Any cigar aficionados here?

[TGO David]

Recently I've become somewhat enamored by fine cigars and will enjoy them every so often.  Twice a month has been my most active herfing to date, but I did finally invest in a nice desktop humidor and a few bundles to age over time.

 

Just curious what your favorite cigars are, favorite places to get them / enjoy them, etc.  I've found that my love for craft burbons and dark craft beers has translated easily into an enjoyment of darker cigars.  The last bundle that I ordered were Torano Master Maduros.  The reviews had high praise for the price-point.

 

It's not something I would want to partake of on a daily basis and I oddly cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke, but there's just something about the aromatic qualities of cigar smoke lingering in the air that appeals to me the same way that I enjoy the smell of cordite, perhaps.  :D

[Paladin132]

I don't know if I could be considered a "aficionado" but I do like the Makers Mark blended cigar. Its not as thick as I like but its close, tastes nice and is firm and holds up to me chewing on it over and over before smoking it. I don't smoke them but once in a blue moon but I have a small humidor with a few cigars in it that I chew on occasionally. After that I like Cardoba I think they are, I may have spelled it wrong. I am usually more drawn to Dominican cigars than any other. 

 

Take all that with a grain of salt though, I don't usually like black cigars and I have not smoked one in over a year. Just chewed a little haha. 

[zgunbear]

My absolute favorites are Perdomo Cabinet Reserve.

The Perdomoo Lot 23 are pretty good as well.

I usually sit outside on the patio in the evening and enjoy one.

If I have been shooting I like a  cigar to clear the gunsmoke from my head

[NoBanStan]

Does a Swisher Sweet and a bag of weed count?

 

I kid! I'll stick with the heroine....

 

*twitches*

 

 

***edit - should have been heroin but I'm ok with heroine's as well :)

Edited July 9, 2013 by NoBanStan

[Dolomite_supafly]

I used to smoke a lot of cigars, I mean 2-3 a week.

 

Everybody talked about Cubans but I never really liked them. Maybe it was because they were forbidden fruit but I have had them several different times over the years and they were never as good as some of the others I smoked. I got old ones while in the states and "fresh" ones while overseas. I tried the Acid brand and never liked it, the smoke seemed to burn too much. H Upman was another I never really cared for, wasn't bad but just not my preference.

 

I liked maduros as well. The Monte Cristo and Cohiba brands are pretty good, smoked a lot of those. Probably the one brand I smoked the most was Romeo Y Julieta, mostly because of availability.

 

All this quit the day I HAD to run about a 1/2 mile and thought the run was going to kill me. I had always been a runner but the combination of smoking cigars and 8,000+ foot elevation almost did me in.

[Chris]

Monte Cristo and Cohiba are excellent. I'm also fond of Macanudo, Ashton and CAO.

If you like aromatic smoke, you may want to consider a pipe... I switched about a year ago and enjoy it much better.

It's significantly cheaper and you'll meet lots of people.

When you smoke a cigar, people leave you alone. When you smoke a pipe, people come up and tell you stories about their grandfathers.

I like the smoke shop in green hills... I think its Uptowns... good selection, great people.

[penguincomp]

My personal favorite is Graycliff (Boutique cigar). Also a fan of many others with a 1000 cigar humidor that is half full sitting here in my office. I was smoking a couple a month, now I am quitting smoking and backing off for awhile while I break the habit.

 

David, sounds like you would like Gurka's or CAO Soprano's. I like my cigars on the medium side of it. I buy most of my cigars online. cigar.com http://www.cigarsinternational.com/

Edited July 9, 2013 by penguincomp

[Caster]

Everybody loves It'saboy's.


Seriously though, Punch is pretty good. A buddy of mine used to bring me these Honduran cigars but I can't remember the name for the life of me. They were excellent.

[enfield]

Try the La Perla Habana Black Pearl robustos.  Excellent smoke, excellent value.  The best prices I've found are at Cigarbid.com - it's an auction site.

 

Edited July 9, 2013 by enfield

[bvarnell]

Check out JR Cigar

  http://www.jrcigars.com/jr/index.cfm

The have weekly and daily specials. Their JR alternatives are also a good value. Probably the same name brand puros rebanded by the manufacturer.

I like H Upmann, Romeo y Julietta, Monte Cristo. Can't really tell any difference in the JR brand.

A good 6-7" x 48-52 is also good for an entire IDPA match.

[RobertNashville]

I love good cigars; most of what I have in my humidor now are Acid 1400cc but I have many others.

 

I also participate in "Cigar Dave's" Officers Club which gets me 3 or 4 cigars each month that provide a sampling of premium cigars (often brand new releases/not yet released to the public) that I may not even try otherwise.

 

Nothing quite beats a good cigar and a good glass of wine or a tumbler of good scotch!

 

I average two to four smokes a month with an occasional pipe in there sometimes as well.

 

I keep a 500ct humidor which is about 2/3s full so I either need to start smoking more frequently or get another humidor...I hate to stop buying because next to food, ammunition and coffee I figure once the Zombies attack cigars will be worth their weight in gold. ;)

Edited July 9, 2013 by RobertNashville

[Guest Keal G Seo]

I used to love them, like multiple relatively cheap ones a day and a good one a couple times a week. As for finding what you want, Thompson Cigars out of FL always seems to have some good sampler packs, even on the nicer ones, for decent prices. They also regularly have deals where if you buy certain cigars they throw in a humidor or some kind of case or cutter or lighter etc. I don't know if they give the best price for complete orders but they do have good quality.

[xjsnake]

Punch and Rocky Patel are go to cigars for me.

 

The last year though I've switched almost exclusively to a pipe.

[jtmaze]

I used to smoke about 2 Arturo Fuente's a week. I would usually go to local shop in Austin TX and pick a variety of mild and medium and keep in a pocket humidor. Since moving back to TN have pretty much given it up due to lack of selection.

[Raoul]

I used to be serious about them. I've cut back dramatically, but I keep some Fuentes around. Usually Hemingways and Opus X. I also have a buddy that travels so I keep a few Cohibas around for when I feel frisky.

[mikegideon]

I used to smoke a lot. I still have a couple of humidors that are mostly full. One is a pretty big one. It's hard to beat a Partagas. work with single malt, good bourbon, or good beer. There's such a wide variety out there. Macanudos are a little mild for me, even though I've been through several boxes. I have some.

 

Anyway, I don't explore much any more. When it comes to Cubans, they're like anything else. Probably the best I've ever had was a Cuban (good brand), but have had some that weren't impressive at all. There's a range of quality, just like Dominicans and Hondurans.

 

I also keep some Teamos (Mexican). They're sorta the PBR of hand rolled cigars. 

[mikegideon]

I used to be serious about them. I've cut back dramatically, but I keep some Fuentes around. Usually Hemingways and Opus X. I also have a buddy that travels so I keep a few Cohibas around for when I feel frisky.

 

Fuentes rock, especially the Opus X. Can you get them for a decent price these days? I would pop for a box, if they're not still selling for Ed Brown prices.

[strob2000]

My new favorite is a Nat Sherman Timeless Nicaraguan...fantastic smoke! And anything from the Padron family if you like a darker fuller flavor.

[Slappy]

I enjoy a nice cigar every once in a while. I have tried many and my "go to" is an Artuero Fuente Hemmigway (the AF Don Carlos is also worth a shot). I have tried two AF Opus X's and although a mighty fine cigar, it whips my tail! I can't smoke them.

Romero and Julietta have a cigar that's number 3 on CA's top 25 list. It's fantastic. Also, if you can get your hands on one made by Drew Estate called Liga Privada No. 9, that is one of the finest cigars made today.

For the occasional sweet cigar desire, ACID's are top of the line!! Each has its one unique infused flavor. A lot of cigar afficianodos say sweet and cigars should never mix...that's their loss because it is fantastic.

[RobertNashville]

...For the occasional sweet cigar desire, ACID's are top of the line!! Each has its one unique infused flavor. A lot of cigar afficianodos say sweet and cigars should never mix...that's their loss because it is fantastic.

Among cigar aficionados Acids engender discussions bordering on Glock vs 1911s and the truth is, both sides are "right" in their own way.

 

I love Acids although it's not my only brand.

[DMark]

Hoyo De Monterrey, SULTAN in Maduro, 7.25X54

 

 

https://www.jrcigars.com/jr/index.cfm/hurl/evt=itemDetail/itemcode=HMSU3/HOYO-DE-MONTERREY-SULTAN.html

 

I have had an account with JR since my first tour at Bragg over 30 years ago. 

 

Visiting one of their stores in NC was like walking into Cigar Valhalla.  :cool:

 

 

[Slappy]

Among cigar aficionados Acids engender discussions bordering on Glock vs 1911s and the truth is, both sides are "right" in their own way.

I love Acids although it's not my only brand.

That's a good analogy. I feel the same. I really like them all.

[reed1285]

I prefer Acids as well. Ive had a desktop humidor for a couple years now. But have let it dry out the last couple months. I have blood pressure problems so i had to cut back big time.

Do yourself a favor and stay away from Thompson cigar. They are worse than used car salesman. My experience was they flooded me with emails and magazines, i mean alot. I joined their preferred club back when i was smoking a lot of cigars, so every month they would automatically send me my preferred cigars at a specified time of the month. Like a cigar subscription. Well when i got on bp medicine and decided to cancel my club membership and subscription, they hassled me about it saying "we can just put a 3 month hold on your cigar delivery, blah blah blah. So finally after about 10 mns of me telling them no, they canceled my membership and cigar subscription. Then even after that a rep called me every few days trying to get me back on. I just quit answering the phone and they finally stopped.

[Guest Keal G Seo]

I prefer Acids as well. Ive had a desktop humidor for a couple years now. But have let it dry out the last couple months. I have blood pressure problems so i had to cut back big time.

Do yourself a favor and stay away from Thompson cigar. They are worse than used car salesman. My experience was they flooded me with emails and magazines, i mean alot. I joined their preferred club back when i was smoking a lot of cigars, so every month they would automatically send me my preferred cigars at a specified time of the month. Like a cigar subscription. Well when i got on bp medicine and decided to cancel my club membership and subscription, they hassled me about it saying "we can just put a 3 month hold on your cigar delivery, blah blah blah. So finally after about 10 mns of me telling them no, they canceled my membership and cigar subscription. Then even after that a rep called me every few days trying to get me back on. I just quit answering the phone and they finally stopped.

It is just customer retention. Just about any company selling luxury items has this. I still stand by my previous support for the quality of their products though. I never received a single dry, cracked or over packed gar from them. I know the over packed is a statement on the gars I was ordering not Thompson but it says even the cheap ones they get for some of the samplers are quality.

[mikegideon]

Hoyo De Monterrey, SULTAN in Maduro, 7.25X54

 

 

https://www.jrcigars.com/jr/index.cfm/hurl/evt=itemDetail/itemcode=HMSU3/HOYO-DE-MONTERREY-SULTAN.html

 

I have had an account with JR since my first tour at Bragg over 30 years ago. 

 

Visiting one of their stores in NC was like walking into Cigar Valhalla.  :cool:

 

This is another good one. I have some in the humidor.