I’m kind of in a rut with my Romeo and Julieta Exhibicion #3 cigars (Dominican). I like 'em a lot, but I’ve been sticking to them for so long now, I thought I’d see what others have been smoking before I branch out. I used to keep some Macanudo Hyde Parks or some Upmann’s around, but haven’t actually bought any of those in years.
So, what’s in your humidor? Mine is full of the R&J #3s, and they’re a pretty fine cigar. 6 x 50, which is about the perfect size for me-- I don’t like anything thinner or smaller. If I’m going to have a cigar (and I usually have one each day), I’m giong to sit down for an hour and enjoy it. Maybe while reading a book or watching the news or sipping something good. They’re medium bodied, and cost me just under $4, bought on-line if I by a whole box, which I do. I suspect they’d be $8 - $10 here in CA in a cigar shop. The construction can be a bit uneven, though, and sometimes I get a box where maybe 1/3 of them draw too easily and burn too hot.
What do I look for in a cigar? Flavor / strength, an easy draw, an even burn, and an attractive appearance–in that order, and especially if it doesn’t cost me a mint. I tend to like the full-bodied stuff. John, like you I prefer a thicker ring gauge.
In my humidor in the past six months: La Gloria Cubano; Punch Rare Corojo and assorted others; CAO Brazilia, Italia, Cameroon, Criollo, and MX2; the rare Ashton; Partagas Black; Leonino; Aurora; and assorted others (I like to mix them up, though there are a half dozen or so that are standbys).
Some bad ones? I tried an Africa recently, and it burned like a rolled-up newpaper. And I tried an Acid freebie my cigar shop guy gave me, and it was as disgusting a smoke as one could imagine.
Oh, and I tried an Opus X this year as well. Could no longer ignore all the hype and hoopla, so put my $14 on the barrel head and bought one. Meh. It was OK. Spicy and powerful, but it drew a little tight. I guess it was just tough for it to live up to the hype. (And when I spend over $10 for a cigar, I expect it to make me achieve a state of nirvana. ;))
My current favorite, is the El Rey Del Mundo Robusto Larga. I like to spend an hour or so with a smoke as well. I find they have good construction, and only rarely do I have to use my drawpoker with one.
Oh! Here’s something else in my humidor: a digital hygrometer, purchased today. My humidor is 66 degrees Fahrenheit and 77% humid (I need to adjust this), for those taking notes.
My traditional hygrometer had it pegged at about 72%. Lying SOB…
Living in Canada, with legal access to Havanas, I mostly have those. Current favourites in my humidor include a variety of Bolivars: Royal Coronas, Coronas, and Petit Coronas. There are also some Partagas Coronas, some Fonseca Cosacos, a few Monte No. 4s, and assorted singles of various marques ranging from Quintero to Cohiba, in all sizes and constructions.
But I don’t limit myself to Cubans. Henry Clay Senators and Souvenirs are also favourites, as are Avo XO Intermezzos. Most of our non-Cubans, though, belong to my wife, who also likes cigars and prefers robustos from Don Diego, Flor de Honduras, and Davidoff mostly. But there are plenty of various singles that she has collected along the way too.
Still, it’s fun to try new (to me) ones when I’ve been travelling, since many of the heavily-hyped non-Cubans are simply unavailable here. Stratocaster, on the occasion when I did try an Opus X, I also found it spicy and powerful, but found little else to recommend it. I won’t say it was disappointing, but it sure didn’t live up to the hype.
I like Cuban cigars well enough, but I don’t buy them because they’re just too bleemin’ expensive. Here in Canada, cigars cost a fortune. So whenever I’m in the states, I pick up a couple of boxes. I bought a box of 20 Macanudos in the U.S. a few years ago for $80 - the same cigars were something like $15/each here in Canada.
My taste runs to flavorful yet medium-strength cigars. I tend to like the Robusto or Corona form factor - not too big that it takes hours to smoke. And I tend to like maduro wrappers, to give the cigar a bit more flavor.
I’m always searching for an inexpensive good cigar, since I can’t afford $20 - $30 per cigar which the Cubans often cost. My favorite inexpensive cigar is the Calixto Lopez Phillippine cigar. You can get them for $6-$8 each in Canada, and to me they are every bit as good as a cigar costing twice as much. La Flor De La Isabela is a similar cigar, though a little cheaper and not quite as consistent.
To give you an idea of how expensive Canadian prices are, check out the price list at GoodFellas Cigar Shop. A Cohiba double Corona is US$62.75. A Honduran Punch is about $20, and that’s also what you’ll pay for a single Macanudo these days.
If I had one of those a day, I’d have a $600/mo cigar budget.
Sam, can you order via mail from U.S. companies, or does that run afoul of the law? At JR Cigars a box of CAO Brazilia Gol!'s costs $83 (about what you paid for your Macanudos, which is why I picked them–not sure if you’re using U.S. or Canadian $$$ as your point of reference), which comes to $4.15/cigar.
When I bought one yesterday individually I believe it ran me $5.50 (not $15). It’s pretty easy here in the U.S. to spend $4 or less a cigar (if you buy boxes) for a very good (even excellent) cigar, so long as the buyer isn’t one of those nitwits who thinks a cigar is only worth smoking if it sets you back $20 - $25.
That’s too easy, though. I’m guessing there’s a reason you can’t.
I just finished a box of the Fuente OpusX. Contrary to Stratocaster’s experience, I found them to be extraordinary – complex spicy taste, hints of coffee in the finish, an aggressive and full-bodied taste.
Disclosure: I’m currently IN the Dominican Republic, my wife is Dominican, and we met in part over the issue of cigar quality of various countries. I am consequently forbidden to smoke anything but Dominican cigars.
I am stocking up for the return trip; we won’t be back until mid-year and so I need to make sure I don’t run out. There’s a Cohiba Gold Reservas that’s available here but not back home that I like a lot, although unfortunately it’s pricey.
I’ve very jealous of that. You can’t even buy them by the box here in Nashville. Head to Vegas with them, they sell for $100 bucks and up in the casinos. Set up on a street corner, you could pay for your trip :).
I’m heading back to Northern Kentucky this weekend, so I’ll be stocking up. There’s a store called the Party Source that has the best price on CAO Gold boxes I’ve seen, so I buy two boxes when I’m there.
Well, if you ever make it up here to my neck of the woods, we will have to sit down and have a smoke from my humidor.
Ordering from the US (via mail or Internet) does not run afoul of the law, but it does get pricey, since duties are tacked on by Canada Customs when the cigars arrive. So you end up paying the same price you would if you had bought them in a local shop anyway. I’ve known a few people who have had an “arrangement” with American friends that circumvents this, but I’ll say no more on that topic.
Sam, where do you find Phillippine cigars in Canada? I’ve only found them in the US. Anyway, if you have a local source for these and you get the chance, try Don Juan Urquiho. Quite mild–milder than you would expect–but well-made, and rather pleasant.
Don’t get me wrong, I will likely smoke another one of these days, especially when I hear reactions like yours (which tend to be more prevalent than mine). You can never judge a brand by one cigar anyway, good or bad, which is what I had. (And I certainly wouldn’t describe it as terrible or anything like that.)
It’s like anything else–once there’s a lot of hype and hoopla, the experience tends to be anticlimactic.
I also live in Canada, but can’t really afford to pay the $40+ for Cubans. However, my wife’s parents just returned from Varadero, and brought me some Cohiba Siglo IIIs and my wife had them buy me a box of R & J #2 tubos, which she gave me for Christmas. They’re both a little smaller than I generally buy for myself (Corona Grande and Corona, respectively). I usually prefer a larger ring gauge, but I’m looking forward to having some smokes that I can finish in an hour or less.
I usually get my cigars this way (we were in Cuba last February; my inlaws go every winter), or when I’m down in the States. I just returned from Las Vegas, and brought back with me an assortment of singles. An Ashton maduro (maybe oscuro?) belicoso, a couple of Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 toros, a couple of Casa Fuentes, a couple of Davidoffs, a Zino Platinum Scepter Grand Master, and a couple of others I can’t remember now. Basically just a bunch of stuff I can’t find here, or would pay a fortune for.
I was kicking myself when I got home because I forgot to get an OpusX. I too am curious about the hype.
The problem with buying cigars up here, like others have mentioned, is the prohibitive taxes. And if you have them shipped from the States, you still end up paying those taxes as duty.
However, I have a special occasion coming up early next year, and I’m thinking about ordering a box of “It’s a Girl” cigars. However, I’d like them to be something of quality, not stink bombs, because I was thinking I might start a little tradition of smoking one each year on her birthday. Can anybody recommend anything nice that is available with a commemorative label of some kind? So far I’m leaning toward these.
I’m excited about this thread. I’ve been wanting to talk cigars with you knowledgeable Dopers for a long time. I’ve got a few questions I’ll be back with later.
Just finished a Punch Grand Puro, robusto. Very nice cigar. Toward the full-bodied side; oily, dark wrapper; burned like a dream. Accompanied by a Sam Adams Winter Lager. The cigar (and I) was enveloped in a wreath of blue-gray smoke after every puff. My dog was less impressed. He went off to the other side of the garage, at the open door, outside of the smog bank, to bark at passing airplanes.
MrSquishy, I might be interested, for kicks, if we get enough guys to participate.
So should I be keeping my R & J’s in the tubos when they’re in the humidor? I was thinking about taking them out, but maybe keeping the little cedar liner wrapped around each one. What about cellophane? Do you guys keep your cigars naked in your humidors?
Cellophane helps keep your cigars from getting beat up if they travel with you. Outside of that benefit, cellophane will not prevent humidity from reaching your cigars. That said, I have read that cigars in cellophane don’t age as well. One school of thought says to remove cellophane from cigars that you expect to smoke within a year or two (or all of them, if you won’t be taking them in a travel humidor).
I think the same basic thought process applies to tubes, with the added wrinkle that “uncracked” tubes are supposed to be their own little hermetically sealed humidors. I err on the side of caution. I assume all tubed cigars are not fully sealed, so I put them in the humidor. Like cellophane, I don’t particularly worry about removing them. It seems logical to me that within a humidor, any “leak” that would permit moisture to escape would also permit my humidor to work its magic. I am thinking about taking the cellophane off of a few to see how the aging process is affected. As a rule, my cigars don’t last beyond a year, but lately I’ve been stocking up more (e.g., with 50 or 60 cigars in stock, as opposed to having a dozen or so). Some guys follow the half-and-half rule–50 % of their cigars have cellophane removed to age them, the others remain in their plastic shields in case the stogies have to take a ride if the owner travels.
Keeping them in the cedar “wrappers” couldn’t hurt. Keep in mind that there are also two schools of thoughts regarding having your cigars of different types touch. Cigars will assume flavors from those things they comes in contact with. There’s a camp that recognizes this and say bring it on–cigars mixing with their “brothers” is a welcome thing that creates interesting flavors. The more orthodox camps says never the twain should meet–keep your brands separated so as not to “pollute” the taste.
Anyway, cellophane and cedar “shields” can help to keep your cigars from fraternizing with each other.
Typically, I’ll open the tubes, set the lids aside, and lie the tubes in the humidor. This way, the cigar is still in contact with the cedar, but not with any other cigars; and the cigar gets the benefit of the ambient atmosphere in the humidor. I’m always a little leery of just how much humidity the tube contains by the time it gets to the retailer’s.
As for the cellophane, I’m one of those who takes it off some and leaves it on others. I don’t trust the cello to “keep freshness in,” but it does offer some protection to the cigar wrapper if you’re going anywhere (you can, if you’re careful, just pop it in your shirt pocket). On the other hand, I’ve also had one or two maduro/oscuros that have been so oily that the cello doesn’t want to come off–it sticks.
Perhaps it’s best to weigh the pros and cons on a stick-by-stick basis. For example: “I’ve just got a pair of sticks, and I want to take one to my friend’s BBQ on Saturday, so maybe best to leave it in the cello for protection; but I should remove the cello from its mate if I’m going to leave it in the humidor for a few months.”
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