With recent cigar related events, do those of you that remember the "cigar boom" of the mid nineties think there will be another?

I think it's possible.There is no doubt that the non Cuban cigar manufacturers are all smiling right now.Which I don't have a problem with except quality going to crap.

:-)
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I don't know about a boom but an increase yes. The 90's were a time of excess and the like. And with how evil tobacco is today I think it's safe to say we will have plenty of great cigars to go around.
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Many have said that we are in the midst of a boom. If you look at the number of quality smokes available now, I wholeheartedly agree. Even in California its possible to walk into most B&M's and grab any number of smokes under $10/ea and not have a stinker in the bunch. Quality leaf is coming out of most countries in Central and South America. :-)
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I saw this topic elsewhere.. wonder who put it up... hrmmmmmm

I think a combination of regulatory, social, and economic differences between now and the mid 90s make it unlikely..
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I think that the next boom may be lurking... but the timing will have to be perfect... otherwise instead of a boom... we will see something more akin to a "swelling".

Opening Cuba will certainly almost have to be a part of it.

I also think that our troops coming home from overseas will play into it a good bit... at the very least... a time of extended peace for a period of 10 years or more... which as much as we would all like to hope is something that I personally think is unlikely.

But I dont think that by itself will be enough to be considered another "boom".

We all know that cigar imports into the US were around 100 million selling units in 1990... and by 1996 they were up to 240 million.

I think that the same way that nobody even really saw the previous boom coming and therefore no one knew the form it would come in... the same may be true for the next... which I think is ultimately inevitable... but may be far down the road.

I think our next cigar boom may be something that... despite our best efforts to predict it, define it or understand it... will come as a shock to nearly all interested parties.

So ultimately... I guess all I can really say is...

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
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A couple of us who remember the boom in the 90's were talking with Jonathan Drew and Pete Johnson about this subject about a month ago when we were down in Nicaragua. We kind of all agreed that yeah, we're kind of starting or even in one right now, but it's different, it's not like the flash in the pan boom of the 90's, more like a renewed interest and along with it, a demand for new, QUALITY products. The 90's you could roll up floor sweepings with sawdust and stuff it inside a cooked wrapper and sell it for $300 a box. One could say that this was due to tobacco shortages, but the reality was, people were still buying the sawdust in a cooked wrapper and thinking it was the most bomb-ass cigar on the market. Now, today, no one will tolerate that - people will pay the premiums, but not for crap. Too much good stuff out there to set the benchmark by. Crap will die on the vine pretty quick and end up in the CI 30-buck bonanza page.

Part of this is the internet and the availability of information to consumers plus the ability to instantly compare prices and see reviews. Part of that is just the evolution of the consumer.

Today's consumers have more information at their disposal and word spreads much faster. What the modern boom will end up being remains to be seen, but whatever it is, it won't be the same.
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Good part about the information at disposal...so much information is available to people now I'm sure it contributes to the increased interest in cigars...especially during the last year!
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I don't know about another boom Dave, but I can see a potential increase in NC reviews on the horizon. :-)
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Not I, but I'd rather be lucky than smart any day. :-)
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Perhaps the powers that be will realize, seeing the influx of Cuban cigars into Chicago over a two week period, the potential for tax revenue that can be generated, and might be a small push toward ending the embargo for economic gain?
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I sure hope that's what happens, Tom.
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Perhaps.
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We can only hope.....we can only hope.
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I know it is a BIG stretch....but I am hoping to bring some calm to the panicking masses.
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Very big...
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What happened in the late '80s and early mid '90s was great for the industry as a whole but it hit a ton of us right in the can. Really good cigars were cheap...but then it became the 'in' thing to do and like T.G. said, you could roll up floor sweepings and they would smoke it saying it's the best thing they ever had just because they paid a lot of money for it.
The bad that came out of it were high cigar prices...initially cutting the 'everyman' out.
The good, of course, is that it increased tobacco production...it got more blenders and makers into the market and increased the number of quality cigars in the market.
The events I see unfolding with the cigar prices having leveled off some...more makers trying to bring a good $4-$5 stick to market...more boutique blends...a boom? I don't know...But it's a good time to be a cigar smoker.
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Tom, you have soothed this savage beast.:-)
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Not necessarily a boom right now but the trend to produce one or more new blends each year until you have too many to control seams to be the current issue. It looks like it may be sorting itself out and more are doing short runs or limited production runs each year while maintaining a couple of core lines.
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It's possible Tom but that will bring challenges for the Cuban producers imo.
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