Hello smoke fans! Big Ronnie is back and today, we’re talking about herfs. What’s a herf? Good question. While performing my normal Google-research for this post, I was unable to find any real, legitimate sources online who actually acknowledge this term.
The best I could find was from urbandictionary.com, their #1 definition:
“A herf is a gathering of BOTL and SOTL to relax, unwind and smoke premium cigars. You won’t find any drug store cigars at a herf!
A herf can be as simple as two BOTL getting together for a smoke after work or it can be a full blowout with music, food, games, etc.
The main theme of any herf is relaxation and camaraderie, everything else is secondary – even the cigars.”=
BOTL = Brother of the leaf (Male cigar enthusiast)
SOTL = Sister of the leaf (Female cigar enthusiast)
I don’t LOVE that definition. Considering that I don’t see Merriam-Webster, or American Heritage adding it to their annual new words lists, I think I’ll attempt to rewrite it for our readers.
Herf: Noun
Definition by Big Ronnie
A herf is a gathering, party, occasion, get together, etc. where cigars are enjoyed. A herf can be mobile, and has no other rules.
I myself have herf’ed (past tense) on golf courses or backyard BBQ’s & birthday parties where a few guys steal away and enjoy a smoke. I’ve even been part of an impromptu herf at my crazy Cousin Al’s wedding.
Herfs (plural) are a good time because they involve cigars and cigar enthusiasts. Some herfing (adjective) happens without much planning, while other herfs are large, ritualistic annual events like Cigar Aficionado’s Big Smoke NYC, which was held on 11/29/12.
Whatever you choose to call a herf, make sure you fill it with friends, good times and premium hand rolled cigars. FineTobaccoNYC hosts herfs all the time – here are a few photos:
EVENT CALENDAR
Our event calendar here at FineTobaccoNYC is the most comprehensive in the New York area.
UPDATE: A fellow BOTL forwarded me his post from ’09 about defining the term Herf. Take a look here