This is a great story I picked up from a local television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This piece talks about a group of women cigar enthusiasts called “The Cigar Babes”. I admit, the title of the group intrigued me and when I watched this video it definitely was not what I expected.
Women are right now considered to be the untapped market segment of the cigar industry. In other words, they represent a large segment of the population where manufacturers and retailers can expand into. What I found fascinating in this segment is these women truly uphold my motto of the cigar business – “the smoke, the craft, and the people”.
The Cigar Babes are a group of women who love to get together over a cigar in a cigar lounge and share in the fellowship and friendship that a cigar lounge has to offer. Not only do they enjoy the smokes, but they take an interest in the craft – they even talk about some of the trips they take. Most importantly – “Everybody’s happy” in this segment.
While I liked the piece overall, there were some problems I had with it. I do believe most of the problems were more with how the piece was edited than anything. I will disagree with the reporter on one comment “Unlike many of their male counterparts, ladies want the whole story”. If you follow what I write and many of my fellow cigar web-sites write, you know this couldn’t be further from the truth. I also disagree with the comment one made about her husband not appreciating an 8 dollar cigar. The segment also talks about how the women “give back”, and its another myth that women in the cigar industry only do this. All cigar enthusiasts know there is not a group that gives back more to the global community than the cigar community.
What was nice is how the reporter put a positive spin on cigar enthusiasm. I would have liked to see the reporter go a step further and say how tobacco legislation threatens the wonderful thing that these women have built up.
Enjoy the clip above…..and if you cannot view the embedded video, click here.
Here is a link to their website.