What is a Stogie?

History of the Stogie

In order to understand the stogie let’s take a look at the name origin. The name cheroot comes from a french word cheroute. Interestingly this word was adapted into French from the Tamil people in South India. The word meaning ‘roll of tobacco’.

Dating back to the 16th century when France was making its mark on Southern India. A cheroot is a cylindrical cigar that comes with both ends cut.

This makes them perfect for the beginner as the cigars do not taper and are inexpensive. So how does stogie come from cheroot? In short, it doesn’t. Stogie was an abbreviated term originating from a town called Conestoga in Pennsylvania. The popularity of cigars in the USA and in particular Conestoga was growing significantly.

Inexpensive, cheap, ready-made cigars were very popular. Conestoga wagons were used extensively during the 18th and 19th centuries a time when cigars became very popular in the USA. Interestingly, initially, a stogie referred to the shoes of the wagon drivers. However, as this was the time of the gold rush the number of carts was increasing significantly and the amount of cigar-smoking men with it.

The drivers of these wagons nearly always smoked self-made, thin cigars. Over time observers started referring to the drivers of the Conestoga wagons with the self-made cigars as ‘stogies’ a shortened version of Conestoga. Over time, as the wagon activity began to slow, the term stogie became connected with the inexpensive, thin cigars.

The shoe reference dropped but the term stogie has stuck to the cigars. The slang word for cigars is now a popular nickname. If you look at the roots of the word you’ll understand why we don’t refer to our prized Cubans as stogies.

Popularity of Stogies

The popularity of stogies has grown along with the cigar industry. The ability to purchase inexpensive cigars that do not taper has made stogies a popular choice.

During the presence of the French in South India, it was believed that smoking cheroot or stogies prevented malaria.

Since then, researchers now believe that it was the aroma of the cheroot that deterred mosquitos.

There were many famous people who enjoyed smoking cigars. One of the earliest, more famous cigar smokers was Mark Twain. He once said ‘”Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man’s enjoyment of his cigar.” We couldn’t agree more.

Bottom Line

In short, a stogie refers to an inexpensive cigar that comes cut on both ends. Stogies are the easiest option for beginner cigar smokers. They do not require the care and attention like other cigars such as humidors, tupperdors or cutters.

Stogies are easy to purchase both online and in stores and are a great introduction to smoking cigars. If there is confusion when explaining what a stogie is, try using their official name ‘cheroot’.