Boxes, 5Pack, Singles, Samplers? How do you buy ?
Kind of new (3 months or so) and I was wondering what people buy the most. Boxes, 5 packs, singles or what ?
I smoke one a day (most days) and I kind of like the variety of different stuff. I have been buying sampler packs looking for something I would buy a box of but so far I like trying new things. I like the Oliva O Maduro, the CCom Brazillian, I kind of liked the 5 Vegas Gold but now I dont like it so much, I liked a Nub Cameroon.
If I bought a box I would think I would be kind of bored.
What do you guys do ?
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Just kind of stumbled onto this site and really enjoying all the great info so decided to join. Hoping to get another sampler or two before the end of the year but freelance stuff has been very slow so we'll see. Definitely saw a couple of the samplers on here that looked great and the Custom sampler option on here is really nice too and you get to hand pick the sticks you want and it's a pretty good price too if you get more than one.
2015 Gang War - East Coast
Enola Gay - Target #29
Now then, when I say stock up I mean buy a fiver initially and you hit on the reason for this in your original post - tried something and loved it, then came back to it and didnt have the same feeling about it. The reasons for this can vary wildly - the guy in the factory who made the second stick may have had an off day, perhaps you smoked the second much closer to receiving it than you did the first one (not letting it rest as long), or your pallete may have changed in between, which DOES happen. Working your way thru a five pack of the same stick in the same size will give you a better idea of whether the love you felt for the first one or the "meh" you felt for the second is the more true opinion.
Once you get that far, then its time to buy a box - and a bigger humidor or a coolidor! I know it seems like a lot, but the joy of discovery you get while working your way thru the sampler packs will benefit you in the long run.
Your thought to keep a journal or diary is an excellent one, particularly when first starting off. That will help you start seeing patterns in what you like in a cigar and what you dont (wrappers, manufacturers, strengths, countries of origin, etc). A short cut for you - if you find yourself getting lazy with that, when you find a cigar you really like, blow in a call to CCom and talk to their sales people. Let them know what it was you nad and what you liked about it, and ask them to put together a five pack of other cigars based on WHAT you liked about it. You can even give them a budget if thats a concern for you as it is for so many of us. The CCom staff is SCARY good at this, and will hook you up seven different ways from Sunday with a sampler pack that is tailored to YOU.
Best of luck to you in your discoveries and ENJOY IT! Its an exciting time in the hobby, first starting out. Stick around here too, best bunch of guys you will ever find are right here on these forums!
Always only singles. Then I found catalog companies, I would buy five packs of the proven favorites, and continue to try new singles not knowing or caring about wrappers, or countries of origin, I liked everything for the newness of it.
Then I found this place where I refined my "taste preference", I started with the cigar of the month club, bought samplers, and tried new cigars based on other members comments.
I still try as many new releases as possible but mostly in sampler packages. There are so many cigars that I like, I really don't buy full boxes that much as it commits to much of my smoking dollar to one product, and there are so many great cigars being released in todays market I would rather continue my search for new experiences.
With this list in mind when a daily deal or some type of sale is offered that coincides with my try/resupply list and I have room in my humi then I pull the trigger. Sometimes it's a variety sampler, sometimes a flight sampler, sometimes a 5 pack or 10 pack. Whatever. I'll buy boxes sometimes but often the per-cigar price on a daily deal is better than any box deal and I don't have to find room for a box.
This way is what works for me because I have a limited budget and I have to make my cigar dollars count. Consequently, I also end up with a diverse humidor but a lot of singles or only a couple/few of things.
The purchasing at B&Ms, for me, is very few and far between. They are so expensive I only go there as a special occasion and when I want to smoke it there, usually to watch a hockey game on t.v.
Like everyone else, I started with singles and samplers to try stuff but then moved on to 5 packs and boxes to stock up on what I like. Once you figure out what you like though, you'll be able to read a description of a cigar and have a pretty good idea what your gonna think of a cigar before you smoke it, just based on the blender and tobacco's used.
So now when I want to try something new (usually only try about 5-10% of the new cigars out there) I ususally just get a 5 pack because I'm pretty sure I'll like it enough to have 5 of them. then if I love it I'll put in my "boxes to buy list" for the next time I have some extra funds in the old cigar budget. So the last 5 years or so I've mostly bought 5 packs, 10 packs and boxes, but I still will pick up the occassional sampler but they've more become Beard Special samplers where I tell him what I'm looking for and what I want to spend and let him fill in the blanks. Never once been dissappointed.
Seriously, Cigar.com f'ing rules.
Thanks for all the great info..... and this quote kind of sums up where I am also.
All my cigar dollars have to count. Interesting that a couple of days ago I got a 5 pack of an inexpensive Don Raphael Maduro (Robusto) and had one tonight..... thought it was great for the money.
I will continue my log book and try to add what I was eating and drinking during my mini 2 hour vacation while I am enjoying a new cigar. In the mean time I will continue buying as the buget permits and stick to singles, samplers or 5 packs!
Thanks again for all your help
im doing this to try to curb my spending.
i did the math, this last year has been alittle rough on the bank account
That said, when I first started smoking, I bought a ton of samplers, and feel that it was a good thing, because samplers tend to allow the smoker to try a huge variety of different cigars, and at a discount usually, and to me, I think trying everything you can get your hands on is important as a new smoker, if you really want to learn to appreciate as much as you can, and develop a strong, well versed palate. Also, research every cigar you smoke, try to learn what kind of tobaccos are in the blend, this will help you in the long run to know what to expect when looking at new cigars to try. For instance, San Andres Maduro wrappers are all over the place right now, and it is a very different leaf from (for example) Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro from a flavor standpoint. If you aren't familiar with the difference, you may be surprised when one maduro is as different from another as they can be when a different variety of maduro processed leaf is used as a wrapper. I'm a bit of a nerd though, and when I get interested in something, I tend to obsess and read and try to learn as much as I possibly can on a subject... so maybe not everyone goes into the B&M already knowing what strain of wrapper is used on most sticks in the humidor, knows they don't like H2000 very much, etc.