There are tons of Cigar of the Month clubs out there, most of the online retailers offer them, even The Cigar Authority has their monthly “care package”. Often times there are a couple good cigars and a few private labels or house brands, but a few of them do it right. A new one that was recently brought to my attention is the Cigar Crate. Cigar Crate is based in Tennessee and is the creation of Veljko Bogdanovic and David Xayabudda. The 
premise is simple, and what should be the standard, provide four great cigars for a monthly subscription fee.They also make a donation to Operation: Cigars for Warriors for each purchase in the form of one cigar for each monthly subscription. I received the first month’s crate last week and the presentation was very nicely executed. There were four cigars in a heavy ziplock bag, nestled in shredded cardboard, Â with a fact sheet on the included cigars. All of this is in an OD Green cardboard box with the Cigar Crate logo on top. Â Shipping is included in the monthly subscription price of $39.95 (or $37 if you commit to a six month plan).
The June line up included a Caldwell Blind Man’s Bluff Robusto, a Flor de las Antillas Robusto, a Blanco Nine toro and a Liga Privada No.9 Robusto.  I smoked all four cigars over the last three days, and all of them were in perfect condition, burned well and happened to all be cigars that I have smoked and like. Actually, the Liga Robusto is one I haven’t smoked in that size, I’ve really only smoked the Parejos, and maybe a Belicoso here and there. I liked it, I wonder why a cheapskate like me hasn’t tried the smallest size? Of the four, they were all good, but I think I like the Blanco Nine the best. The important thing is that they arrived ready to smoke.
In a subscription service like this, quality and condition are key. The website shows what the next month’s selection will be, so if you approach this month to month you can make an informed decision before you commit. Nothing worse than being surprised with cigars you may know you don’t care for every month! With shipping included, and the donation to Operation: Cigars For Warriors, Cigar Crate seems like a very nice little program. As an added bonus, Veljko has provided a discount code just for us!  Use the code CRAIG at checkout to get a 10% discount!
That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
