So Lanto is a Cigar man, I am a relative Cigar newb, Today I had stopped this nice cigar shop and smoked a romeo y Julieta, it was a very social experience, the shop has a well appointed back room that his a huge plasma TV, and like 6 over stuffed leather chairs.. Random guys come in and start talking to you while you smoke.. All Very friendly talked sports, Networked with the leading SBS Loan guy in town..
Kinda a small piece of heaven.. was hard to leave thought hard about smoking a 2nd cigar...
So let me get your advice Lanto and whoever else wants to chat..
I have this
and this in my humidor, plus 4 different cubans that my wife brought back for me, and a couple of random cigars I bought locally..
I am finding I prefer mild, large ring gauge, and longer... I am curious about the acid cigars, as so far in my limited smoking they seem fairly similar..
I am also struggling for a way to smoke at home, I have this goal of cleaning guns in the garage and smoking but seems like a pipe dream atm to much random shit that I am ready to drive to the dump in my space.
Which cigars should I take on my trip this weekend, we are going out of town but will be in a casino for a couple of nights, and maybe I will smoke one on the beach.. so 2-3.. what would you recommend of the ones I have.

(Attius has cubans ) "Zotar sends out all his spies to locate the Cubans!!" Hehe, I've only got to smoke 1 cuban in the last 2 years lol. I haven't tried the acids yet, by the dark look of them they look too strong for my taste. One of my favs is a Nicaraguan Bucanero gold label. Extremely smooth, and not too pricey, around 6-8 bucks each ) I also like the Makers Mark , its sealed in a tube and very tasty ) Around 20 bucks though. I cant imagine a more relaxing time than being on the beach with a crown and coke in one hand and a cuban in the other . Enjoy brother!!!

Been waiting for this thread! I usually have 5+ boxes of cigars on hand at any time plus whatever singles I've picked up. I also started with the more mild cigars and then worked my way around to full flavor. Now I go around the scale depending on my mood, time of day, what I just ate, what I'm drinking with it, etc.

It's good you've found a home base cigar store. I have a great one that's similar - they have two big screens, loads of comfortable chairs, a pool table, and a huge humidor in the back of the store. One of my buds who's also an aficionado comes out sometimes on Saturdays and we smoke a couple (which means we spend about 4 hours there). Summertime I tend to use my patio out back and when I take walks with the wife, etc.

So, here's some cigar facts / suggestions for you. Cubans are on the wrong side of the flavor / value equation. Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, even Mexico have cigars that are as good and many times better, for what's typically 1/2 of the cost. The seeds have come from Cuba to start many of those farms anyway. That said, one of my all-time favorite cigars is the Monte Cristo no.2 from Cuba. I have some aged (around 5 years old) that are bar none my best cigars. If you ever want to buy Cubans, the best place to do it is Spain. They're the cheapest in the world. If you buy no.2's there, you can pay about 150 euro for a box, compared to 250+ GBP in London. But I digress...

If you want milder cigars, you can't go wrong with Avo. One box I always have in my humidor is Avo #2's. They're nice mild cigars, burn evenly, are rolled to perfection, and have a nice light flavor without being too "woody" or dry. If you like great flavor in the medium range, I would strongly suggest you try out a Ashton Churchill. They're more expensive (better price by the box), but they're worth it. When I smoke those it's typically over an hour for a single cigar. But again, you do pay. If you buy them in a store they're usually around $10 a piece. By the box around $190 for 25.

H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon (affordable too) is also a good mild / medium cigar. These are tasty and also around $5-6 per stick in most places.

If you want to try something with a bit more flavor, try out a Padron 5000. These are terrific full bodies cigars. They go great with a nice peaty scotch (Lagavulin, etc.). Definitely not a mid-day cigar - usually I smoke one of these after a good meal.

I'll stop this one here before I start getting into the more "complex" cigars like the Camacho 11/18... we'll save that for later.

EDIT: Oh yes, before I forget - ACID cigars... well, I personally can't take them. They do smell nice due to all the spices and oils and other stuff they inject into them. But I tend to really like the pure tobacco flavor and it just gets killed by all the extra stuff in these cigars. To each their own though - I don't look down on anyone for their tastes. There is no right or wrong answer, only what you find you like.

Yeah but he still stunk when he came home. It was like kissing an expensive ashtray, with a hint of aquafresh.

Rave wrote:Yeah but he still stunk when he came home. It was like kissing an expensive ashtray, with a hint of aquafresh.

The funny thing about cigar shops is that how much the smoke permeates EVERYTHING. Clothes - understandable. Hair - of course. The amazing thing though is that even a PLASTIC BAG will smell like smoke after it's been in the cigar shop.

For clothes, wash them. If it's a jacket or something, hang it somewhere outside of the closet where it has room to breathe. I keep my "smoking coat" in the garage where it can air. My wife even bought me a true smoking jacket from one of those vintage clothing stores. It's awesome. Black velvet with a satin collar... just pair it with pajamma bottoms and I'm transformed into Hugh.

The aftertaste is another thing altogether. A strong cigar can actually leave an aftertaste for a couple of days if you don't do something about it. What I've found works best: any form of citric acid as in fruit (oranges, etc.) since the acid breaks up the tannins that cause some of that aftertaste. My favorite is oranges, or right now clementines since they're still in season (barely). I follow that up with Orbitz gum. For me that works pretty well. Others have sworn by tomato juice, brushing with baking soda, and other things.

Lanto just to much info to process here lol.. Of the cigars I have what would you reccomend I take to the beach this weekend? I am only going to get 2-3 smoked max.. also It all just tastes like smoke, I Think I am smoking em wrong?

Complete newb, did I buy a bunch of shit cigars from thomspson? I was thinking of taking a rocky patel and a domincan cohiba.. and maybe something else..

I Reread your post like 3 times so much info in there..
1) How large is your humidor that you stock cigars by the box,
2) How many cigars do you smoke over a period of time (you have mid day, post meal etc)
3) Most of the cigars I tend towards are of the longer lengths so to me it seems to take an hour or more to smoke almost anything I have.. is there a way to have faster cigars without giving up the benfits that come from a long fat cigar (Which I believe to be consistant taste, cooler temp, obvisouly fatter = more leaves so more rolling options
4) Should I do away with Thompson cigars? I mean for me the newb they seem to have a lot of packages..
5) How does one figure out what a "good" cigar is per say, I only have smoked a few year, and not often in close proximity to each other, so how you compare?

Zotar: lol I have 4 cubans wearing mexican bands atm, a cohiba, a punch, a Vegas Robaina, and a Guantanamera.. lol sadly I don't know which is which, as Rayve didn't take notes before they rebanded them.. Also I am a Canadian, so whenever I go home I smoke cubans if I can get to the store.. the last wedding I was at I bought some nice cohibas for all the guys in the wedding party... we all stood around and smoked em.. was a fun memory..
I do have a place where I can get them shipped to me from Canada with guarunteed US delivery.. If the govt siezes them, you fax the form to the company and they resend the cigars, they just file an insurance claim.. It happens 1/50 1/100 times.. Place is legit been around for close to 100 years.. Actual store not some fly by night internet sham.. Cubans start in the low teens I think.. no requirement to order full boxes either, but the more you order the more cost efficient the shipping.. So if you want Cubans I can tell ya where to get em. I am not sure that they are not cheaper in spain though I know nothing of that market.. would be curious to see after exchange rate / tax / shipping what the answer is.

Also just let me say again I struggleing trying to find a way to smoke at home, my life is such that I do not have time to game lately, or do much of anything for just me so I can't find the time to go camp out in my garage for an hour or so to smoke.. I NEED to clean a couple of hand guns and my main riffle, I want to work on painting several models for various miniture games I play, I would like to work on decks for a card game I play.. hell I would like to play some warhammer lol just no time all the sudden..

attius wrote:Lanto just to much info to process here lol.. Of the cigars I have what would you reccomend I take to the beach this weekend? I am only going to get 2-3 smoked max.. also It all just tastes like smoke, I Think I am smoking em wrong?

Complete newb, did I buy a bunch of shit cigars from thomspson? I was thinking of taking a rocky patel and a domincan cohiba.. and maybe something else..

Of what you have, here's what I would suggest (assuming you haven't smoked these already):

CAO Brazilia (it's the one with the yellow / green label, dark wrapper) - it's a more full bodied cigar and might make for good comparison if you want contrast. I like these cigars and the cost / flavor ratio is favorable.

La Gloria - this is a medium cigar and most things that La Gloria makes are good.

CAO Gold (lightest one) - it's a medium strength again but the lighter of the three.

You haven't bought shit cigars. They're like a lot of things - the more you smoke the more you'll begin to notice differences between them. When you first start drinking coffee, it all pretty much tastes like dirt. Then you drink some more and you start to notice differences in light, dark, etc. Then you drink some more and you can tell the difference between similar light coffees. The same can be said of wine, scotch, etc. It will take a while for your pallette to train on the different flavors and nuances of cigars. Once it does, different brands will taste a world apart. So I suppose I'm saying that if you like 'em now, it'll just get better.

Here's a quick "how to" that goes over the basics: How To

A few of my suggestions from experience:


- Don't ash constantly. You should let the ash grow to about 1/2 to 1 inch at the end of the cigar, which shouldn't be a problem with any decent one. It helps regulate the burn (keeps it even) and prevents it from getting too hot.

- Don't smoke it too fast. Cigars can overheat and you'll lose all the flavor. If you're taking an hour with a good size cigar, you're doing it right.

- Don't inhale. Smoke has no flavor in your lungs (and isn't as easy as cigarette smoke). Keep it in your mouth for a few seconds so you can actually taste the cigar.

- Pay attention! If you are doing something else and mindlessly puffing, you're missing the whole point and won't detect the differences in the cigar. Ever seen a cigar smoker take a draw, sit back for a second and look up at the ceiling, then slowly blow out the smoke? It's not for show - there's a reason to smoke them that way (you don't need to look like a pompous ass like some guys do but you get the picture).

- Alcohol greatly enhances the cigar experience. Your choice of alcohol. Scotch is my favorite, but good cognac, or a nice dark beer (Guiness, etc.) can also work well.

Man, this is going to be a loooooong thread the way I'm going.

attius wrote:I Reread your post like 3 times so much info in there..
1) How large is your humidor that you stock cigars by the box,
2) How many cigars do you smoke over a period of time (you have mid day, post meal etc)
3) Most of the cigars I tend towards are of the longer lengths so to me it seems to take an hour or more to smoke almost anything I have.. is there a way to have faster cigars without giving up the benfits that come from a long fat cigar (Which I believe to be consistant taste, cooler temp, obvisouly fatter = more leaves so more rolling options
4) Should I do away with Thompson cigars? I mean for me the newb they seem to have a lot of packages..
5) How does one figure out what a "good" cigar is per say, I only have smoked a few year, and not often in close proximity to each other, so how you compare?

1) I have two humidors. A normal box (what most people have) that holds about 100 cigars or so. Not very practical if you want to buy by the box and keep several on hand though. I made my own from an igloo cooler. I think it's a 75 quart. I took the handle off one side, stood it on its end (the top is now a door), bought some spanish cedar and lined the inside along with a couple shelves (needed for moisture control and to help impart flavor), and can fit about 5 boxes plus about 4 boxes of singles out of the box. Maybe I'll post a photo if you're interested.

2) Winter time I smoke one maybe once a week depending. Summer I smoke one on most days, usually after dinner. I sit on the patio in the back, pick up a paper, magazine, etc. (probably Ikariam on the laptop this summer as well ;-), and smoke away. Weekends sometimes I'll have two in a day but not that often. So I'm a bit boom and bust. Summer = many many cigars, winter = rare smokes. It keeps the wife happy too since a good part of the year I'm not constantly smoking.

3) Yes, you can have a shorter cigar that's just as good. Heat is usually the problem. The way to get around that is by making sure you give it a bit of time between draws. My short cigars are usually the Avo #2's I posted about above. Sometimes a robusto is good too though (whatever brand you like).

4) Packages aren't bad when you start out as you're still sampling. The disadvantage is you're constantly changing so it's tough to get a good idea of any particular cigar. I started buying 2 of whatever I bought in the cigar store so I get a better feel, then once I started finding out what I liked I bought bundles (5 of the same) and then boxes. My 2 favorite places to buy: Holts or JR Cigars.

5) Everyone has their own definition of a good cigar. But here are some basic things:

- Draw should be not too difficult, but not too loose either. If the cigar is rolled too tight it's difficult to smoke, and if it's too loose it burns fast and too hot.

- Burn should be even. Sometimes you'll get cigars that burn more on one side than the other and you're constantly messing around trying to keep them from burning on only one side. This can also be due to improper humidification.

- Then there's taste. The only way to judge this is through smoking a lot of cigars and then deciding what you like. Here are two suggestions for you to pick up if you're in the cigar shop:

La Aroma de Cuba - Edicion Especial - this is a brand new one, but they're really, really, really, really good (by my book anyway). It's what I would describe as a more "complex" cigar. It doesn't taste like everything else - hard to describe.

Padron Anniversary 1964 - One of my all time favorites. A great evening cigar. They're a bit more costly, but they are top of the line. I generally treat myself to one of these when I have something to celebrate or am in the mood for a treat.