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What Makes a Premium Cigar to You?

unmerrymelodiesunmerrymelodies Posts: 19
in General Discussion
So I'm still fairly new to the cigar game and was just kind of wondering what makes a cigar a "premium cigar?" Is it the price, the quality, the name alone?

Most of the cigars I have been smoking retail in the $6-8 range (thanks to cigar.com's samplers and daily deals I've rarely paid anywhere close to that), but some have been more and some have been less. I feel that a Romeo Y Julieta 1875 Bully is a pretty decent smoke for a decent price, but I wouldn't really consider it a "premium cigar." However, my dad who has been smoking for years and typically smokes much cheaper cigars considers it to be a "top shelf stick" (his words). Have I just been spoiled? Does the definition of "premium" vary between everyone or is there some guide to it that I am unaware of?

Comments

  • xmacroxmacro Posts: 3,402 ✭
    Yup, you've definitely been spoiled. Go smoke a gas station cigar and then try smoking that 1875 again - notice the difference in harshness? You may not like the 1875, but you can still smoke the entire thing; cheaper smokes can gag you and become unsmokeable due to their harsh taste or poor construction.

    Premium smokes are premium because they aren't harsh, they're properly aged, they blended with far more care, and they're better constructed. They're rolled to be enjoyed, not to give a nic fix; it's assumed the herfer will sit back and enjoy it, not smoke it as fast as they can or smoke it while doing yard work/something that will detract from the experience
  • unmerrymelodiesunmerrymelodies Posts: 19
    Damn, spell check obviously doesn't work in the subject line.
  • j0z3rj0z3r Posts: 9,403 ✭✭
    To me a premium cigar is one that is hand rolled and constructed with long fillers, though there are some medium filler handmade cigars I'd consider premium. Beyond that, there is some wiggle room for what qualifies as a super premium, this would be your Davidoffs, Avos, Graycliffs (some), high end Fuentes (OpusX, God of Fire). But I think there are a lot of differing opinions about what is super premium and what qualifies a cigar as such.
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    xmacro:
    Yup, you've definitely been spoiled. Go smoke a gas station cigar and then try smoking that 1875 again - notice the difference in harshness? You may not like the 1875, but you can still smoke the entire thing; cheaper smokes can gag you and become unsmokeable due to their harsh taste or poor construction.

    Premium smokes are premium because they aren't harsh, they're properly aged, they blended with far more care, and they're better constructed. They're rolled to be enjoyed, not to give a nic fix; it's assumed the herfer will sit back and enjoy it, not smoke it as fast as they can or smoke it while doing yard work/something that will detract from the experience
    I would think that makes a premium smoke though I've run into a lot that I get a harshness. I find it funny how letting it sit in my humi for a few months to a year makes it much smoother if they have aged for 2 or more years. But to me it makes a difference. To me a premium cigar is one that is made very well and I personally really enjoy.
  • urbinourbino Posts: 4,517 ✭
    Yeah, my understanding is that in general usage, "premium cigar" means any cigar that's hand-rolled using long fillers, high quality tobaccos, and blended by someone who knows what they're doing. It doesn't matter if that cigar sells for $1 or $100. So, basically, every cigar sold on ccom, for example, is a "premium cigar."

    The fuzziness comes in with "super premium."
  • Russ55Russ55 Posts: 2,765 ✭✭
    I have nothing to really base this off of, but this is how I tend think of it: Quality coupled with price. I tend to think of an economy stick as something with good quality under $5.00. A premium is a quality stick in the $5-10.00 range, and a super premium as something over 10 bucks. Now, there are many sticks that cost way over 10 bucks but I certainly don't consider them super premium. Just overpriced. *cough* Gurkha *cough*. That's just how I look at it. It's probably wrong.
  • fla-gypsyfla-gypsy Posts: 3,023 ✭✭
    Premium to me means an expertly constructed, hand made cigar of blended long fillers that has excellent flavor, even if I don't enjoy that flavor.
  • unmerrymelodiesunmerrymelodies Posts: 19
    urbino:
    Yeah, my understanding is that in general usage, "premium cigar" means any cigar that's hand-rolled using long fillers, high quality tobaccos, and blended by someone who knows what they're doing. It doesn't matter if that cigar sells for $1 or $100. So, basically, every cigar sold on ccom, for example, is a "premium cigar."

    The fuzziness comes in with "super premium."
    That makes sense. Long fillers and hand rolled = premium and there are varying degrees of quality, cost, and taste in the premium range. I guess I was looking at it more like liquor. You have your cheap plastic bottle charcoal filtered regional brand vodka (here we have the mighty Popov!), then more of a mid range like Smirnoff, top shelf like Grey Goose, then the crazy expensive stuff that comes in glass swords. I guess I was thinking there'd be something between gas station nicotine fix and a $10 cigar.
  • TheedgeTheedge Posts: 316 ✭
    Anything that doesn't crackle like a dry pile of leaves when you light it up! Nice even burn with a flavor you enjoy.
  • TatuajeVITatuajeVI Posts: 2,378 ✭
    urbino:
    Yeah, my understanding is that in general usage, "premium cigar" means any cigar that's hand-rolled using long fillers, high quality tobaccos, and blended by someone who knows what they're doing. It doesn't matter if that cigar sells for $1 or $100. So, basically, every cigar sold on ccom, for example, is a "premium cigar."
    ah ha!! Super Premiums!
  • urbinourbino Posts: 4,517 ✭
    I bet you go around telling kids there's no Santa Claus, don't you.
  • j0z3rj0z3r Posts: 9,403 ✭✭
    unmerrymelodies:
    urbino:
    Yeah, my understanding is that in general usage, "premium cigar" means any cigar that's hand-rolled using long fillers, high quality tobaccos, and blended by someone who knows what they're doing. It doesn't matter if that cigar sells for $1 or $100. So, basically, every cigar sold on ccom, for example, is a "premium cigar."

    The fuzziness comes in with "super premium."
    That makes sense. Long fillers and hand rolled = premium and there are varying degrees of quality, cost, and taste in the premium range. I guess I was looking at it more like liquor. You have your cheap plastic bottle charcoal filtered regional brand vodka (here we have the mighty Popov!), then more of a mid range like Smirnoff, top shelf like Grey Goose, then the crazy expensive stuff that comes in glass swords. I guess I was thinking there'd be something between gas station nicotine fix and a $10 cigar.
    You have your cheap plastic bottle charcoal filtered regional brand vodka (here we have the mighty Popov!) : Backwoods, White Owl

    then more of a mid range like Smirnoff : Most cigars. 5 Vegas, Cusano, Perdomo, Rocky Patel, etc.

    top shelf like Grey Goose : Avo, Fuente Don Carlos, Davidoff, Opus X, God of Fire, Ashton VSG, etc.

    then the crazy expensive stuff that comes in glass swords : Gurkha His Majesty's Reserve, Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva.

    There isn't really a black and white dichotomy with regard to how cigars fall into a premium or non-premium status, but rather it is more analogous to different quality tiers such as those applied to liquor. So while all long filler, hand rolled cigars might be considered premium, some cigars are more premium than others.
  • unmerrymelodiesunmerrymelodies Posts: 19
    j0z3r:
    unmerrymelodies:
    urbino:
    Yeah, my understanding is that in general usage, "premium cigar" means any cigar that's hand-rolled using long fillers, high quality tobaccos, and blended by someone who knows what they're doing. It doesn't matter if that cigar sells for $1 or $100. So, basically, every cigar sold on ccom, for example, is a "premium cigar."

    The fuzziness comes in with "super premium."
    That makes sense. Long fillers and hand rolled = premium and there are varying degrees of quality, cost, and taste in the premium range. I guess I was looking at it more like liquor. You have your cheap plastic bottle charcoal filtered regional brand vodka (here we have the mighty Popov!), then more of a mid range like Smirnoff, top shelf like Grey Goose, then the crazy expensive stuff that comes in glass swords. I guess I was thinking there'd be something between gas station nicotine fix and a $10 cigar.
    You have your cheap plastic bottle charcoal filtered regional brand vodka (here we have the mighty Popov!) : Backwoods, White Owl

    then more of a mid range like Smirnoff : Most cigars. 5 Vegas, Cusano, Perdomo, Rocky Patel, etc.

    top shelf like Grey Goose : Avo, Fuente Don Carlos, Davidoff, Opus X, God of Fire, Ashton VSG, etc.

    then the crazy expensive stuff that comes in glass swords : Gurkha His Majesty's Reserve, Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva.

    There isn't really a black and white dichotomy with regard to how cigars fall into a premium or non-premium status, but rather it is more analogous to different quality tiers such as those applied to liquor. So while all long filler, hand rolled cigars might be considered premium, some cigars are more premium than others.
    Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick! I had thought the $25 Pre-Embargo and the God of Fire were "super premium cigars," but I was sorely mistaken. A box of His Majesty's Reserve costs more than my car.

    Yeah I'm poor and drive a cheap car, wanna fight about it? Actually I'd just rather just spend my money on cigars.
  • brotheradambrotheradam Posts: 896
    Man, that is a great way to explain it j0z3r
  • illinoisgolf99illinoisgolf99 Posts: 1,507 ✭
    I agree that a premium cigar is hand rolled, uses long fillers, and has premium tobacco, but I also classify premium cigars by how the experience is as a whole.. I can pick out an Opus X one day and smoke it, find it as an OK smoke and leave it at that.. does that still make it a premium cigar? Yes an No, the cigar itself might be the best tobacco possible, hand rolled right in front of you and have the longest filler, but if you don't "feel" it when you smoke, that is the experience isn't all that wonderful, then it wouldn't necessarily be considered by me as a "premium cigar".. On the other side of the price spectrum, you can pick up a CCOM house blend, a stick you can get for $2.50, which may or may not be hand-rolled, long filler, and have premium tobacco in it (im not sure on any of this so if anyone wants to share info feel free!), and still have a "premium cigar" experience. I guess it's all subjective, "premium", to me, is in the eye of the beholder, or in this case the smoker.
  • Stryker808Stryker808 Posts: 269 ✭
    fla-gypsy:
    Premium to me means an expertly constructed, hand made cigar of blended long fillers that has excellent flavor, even if I don't enjoy that flavor.
    + 1
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