Christmas gifts for the smoker in your life

A lot of people want to buy the avid smoker in their lives a nice tobacco related gift, but they don't know quite what to get. Here's some suggestions.

CIGARETTE SMOKERS

Cigarettes, get them cigarettes. Avoid like the plague: smokers candles, filtering ashtrays, and how to quit books. The same pretty much goes for dippers, snusers, and chewers. For real cigarette enthusiasts, there's a new book out, The Cigarette Book: The History and Culture of Smoking. I've read it and it's pretty good.

PIPE SMOKERS

Christmas pipe tobaccos: Some tobacco blenders make tobaccos with the holidays in mind, they may be special limited editions, or an aromatic holiday mixture. McClelland Christmas Cheer 2010 is a vintage Virginia flake tobacco with no added flavorings.
Peterson Holiday Season 2010 says Peterson: "Red and golden Virginia tobaccos from the US and Africa are the basis of this wonderful mixture. They are blended with double fermented, broad cut Black Cavendish as well as a hint of roasted Burley, refined with a delicious aroma of cookies and cream and a touch of espresso."
'Boswell's "Christmas Cookie" Tobacco is a holiday favorite for many pipe smokers, indeed some enjoy it year round,' says me. This one will make your house smell nice. You can read more about Christmas Cookie here.

Savinelli First Pipe Starter Kit: This is a great gift for the new or aspiring pipe smoker. It's a complete kit with a pipe, filters, cleaners, and a pipe tool.

Bail Top Jars: You can get them most anywhere and pipe tobacco fans love 'em. They use them to store and age their pipe tobacco. They also like Mason jars, the kind with the gasket in the lid.

Pipe Tool for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad: This is a database application covering 3,500 tobaccos, and it only costs 4 bucks at iTunes.

CIGAR SMOKERS

Cigar Samplers: Online tobacconists offer more cigar samplers than you can shake a stick at. Everybody finds something to like in a sampler. They range around 20 dollars and up. Or try a Cigar of the Month Club, I love getting my monthly selection.

Gran Habano Corojo No. 5 Cigars: I'm currently working through four boxes of these very good, very strong cigars. They occurred to me as a Christmas cigar because of the bright red cedar box. Did I mention they were strong? They are also, as far as fancy cigars go, priced to sell.

5 Vegas Classic Cigars: Another lowish priced premium brand, 5 Vegas Classics are about as median as a good cigar can get - not too strong, not too mild, etc. If somebody asked me what cigars taste like, I'd hand them a 5 Vegas.

Cheap cigar lovers may enjoy Fink Cigar Company's Super Value Sampler, I know I did. Nothing fancy here, but (to use the latest cliché) they punch above their weight, offering some of the finest inexpensive cigars around. People who like something a little different may enjoy the Amish Cigar Sampler, consisting of mostly Pennsylvania grown tobaccos. These cigars taste good and make for good conversation too.

Humidors: Can't have too many of these. Same goes for cigar cutters.