I wanted to do something a little different, we have been reviewing cigars exclusively as of late and I thought it would be a nice change of pace to review some cigar products.

I have recently upgraded my ashtray from a Ceramic – Romeo y Julieta Ashtray to a Stainless Steel – Stinky Cigar Ashtray and thought this would be a good opportunity to give a review on both.

Romeo y Julieta Ashtray:

Right after Christmas I was browsing the JR catalog when I found a special on a Romeo y Julieta Box set. In the set there were ten cigars, an ashtray and a collectors box. When I saw the price of only $31.95 I jumped on it and made my order. The idea behind getting this particular ashtray was to replace the standard cigarette style ashtray I was using. As all of you know, unless the cigarette ashtray is very large you can only get one cigar in it, and it is difficult to place the cigar inside when you want to put it down.

Three days after I placed my order I had the set arrive in the mail. I pulled the ashtray out of the box and was amazed at how large it was. When looking at the picture in the catalog I never expected the ashtray to be 9-3/4″ inches in diameter. With large slots formed in the glass three cigars fit comfortably inside the ashtray.

The thing I like most about this particular ashtray is that it is very elegant. Even with the embossed decorations inside, it is very easy to clean, just wipe out with a dry cloth and your all set. The downside is that small ring gauge cigars are a hassle to get out of the slots when they become short. I typically had to either set them on top of the ashtray or pinch the wrapper to pull it out of the slot. It is also shallow, you will find yourself emptying this after four cigars or so because the ashes pile up quickly.

Nat Sherman:

This is an ashtray that I have never actually used. It is another JR special buy that I got when I ordered a box of Nat Sherman – 1400 Series Palma Grande cigars. I only paid $30.00 for the cigars and ashtray, I felt that it was a good deal.

This ashtray is 9 x 9, although the inner bowl is smaller than the RyJ ashtray. It has four deep grooves for cigars but looks like it may be a little cramped when full. The biggest thing I don’t like about this ashtray is that it feels very frail. The walls feel thin and it would most definitely break if dropped from a low height.

Â

Stinky Cigar:

I ordered this ashtray after hearing it highly recommended by Bob and Dale of The Dog Watch Social Club. The pictures of it definitely do not do it justice. I have placed a cigar on it to help with the visualization. (Camacho SLR – 50 x 4.50)

This ashtray is a monster, it will undoubtedly hold eight to ten cigars worth of ash as well as butts in the bowl. The stainless steel makes for easy cleaning, all you have to do it wipe it out. This ashtray takes a little getting used to as the stirrups that hold the cigar are pretty height above the table top. I kept getting the feeling that I was going to knock the cigar off the ashtray and onto the table.

After a few cigars I felt perfectly comfortable tossing the cigars up on the stirrups with no worries of them falling. The downside to this ashtray is that it is polished to such a high shine, that when wiping it out, even with a fairly soft cloth, you will put fine scratches in the surface. I do realize this is an ashtray I am talking about, and the scratches will be covered with ash, but it bothered me a little.

Overall I think that this ashtray was well worth the 20 some dollars I paid for it, and would highly recommend it to anyone in the market for an ashtray, simply because of its capacity and how clean your table top will stay because of it.