A Cigar from
the Tinder Box

As you all know, I love to enjoy a fine cigar while playing a round of golf with my pals. My cigar smoking isn’t a habit, it’s a hobby, just like playin’ golf is a habit, urr ... I mean hobby. Anyway, there are a few basic rules of etiquette in smoking just like there are in golf ...so get your head out of your humidor and pay attention! Oh, before I get into that, there is one more important point I want to make. Show a little respect for your cigar by respecting the craftsmen who made it, as well as, the folks around you!

Because I appreciate fine cigars, I want to introduce you to my pals at Tinder Box, who have everything a stogie lover like me needs. Don’t ya just love that name…Tinder Box? I mean just saying it evokes the aroma of fine tobaccos, all blended together. Back in the 1920’s, Edward Kolpin (1910 – 2007) opened his first Tinder Box store in Santa Monica, CA. He leased the soda fountain area of his father’s pharmacy and began selling custom made pipes along with his own premium hand rolled cigars.

Find Premium Hand Rolled Cigars at Tinderbox.com!

Folks from all around would come to buy Ed’s tobacco blends and, after a while, the soda fountain just wasn’t big enough, so he opened the first Tinder Box store in 1928. Celebrities like George Burns, Yul Brynner, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby and even Marilyn Monroe, came to Ed for their tobacco needs. Mr. Koplin’s custom made pipes can be seen gracing Hollywood movies and the covers of Bing Crosby’s classic albums.

Ed’s Tinder Box store was successful and continued to grow, so he decided to franchise the store. His first one opened in Hawaii and was one of the first franchises in American History.

Ed Koplin continued to run the original store until his passing in April, 2007. His two sons have carried on their father’s dream and have 148 Tinder Box stores across the country, making it a powerhouse of a company.

Offering Only the Best

I told Scruffy we should form an affiliation with Tinder Box ‘cause they have the finest cigars and pipes you can find anywhere. So, on behalf of Scruffy & Pals, I am proud to offer you the finest custom made cigars and pipes -

Shop Pipes at Tinderbox.com!
- along with all the accessories you can buy anywhere in the world! And they are available right here on our website!

Shop Cigar Accessories at Tinderbox.com!

Now, let’s get to some other important stuff. OK, here we go…

Rules of Cigar Smoking Etiquette

Rule #1: You might as well accept the fact some folks around you don’t like to have a bunch of tobacco smoke messin’ up the air they breathe, so don’t be disdainful towards these smokeless pansies by being arrogant and disrespectful…there is enough crap going on about us tobacco smokers nowadays, as it is, without having you makin’ it worse! If you’re out of doors, just try to stay down wind from them as best you can, sort of like you would want them to do if they had been eating those bean rations. If you are indoors, well you have very few options, what with all the danged no smoking rules. Just remember where you are and who is around you, and you will be just fine.

Rule #2: A fine cigar is no different than a vintage bottle of wine or a beautiful lady…they all should be enjoyed and appreciated in a thoughtful and respectful way. So, don’t offer to light another person’s cigar and don’t let them light yours. Think about that one for a minute…you don’t want some knuckle head opening your expensive bottle of wine improperly and just spilling it carelessly into a glass…so show some respect to the cigar by lighting it with a classic cigar lighter.

Shop for Lighters at Tinderbox.com!

Rule #3: Don’t use a dang penknife or a paper clip to pierce the end of the cigar…use a proper cigar cutting tool, like these:

Shop Cigar Accessories at Tinderbox.com!

Warm the foot of the cigar just a tad to sort of let it know it is about to be enjoyed before you set it afire. Then, gently touch the flame to the foot of the cigar until the tobacco starts to emit a pleasing aroma of smoke and slowly place it between your lips and methodically draw the smoke towards your awaiting taste buds.

Rule #4: Once you have lit your fine Tinder Box stogie, take the gall darned band off…there ain’t nothing that upsets a pure cigar aficionado, like me, more than seeing some rookie showin’ off what brand of cigar he can afford. If I want to know what kind of danged cigar you’re enjoying, I’ll ask ya!

Rule #5: For the love of cigars, don’t hold the cigar between your index finger and middle finger …hold it gently between your thumb and index finger. Be gentle!

Rule #6: If I ever see you biting or chewing the end of your cigar, I will personally stuff it up your ash tray…you got that?

Rule #7: Enjoy your cigar slowly…just like you would your expensive bottle of wine and your beautiful lady, or handsome gentleman…sorry ladies, I have to remember a lot of ladies enjoy a fine cigar too!

Rule #8: Smoke your cigar about half way and let it fade out on it’s own…don’t crush it in an ash tray or stomp it to death…have some respect. Once it is completely out, place it promptly in an appropriate container...preferably one with an enclosed top. There ain’t nothin’ that stinks worse than a stale cigar …so do the right thing!

Rule #9: Show appreciation for your cigar by recognizing the ones who made it! Tinder Box has experienced buyers who follow the sun to find the lush tobacco growing regions of the world. Their work begins right in the fields where only the finest crops are selected. They choose the best wrapper leaf for each range, and personally supervise the blending of the premium filler tobaccos that are carefully blended to give the tastiest, most beautifully balanced tobaccos that can be found in the world.

Rule #10: Never leave your cigar to die a slow death laying on a green or out on the fairway. If you’re not going to smoke it, don’t light it! Ya got that?

DISMISSED!

I have a new Arturo Fuente ready for some good manners!

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