the Noob Toob
What do you guy think about a thread dedicated to answering all the most dumb-assed questions a raw noob could ask? If I and other neophytes supplied the questions, would you be willing to supply the answers?
Being a complete noob myself, I sure have a long list of dumb-ass questions. So far, I have had to answer those questions one by one through an embarrassing series of fumbles. I just wish I could find all the answers in one place. Like what's maduro? What's claro? What's a nub? What's a churchhill? What's sumatra wrap? What's connecticut? Do they really grow tobacco that far north? When you see 6" x 55, that's 55 whats? When you're looking for an hour's smoke, what size is that? How do you keep a cigar from suddenly tasting like an ashtray about two thirds down so you have to throw it out? How long should your ember be? Whatever happened to big old safety kitchen matches? What's a plug cutter? How come my guillotine looking cutter leaves a raggedy edge?
I've got an endless supply of bonehead beginner questions. If I asked one a day in this thread, could we compile a list of answers?
I mean, these things may be second nature to all of you, but to a raw noob like me, I am flat clueless.
I should add that I have exactly zero interest in the hobby of cigar collecting, myself. I observe that the BsOTL here appear to be humidor obsessed. Not me not yet. I am only talking about the process of cigar smoking. That's it. How to get the most out of a stick. There's plenty of time to get to the whole humidor coolidor digital hygrometer beads gel so on and so forth once I decode how to even enjoy a smoke or not. Meanwhile, we have an excellent cigar store right here in the state of Dull-Aware, and I'd just as soon let them handle the humidor chores.
Whattaya think?
First question I asked the gigar geeks at the store was this: I don't smoke cigars, but I might like to try. Dunno. I don't want to spend a fortune on something I might now like. Going camping where I can try this out without grossing out The One Who Must Be Obeyed. I don't want to be overwhelmed with a strong smoke. What should I try? A simple first question: Where to start? The cigar geeks at the local store pointed me to Factory Throwouts Claros, 20 bucks for a bundle of 20. That bundle hooked me. Alas, I was so innocent that when I went back to the same store to grab another bundle, I accidentally grabbed some sweet. I had no idea there were three kinds of these throwouts: sweet, claro, and brown. Still have no clue what the brown are called. I like the green.
What would you suggest a raw innocent unsmoking noob start with?
TIA
Comments
Just my Opinion!!!!
Start out by reading : http://www.cigar.com/cs/forums/thread/437201.aspx and go from there.
Green unfermented wrapper leaf
What's a nub? short fat cigar
What's a churchhill? 7 inches long - 54ish ring gauge
What's sumatra wrap?A wrapper grown from Sumatra seed
What's connecticut? A wrapper, grown there, and elsewhere but named for Conn
Do they really grow tobacco that far north? yes
When you see 6" x 55, that's 55 whats? 6 inches 55 ring (bigger number=fatter cigar)
When you're looking for an hour's smoke, what size is that? A corona - 42-43 ring >5"
How do you keep a cigar from suddenly tasting like an ashtray about two thirds down so you have to throw it out? smoke slower
How long should your ember be? 1/4 the width of the cigar. Not much
Whatever happened to big old safety kitchen matches? probably toxic or dangerous
What's a plug cutter?
How come my guillotine looking cutter leaves a raggedy edge? Probably a dull cutter. Lick the cap a tad before you cut.
Also, you guys cleverly dodged the maduro question. I've heard that maduro is simply a color, but it obviously has a different taste. Somebody else is much more qualified to answer this than me.
My question would be "What's with the whole 'mild cigar in the morning' thing? I like my milder cigars in the evening/afternoon. If I'm having a cigar in the morning it will usually be a fuller bodied smoke to pair with my black coffee and assy mouth.
Maduro is more difficult to explain.... I will let my man Steve fill you in on that...
http://tobacconistuniversity.org/blog/?p=1656
Maduro means "ripe" as in all the sugars have been brought out by fermentation. they tend to be dark but there are a few lighter maduros out there.
oscuro translates to "dark" or "black"
in the cigar world the process of producing an oscuro wrapper is similar to maduro save for one extra step. this step is to leave the leaf on the plant "media tiempo" or a very rough translation of "time and a half." this means that the leaves are on the plant 50% longer. at this point the leaf begins to cure on the plant and therefor has more sugars, tannins and nutrients and is overall darker than it would be otherwise.
another way that oscuro wrappers are made is to stalk-cut-haarvest the plant and let it cure on the stalk (much like Drew estates does for the T52). this way the leaves still leech nutrients from the stalk as it cures.
Have you ever thought of publishing A book? I would gladly be the first in line to buy it. Over the time I've been on the forums I've gained A great amount of knowledge from reading your posting.
...dont see that happening any time soon.
If you're in Baltimore. That cigar spot on Light Street at the inner harbor is having an Alec Bradley night... I think tonight. If you're that close, send me a PM and we'll get together and fire one up. I need a mentor to show me how to punch, light, and burn one of these things.
The geeks at Cigar City suggested factory throwouts claros number 59. I still love them. Only a buck a pop when you buy a bundle. Creamy and mild. The only thing is that the burn is inconsistent, which of course is why they are rejects. But a beginner guy doesn't want to blow a fortune on something too strong for his baby tongue when he doesn't know whether he's even into this.
Then once a guy decides he wants to give it a shot... The store nearest me has a two buck bin and a four buck bin. These are big tubs into which they have tossed left over singles. I often dig through there. If I like the way the wrapper looks, I'll buy two to try. If I like the first, I light the other. If I still like it, I save the ring, then go down to the store and look at other smokes by the same maker. Nailed a pair of Dunhills that way recently, for example. My fave was a pair of sticks without a band, went back and nailed every one in the bin with the same SKU. Bin rummaging is just a way to get a feel for what different sizes and brands and colors do. When I go though these bins, I find that the prettier the wrapper is the better I tend to like the stick. I have zero idea what I am doing other than that. A pretty marbled wrapper... gotta be a better way to make sense of it than that. How do you suggest a noob rooting through a four buck bin ought to evaluate?
im not sure if i am reading this correctly nor not but price and power have nothing to do with each other. one of the most expensive brands out there (Davidoff) has a reputation for making very mild cigars; so mild in fact that many people believe that they arent worth the price because they have "no flavor"
i am not in that camp but that is a different story.
cheaper cigars do tend to be mild in nature for one simple reason: Cost.
Ligero, the leaf that gives most cigars power, is in high demand and is rare in comparison to most other leaves. therefore it is the most expensive leaf to buy.
but dont let the price fool you. price in this industry has nothing to do with strength or if you are going to like it or not. there are instances where quality has a price indicator but not all the time.
depending on what you are willing to spend i would recommend any of the following: Cusano 18 Connecticut, Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva natural 8-5-8, 5 Vegas gold, Flor de Oliva, Oliva Serie G Maduro, Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta, Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real, or if you feel like dropping some serious coin: anything by Davidoff. i dont.
well... not 100%. root through there all you want. but when you find a cigar you like, dont just go back to the store. look it up online and find out what makes up that cigar, who makes it and what else they do. branch out.
also remember that not all pretty wrappers are good and not all good wrappers are pretty.
also, read through the threads in my signature line below. blending 101 may help you a bit.
Remarkable. I recognize every one of those names, except for Davidoff, as one which I either dig out of a bin or bought at the recommendation of the cigar store, or which came in a sampler a friend sent, and which I kept the ring from to give them another shot. bSo your recommendations appear to march in step with my tastes.
" ...read through the threads in my signature line below. blending 101 may help you a bit."
Wow. I read that blending 101 twice. I'll have to read it six more times. A whole lot of this I just flat out don't get. Like, how can a flavor be "round"? Beatsa livin crap outta me. However, every field of knowledge begins with taxonomy, so I'll have to get a handle on it somehow.
Just not now. Still trying to learn to burn one of these things.
Thanks.
But how do you pronounce Liga Privada. I think I've been mispronouncing it and am a rusty on my spanish vowel sounds and the lady who works at the B&M I frequent has a thick accent and pronounces it very differently from me.
I've been saying it like Lee/Guh - Pree/Vah/Duh.
Not sure if one, of us or both, is pronouncing it wrong. If the above's wrong can someone help me out with the right pronunciation.
,br> Thanks
* I have a new address as of 3/24/18 *
As for the Stogie, I don't know much about it except that I like the UnderCrown. As for the Spanish, I am decent at and I do believe it would be pronounced Lee/Ghah - Pree/Vah/Thah.
Y de nada me amigo, Tengo buen dia!
in this case, I think the G would have a very "airy" hgh sound, the V will actually have a V sound and the D has a th sound as in "that".
You got your super mild noob stick. Next logical thing is to suck on it. What the heck? Why is the end you put in your mouth all plugged up? No, really... Why is it plugged?
I bought a cutter; but I don't like it, too much hardware. Guys at the cigar store turned me on to a wee little sausage shaped plug cutter. I bought four of those, hung one on each motorcycle key and the fourth in the ashtray in the TV room. They're handier. But I am a real minimalist. I've carried a pocket knife ever since Cub Scouts. My grandpa was a cigar smoker. He just used a sharp little knife to cross hatch the plugged end. You think maybe I should try that?
Is there any advantage to the guillotine over the plug, the plug over my pocket knife, or any of these over biting the end? What are we trying to do here? Max draw or just enough hole to suck through?
as far as the blending 101 thread goes... did you read the entire thread or just the first post? read through the entire thing.
Ex.
Joya De Nicaragua = Ho-ya de Nica-ra-gwa.
Cohiba = ko-ee-ba
Liga Privada = Lee-ga Pree-baa-da
(water)agua = ah-wa or a-gwa
I stand corrected!
would you mind having Sofia Vergara authenticate that? It would really make my day.
Never heard of a plugged cigar. What I mean is, a) why is the end of the cigar either capped over with a leaf or tapered to nothing in such a way that the end you suck at is all stopped up? What's the idea there? I get a bottle cap, where you are keeping fizz in and dirt out. But that's not the case here, there's no fizz and your cellophane keeps the stick clean. So what's the idea behind purposely constructing a cigar so that you have to cut your way in?
And then, b) what's the advantage if any of a small round plug cutter hole versus a whack the end off guillotine versus a few notches from a pocket knife versus Clint Eastwood bite the end off and spit it out? What are you trying to accomplish? Is it about making this stick draw the max amount of air like a vacuum cleaner, or will just enough to suck through do just as well? Or is it like an engine, where the size of the intake is balanced to match the RPMs and displacement?
And what plugged cigar surgery to you refer to? Never heard of that either.
the point of cutting a cigar is to get a good draw.
that was the easy question.
i prefer a guillotine cutter for everything. i have found that it produces a less concentrated smoke and it is easier to take an easier draw (producing a cooler smoke resulting in better flavor)
however, i used to use a punch cutter (i think thats what you are all calling a plug cutter) exclusively. it is portable and just short of impossible to *** up.
i never bite the end off. i dont recommend it either. youll run the risk of destroying the cap causing the cigar to unravel and be worthless, if i have a cigar that is plugged up, ill take a paper clip straighten it out and push it through the cigar in a few places (length wise) to see if that will help.