The Story Behind Stinky Cigar® Ashtrays

Where form meets function—with a little smoke and a lot of personality.

"Stinky" wasn’t always his name. But when he picked up cigars, the aroma followed him home—earning him a new nickname from his wife. It stuck. Today, thousands of cigar lovers know him simply as Stinky.

The Stinky Cigar® Ashtray was born out of necessity—at a weekly Herf, a casual cigar gathering. The problem? Every ashtray was too small. Ash, butts, wrappers, and matches piled up fast. Nobody wanted to be the one emptying it mid-smoke.

One day, Stinky grabbed an old silver-plated bowl from around the house. Its deep size made it perfect for holding ash—but there was nowhere to rest a cigar. That’s when inspiration struck.

He remembered how his kids used to flatten coins on nearby railroad tracks, just like he did as a child. He took a few quarters to an arcade souvenir machine, flattened them, then shaped them using a broomstick and hammer. The curve was just right for holding a cigar.

He drilled them into a block of wood, then took them to a radiator shop where they were soldered to the rim of the bowl. The first DIY ashtray made its debut at the next Herf—and the response was immediate. Everyone wanted one.

At first, he declined—it was too much work to make them by hand. But the compliments kept coming, and soon the idea of producing them at scale took root.

In early 2004, Stinky created a prototype in stainless steel and began showing it to cigar shop owners. At the NATO show in Las Vegas, retailers told him they’d gladly sell it for $30.

Encouraged, he ordered factory samples in time for the RTDA trade show in July 2004. The reaction was overwhelming. Enough pre-orders came in to fill half a shipping container.

On October 30, 2004, the first Stinky Cigar Ashtrays landed in the U.S. Retailers received their orders in early November—just in time for the holiday season. A new staple in the cigar world was born.

Today, the Stinky Cigar® Ashtray is trusted by aficionados, lounges, and Herfs across the globe—designed by a cigar lover, for cigar lovers.

Want to join the Herf? Grab your own Stinky Cigar® Ashtray—built by one of us, for all of us.