Thank you kindly... I got him hooked last year but with mild cigars I have no idea what to suggest for him

Check out JR Cigar mentioned and linked elsewhere in this thread. They haven't screwed up an order in over ten years for me. Huge selection and probably the best prices. Their super off brand or no name discounts can be hit or miss though.

They also have good values on whole bean coffee.

~ Rick

This thread makes me want to smoke cigars after previously having no desire to smoke.

A lot of websites only sell boxes. I was wondering how many of you normally buy boxes, pack of 5 or singles.
Quick poll.

Shoot, another quick question.

I am going to recommend Cigarbid.com for ordering Cigars. I actually don't order from JR, I don't think there prices are all that good and I do better on Cigarbid for most cigars. If you want higher end stuff though, cigarbid doesn't have most of that so you want to go with JR, Cigar.com, or even cheapercigars.com

C-Dog

So I had a Carlos Torano Virtuoso earlier today and I liked it a lot for a brand I've not heard much about, but have seen at the cigar store. There was something distinct about it that reminded me of both the CAO brazillia and the Padron 4000, both of which are better cigars at close to the same price. It was a great smoke, but I'd rather buy CAO or padron if i get an itch for that flavor again. I wanted to get the cameroon, but didn't see it.

Here's the best Cigar tip I have:

When is Vegas go to
Las Vegas Paiute Tribal Smoke Shop
1225 N Main St
just north of downtown in a little sketchy area

some of the best prices in the nation selection is fairly impresive

I love Torano cigars and the virtuoso is my favorite Torano. Super smoke for the $.

A question on humidification:
Being a lazy person the automatic humdification systems appeal to me a lot. Plus it seems kinda cool to have an electric system to monitor your cigars (though a bit excessive for an amateur like myself).

But are they any good? I'm mainly thinking about the "Cigar Oasis XL Plus", it uses distilled water only (so I won't need to replace cartridges or anything, just refill water once every 6 months or so).
I'm planning to buy a new humidor, but not bigger than 100-150 capacity. Will the Oasis XL Plus work well in such a small humidor (says it is designed for cabinets etc)?

I'm also receptive to other ideas for humidification, but something that needs refilling every two weeks would probably not be the thing for me...

I usually buy boxes but when I want to try something new JR Cigar has many cigars in five packs with the same discount you would get for a full box.

~ Rick

Over the last five or six years I've gotten five pack samplers of various Don Diego cigars several times from JR Cigar and was always satisfied. As an added bonus this mild cigar seems to be a favorite my gf/poker hero. She quit smoking cigarettes a few years back but enjoys a once a week cigar on my porch with her specially made "Rick style" martini or a quality glass of boxed wine.

Anyway this time I broke down and got two ten pack boxes of the Don Diego Privada No.1 in a natural wrapper. As you can see from the link JR has a five cigar bonus right now so its a good deal ($70 for 25 cigars).

I'd say this cigar is similar in taste, mildness and quality to Macanudo but at about 60% of the price.

~ Rick

PS Also check out the deal of the week at JR. This week it's three each of eight decent quality 6" by 50 ring gauge cigars for $68. Link

Possible for a Cuban cigar to come wrapped in plastic, as well as pre-cut? A friend brought some over the other night, said he got them in a foreign country and that they were cuban. I didn't think it was possible, but didn't say anything (still won't). But generally, The only cigars I've had that were pre-cut were $1 or less.

For clarification, it's called "Vasco De Gama" and it has "Corona" written on the bottom.


Edit: http://www.wesleys.co.za/VascodaGama.htm

It's the 3rd one down (picture wise) Corona and I believe it is the Claro Sumatra wrapper?

Machine made crap, tried them $2/cigar when I was starting out years ago.. nothing cuban about these ones.

just saw this thread in the search.

i've been smoking cigars since i was five years old. obviously i only smoked cigars when my grand dad would give them to me as a kid, but i went from swisher sweets to macanudos to punch punch and everything inbetween over the years.

i dont reccomend you buy a humidor at a shop. buy one online off ebay, and save a bundle. never ever season your humidor with your element, i.e., the element will clog the cedar, dont let the element touch the cedar.


i much prefer a hole punch over a cut on my cigars, it gets less danky.

my favorite all around smoke is without a doubt the rocky patel vintage 1992 robusto, as well as the 60 and the torpedo. a box runs me about $120, so at $6/stick it's an affordable and excellent smoke.

i dont reccomend davidoffs b/c they're over priced imo. the anniversario and the special R are nice cigars, and in general all larger guage davidoffs have excellent draw, but they're too expensive for what you get and you can get a better cigar for cheaper. if you're going to spend $15-$20 on a cigar, try a cohiba or if you can ever find one, an arturo fuente ESG.

when they're avaialable the punch rare corojo is a good smoke, and a robusto will run you around $5.

i bought a box of pre embargo cubans that i really enjoy, but if you want to fork up the cash for real cubans go to www.cigarone.com , they're out of spain and they've got a great selection of cubans. i'd reccomend starting out with the romeo and juliets, montecristos, and if you want something that will really hit you, try a punch punch.

i'd also reccomend rocky patel edge series. they're cheaper b/c he doesnt put a lot of effort into the appearance of some of them, so it saves money, but it's still a great cigar.


dont buy cigars in vegas! they're usually 30-60% more expensive than anywhere else. (the exception being the davidoff shop in cesars)


the best thing to do is go to a shop and buy a dozen different cigars and sample them. hopefully you'll find something you like that's affordable. beware, it's an expensive habit!

edit: i meant ashton esg, not arturo fuente.

Post deleted by Aces McGee

You mean VSG, not ESG, right?

These are excellent cigars.

The Edge is another favorite of mine, and the price is great for the quality.

I've smoked a couple of Avo Blacks in recent weeks and have been delightfully surprised at how spicy they are. Left my tongue a bit numb by the end.

-McGee

JR Cigars offers JR Alternatives which are supposed to be brand named cigars but without the brand at low low prices.

This is how they describe them:

"JR ALTERNATIVE CIGARS
Handmade DR/NIC/HON
Wrapper: VARIED Binder: VARIED Filler: VARIED
Medium Bodied

Why would anyone in the world buy some crappy seconds when, for a lot less money, they could buy J•R Alternatives instead? All of these cigars are long-filler, handmade firsts rolled at the best factories - sans the fancy boxes and bands. We have them made in humungous quantities and pass along the savings to smokers. For over a quarter of a century, these have been the very best value in the whole cigar world! "

Has anyone tried these?

I've tried a few and thought they were decent for the price. I never did a completely blind test which IMO is the only way to get rid of selection bias (although in my case my prejudice would tend to be FOR the less expensive alternative ). Did compare some JR Alternatives versus the real thing from a JR 5-pack (the 5-packs are a great way to try out cigars without breaking the bank); at the time I thought the real thing was a bit better.

In a blind test against the cigar they are supposed to imitate I'd guess people would favor the real thing by about a 2-1 margin. A cigar smoke out would be fun to try but I don't think anyone would want to host it.

~ Rick

PS Continue to have good luck with Don Diego cigars ordered from JR. In a previous post I mentioned they compare favorably with the Macanudo brand yet are quite a bit cheaper.

Next order may repeat my Don Diego order along with a 5-pack of a similar Macanudo and a similar JR Alternative (just noticed there are JR Alternatives for Don Diego and Macanudo; what to do, what to do ).

~ Rick

Thanks, I just ordered 20 "cohibas" at a cost of $28 + shipping. of course I'm such a noob I won't be able to give a good trip report on how they compare. But I'll at least report on if I enjoyed them.

Does anyone smoke mini cigars? I was recently given a tin of Cohiba Pequenos (little bit bigger than the minis), and really enjoyed them. Seemed pretty comparable to a full-size, honestly, in terms of taste. At 4 x 34, they last about 20-30 minutes, which I really liked because, unless I'm golfing, I don't have the time to sit and smoke for much longer than that.

Anyway, are there any other small cigars that people enjoy?

Try Don Diego Elite No. 5. It's slightly bigger at 4.5" by 38 ring but Don Diego is a smooth smoke at a decent price.

You can also search the JR site by length and ring gauge. The Macanudo ten pack tins are the only super minis I've tried though.

~ Rick

Ok here is my situation:
I am in college so money is tight so i dont wanna spend a load of money on cigars. As of right now I dont have a humidor and I dont really smoke that much. I have probably smoked 5 cigars since school started.
Basically I am looking for some cigar recommendations that would be relatively cheap (around $1-3 per stick). Also if anyone has any recommendations for cheap humidors. I have a cigar shop near my but I havent yet gone there
Thanks for any advice

Well, first off I wouldn't buy from the shop, you'd just be throwing money away. In terms of cigar, I recommend the Arturo Fuente curly head, or curly head deluxe. I like both. Both are under $2 a stick if you buy a box from jrcigars.com. You're not going to find equal quality for less than that.