Currently I'm into Alcazar No. 4 for daily, but I'm trying other cheap cigars. So far I still like the Nicaraguan Alcazar over the others.
So far this is my list but I keep trying new ones all the time.
**disclaimer ** I started a couple months ago.
Cigars Like
Alcazar #4
Acid, Kuba Kuba
Montecristo Platinum series
Herederos Clasico
Romeo Y Julieta Reserva Real
Alec Bradley American Classic
Macanudo Hampton Court
Alec Bradley Spirit of Cuba Natural
Everyday - "Cheapos"
Quorum Shade - very good!!!! WOW! - I may have been drunk. Will try again.
Forma
Prize Fighter
Casa De Garcia Tabacalera (?Everyday?)
rocky patel corojo especia
Don't like
Table 36
Jilius Caesar
Rigoletto, Black Arrow
809
Pride
Room101
vista De Cuba [Reply]
For daily cheapos, I cannot recommend the GH 2002 highly enough. They're just OK to start with, but let 'em rest for a minimum of 6 months and they are a whole other smoke. For about $1.50 ea they are fantastic. This is the only sub $2 cigar I make sure I have in quantity. Available in robusto on CBID Free Fall pretty regularly...
Now that I think about it, I've got a couple left from a bundle I picked up in May last year. Think I'll take my coffee out back and light one up right now! [Reply]
A cigar pass, but here on the planet. Done this on some other cigar sites and found it pretty fun. Great way to try new sticks.
One person seeds a "pass" with a dozen or so cigars that fit the theme of the pass (all maduro, under $5, HTF, etc.). He then ships to the first member of the pass. That member takes a few from the pass, and replaces them with ones of comparable value that are different from the ones he took but meet the theme of the pass.
In theory, everyone in the pass gets to try a few sticks they've never had before, and the originator gets back a box at the end completely different from what he sent out. [Reply]
I was into it for awhile, but the only time I ever have one these days is when I get into my Cuban montecristo cigars I snuck back from Belize a couple of years ago. I might have two a year. Even when I was in Belize a couple of weeks ago I only had one and that's only because one of the people we were with bought them.
When I smoked cigarettes I would occasionally buy a Cohiba (Cuban) when I was in Korea (legal there). They were awesome cigars. When I quit smoking I stopped with the Cohiba too because I was afraid it would start me smoking again. Miss it though, a Cohiba with a glass of nice single malt scotch was great.
If you ask if I ever brought them back to the US with me I'll tell you I didn't. You can decide whether I'm telling the truth or not...:-) [Reply]
I used to enjoy cigars but this state's tobacco laws are worse than North Korea. I dont want to smoke in my house and can't smoke outside for a good part of the year. Also, this state is drier than a popcorn fart, as my grandfather used to say. Those typical wood humidors just don't keep my cigars in decent shape so they dry out quickly.
However, a cigar club just opened up nearby so I have a place to smoke inside during the winter. Also found a good humidor with an electronic humidification system so they can stay smokable. Now I just need to start filling it up. Got a fair number of cigars on the way and I intend to start smoking more often. [Reply]
Went to a little shop in the Dominican Republic last fall and had an incredible experience just learning better how to smoke the damn things.
Went over the proper way to 'retrohale' the drag for just an incredible amount of flavor. We experimented with various sidecars and without question, without exception, the answer was dark black coffee as the best complement to a good cigar.
Different leaves, styles, shapes, which part of the plant the respective component parts of the cigar come from. How best to light them, how best to 'clean' them (i.e. you put a flame on the end and blow out to clear it and improve your drag; usually once or maybe twice per cigar). Best ways to cut them to keep them from unwrapping - stuff that is about half intuitive (but good to understand the 'why' of) and half stuff that really is enlightening.
I always enjoyed cigars well enough, but this took all that to the next level and made me really appreciate them the way I started appreciating scotch after several years of drinking it. Now it's really not that hard for me to determine a real preference.
So hey, if any of you go to Punta Cana, stop by Vivaldi Cigars. I promise that as you're pulling up to this dude's apartment he's not actually going to cut your liver out. And his dog is super friendly. And that guy will just hang out and talk cigars with you for 5 hours and let you smoke his stuff. Really fascinating Dutch expat that is friendly as all hell and really knows what he's talking about. We ended up dropping a couple hundred bucks on cigars before we left but they're damn good. My Don Lucas Dominicans are good but these are definitely better. [Reply]
E.P. Carrillo Encore, Oliva Series V Melanio, Henry Clay War Hawk, Alec Bradley Prensado, Rocky Patel Decade, Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua and their original, La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor amd Reserva, Oliva Master Blends III, My Father La Opulencia, San Cristobal Revelation, CAO Flathead 660, Rock Patel Sun Grown Maduro, some H.Upmann different variety, a few other Oliva brands.
Originally Posted by frozenchief:
I used to enjoy cigars but this state's tobacco laws are worse than North Korea. I dont want to smoke in my house and can't smoke outside for a good part of the year. Also, this state is drier than a popcorn fart, as my grandfather used to say. Those typical wood humidors just don't keep my cigars in decent shape so they dry out quickly.
However, a cigar club just opened up nearby so I have a place to smoke inside during the winter. Also found a good humidor with an electronic humidification system so they can stay smokable. Now I just need to start filling it up. Got a fair number of cigars on the way and I intend to start smoking more often.
We have a place in town that I like. It has a walk in humidor and they have a pretty good selection. They also have a room just outside of that humidor where guys sit down and smoke. I never really take advantage of that because I like to have a beer or whiskey when I'm enjoying a stogie. [Reply]
I got a KingChii humidor and so far, it is doing a really good job. I got a 43L, the smallest size that controls humidity as well as temperature. It says that it will hold 300 cigars but I have about 100 and I don't see how I have room for another 75 let alone another 200. On the other hand, having about 150 -175 cigars should be plenty. I am trying to give my cigars a few months' humidor time before smoking them so they can settle down and flavors can meld and I've purchased some cigars with the express intent of keeping them for a year or more. I'm creating the same problem with my wine cellar, though - trying to balance stuff to smoke/drink now versus stuff to smoke/drink later. I have a lot of stuff in my cellar I don't want to drink right now because i want it to age more and my humidor is kind of like that now. I'm hoping by July I can be less reliant upon the local store and more reliant upon my humidor.
I've found some good websites for cigar reviews/news:
Luxury cigar club has a few different clubs you can join to get different cigars each month. I joined one club already.
So far, I'm picking up brands that I know and have smoked in the past - La Gloria Cubana, Joyo de Nicaragua, Romeo y Julietta, and Rockey Patels. But I've heard about 4 brands I really want to try: Lampert, Principle Cigars, Viaje, and Casdagli. Principle cigars are sold, apparently exclusively, from:
I've heard nothing but great things about the Cochon Valante and I decided to try the Accomplice Decienne as well. So I have a few of those in my humidor waiting to get a few months' humidity before I start smoking them. When I ordered from there, the owner sent a few extra cigars above and beyond my order of some different cigars to try.
Last night I enjoyed a Joyo de Nicaragua Black Toro. Surprisingly mild yet flavorful with an excellent burn. Took me about 2 hours to smoke. I'd recommend grabbing a few if you have space in your humidor:
Lastly, I found a good app for you iPad or iPhone to keep track of your humidor if it's big enough:
cigar-app.com
You have to pay if you want to keep info on >25 cigars but it's not much - about $5 for 6 months. I like how it organizes my humidor and keeps track of what I've got. What I don't like is that if I come across a cigar that's not in the database, I have to get an administrator to add that cigar. Doesn't take long but it's frustrating. Also, there are no pictures of the cigar bands so you can ensure you're talking about the right one. It's similar to my wine cellar app - cellartracker.com but comparing the two it's easy to see that the cigar app is run by a German and the cellartracker is run by an American. The wine app is a bit more flexible to use, so to speak.
I'll update as I smoke some more of what's in my humidor. [Reply]
