Celebrating Veteran-Owned Cigars: A Tribute to Craftsmanship and Service

A broader trend is seeing veterans make the transition from military service to entrepreneurship across many sectors. Each Veteran-Owned Cigars provide not only exceptional cigars but also the discipline, dedication, and craftsmanship that only a veteran can bring to the table. Supporting these businesses bolsters a sense of community and fellowship for all those who participate in the transaction, as well as the respect for those who have served.

What goes into making a cigar, truly made with care, draws “BOTLs” and “SOTLs” to the cigar retail market. When high-quality, premium-aged tobacco leaves meet often years of tradition in the art of creating a cigar—each one its own work of art—it is precisely this that the connection between craftsmanship and the veteran service experience makes a clear relationship. Choosing the Veteran-Owned Cigars, in many cases, means choosing the best cigar.

Providing the veteran new “intrepreneur” opportunities developed between a chain of local economies. All of which leads to a network of veterans in service with their communities. Enjoying the best selection from among your choice of veteran-owned brands will get your mission moving in the right direction!

The Community Impact of Supporting Veteran-Owned Cigars

Buying from Veteran-Owned Cigars businesses, consumers can have the great pride that comes with knowing they are not just improving their neighborhood’s financial bottom line but also honoring their brother in arms. This simple action may not seem significant to some people, but this effort goes a long way to empower veterans and help them secure the tools they need to create more jobs, advance local economic interests, and return to civilian life in a meaningful way.

Generally speaking, in the cigar industry, many have done alright for themselves. For example, one former marine describes his journey along the tobacco-strewn path as the logical choice for that all-important next phase of his life. He attributed the cigar’s pull as a simple marriage between the craftsmanship he’d always loved and the proper respect for leadership that he’s always tried to exemplify. For him, it was the very healing nature of the process of cigar manufacturing that healed him of a deep, emotional hurt and gave him a sense of purpose in life that he’d never really had before.

In other words, these veterans love the camaraderie and are willing to cross any length to continue to promote this bond. As a result, many diverse groups and clubs — organized exclusively around one of these general themes — have merged together into one large community. The bond that all of these people share, of course, fortifies the desire for many of these men and women to purchase more veteran-inspired cigar products.

At many public meetings, it’s not uncommon to meet guys from any one of these great sub-tribes. They’ll hang out, smoke fantastic cigars, and share stories about great life experiences — and business as a rule will be discussed most of the time. One could argue that this breed of person, or tribe, is an opened-minded lot by nature, so these types of exciting businesses often become a sort of staging ground for future expansion plans of action.

What Are Veteran-Owned Cigars?

Veteran-owned cigars are created by people who have had life experiences through their military service. This dedication can result in a unique focus on a craft from which they refuse to back down, as their resilience is often part of the values built into them—and their cigars.

Many veteran cigarmakers only use the finest leaf and have small, artisan production facilities that make cigars for those of us who love the craft, as well as premium tobacco.

Cigar smoking, for the most part, is a communal activity. You can light up on your own, but part of the experience is to sit and talk to others who have walked a similar path. To have a driving reason to move forward and, maybe, quit a job and start a business is one thing. To have the necessary passion to share your craft and experiences is another.

I say choose veteran-owned cigars for the exact same reason I said you should not.

We should support Veteran-Owned Cigars in our communities, and by spending our cigar ducats with veteran-owned outlets, we will be promoting the well-being of the owners, we will be involved in an intimate economy, and by doing so, vicariously create a common bond of military experience.

The more that the members of this cigar community are given the opportunity to set up their own honorably discharged retail outlets or initiate their own line of premium tobacco, the better this industry as a whole will become.

The Rise of Veteran-Owned Businesses in the Cigar Industry

There has been a very interesting and attractive movement in the cigar industry over the last several years. More and more veterans are creating their own cigar brands. I, for one, think that’s great. Veterans are able to translate something they love, the camaraderie of smoking a good cigar, into something people can buy. The stories that veteran-owned cigar companies tell are ones of hard work, struggle, and resilience. That is not the only reason their products stand out in the industry, however, but one that is unique amongst their rivals.

One will find brands like “Cigar for Warriors,” a company started by veterans to provide cigars to active-duty military personnel. The reason stated in their mission’s statement is to show those who fight for us that their sacrifice is appreciated. But also, and this is something to be stressed for a certain audience, the importance of community, brotherhood, and strength for veterans today. That message can also translate to those whom smoking cigars is just a hobby.

An example of that can be found in another industry company, “Veteran Cigar Company.” The tone that the brand implies tells of the opposite side of the same coin: the cigar veteran’s buy from this company are ones of the brave, of the noble, of the strong.

Craftsmanship and Quality in Veteran-Owned Cigars

Veteran-owned cigars brands are masters of an old and respected craft, infusing the perfectionist-like discipline and dedication they learned during boot camp into each leaf that rolls across their workbenches.

From tobacco leaf selection, fermentation, and quality control that takes place as the cigar is being rolled, every aspect of premium cigar crafting requires a skilled (and well-paid) professional to oversee the procedure. Even for a high-volume brand, this “boutique” style of hands-on manufacturing is the only option.

Just as it was in the 1800s, making a cigar is very expensive, thanks to its commonality of being a wildly handcrafted product. There are, of course, cheaply and even fully machine-made cigars, but no self-respecting cigar smoker would ever consider trying one. The complex yet highly satisfying taste and aroma that cigar smokers chase after come in part from a list of natural ingredients made from tobaccos blended and then expertly rolled into what will become a finished cigar.

In short, both current and aspiring cigar smokers are highly supportive of the “human story” element that arguably even their favorite, Davidoff (et alia), brand doesn’t deliver as well as a small-batch, Veteran brand.

How to Support Veteran-Owned Cigars and Their Brands

Those interested in giving support tend to find that they need to research to identify veteran-owned cigar brands. Yet, many veterans are proud to display their status, and a simple online search for veteran-owned cigar brands reveals a list of brands associated with veteran causes. Following a cigar blog can also provide details that you might not have identified elsewhere. It’s a great way to get the inside scoop on who is who and to discover new cigars along your journey toward supporting veterans.

Many of their smaller brands, in particular, tend to generate maduros using Nicaraguan tobacco. The cigars representing the same stock as All Out Kings are also legendary. There is solidarity at its best, providing you with a chance to enjoy the ancient art of smoking a cigar and to support a “small guy.” They also tend to bring together many new actors on the scene; they are small because their creators are maintaining full-time jobs while managing a cigar manufacturing business on the side and getting the whole enterprise off the ground while physically living in the U.S.

Their tobacconists operate in an exhilarating role within cigar supermarkets. They use a pen and paper exclusively to take a personal inventory of their restaurant, which must be ordered from a vast number of cigars stocked onsite. This time of year, especially, is great for cigar smokers; there are exciting parts of the cigar community, including announcements of new cigar brands and cigar brands’ updates. And tobacco ads get more expensive when close to the date of the annual Las Vegas Super Bowl. Smokers are searching for the latest vintage cigar bundles while hanging onto their favorite cheap cigars.

It’s important to support veteran-owned businesses. If consumers want to show patriotic support, it’s as simple as choosing to purchase from a veteran-owned business—this is especially true for cigar brands.

Every time consumers smoke a cigar from a veteran-owned brand, they support veterans who have taken the discipline of military service—the never-quit attitude—and applied that to the fine art of cigar making. It’s the best of two worlds colliding to create an amazing product.

There is a plethora of Veteran-Owned Cigars owned by veterans—too many to cite in this article, in fact. But suffice to say, it’s a sizable amount of former military veterans who have chosen the cigar industry to make a living. For most, it’s also a means of understanding how to “relax and take it easy” after a life filled with adrenaline-fueled, heart-throbbing action—which, as readers might guess, serves as a monumental challenge to overcome.

Many Veteran-Owned Cigars deal with issues post-service, and creating a business that allows the marketing of some seriously fantastic cigars might just provide the therapy many former service members need, at a price point that many more Americans can simply afford.

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