Cigars (1 Viewer)

[Josh Lowe]

As if I needed another habit, some friends of mine (at least I thought that they were my friends) have gotten me thoroughly hooked on cigars. I remember thinking "How lame!" during the cigar boom of 4-5 years ago, when everyone and their cat had a stogie stuck in their mouths. But now that the boom is gone and the prices have bottomed out, I've totally gotten into it. There's place near me that sells H. Upmann and Montecristo "rejects/defects" for $1.49 apiece, so it's been mercifully inexpensive at one smoke per day. But I'm picking up various other brands here and there, exploring what there is. Anyone have any good recommendations? So far my favorites are the Montecristos and the CAO la anniversarie with the cameroon wrapper. I tried one with a maduro wrapper and it was too dark/harsh for me. At least for now.

 

[joe rizzuto]

you have entered a wonderful new world my friend. i love a good cigar and if you keep experimenting you too will discover ones that you truly enjoy. i recommend giving a maduro another try. they are usually sweeter than most and have a wonderful flavour. i prefer cigars from the dominican republic. cubans are usually very strong, so not a good beginner's smoke. also, they have poor quality control and therefore you can spend good money on an inconsistant product. if you don't have a humidor then i suggest you only buy a few at a time. a dry cigar is a harsh smoke. try cigar afficionado website for a good primer - good info there. anyway, welcome to cigar world...

 

[Philip Hamm]

Is there a Steve Simon in the house?

 

[Dennis Reno]

Montecristo Churchill is my absolute favorite! Also, I enjoy the Dunhill Churchill as well. My golf partner is a cigar aficionado. We play on Thursday nights (tonight!) and he brings the 'gars. Never lets me down, always has something good packed!

 

[Mark C Sherman]

Cohiba's if you can find them

Nat Sherman (no relation)

Habana Gold Maduro wrap (My personal fav)very hard to find

Astrals

 

[Steven Simon]

HELLO Guys,
Phill Hamm acts like I own 3 cigar shops of my own, Geez..
Some of my favorite non Cuban cigars are Padron, Fuente, and Ashton. I think you will find some of the most consistent product coming out of Fuenete factories.... Connecticut shade wrapper is what your smoking on those Monte Seconds. That is also the wrapper used on alot of cigars including Ashton, Hoyo Excalibur, Macanudo, and many others. It's a smooth solid flavor, but usually tastes mild. As your tastes enhance, you will want to try some of the more full bodied smokes; such cigars that have Sun Grown wrappers. The Ashton Virgin Sun Grown is the absolute pinnacle of all sun-grown wrappers, and is my favorite non Cuban Cigar out there.
As far as Cubans, they are inconsistent as mentioned above, but when there on, the earthy flavors can't be beat. A Montecristo #2 Pyramid, or a Cohiba Esplendido Churchill are the benchmark cuban smokes on the market. I smoked a 1.5 year aged Cohiba Esplendido the other day, and it was the most fabulous smoke I have had in years....
Best advice I can give you is, try everything. Let your own pallet decide what you like, and dislike....

 

[Ron-P]

Here's a few of my favorite's
AVO
Punch
Paratagas
Hoyo de Monterrey
Romeo y Julieta
Padron
Arturo Fuente
Ashton
The Punch might be a bit strong for you, the others are on the milder side.
I love a good cigar almost as much as I love a good beer.
Peace Out~

 

[Jimmie Lee]

My favorite by far is Punch. I have never had one that was defective. They are a little pricy, but well worth it.

 

[joe rizzuto]

cohiba esplendido - i can't even afford to look at that cigar. if it's the one i'm thinking it is - it goes for over $40. bucks cdn. too rich for my blood.
i was lucky enough to have some friends go to the dominican republic last year for a holiday. they brought me back 2 boxes of cigars. 'leon jimenes' a #4, i think and a box of 'davidoff' esplendidos. both these cigars are very pricey here but they worked out to about 4 bucks each (cdn) the 'leon jimenes' are very nice, smooth, mild and tasty to the end. the esplendidos are also very nice but they have a poor finish, kinda harsh at the end. anyway, pick & choose and experiment. you will find one that will seem to have been made for your taste buds.

 

[Gavin_L]

always loved a good cigar everyone once in a while, think i can thank my uncle when i was little for having my first stogie experience and getting me hooked. So on every special occasion i pull a cigar out and relax
I have to say nice to have a good cubian everyonce in a while when someone brings one back.
there's a few kinds of cigars that i have found to be in my liking

 

[Josh Lowe]

Hopefully Castro will kick the bucket soon so our (those of us here from the US) government will get over their silly embargo, and we can buy Cuban cigars guilt-free. Cuba is one of the most beautiful places in the world. And when the place opens back up hopefully it'll rise again to be the kind of place it was before Castro.. (but run by the people rather than under the thumb of a dictator like Batista, Castro, etc.)

 

[Justin Doring]

There are a lot of great cigars out there, but I'm currently working my way through a box of Romeo y Julieta Churchills, and it's heaven!

I'm also a big fan of AVO, Cohiba, Punch, H. Upmann, and Baccarat, with the Baccarat being nice and mild.

 

[Steven Simon]

40 In Canada yes, that is around 60 USD. Your taxes are super high there resulting in crazy pricing..... The Cohiba Esplendido sells for around 20 bucks every where else.....

 

[Colin Davidson]

So Steve....do you offer a "Owners Choice Sampler Box" that has a small selection of cigars to try. This would allow one to try 4 to 6 different cigars to get an idea of what is what?

 

[joe rizzuto]

steve,
our taxes are obscene on tabacco prices. the government feeds us some bs line about wanting us all to quit smoking for our good health and that is why they tax so high. but in reality they are still part of the same old scam of 'sin' taxes. with all this tax money our 'free' health care should be much better. phew...just had to get that out, sorry.

 

[Marty M]

40 In Canada yes, that is around 60 USD.

$40 Canadian would equal less in USD. That would be around $25 USD.
I started smoking cigars about 7 years ago, a couple of years before the cigar craze hit. I bought a box of cigars to give out at my daughter's wedding. It turned out only 12 or 13 people were interested in them. So I took the rest home and have been smoking 3 - 4 per week since then.
Unfortuneatly, prices haven't gone back quite to the pre-fad days yet. I remember getting decent cigars for $1.50. Now only the seconds are that price. One of my favorite cigars is the Fuente 858.
If you are looking for cigars at decent prices go to http://www.jrcigars.com They have a pretty good selection at great prices. They also produce a very funny catalog, monthly.

 

[MikeF]

Hopefully Castro will kick the bucket soon so our (those of us here from the US) government will get over their silly embargo, and we can buy Cuban cigars guilt-free. Cuba is one of the most beautiful places in the world. And when the place opens back up hopefully it'll rise again to be the kind of place it was before Castro.. (but run by the people rather than under the thumb of a dictator like Batista, Castro, etc.)

What kind of place was Cuba before Castro? A place run by a corrupt, U.S. puppet government? A place friendly to organized crime? A place with widespread illiteracy, large-scale gambling, enormous political unrest, and huge disparities of wealth?

Give me a break -- get a grip.

 

[Josh Lowe]

What kind of place was Cuba before Castro? A place run by a corrupt, U.S. puppet government? A place friendly to organized crime? A place with widespread illiteracy, large-scale gambling, enormous political unrest, and huge disparities of wealth?
Give me a break -- get a grip.

You didn't read the entire statement, jerk.
(but run by the people rather than under the thumb of a dictator like Batista, Castro, etc.)
Apparently you're not aware that Batista was the man in power before Castro.
Aren't posts like yours against forum guidelines? I hope the moderators deal with you appropriately for ruining a perfectly good thread.

 

[MikeF]

You didn't read the entire statement, jerk.

(but run by the people rather than under the thumb of a dictator like Batista, Castro, etc.)

Apparently you're not aware that Batista was the man in power before Castro.

Aren't posts like yours against forum guidelines? I hope the moderators deal with you appropriately for ruining a perfectly good thread.

1. You're the one who stepped into these quasi-political grounds by criticizing Castro and announcing that you could not wait for him to kick the bucket.

2. I, at least, have not engaged in personal attacks -- i.e. "jerk".

3. What was Cuba like pre-Batista? What were its favorable characteristics that you'd like to see restored? Ought the Cuban constitution make specific provision for American intervention? Perhaps we should reinstate Macado-, San Martin-, and Socarras-like corrupt politicians to run the country into the ground? Lord knows there isn't enough U.S. influence and organized crime in Latin America these days.

Again, I say: get real. Contemporary Cuba may have all sorts of issues, but only those who are (1) uninformed or (2) feverently anti-democratic would advocate the return of a pre-Batista setup.

 

[joe rizzuto]

cigars, boys, cigars.
remember, castro doesn't even smoke the damn things anymore!