Dunster will be playing in the show.

Read more
Zendaya and Anne Hathaway have joined Christopher Nolan’s next movie
The film doesn't have any firm plot details yet, but it's building an amazing cast.
Zendaya in Euphoria.

Few movies are watched more closely throughout their development cycle than a Christopher Nolan movie. We know that the movie is set to come out in July of 2026, and that it's being produced at Universal with Matt Damon attached to star. While we still don't have many details on what the movie will be about, we've now learned that Zendaya and Anne Hathaway will join Damon in the film's cast.

Hathaway and Nolan are reuniting after previously working together on The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar, while Nolan and Zendaya have never collaborated before. When Hathaway was cast in Interstellar, she said that she was grateful he chose to cast her in spite of the backlash she was facing at the time.

Read more