education 101

so im just fresh into smoking cigars.

heres my story: my friend got me a few cigars for my birthday in February and Ive been hooked ever since then. everyone says to just buy some a try them which i do although here is the catch. im a junior year college student and dont have the luxury of buying expensive smokes all the time. atm i buy all my cigars at a awesome cigar lounge thats a mile from my house.
a few cigars i like are in order are:
nat shermans
don peppins
tatuaje
la riqueza
por larranaga

im smoking mainly robusto sizes atm

so i guess what im wondering is
a) how do you choose the cigar your going to try?
b) if you smoke any of my favorites what else do you like?
c)how do you suggest that i go about exploring my palette while living on a small budget?

thanks for reading...

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Comments

j0z3r

I choose what I try by reading descriptions and reviews of the cigar. If it sounds like something I'd like, I try a single.

You can still smoke good cigars on a small budget. Cigar.com has a line of cigars called Primeros that are $1 a stick and I haven't heard anything bad about them. Also, the Cigar.com house labels are a good and cost effective cigar.

Matt Marvel

I would also suggest looking into some samplers that Cigar.com offers. That will help you try different brands. I can totally understand where you're coming from, because I too, am a student on a limited budget. That being said, I still find good smokes on the cheap. When I'm looking for a cigar, I do as j0z3r said, and pick it up if I've read a good review. Also, ask the guys at your local shop, they might be able to lead you in a good direction. And these forums are loaded with information, and there's a lot of guys here who are very knowledgeable. They've helped me immensely.

DiasFlak

yeah try the 5 for 5 sampler or the 3 for 5 sampler cheap and good samplers

urbino

A couple specific suggestions: Gurkha Sherpa and Nestor Reserve Maduro. These are about $2 a pop, and if I were told I could never smoke anything else, I wouldn't complain too much.

dutyje

I picked up cigars in college as well (before that thar intarwebnet thingy really took off). We didn't have much budget either, but for the last couple years at school (Senior and Victory Lap) we smoked once or twice a week. We just went to the shop, asked the guy what we should get, and took what he gave us. When we went back, we told him what we thought, and he gave us something else. This worked amazingly well for us. The only times we got stuff we did't like were when we just shopped by price or pretty band or wrapper rather than ask the guy for help, and even then we still did a decent job. Turns out, there's a lot of really good cigars out there.

Now, I spend time on this forum, tell people about what I've smoked, and let the suggestions roll in. I also go to the local shop and ask the guy there. He's awesome.

Scion

thanks for all your comments. i see how buying cigars online might be cheaper although i find pleasure in buying them in person. also cigar.com required one to be 21 as i am only 18 there flags a bit of a problem. thank you for your suggestions on specific cigars i will for sure have to try those.

i can also relate to the story of trying the cigars my buddy at my local shop suggest and then telling him how i feel about them. this method had proved well for me. as 3 of my favorites he suggested to me... although i figured it would be nice to to get other peoples input.

also i have fallen victim to the awesome label trap. but still for the most part if its on the shelf of a well know cigar shop it probably is a safe bet its going to be good.

heres my next question. i think i already know the answer to but to confirm.
sizes go such as robusto and toro but cigars such as the nub brand have numbers (354) i am guessing this is a label of size/shape based upon there unique size?

thanks again for your sugestions...

j0z3r

Scion:
heres my next question. i think i already know the answer to but to confirm.
sizes go such as robusto and toro but cigars such as the nub brand have numbers (354) i am guessing this is a label of size/shape based upon there unique size?

Pretty much yeah. The Nub sizes are given in inches and ring gauge represented as the name of the size, so a 464 is 4 inches long with a 64 ring gauge.

I like going into my local tobacconist and browsing the selection as well, there is something nice about buying in person. The main problem with that for me is that I live in California and the taxes are ridiculous. I can't buy 3 cigars for less than $25 there, and I just can't afford to spend that kind of money on cigars as I generally smoke one a day. If prices were more reasonable, I'd shop in person all the time.

Bad Andy

My suggestion would be to find out where your favorite cigars are from. Where is the tobacco grown, the filler, the wrapper, the binder? What type of tobacco is used? Etc... Once you figure that out you can explore more from that area then work on newer areas. My $.02 for free.

madurofan

Well Scion I am a big Don Pepin fan. Most of the cigars on your list on Don Pepin blends. The Tatuaje's, the La Requieza's, etc. I also tend to smoke a lot of Rocky Patels. Give the Rocky Patel Sun Grown, the Nording and Nicarao a try. The CAO MX-2 is another fave of mine, I think you'll enjoy.

On to buying at the B&M. I buy ALL of my singles at the B&M and almost always buy a stick at the B&M before I commit to a larger purchase online.

Scion

madurofan:
Give the Rocky Patel Sun Grown, the Nording and Nicarao a try. The CAO MX-2 is another fave of mine, I think you'll enjoy.

On to buying at the B&M. I buy ALL of my singles at the B&M and almost always buy a stick at the B&M before I commit to a larger purchase online.

read my mind i smoked a vintage 92 last night, it is the first Rocky Patel i have had. i liked it although it seemed to lack flavor. i will have to give the sun grown a try

i too think once i begin to find what cigars i like i will place a larger order online. thanks for the suggestion

Bad Andy:
My suggestion would be to find out where your favorite cigars are from. Where is the tobacco grown, the filler, the wrapper, the binder? What type of tobacco is used? Etc...

this is a wise suggestion. i have been keeping a log of what i smoke over the past few months i should go back and try this that may help me decide on my next purchase.

j0z3r:
Scion:
heres my next question. i think i already know the answer to but to confirm.
sizes go such as robusto and toro but cigars such as the nub brand have numbers (354) i am guessing this is a label of size/shape based upon there unique size?
Pretty much yeah. The Nub sizes are given in inches and ring gauge represented as the name of the size, so a 464 is 4 inches long with a 64 ring gauge.

thanks for confirming...

urbino

Wow, Scion. I've never had an RP 92 that lacked in flavor. Tastes differ, of course, so maybe what I taste in it, you don't. (And, of course, there would be other cigars whose flavors you would pick up better than I would.) Nonetheless, I'd give this cigar another try sometime.

Scion

ya i am in agreement with you. i was reading some reviews and i think i got a lemon (is there a term for lemon cigars?) i will for sure try it again cuz i enjoyed the smoke it burned well. who knows maybe i was too tired. never the less it was still a good smoke.

madurofan

The only term everyone agrees on for a lemon is a "dog rocket", other than that you can call it whatever you want.

You could have had a dud or it could be that your palate doesn't pick up on the flavors that are in that stick. Thats not a bad thing it could be your palate isnt refined or it could be you will never pick up on certain flavors. For the longest time I had issues picking up on the "nut" flavors people talking about but they have slowly come to me.

Smoke=Fire

madurofan:
For the longest time I had issues picking up on the "nut" flavors people talking about but they have slowly come to me.

I will not derail the thread with a crass joke, I will not derail the thread with a crass joke >.>

GAAHHH!!!

madurofan

LOL ... I was talking to the manager at the local B&M and said that I tasted a lot of nut in such and such cigar. So he says if I taste nut in a cigar, I'm kicking somebody's @$$. I had to ask ... How would you know what that kinda nut tasted like?

Capt

I have found flavors of Macadamia nuts in a few NC cigars.

madurofan

Yea I've found macadamia and occasionally almond.

kuzi16

Capt:
I have found flavors of Macadamia nuts in a few NC cigars.

ditto on that. I dont remember what cigar it was but i once had a very pronounced Black walnut flavor in a cigar. ill have to look it up. It was great.
I find tyhe punch gran puro to be a bit on the nutty side but in a generic kinda way. I may be the only one on this but everyone is different.

Scion

madurofan:
Yea I've found macadamia and occasionally almond.

what did you find almond in? i love almonds

madurofan

Gurkha legend perfecto if I remember correctly.

Scion

thanks ill be sure to try those

dtrdwngs

I am pretty new to cigars myself but I started buying online recently because I am stationed in South Korea. I looked into Cuban Crafters and was pleasantly surprised. I tried some Don Kikis (Red, Green, White and Brown) and really liked them. I got into them because they have combo deals on humidors. Not the greatest smokes ever but they are cheap and my buddies like them.

Bad Andy

The smoke deals here are great. No need to advertise other online shops here, thats just bad juju.

dtrdwngs

wasn't trying to advertise for anybody. I buy smokes from whatever site has the deals. I can remove the post if it is really that offensive.

kuzi16

dtrdwngs:
wasn't trying to advertise for anybody. I buy smokes from whatever site has the deals. I can remove the post if it is really that offensive.

its not so much offensive as poor taste. I mean, this IS cigar.com's forum. to me thats like going into Burger King and talking very loudly about how AWESOME Wendy's is. no one is offended but the management at that establishment.

phobicsquirrel

First let me say nice to see another oregonian here, I live in gresham which is less than a place that has cigar shops... theres a shop on 82nd called cascade, very nice people and has decent prices. I really haven't tried many cigars if any from your list.. I suggest you stop into cascade, it's across from best buy, well a little south towards toys r us... I usually pick what a smoke from cigar magazines or from reviews I see online. I've picked up a few from the reviews of urby and kuzi. I usually don't think about price unless they sticks or over 10 dollars, then I want to investigate..