How you keep track of your Stash?

[Mathen]

What is there to keep track of? They are leaves, rolled up, that we light on fire--after we pay good money for them.

I suppose if I ever had any intention of selling a cigar out of my stash, I'd probably keep track just to keep the re-sale value high. But I smoke or give away everything that hits the humidor. Honestly, I've been smoking long enough that I know what I like and what my go-to cigars are. It's a fairly short list and I've had so many boxes of all of them, it's not worth doing gymnastics to remember the 27,248th DPG Blue I've smoked. For stuff that's special, high dollar, or one-off's, they have their own drawer.

 

[tadpole]

Clint @cgraunke sent me an Excel spreadsheet he had formatted with 3 band sizes that correspond to different RG ranges, and I modified it for my own purposes. I used to band everything I owned, listing the "make/model", vitola, where/from whom i got it, whether it was a bomb/purchase/MAW/etc, and the date i got it (with the date it was made in parentheses for anything that got to me w. some age on it). Now I just record bombs so I can give thanks where they're due

would you mind sharing said spreadsheet? id love to print out labels....

 

[rdomfoto]

And don't get me wrong - I think there is tremendous value in keeping track, especially if you're still new to the hobby obsession

It was one of the best ways to remember which cigars I liked and, after a while, I could go back through my own ratings and see what commonalities there were between the cigars I liked and what commonalities were between the sticks I didn't. Keeping track helped me learn the shapes and sizes of different cigars, leaf varieties, manufacturers, and more.

So I would strongly recommend you (or anyone) keep track... while it is still fun. Once it becomes more of a chore than an enjoyment, stop keeping track.

 

[herfdog]

What is there to keep track of? They are leaves, rolled up, that we light on fire--after we pay good money for them.

I suppose if I ever had any intention of selling a cigar out of my stash, I'd probably keep track just to keep the re-sale value high. But I smoke or give away everything that hits the humidor. Honestly, I've been smoking long enough that I know what I like and what my go-to cigars are. It's a fairly short list and I've had so many boxes of all of them, it's not worth doing gymnastics to remember the 27,248th DPG Blue I've smoked. For stuff that's special, high dollar, or one-off's, they have their own drawer.

The OP isn't talking about keeping track of what he smoke, but his inventory. Particularly when trying to keep sticks in controlled rh for at least a month, the "when" can become confusing...

 

[bostoneo]

I use an excel doc that looks like this.....

 

[jerseyjetset]

would you mind sharing said spreadsheet? id love to print out labels....

PM sent.

 

[SailorAg]

I don't keep track. Cigars are supposed to be fun, not work.

 

[CVAC085]

When it comes to the tracking of cigars. I honestly just open my humidor and pick what I like. I have plenty of doubles, triples etc. But I enjoy them all. I really just have to remember which sticks I didn't like and probably would never purchase again for whatever reason.

Good point about keeping track with labels for the brothers who bomb you cigars and other goodies. I have to rely on iPhone pics I take with the notes you guys leave me. I've lost track of who sent me what and feel guilty all the time since I smoke the cigar and forget who sent it to me to post in the "smoke bomb of the day" thread.

I've kept a detailed cigar journal of all the smokes that I've never had before or I've had plenty of and just became to lazy to review. But as Rob, @rdomfoto said, once it becomes a chore, stop. Well I stopped it a while ago now since I felt like I couldn't do a decent review on a cigar. I usually review while I'm sitting at my local B&M, being distracted by TV or other fellow cigar smokers chatting it up with me. But I feel like I can't enjoy the cigar while I'm there and really review it. It gets to be a little overwhelming to me. I should get back into it since for the summer, you can find me in my backyard smoking it up instead of being at the B&M.

 

[daleo8803]

I now liable all sticks with the date I bought them. 2 drawers for sticks I bought, 3! Drawers for sticks that where bombed to me!( dicks). And those get names of who sent them. But I like finding long forgotten sticks

 

[knw247]

I really like the idea of marking gifted cigars with blank lables. Great idea.

 

[sdbassman]

Banker nerd here, I put together an excel spreadsheet. Tracks date of receipt, name, size, price paid, quantity purchased, quantity still in stock, etc. Nerdy I know but it gives me an idea of how much I've got left and how much i spend on cigars.

 

[sofc]

Banker nerd here, I put together an excel spreadsheet. Tracks date of receipt, name, size, price paid, quantity purchased, quantity still in stock, etc. Nerdy I know but it gives me an idea of how much I've got left and how much i spend on cigars.

I did that too (with the added column of msrp) but it got old quick.

 

[knw247]

Here is the basic layout for this spreadsheet. I already learned more about my taste from going thru the exercise of capturing the info.

 

[Voodoo]

I use the Cigar Geeks app on my mobile devices and the website on my PC. I like know exactly what I have, how much rest time they have, and what I paid for it. For me it isn't work, but a part of the enjoyment of the hobby.

 

[jfettlol]

eidetic memory.

 

[winston596]

Making a spreadsheet. I've tired the online apps but thought I'd do my own thing.

 

[knw247]

PM me if you want a copy of the one I put together. It is still in a state of development, but it would give you a kick start.

 

[Happy Idiot]

I use the OCD method. Every day I take em all out, rearrange em, put em back.

 

[danmdevries]

If it's something I want to make note of, I put a blank band on and write down whatever was significant like who sent it or the age etc.

Boxes, I just write the date in with a sharpie on the box.

Otherwise just memory. I have probably about 250-300 singles and know all of them. Going through on occasion to find something specific will refresh my memory.

Occasionally I do find something I've forgotten, but it's almost always something I've forgotten because I didn't care to remember I had it. For example: found a NUB I didn't know I had, because I gave away all of them a while ago (dont like em) apparently I missed one.

I'm not a super organized person to start (but extremely well organized at work - no choice in that matter) so I just keep one humidor for singles, divided into CC, DR, Nic, other. Another humidor is for boxes, and a nice desktop for unicorns and ultra premiums. Still know what's in each and a general idea of how many of each I have

 

[danmdevries]

And don't get me wrong - I think there is tremendous value in keeping track, especially if you're still new to the hobby obsession

It was one of the best ways to remember which cigars I liked and, after a while, I could go back through my own ratings and see what commonalities there were between the cigars I liked and what commonalities were between the sticks I didn't. Keeping track helped me learn the shapes and sizes of different cigars, leaf varieties, manufacturers, and more.

So I would strongly recommend you (or anyone) keep track... while it is still fun. Once it becomes more of a chore than an enjoyment, stop keeping track.

This. When I was new to it, I kept a notebook. Id write a quick note (good, not good, buy a box, buy another 5 etc) on the inside of the band and put that in the notebook. Helped me learn, but it would just be a chore to keep inventory or notes at this point.