Thread: Cigar Recommendations?

Hi all,

Are there any cigar smokers here who can recommend some good, reasonably priced cigars? I was given a few Dominican Cohibas recently, and I really enjoyed them. Unfortunately, they're not cheap.

I've been looking online, and Cigar.com has a very affordable house brand in a variety of styles. Has anybody tried these?

Any recommendations about brands, styles, or merchants would be appreciated. I don't know much about cigars; I've smoked a few terrible cigars and a few that were absolutely sublime, but I have no idea what to buy.

Thanks!

-Asher

Of the non-Cubans, Nicaraguan cigars are very good, better than Dominican in my experience and less expensive. If you can find Padrons they are superb, and rank with many good Cubans. Padron is a single-family operation, so tracking their cigars down isn't always easy. C.A.O. (also Nicaraguan) is a larger operation that makes a number of very good cigars.

Cuban cohibas are truly wonderful cigars and earn their reputation. The Dominican cohiba is unrelated; in fact there's been a lawsuit about the name. At any rate, they're good cigars but IMO way overpriced and trade heavily on a name not rightly theirs.

If you buy Cubans in duty-free or whatever, look for the phrase "totalmente a mano" (totally by hand) on the bottom of the box. If they say only "hecho a mano" (made by hand), they are, funnily enough, machine-made. There are some decent, very affordable machine-made Cuban cigars, but the great cigars are all "totalmente a mano."

Beyond that, though, it's really just a matter of taste. I like medium to heavy-bodied cigars and so gravitate to Cuban montecristos and partagas.

Padron 3000 maduro about $4 each

Cohibas found at local cigarette stores are junk... stay away from em... over priced, and not very smooth at all... not enough bang for your buck

one good cigar ive found more recently is an arturo fuente that i found that was wrapped in a "perfecto" shape... i absolutely love that cigar... hope i find another one soon.

another good cigar that i buy is the Fonseca sun-grown cedars... exceptionally smooth, and they are wrapped in cedar while they age.. (its a little carcass type thing, slides right off when you unwrap it) very smooth cigars... and will only set you back about $7 for the short one, and $12 for the long one...

if you like something more modern both in shape and flavor, you should try the ACID brand made by drew estate... i personally like the "NASTY" its conical, and from what i hear a lot of people make the mistake of cutting the BIG end and smoking from it... this is in err, i assure you... if you cut the small end it serves much better, and your smoke tones itself down as you reach the end... very relaxing... it has a bouquet of fragrances that you dont find in any other cigars, much like most of their other styles of cigar... but this one even has rose petals in the mix... very nice check out their website here and click on the "red line" link in the middle of the page... see the cone shaped cigar? thats the nasty... its a maduro, and produces a pretty clean ash in my opinion... check it out

yet ANOTHER good one i found recently is a brand called "ONYX"... not very widely known (at least not around here) but i took a chance and picked one up... and i was rather impressed. very nice aroma, smooth flavor, and VERY tasty...

one thing you want to make sure of when you buy a cigar, is only get one as long as you can stand smoking in a single session... you lose a lot of flavor when you put it out, snip it, and re spark it again later... the shorter ones will usually last about 25 - 35 minutes, longer ones can last over an hour... keep that in mind (not sure if you are an avid smoker or just getting into it)

if you want something cheaper, you can look around... but your not going to find anything less than $5 a pop that is worth its weight in tobacco... and for the love of God stay away from phillies, swishers, romeo y julieta's, garcia y vegas, and anything that comes 2 for 1... LOL oh, and only buy if its in a decent humidor... anything thats not preciously packed into a humidor is not worth enough to the seller, and thus, shouldnt be worth anything to the buyer.

It would help if you would indicate what sorts of cigars you like: mild, medium, full body, strength, etc. A favorite of mine is the Punch Punch Rothschild Maduro. These can be had for just over $2/stick (box price). These are a solid medium that age nicely. Famous Smoke Shop has some very good bundled cigars for the money as well. I tend to like mostly medium to full bodied cigars, FWIW.



Wayne

yeah i forgot about punches... nice cigars, but they are abour $6 a pop out here as well... single anyways

Originally Posted by bbqncigars

It would help if you would indicate what sorts of cigars you like: mild, medium, full body, strength, etc.

Actually, I don't know. What type of cigar is a Dominican Cohiba? The ones I had seemed somewhat mild and very smooth, but I haven't smoked enough cigars have a good sense of what constitutes mild, medium, of full bodied.

A few years ago I smoked both the Arturo Fuente's and the Onyx. I always thought they stood out in front of some of the more expensive ones, just generally all around better, but that is just my opinion. I agree with Warlock about only getting whatever size you can finish in one session, whether that session is 20 minutes or 2 hours. Once you put it out - leave it that way. Cutting in and lighting back up just kills the whole experience.