Cigar Recommendations?
 

Figured I would toss it out here and see if anyone has suggestions.

Hoping to get some of the good ones in time for Opening weekend...

Probably get a box of Montecristo #2's and perhaps some Hoyo De Monterey Double Coronas.

Any suggestions for a high end cigar to get a small box of? Tried the Cohiba Sligo VI last season which was very good.

All Dominican of course, Embargo and all...

My favorite Dominican is Ashton 8-9-8.

Had a Punch this past weekend...fair.

I like the deals that Thompson Cigars gives you. Lately I've been firing up their Dominicans, Hecho a Mano (Robusto).
I wish we could get Cubans, but these are the closest I've found.
Google Thompson Cigar cause they have an online catalog. New deals every month.

Unfortunately, nothing close to Cuban Cohibas and Romeo & Juliette (Americanized spelling).

Which Romeo and Juliets do you recommend?

Just in case I get to Cuba...

Quite right Somer. Did you know that some Cuban seeds were smuggled out and now support the Domonican Republic's tobacco leaf industry?
Check out Tompsons.

I heard an ad for Romeo y Julliettas just this week! somebody in US must sell them!
Thompsons has good deals!

They may have a factory outside Cuba like Cohiba does. The best are the larger ring sizes imo!

I have never had a good experience with the non-Cuban Romeo y Juliets. Also find Cuban Cohiba far superior and consisten compared to non-Cuban Cohiba.

For Dominican I usually go for White Label Montecristo.

My friend brought back some Montecristo Habana's from Cuba. When we talk at work about where the best anything comes from he always says Cuba. Peaches, Pizza, beer just name it and it's better in Cuba. I always ask him if everything is good there then why did he move from the Pardise Island? Back to the story, he's right about the cigars though. I'd love to be able to smoke these the rest of my life. I don't smoke cigars but these make it enjoyable beyond belief.

what was Clinton's preference?

the Monica Cristo I believe!!

LOL...the fish flavored blunts!

I've been smoking cigars for my entire adult life and have been a true connoisseur and LOTL (lover of the leaf). With that said, no offense to what I consider one of the finer things in life -- but good, great, mild, full-flavored, etc. cigars . . . are like ice cream -- everyone's taste buds are different. With that said, one thing that is very important when talking about cigars is consistency -- remember, we are talking about a hand-made product (yes, the higher-end non-Cuban cigars).

As far as consistency, you will not find any cigars (outisde of Cuban) more consitent that the Fuente Opus X and the Padron Anniversario. Davidoff is very consistent as well. They are of course also the most limited in production and the most difficult to find.

I smoke Cuban cigars daily, and have been smoking mostly aged cigars for the last 5 years. I can probably count the # of non-Cuban cigars I have smoked in the past 5 years or so and they have either been Opus X, Padron Anniversayio. I have smoked a few very limited/special edition Davidoff's, and a couple of other limited/special edition smokes.

Opus X and Padron Anniversario, relatively speaking, for many cigar smokers are considered to be expensive. Other than Davidoff, they are probably the most expensive production cigars made in world.

Eric

BTW, the Cuban version as opposed to the non-Cuban version of all of these cigars -- Cohiba, RyJ, Montecristo, Paratgas, Hoyo de Monterrey, and so on -- they are like night and day. They aren't even related and have nothing to do with each other.

Eric

Agree with Somer here on the Cuban Cohibas. When I was 17, I smuggled a box of them out of Cancun back here to Florida and got away with it! :D

So your life of crime started at a young age eh?:eek: :D

I think that's about the worst thing I've ever done...

Well, maybe not. :)

I was thinking about getting some Gurkhas. . . Has anyone tried them?

Once. Never again. But, like I said -- if you like them, smoke them and often, LOL.

Eric

For a modest priced mild, I've been smoking Cusano 18's and Cusano 1's.

I'm no expert but I know people who are and they all tell me not to go for the high priced smokes. Just because a stick costs $25 does not make it worthwhile.

If you have anything other than a passing interest, pick up a copy or two of Cigar Connesseur (sp). Anything in there rated 90 or above is a nice smoke.

And be careful about your Cubans. They're actually produced in three diffferent "batches." The best, the "1's," go to the Soviet Union. The "2's" go to Europe (Spain specifically, I believe) for East Hemisphere distribution. The lower quality "3's" go to S. America, Mexico and Canada. These are the units that most often wind up in the U.S.

You can get 2's over the internet (They ship the cigars and labels separately) from a European outfit but the Feds are cracking down.

Nothing like a nice smoke.

There is a mail order outfit in England that would send you a box of Cubans in an Ashton box complete with individual Ashton rings...costly but almost impossible to detect I'd imagine (unless the Feds actually test the tobacco). I never tried them (as I said, costly) but I hear from folks that they weren't rip-offs. I got my Cubans from friends who traveled to Cuba and central America....one guy played golf and smuggled them in his golf bag..lol!

*Note to TSA-Dept of Homeland Secutity*
Check golf bags. Those terrorists are sneaky. Stop with asking people to take off their shoes (cause it gets stinky doncha know), and the bad guys know where you're looking. Golf bags can hold a lot of cigars, or dynomite disguised as cigars.
Somer, I hope you friend dosen't get a visit now that you outed him.

Knock knock.
Who dare?
FBI
Fibby who?
Fibby yo' way out of this one, Buddy.

LOL...the only reason I posted it is because he passed away a couple years back, he lived alone so I doubt there could be any damage! Nice guy...he'd bring me about a dozen when he traveled...never charged a cent. Of course, he felt he owed me for a favor, I told him he didn't but he felt obligated and I wasn't gonna refuse Cubans!

Good you got a giggle. That was the intention.
You're a good sport.

Remember how Repent use to threaten folks who were "too liberal" saying he'd turn them into the FBI? He actually told me that he had done so with me...it was hilarious!

I can't tell you how many times he reported me! LMFAO!

Actually, the "batch" myth is just that. The "premier" smokes that leave Cuba are for the UK marketplace -- specifically for the Habanos distributor, Hunters & Frankau. These cigars are designated as "EMS" or "English Market Selection" and they get a very specific certification/label -- although Habanos and H&F claim they are not "better" or "different" than the remainder of the production cigars that Habanos produces. What you do find with EMS cigars is that there are less "plugs" or loosely rolled cigars, more consistency amongst wrapper shade, tooth, texture, etc.

Approximately 90% of Cuban cigars here in the US are counterfeit. The % is incredibly high throughout the world as well. However, when you buy Cuban cigars -- from an authorized Habanos retailer, in a country where there are not huge taxes or tariffs (like the UK has), Cuban cigars are not that expensive at all (relatively speaking, to some of the other high-end, expensive, so called ultra-premium smokes produced elsewhere in the world). Like I said -- the best cigar for you to smoke, is the one you like. Find something you like. Then experiment. Your tastebuds will mature and develop. Different cigars will introduce you to different flavors and will have a different "nose" to them. If it's a vice you enjoy -- it can be one of the finer things in life. I am thankful that I have come to enjoy cigars, cigar smoking and have developed a passion for the leaf.

As far as the rest of the coversation -- where to order, buy, etc. Cuban cigars . . . it is illegal to import Cuban cigars into the United States! LOL.


Eric

Got 'em in the mail today. Chickened out on trying something new and ordered an old faithful - Montecristo #2's.

See you at Saratoga. Thanks.

Here's a cigar recommendation.......Don't smoke, it's bad for your health.

Now there's a good one!
Do you know how many diseases you might catch from participating in "SEX"?
Think of how many people are willing to give that up.
I can think of many other things that are "bad for your health".
I ain't giving up cheeseburgers or beer either.

I was joking

Go smoke your White Owls and pipe down...

ok....sometimes I take what people say seriously. Made the same mistake before, and let me tell ya, did I catch heat!
Smoke 'em if ya got 'em.

I only smoke the best Pmac......Only the best.

Question - why do most cigars smell like someone picked up a turd out of the yard and set it a blaze?