Any cigar lovers?

Disclaimer : Can we please not get into the "eww cigars stink" or "smoking is nasty" thing? I won't criticize you for eating that triple layer cheesecake and you don't give me sh** about smoking cigars. I don't smoke them in my house or in public and unless you come to my backyard or are riding in my truck, you'll never smell it. K?

On to the subject at hand.
I've been smoking them for years now, but really not that often in Winter. Maybe 2 a week because I have to go sit in my truck with the heat on and windows down, but in warm weather, you can find me out back under the shade tree with a cup of coffee, a book and a good cigar just about every other day.
I've noticed that the ultra expensive ones are really not that much better than the middle of the road cigars. "Middle of the road" meaning $125 - $200 a box. Yes, they can go way over that. I've tried some of the more expensive brands like Upmann, Montecristo and Cohiba Red Dot and can't say I'm impressed...or at least not enough to justify the price of smoking them on a regular basis.
Like any big name brand, you're paying as much for the name as you are for the product.
I can't tell you how many brands I've tried over the years, so if I don't mention your favorite, it's not intentional.
Sometimes, I order samplers. A 20 cigar bundle that has 4 or 5 different brands/blends that keep me from getting what I call "Cigar ADD". I just don't enjoy the same cigar day after day, so I keep an assortment on hand.

I have 2 humidors, one holds 100, the other 150 and my current stock is :
La Gloria Cubana Maduro
CAO Brazilia
CAO Italia
Ave Maria Argentus
Rocky Patel Edge Maduro
5 Vegas Classic Habano
Diesel Unlimited Maduro [ although I like any of the Diesel line, these are what I have right now ]
and I tried some Nicaraguan 2nds that turned out to be pretty darn good after about 4 months resting in the humidor.

[ for those who don't know the lingo, 2nds are cigars that have been rejected from banding for any number of small reasons. Uneven color of the leaf, discolored spots, prominent veins in the tobacco leaf, etc.....same cigars, they just don't put the name brand on them and they sell for less. Like buying a new car with a crappy, scratched up paint job. Same car it just doesn't look as pretty ]

I don't have a cigar shop near me, [ 40 miles to the nearest ] so I order online.
Now, other than as a customer, I have no connection to this company and they even advertise here, so I don't think the mods will have a problem with me linking it. If so, please remove.
www.cigarsinternational.com...

They have an almost unlimited selection, great prices and fast delivery. If UPS loses your order, they'll replace it for free. Had that happen twice in all they years I shopped there and they replaced them fast with no questions asked.

Got anything good in your humidor?

I smoke a few a day, generally. So I'm a bit of an avid cigar smoker. I use CI as well, and like you enjoy samplers and testing out as many brands as I can. I'm partial to medium to full bodied cigars, and seem to gravitate towards most of AJ Fernandez brands.

I try to avoid 2nds, and anything too price focused. Simply because they seem to have so many issues with consistency(draw, tightness, burn, etc).

ETA: I still buy 2nds from time to time, the Alec Bradley seconds was a fav of mine.

It's amazing what a few extra dollars a stick gets you, but I still am often disappointed with some consistency of many brands. But I'm really picky, and these are hand rolled items, which means they can't be THAT consistent given the variability involved in the manufacturing process.

I run a few humidors, at lower capacity since it seems to be easier to maintain proper humidity.

As for shares, I'll try to remember some of what's in there.

-couple dozen diesels(from sampler i often get) - I like the Diesel wicked the best out of that sampler.
-My Father The Judge
-Ava Maria Divinia - kind of my goto daily cigar if I have them.
-Man o" War Ruination
-Ashton Symmetry - OK, I'm actually not a fan of ashtons. A great example of spending more doesnt equat to better, IMO
-La Herencia Cubana Core
-Ava Maria Reconquista - Blows away cigars costing 2 times as much IMO. Best "budget" premium for me.
-Man O' War Armada - See above, though I slightly prefer the Reconquista
-5 Vegas Big Five - New, only had one so far so I'm undecided. Been awhile since I've had Gordo's in the box.
-Cohiba Blue - New as well, though in general I find cohiba's overrated and overpriced
-Rocky Patel Royal Vintage - Great brand, lots of good stuff in the RP line
-La Gloria Cubana Serie R
-Drew Estate Undercrown
-Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic
-New World by AJ Fernandez
-My Father Le Bijou
-Don Pepin Garcia Blue
-Fuente Fuente Opus X Lost City - I like to keep a handful of these around, they are my "celebratory" cigar for "special occasions", but somehow I find a reason to smoke one once every week or two.

I'm partial to Toro's or Double Robusto's, hits a nice size point for me. Used to be a big Gordo guy, but jesus they last forever, no such thing as a quick smoke with a gordo. Though they did burn slow and cool so that was always nice. Starting to like Torpedo's, they always clip nice. I also like box pressed cigars, through my own experience box pressing really mitigates a lot of inconsistencies in the roll, IMO.

Typically a Montecristo fan, both the Cuban and non-Cuban varieties with a Habano #2 being my favorite. Also like Rockys, My Father and a bunch of limited production Cuban varieties.

Mostly have them on the weekend but occasionally, if I find a cool local cigar shop in my travels, I'll grab a smaller one during the week.

a reply to: DAVID64

I wouldn't consider myself an officianado by any stretch, but we sure used to be able to get some pretty great Cuban cigars when I was working overseas in Hong Kong and SE Asia. They weren't that expensive either surprisingly (considering everything else was).

Man, those things were great, and the real-deal too. A nice imported single malt scotch and a big fat Cuban cigar, sitting there looking out over Kowloon...tough to beat.

Not a cigar lover here, but i smoked a big fat one when i finally got home from the army back in 2000. Cigars have style and class. It was a cheap one, i went to my local tobacco store and ask the shopkeeper to recommend me as good cigar that i could get with roughly 10 euros which again is very roughly the same in dollars.

I am hooked on nicotine. I liked the fact that i did not need to inhale the smoke, and the smoke was rich and mucous membranes of the mouth delivered the nicotine to my system.

I love Drew Estates stuff. Big fan of Tabak (coffee infused) and the natural series.
I love a montecristo, Romeo and Julitetta. But will go back to a Tabak every time. Red eye if I get to pick.

Not sure if anyone has tried them, but I like a Swisher Sweet on occasion.

a reply to: DAVID64
I do love a cigar on a slow day. Something about it is very relaxing. I will admit if it’s not a Cuban from my dad it’s a black and mild jazz. Cigars are not my forte. But darn I love them!

Cigar lover, here!

I often go to Amsterdam to visit Hajenius on Rokin to enjoy good company, a cigar or two and a few coffees and wine.

My favourite: punch double Corona, flor de domenica, but there are so many nice cigars.

So, if any of you is up to it, let's hit Hajenius.

Cheers

One or two over a weekend. On average, I'm not spending more than $50 on 12-20 cigars, and not an aficionado by any means. I do have a friend who is most definitely hard core, and he will give me expensive cigars quite often. he can talk about a cigar he just handed me for ten minutes. While they are usually very good cigars, they are not appreciably better than the ones I smoke and I most definitely don't taste the "light finish of vanilla" or whatever he tells me about it.

My humidor has about 30 in it right now. Mostly Gurkhas and similar that i catch on sale. I also order via internet most of the time.

Store bought: Usually from JRCigar.com or Thompsons™ if the 'Special' is a deal that can't be passed on. Thompsons™ do have the nice aluminum carrying cases.

•LaGloriaCubano™ Maduro

•Punch Maduro

The Cohiba™ Cuban but only if You get them through Canada.

Tampa Bound:

There are a couple different ones in Ybor City. Here they just twist up what You want. Next time I run down and I remember I'll send You a PM. One guy even has glass tubes and then the hot wax.

I can get a pack of Philly's for a couple bucks and make them taste mighty fine with a little modification.

originally posted by: Tekaran
Not sure if anyone has tried them, but I like a Swisher Sweet on occasion.

Black and Mild
Nothing wrong with that

a reply to: DAVID64

Did someone say cigar lover?

originally posted by: skunkape23
I can get a pack of Philly's for a couple bucks and make them taste mighty fine with a little modification.

Backwoods honey berry fly homie.

a reply to: DAVID64

I used to occasionally hit up the cigar shop at the mall many years ago, but haven't had a cigar in as many years.

However, we did have these rolled for us at the end of the season. I don't recall the tobacco, but they were rolled in person.



I kinda miss a good cigar.

I am a chic, i like a Romeo y Julieta cigar.