Need some recommendations

minibeezy

Another new guy here looking for some help. I talked to Jeff J. earlier today and he suggested I ask around here for advice. He said most of you knew what you were talking about. LOL

I'm completely new to cigars, so I don't have a reference point or a preference, yet. Jeff gave me a couple of starting points on the mild side (5 Vegas Gold, CAO Gold, Gurhka Park Ave, etc). However, I'm also interested in trying a little bit of everything and shuffling through the brands and samplers is a little overwhelming.

Basically, I'm looking for what you guys enjoy or feel everyone should try at least once. I am going to start with a ccom sampler for sure, but would like to grab a few more sticks to broaden my horizon. I'm not looking for anything premium or too expensive, just a solid smoke.

Thanks in advance.

NYHCx516x

I was in your shoes a year ago. Splurge, join the Cigar of the month club. 30$ a month, 5 great sticks. Some you see everywhere... some you wouldnt even think of picking up. Its a good way to try things you might not otherwise try. THEN... when you find one you like, being a member of that club, you get 10% off almost everything at ccom. its VERY worth it.

j0z3r

I made this same suggestion a couple days ago. A good line of cigars to look into would be Perdomo. On the mild-medium side a good one is the Perdomo Reserve 10th Champagne series and Lot 23. Heading into the more medium strength area you have the Perdomo ESV '91 which is pretty good, the Perdomo Reserve 10th Criollo, Perdomo Habano, And Perdomo Reserve Golf. Going medium-full you have the Perdomo Patriarch, Perdomo Grand Cru and Perdomo Oscuro.

All of the above mentioned cigars are decently priced and a good way to get a feel for what kind of cigars you like. From there, you will have a good idea of what kind of cigars to branch out into.

Another solid line is 5 Vegas. They are inexpensive and are good quality cigars. Not the best you'll find, but probably some of the best for under $4.

sightunseen

You should try every cigar once.

Facetiousness aside, here is a list of cigars I have personally enjoyed and would recommend to others to try. Disclaimer: Cigar smoking is very subjective and one man's most favorite cigar of all time can be another man's worst cigar ever, so you may not like every (or any) of the sticks on my list.

Gurkha Nepalese Warrior
Diesel
5 Vegas Serie A
Ambos Mundos Habano
La Aurora 1495
San Cristobal
Man O War

Oh, and welcome to the forums, hope you stick around.

xmacro

In addition to the excellent suggestions above, here are some more good mild smokes:
- Oliva Series O
- Nub Connecticut
- Go to the main Ccom website - see those transitioning pictures? Click on #6 and then click the picture to be taken to the Ccom Annual awards - the mild and connecticut Award winners are a good bet

whoflungdo

NYHCx516x:

I was in your shoes a year ago. Splurge, join the Cigar of the month club. 30$ a month, 5 great sticks. Some you see everywhere... some you wouldnt even think of picking up. Its a good way to try things you might not otherwise try. THEN... when you find one you like, being a member of that club, you get 10% off almost everything at ccom. its VERY worth it.

This is very good advice. I would also keep an eye on the daily deals... Look into the monthly mild-medium samplers too. I started out with the Baccarats and will recommend them to any new smoker. I've been a fan of most everything coming from Drew Estates. But again as someone else already stated what one person likes you may hate and vice versa...

illinoisgolf99

Great call going with the ccom sampler. I used to be in your position and I got 3 of each of the house blends in the super sampler and I am really glad I did. The 5 vegas line is pretty good and hoyo de monterrey isnt bad either. I have yet to try the primeros regionals sampler but that seems like a good way to figure out what you like... Hope I helped, enjoy!

urbino

j0z3r:

I made this same suggestion a couple days ago. A good line of cigars to look into would be Perdomo. On the mild-medium side a good one is the Perdomo Reserve 10th Champagne series and Lot 23. Heading into the more medium strength area you have the Perdomo ESV '91 which is pretty good, the Perdomo Reserve 10th Criollo, Perdomo Habano, And Perdomo Reserve Golf. Going medium-full you have the Perdomo Patriarch, Perdomo Grand Cru and Perdomo Oscuro.

All of the above mentioned cigars are decently priced and a good way to get a feel for what kind of cigars you like. From there, you will have a good idea of what kind of cigars to branch out into.

Another solid line is 5 Vegas. They are inexpensive and are good quality cigars. Not the best you'll find, but probably some of the best for under $4.

The idea of starting by working through a single, reliable brand that offers a wide variety strikes me as a good one. Perdomo's a good choice. Fuente would be another. Some others might be Rocky Patel or CAO (personally, I've never had a CAO I liked much, but that's just me, and they do have a wide variety). And, of course, there's ccom's line of house blends.

j0z3r

For the price the ccom house blends are a good starting point. The only problem I have with them is that they really don't offer up a great deal of diversity...at least to me they don't.

phobicsquirrel

I like the ccom red label with some down time, 6+ months. I have a couple of boxes. It's been hard for me to find a cheap good go to cigar. The red does it for me. CAO america's are good and aren't too expensive.

urbino

j0z3r:

For the price the ccom house blends are a good starting point. The only problem I have with them is that they really don't offer up a great deal of diversity...at least to me they don't.

Quite honestly, I still haven't tried most of them.

kaspera79

In my opinion you must try Camacho. I have always enjoyed any Camacho I have smoked. Now, Camacho tends to be one of the more full bodied, full flavored cigars out there, so expect a bigger experience, I picked up some Camacho Monarca samplers ( five pack ) on a Daily Deal here some time ago, and will buy more when they come around again. Take a chance even if you have to grow into them. I believe you will be pleased.

SaVas

I haven't tried any of the cigar.com house blends myself, but I think it would be a good starting point. Reasoning is, you have several different blends with different wrappers that will give you some idea of what you will like. Even if you don't particularly like a cigar, there might be some flavors you catch that you do off of it.

Follow the strength levels. Mild to medium sticks, I recommend with breakfast, or no meal (when you don't have the time to eat), medium to medium full, with a lunch or early dinner, and full bodied with a big meal (even after a large breakfast).

Also let us know what type of nuances you pick up from the cigar that you like, such as toast, coffee, dark chocolate, pepper, vanilla, nuttiness, nutmeg, etc, and we might be able to help point you in some direction.

and lastly remember smoking a cigar is something that you should take the time to enjoy, so don't over puff, and just relax. Let the cigar be a place of happiness!

Unthought_Known

I'd recommend checking out the Trades board. I'm sure a lot of people here have some quality sticks that they no longer want. It can be that their tastes changed, that they just burnt out on a certain brand, that they bought too many of something, or that they bought a 10-pack on the Daily Deal of a popular cigar but it turned out they didn't really like it. If you post a request and say your price range, I'm sure you'll get your money's worth on there.

dennisking

I suggest starting mild and learning the nuances of the actual act of smoking. The puffs, the patience needed and time needed to enjoy the cigar itself, breathing out thru the nose, etc. A mild cigar is easier to do all of this. As far as cigars themselves go, I would recommend buying samplers and one sampler I would really buy is the Cigar.com house blends sampler. They aren't the best of the best but the cigars themselves are enjoyable and they capture most of the different wrappers and body and flavors out there. This will allow you to taste what flavors you like and what strength you like.

kuzi16

NYHCx516x:

I was in your shoes a year ago. Splurge, join the Cigar of the month club. 30$ a month, 5 great sticks. Some you see everywhere... some you wouldnt even think of picking up. Its a good way to try things you might not otherwise try. THEN... when you find one you like, being a member of that club, you get 10% off almost everything at ccom. its VERY worth it.

solid advice here.
also get in on the PIF threads. i have tried many new brands because of that thread. some you like, some you dont. but thats half the fun.

kuzi16

kaspera79:

In my opinion you must try Camacho. I have always enjoyed any Camacho I have smoked. Now, Camacho tends to be one of the more full bodied, full flavored cigars out there, so expect a bigger experience, I picked up some Comacho Monarca samplers ( five pack ) on a Daily Deal here some time ago, and will but more when they come around again. Take a chance even if you have to grow into them. I believe you will be pleased.

eat a full meal before a camacho.

The Cank

I had a 5 Vegas gold the other day. GREAT SMOKE !

j0z3r

kaspera79:

In my opinion you must try Camacho. I have always enjoyed any Camacho I have smoked. Now, Camacho tends to be one of the more full bodied, full flavored cigars out there, so expect a bigger experience, I picked up some Comacho Monarca samplers ( five pack ) on a Daily Deal here some time ago, and will but more when they come around again. Take a chance even if you have to grow into them. I believe you will be pleased.

That's an awesome sampler right there Kas, probably one of the best brand samplers I've had, with the exception of the 1962, I just don't care for that blend in any size other than the perfecto. The Camacho Select robusto from that sampler is possibly the best Camacho I've had, right up there in my opinion with the CLE but way easier to find.

Duder2

I recommend trying anything and everything! My first real cigar was a RP Signature which is pretty mild and was good, but the one that got me hooked was an EL Cobre (not mild in the least) later that same night. It was awesome and is still a favorite of mine :^) There are some great samplers here at Ccom, just go for it and you will figure out what you like and what you don't. The clearance section here and the daily deal have been real good resources for me in trying new things without spending a lot of money. Oh, and if you want to try some Gurkha's without spending much money, the make your own 10 pack sampler for $35 is a good way to go. Of course I tend to take things to the extreme, I started in late october last year and now have over 350 sticks in the collection. It's been fun though and a great way to relax :^)

minibeezy

Wow. Thanks for all the replies. I'll look back through here, then give Jeff a call. Reading through all of these is making me regret only buying a 50ct humi. LOL. Thanks again everyone.

Fourtotheflush

minibeezy:

Another new guy here looking for some help. I talked to Jeff J. earlier today and he suggested I ask around here for advice. He said most of you knew what you were talking about. LOL

I'm completely new to cigars, so I don't have a reference point or a preference, yet. Jeff gave me a couple of starting points on the mild side (5 Vegas Gold, CAO Gold, Gurhka Park Ave, etc). However, I'm also interested in trying a little bit of everything and shuffling through the brands and samplers is a little overwhelming.

Basically, I'm looking for what you guys enjoy or feel everyone should try at least once. I am going to start with a ccom sampler for sure, but would like to grab a few more sticks to broaden my horizon. I'm not looking for anything premium or too expensive, just a solid smoke.

Thanks in advance.

Anyone else find it ironic that Jeff J directs someone here for cigar advice, when for all my years here the go to advice is when in doubt call Jeff or Tim at Ccom? Odd, I dont think so, we now have a rep! unreal!

minibeezy

Fourtotheflush:

minibeezy:

Another new guy here looking for some help. I talked to Jeff J. earlier today and he suggested I ask around here for advice. He said most of you knew what you were talking about. LOL

I'm completely new to cigars, so I don't have a reference point or a preference, yet. Jeff gave me a couple of starting points on the mild side (5 Vegas Gold, CAO Gold, Gurhka Park Ave, etc). However, I'm also interested in trying a little bit of everything and shuffling through the brands and samplers is a little overwhelming.

Basically, I'm looking for what you guys enjoy or feel everyone should try at least once. I am going to start with a ccom sampler for sure, but would like to grab a few more sticks to broaden my horizon. I'm not looking for anything premium or too expensive, just a solid smoke.

Thanks in advance.

Anyone else find it ironic that Jeff J directs someone here for cigar advice, when for all my years here the go to advice is when in doubt call Jeff or Tim at Ccom? Odd, I dont think so, we now have a rep! unreal!

LOL. Jeff did give me some starting points, but said you guys would also have input. He also told me to come back to him after I talked to you guys and he would offer his opinion on your suggestions. :P

Anywho, did some reading and such, and another thank you for all your input. As of now, I will be starting out with:

Best of Mild 2009- 2x 5 Vegas Gold, 2x Rocky Patel Signature, 2x Graycliff G2
Best Value 2009- 2x 5 Vegas Classic, 2x Gurhka's Park Avenue, 2x Reposado '96 Conn
Ccom house sampler.

I also need a decent lighter. I saw the Nub sampler that comes with 5 Nubs and the ccom lighter.

Any thoughts here before I pull the trigger? Thanks again.

Hays

minibeezy:

LOL. Jeff did give me some starting points, but said you guys would also have input. He also told me to come back to him after I talked to you guys and he would offer his opinion on your suggestions. :P

Anywho, did some reading and such, and another thank you for all your input. As of now, I will be starting out with:

Best of Mild 2009- 2x 5 Vegas Gold, 2x Rocky Patel Signature, 2x Graycliff G2
Best Value 2009- 2x 5 Vegas Classic, 2x Gurhka's Park Avenue, 2x Reposado '96 Conn
Ccom house sampler.

I also need a decent lighter. I saw the Nub sampler that comes with 5 Nubs and the ccom lighter.

Any thoughts here before I pull the trigger? Thanks again.

Actually sounds like you're pretty set on target. The first two samplers will show you some great mild smokes, and if you go with the Nub sampler you'll get some exposure to some fuller blends. Let us know how it pans out!

minibeezy

One more thank you to everyone who gave me suggestions. I just placed my first order and wanted to say everything about this site, from the community here to Jeff, who hooked me up, has been awesome so far. Looking forward to hanging around, getting to know some of you and learning more about cigars. Cheers!