It wasn’t that long ago that patrons of bars and restuarants were requested to “please refrain from the smoking of pipes and cigars”. The traditional image of a cigar smoker was a leisurely fat cat in his fifties. A man with both time and money on his hands. Now it seems that most establishments carry a fair selection of cigars, and it is increasingly in the cigar bars of the cities that the young and stylish choose to gather.
While the common cigarette suffers from a poor image and finds itself ostracised in many social circles, cigars are being celebrated. The trend started in the United States in the early 1990s. Professionals started becoming affluent at a younger age and acquiring the symbols of this lifestyle. Cigars are, after all, associated with wealth and a certain discernment of taste. This image is being exploited in their popularity among a new generation of smokers. Perhaps it’s all just a clever move by the tobacco industry. Nonetheless, cigars are becoming the smoke of the new century.
This new-found popular passion for smoke has been celebrated since September 1992 by the American magazine Cigar Aficionado, which started as a quarterly and is now, thanks to growing interest, a bimonthly. Celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone and even Demi Moore have graced its cover, giving the magazine popular appeal and the stars a gentrified air.
South Africa’s very own cigar aficionado, Theo Rudman, is hoping to appeal to both the established smoker and “younger ones wanting to experience and learn about the better things in life” when he launches Cigarstyle in March. Rudman, a widely published cigar specialist, claims that “cigars form part of a very sophisticated lifestyle”. The magazine will regularly feature a panel of local names testing and rating cigars, as well as tips on how to select, cut and smoke cigars. But it isn’t only about cigars. Cigarstyle’s pages will carry the key to the “good life” – with informative articles on food, liquor, gambling, adventure travel, luxury cars and collectibles, all with a distinctly South African take on taste and refinement. “If you appreciate cigars,” enthuses Rudman, “then you will appreciate all the good things in life.”
The cigar-smoking image is associated with a host of costly pursuits and pastimes – activities which are seen as classic and enduring rather than faddish. Yet, only six years ago cigar smoking wasn’t fashionable. Buying a bit of refinement is catching on.
At the Cigar Exchange in Melville, Johannesburg, the faux wood panelling is the only nod reminiscent of smoking rooms of bygone days. The rest of the decor sits firmly in the steel and primary colour school of design. On a Thursday night the crowd is suits from mid-20s to mid-30s. Many languish on leopard-print couches pompously puffing away on long brown sticks of tobacco.
“On a good evening we sell around 40 cigars, mainly in the middle price range of about R40,” says partner Claude Martinez. About 10 to 15% of cigar smokers are women, “although they prefer the lighter, thinner cigars”. The cigar menu is said to be reasonable (prices range from R20 to R90) and is dominated by hand-rolled Cuban brands.
Cigarstyle is published by Strobe Communications and will appear quartlery with a cover price of R25 – not cheap even for a specialist glossy in the South African market. But then la dolce vita cannot be bought wholesale. The magazine will be available from newsagents, as well as your local tobacconist. Copies will be sent to top company chief executives and will be made available in business-class lounges and executive suites of five-star hotels. For those not in the top 2%, Cigarstyle may provide a vicarious taste of what South African high-flyers regard as unique and valuable – a key to what token trappings are worthy symbols of status.
If Cigarstyle finds a wide readership in the fashionale, hazy local cigar lounges it will prove that the marketing trend has truly arrived. Let’s see how long it lasts. For those not caught up in the smoke, remember that Bill Clinton showed that there is more than one use for a good cigar!