I Need Your Help

willy40517

I am new to all of this and have a ton of questions. Here are a couple to start with...
-Do any of you have any suggestions on "beginner" sticks?
-Do you judge a cigar after only one?

xmacro

1) Anything mild - so just experiment. That said, there are plenty of members on here who jumped straight into maduro's

2) I do due to budget constraints, though I probably should give a few of them a second chance

adamkhalil

Hey willy,

Do you have a humidor yet to store cigars in? My dad gave me his so i bought this and was very pleased:

http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?prod=SP-CIGASST4

otherwise i'd reccomend this:

http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?prod=SP-CIGTP10

there's a bunch of guys on the forums with much more experience than me who will help you out too -- those are just the two samplers i've tried and liked so far. Mostly, i try to get any sampler that has a bunch of brands so i can try a variety of things, being new and all.

Welcome to the boards!

jeff_connors

I have 3 desktops and a vino temp configuration, so i'm covered for the humidor sistuations..more of a long term storage question

jeff_connors

opps wrong form

bnccna2

adamkhalil:

Hey willy,

Do you have a humidor yet to store cigars in? My dad gave me his so i bought this and was very pleased:

http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?prod=SP-CIGASST4

otherwise i'd reccomend this:

http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?prod=SP-CIGTP10

there's a bunch of guys on the forums with much more experience than me who will help you out too -- those are just the two samplers i've tried and liked so far. Mostly, i try to get any sampler that has a bunch of brands so i can try a variety of things, being new and all.

Welcome to the boards!

I agree with adam. Also being another new person, I think the best advice is to go out and try something of everything. You can't decide what you like best if you don't have something to compare it too. AND welcome to the boards - I'm glad I'm not the only noob trying to fit in around here.

nsezell

I hate to dog the selections here at ccom, but I swear I'm about to quit buying samplers altogether if they don't stop throwing in those padilla achilles. I bought a box of them on a weekend blitz a few months ago and, while they taste good, they have horrible construction and they don't burn well unless you draw on them constantly and heat em up...I dunno why, but it seems like ccom has a lot laying around or something, cause they keep trying to get rid of em...lol.

Russ55

willy40517:

Do any of you have any suggestions on "beginner" sticks?

5 vegas gold is a good one. I would try one of the Mild selection samplers that ccom runs. Or even the medium one.

willy40517:

Do you judge a cigar after only one?

I smoke one, analyze it, and if I like it at all or feel is has merit, I try another one a week later and see if I still like it. Then I go from there.

Garen B

Just to parrot what everyone is saying, shoot for something mild to medium in body, find something you like and find cigars that are like it. The biggest thing is to try everything and don't be afraid to ask for help, try to find a good cigar shop near you and pick their brains. Some good starter sticks 5 Vegas Gold, 5 Vegas Classic, Oliva Serie G, Rocky Patel Connecticut, and Ccom Cuban Label. All are very good sticks, ranging from mild to medium and won't kill your wallet trying them out.

As for judging a cigar on one try, usually I go for one try if I like the cigar, but if I don't I'll give it another chance a few weeks later, if I still don't like it, then it goes on my short list of cigars I don't like.

j0z3r

xmacro:

1) Anything mild - so just experiment. That said, there are plenty of members on here who jumped straight into maduro's

I undertand what you're trying to say here, but it is a misconception that maduro cigars are stronger than natural ones, in fact generally the opposite is true. Usually a maduro wrapper will actually help to mellow out the strength of a cigar due to it being higher in sugar content and more thoroughly fermented.

To answer the questions:

1: I'd say go for more mild-medium and medium strength cigars, these will give you a wide variety of flavors. Fuente, Cusano, 5 Vegas, Ashton...those are some good places to start.
2: Yes and no. Sometimes you get a cigar that is downright horrid, it is usually pretty safe to never smoke that one again and not worry about missing out on anything. Then again, sometimes you get a cigar that tastes good, but for some reason it is off...could be bad construction, too wet, too dry, many factors can work against you. In that case though, I'd definitely give the cigar another try and attempt to fix what I thought the problem was.

Thewelder

Sorry I can't exactly help on the beginner sticks because I myself am kinda beginner. Though if I can I try not judge a cigar on the first smoke unless I like it. If I don't and it wasn't crazy expensive I will give it another try because I have had a few that I didn't like but came around the second time.

Krieg

j0z3r:

xmacro:

1) Anything mild - so just experiment. That said, there are plenty of members on here who jumped straight into maduro's

I undertand what you're trying to say here, but it is a misconception that maduro cigars are stronger than natural ones, in fact generally the opposite is true. Usually a maduro wrapper will actually help to mellow out the strength of a cigar due to it being higher in sugar content and more thoroughly fermented.

To answer the questions:

1: I'd say go for more mild-medium and medium strength cigars, these will give you a wide variety of flavors. Fuente, Cusano, 5 Vegas, Ashton...those are some good places to start.
2: Yes and no. Sometimes you get a cigar that is downright horrid, it is usually pretty safe to never smoke that one again and not worry about missing out on anything. Then again, sometimes you get a cigar that tastes good, but for some reason it is off...could be bad construction, too wet, too dry, many factors can work against you. In that case though, I'd definitely give the cigar another try and attempt to fix what I thought the problem was.

I think the Maduros got a rep for being full bodied back in the 90's when the cigar boom was going on and cigar companies were rushing thier Maduro wrapper process. Which basically you can't do if you want to make a good Maduro. rushing the process really caused the wrappers to taste bad (in my opinion)
You can buy anything from Macanudo, most of there selection is good for newbs, they also make a Robust, which has a bit more body and flavor to it.
Usually when I have a bad cigar, I will come on here and post about it and get some opinions. For example, the Java. Had a hard time smoking it but some of the guys on here still swear by them, so I will be giving it another chance some day.

EFLAGGS

The consensus seems to be to try a variety and see what you like. I tend to agree. I'm a gurka, alec bradley, rocky patel dude with a few additions and I found that out by trying lots of smokes, lots of different flavors and then weeding down what I liked. You can start with sticks that are rated high and see if you agree with the rankings, good luck!

Smoky the Bear

Hey Willy, welcome to the boards. Lots of great info here so I'm glad you found it. I was a big fan of 5 Vegas when I started out and the Series A is still one of my go to sticks. The Gold would be a nice choice if you are trying a few new mild brands out. When I started out I ordered a few samplers, like many of the other's have suggested here and tried about 25-30 different blends/brands before I found 4-5 that I really liked. Life's a journey and so is finding a great cigar, best wishes to you on both.