Thread: Cigar Guys, Do I have this right?

OK, so I'm still a relative noob when it comes to cigars. For most of my life, I had a strict rule of 2 cigars per decade whether I needed them or not but that all changed recently. I'm still primarily a pipe smoker but I've found that I do enjoy about 1 cigar per weekday and a couple on Saturday and Sunday is not uncommon.

It didn't take long to figure out that 9 premium cigars per week just wasn't in my budget. So I've begun to play around with bundle cigars from Thompsons. Not premium cigars by a long shot but hey, they're handmade, Domincan, quite tasty and in many cases only about a buck and change a stick. I can afford to smoke a couple of these a day if I wanted to. While I sometimes get some uneven burns and the occassional wrapper issues, generally they seem to be pretty consistent good performers. When I'm smoking a cigar, 90-95% of the time, it will be one of these.

Then the concept of the Sunday Stogie came to me. Just like you can't eat Hamburger Helper 7 days a week, I thought it might be nice to burn a premium stick on Sunday. I can stop by several cigar shops and buy better cigars by the stick. Since the cost of these higher end cigars is somewhat prohibitive, I'll only burn one a week (on Sunday after dinner). This way, a five pack of assorted better cigars will last me about a month and the bulk smoke during the week is pipe tobacco or bundle cigars (both of which are quite affordable.) Today I geared up for Sunday Stogie with the following:

- La Aroma De Cuba, Mi Amor (This is just a delicious cigar. I'd like to smoke about a box of these a week)

- La Gloria Cubana, a nice dark Churchill

- La Flor de Oliva (one Torpedo in Connecticut wrapper, and a Churchill Maduro)

Is this the way most cigar guys do it (i.e. serviceable cheaper sticks for routine smoking and only occassional forrays into the premium stuff?)

Idk about your question, but id suggest trying some of the romeo y Juliette line. The can be had for 5-10 a stick and are delicious and very very creamy.

Thats why i took up the pipe.The cigars that i liked,went up to 10 bucks a stick and i gave them up.It must be hard to wait until Sunday to have a nice smoke. Its like drinking Buds all week,and then having some Sam Adams Octoberfests on Sunday,i couldnt do it. Sams all week !!!!!!!!!

O and that is the exact reason I picked up a pipe.

That's how I do it. There is a "JR's" outlet near me where i can get decent hand rolled cigars for a less than $2 apiece (La Finca is a brand I like. Online right now they've got a .50cal ammo can with 100 for $89!. I kid you not, they really are better than the price suggests. Here's a a link). I save the $5-10 for special occasions.

I'm siding with the Op and the first post....

The Romeo Julieta line is quite affordable, especially if you buy in bulk. Of the RJ's that i've had, maybe one or two (out of 100 + or so, has had a wrapper or burn issue).

I also have a purveyor in town who rolls cubans by hand, and gives a discount when cash is used. I buy his robustos. i smoke these primarily, and the rj's once or so a week, and then i keep the cohibas for the special occasions....or a friday nite....whichever comes first !!

but yes, less expensive during the work week, and premium on the weekend when i have time to enjoy them a bit more.

same with razors....regular rotation in the week, and on the weekend it's the big guys, the 7/8's and up, the wacker, the w and b for barbers use, etc.....

Originally Posted by Devilpup

O and that is the exact reason I picked up a pipe.

The pipe does seem a bunch more affordable. A pound of tobacco (about $35) and I can chainsmoke at will for the better part of two months!

Keep an eye on http://www.joecigr.com . About twice a week they have a "Jam" with some great deals. There are some great cigars for $2.50 or less. Joe Cigar is part of Cigars International ( Cigars International - discount cigars, humidors, cigar accessories ) as is Cigar.com - Cigars . All have good prices. You can typically get an offer accepted on CI's Make Me An Offer if you offer just under 50% of retail.

The trick is not paying retail. LAdC's are a staple in my himi. I have a couple of them, around 1300 sticks. I like to let them age at least 6 months before I smoke a cigar. A year is about normal. Working on a rocky patel Decade right now. Joecigar.com, Cigar.com has a weekend deal, dailycigardeal.com, slipperyrockcigars.com has a daily deal, factorydirectcigars.com, cigarmonster.com then there are the auction sites like cigarauctioneer.com I use cigarinternational.com and joecigar.com for 90% of my purchases. As to a less expensive stick, I like the Grand Habano 2002 vintage, RyJ, Fonseca 5-50 and Oliva coneticate reserve are also quite nice. Oliva V are super. Look for samplers, you can get a wide range of sticks to see what you like

Being a college student who took up the cigar lifestyle 5 mths. You quickly learn it's an expensive habit. So economics and common sense dictated less expensive during the work week, and premium on the weekend.