Wife and kids are gone away today and tomorrow. While at the state store for a bottle of Jagar I decided to grab a cigar. LOVE IT!! So, I’m off to the Havana House to pick up a good one to enjoy this beautiful evening. Anyone else?
What did you pick up? My favorite reasonably priced cigar is the Punch Rare Corojo box pressed. I also enjoy the Henry Clay stalk cut. Both are around $7.
I smoke a lot of cigars. My favorite is the Liga Privada line of maduro cigars (Flying Pig, T52, etc.) But lately my usual smoke is CAO’s Brazilia. For my taste buds it’s the best QPR I can find.
That whole CAO line is definitely smokeable.
Had a smoke last night after the Bear’s lost. I don’t recall what it was, but it was strong and tasty. I have a few more of the same in my humidor.
Savored it with a glass of Bulliet bourbon sitting by the fire pit.
Nice! I just recently discovered Elijah Craig bourbon. I had it at a blind tasting and loved it.
Elijah Craig is tasty. Check out the whiskey thread, there’s some good stuff over there.
My smoke last night was a La Finca. Not certain of the size, maybe something like a No. 2 or a Churchill. I’ve got a random lot of cigars in my humidor.
I am pretty new to cigars and was thinking about ordering a sampler kit from an online vendor to expand my horizons. Any thoughts on this approach or even kit recommendations? Just trying to figure out if this is a good idea or a waste of money…
-Tony
Tony, my opinion is the best thing to do is fight me a good local shop that will match recommendations to your taste. You may a bit more per stick, but you won’t get stuck with a bunch of garbage. Part of the cigar experience for me is the conversation at the shop leading up to smoking it.
“Find a local shop” autocorrect fail
A good shop with a knowledgeable person and a walk-in humidor can be an awesome experience.
Try a couple different styles to see what you like. Once you have a handle on what you like, you can get some good deals from the on-line guys. I’ve had some fun with the sampler packs, but they’re also a lot like beer sampler packs. A couple really nice ones, a couple decent ones, and some that just sit around waiting for someone with bizarre taste (a la Sam Adams Cherry Wheat).
HAHAHA! Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat is the Swisher Sweets of beer. 
Since I didn’t have a local cigar shop at the time, this is exactly what I did.
I think I spent ~$100 on a giant sampler, and another ~$50-60 on a decent humidor. Though not all of the cigars have been to my taste, my friends have enjoyed many that I wasn’t looking forward to. It definitely introduced me to some of my favorites though, and I still have many of the cigars left.
That being said, I recently sprung for one of those cigar oasis digitally controlled humidifiers. Worth every penny, my cigars have never been happier.
Pretty much the only way to find good cigars is to smoke cigars. It’s kind of like beer that way. What would be ideal is to take notes in the beginning. That way you can remember what specific cigars you liked as well as trends.
But also pay attention to the flavor descriptions in the advertisements (it’s a quick online check on your smart phone). I hate pepper/spice and cedar notes, others like them. I prefer lower flavor notes (I equate pepper/spice to high notes) like leather, nuttiness, chocolate, coffee, cream and the like. I almost always smoke maduros (dark wrapper) which are almost always medium to full on the flavor range.
For me, lighter cigars can be excellent but they need to produce lots of smoke. I hate puffing on a cigar and getting little whisps.
Great advice. That’s also the cool thing about a local shop. My guy knows my taste better than I do.
Had a Boneshaker a couple days ago. Robusto size, but it wasn’t a robusto. It was very tasty, and short enough for a mid-day smoke.
I have to say, I’ve had good luck with some of the sample packs from JR Specials.
To me, fall is the ideal season for smoking a pipe or a cigar. As such, I’ve been smoking cigars more often than normal. (read: actually smoking cigars, rather than just sniffing the humidor on occasion…)
Just tried something on a whim: pairing Laphroig 10-year with a cigar. I’ve had good whisky and cigars before, but somehow the smokiness of the Laphroig worked to reduce the smokiness of itself and the cigar. I was smoking a mild Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne cigar, one of my favorites. Will have to try this with something stronger.
That sounds nice! I used to love that Perdomo but they have a sampler pack that I was hitting hard for quite a while and I think I burned myself out on them.
Weirdly, the first cigar I smoked was a Perdomo, and though I preferred it to some of the other cigars I tried later I’ve only recently bought more. They’re my go-to now. I smoke so rarely that stronger cigars can turn my stomach, whereas I can always enjoy these without issue.
The first brand I actually recall is Macanudo. Portofinos. High school… Probably had a swisher or something before that, but I’ve blocked them out.