A little direction for a beginner

Ron Guinness

Hi I am a bit new to cigars smoking and I am looking for a little bit of advice on my purchase.  I am in the market to purchase a humidor and cigars today but I am on a budget.  I have narrowed my choices down to these.

Gurkha Super-Premium Humidor Sampler III + Humidor

Deluxe humidor combo

and

Deluxe humidor
with
5 Vegas collected works II

Right now I am leaning more towards the deluxe humidor with the 5 Vegas cigars mostly because of price ($40 seems like a great price for a humidor and 15 cigars).

My questions are
1. I have read that this is a nice beginners humidor, does anyone have any personal experience with it?

2. Cigar wise I am looking for a nice assortment of "flavors" since I don't really know what I like.  Will the Vegas pack provide this experience to me?  Will one of the other combo packs do this better?

3. I am a scotch drinker, does anyone know of where I can read about paring cigars with scotch?

I have many more questions but I am a person that learns by doing so I think that this should gt me started.

Thank you for any and all help,
Ron

Rain

You'd be lucky to fit those sticks in the humi you get. Check out Cigar 101 (which I will bump.) http://www.cigar.com/cs/forums/thread/379773.aspx

Ron Guinness

That is a lot of info!  This answers a lot of my questions and it should keep me busy for awhile.  I appreciate the quick reply. 

Thanks
Ron

Gray4lines

Ron,

I have not used that humidor, but you will likely enjoy the 5 Vegas sticks. My favorite lines, the A and Miami are not included in that particular sampler, but I have not had 5V that was bad.

Bob_Luken

Ron Guinness:

Hi I am a bit new to cigars smoking and I am looking for a little bit of advice on my purchase.  I am in the market to purchase a humidor and cigars today but I am on a budget.  I have narrowed my choices down to these.

Gurkha Super-Premium Humidor Sampler III + Humidor

Deluxe humidor combo

and

Deluxe humidor
with
5 Vegas collected works II

Right now I am leaning more towards the deluxe humidor with the 5 Vegas cigars mostly because of price ($40 seems like a great price for a humidor and 15 cigars).

My questions are
1. I have read that this is a nice beginners humidor, does anyone have any personal experience with it?

2. Cigar wise I am looking for a nice assortment of "flavors" since I don't really know what I like.  Will the Vegas pack provide this experience to me?  Will one of the other combo packs do this better?

3. I am a scotch drinker, does anyone know of where I can read about paring cigars with scotch?

I have many more questions but I am a person that learns by doing so I think that this should gt me started.

Thank you for any and all help,
Ron

Welcome to the forum. My advice, go bigger, I've got two large 100 count desktop humidors and two small desktop humidors and a couple other unconventional humidors in use, (all full). But I still feel like a beginner after a couple of years collecting and smoking cigars. So I'll say it again, go bigger at least 40 cout or better on your first humidor purchase. You may even want to hold off on purchasing your cigars until you purchase and "season" your humidor. The 5 Vegas collected works is a good sampler pack for you to start with. You know, you could go ahead and get the 5 vegas collection and also buy a $5 Boveda packet with your order so you could store your cigars in a large ziplock for a few weeks without any harm at all until you save up some more cash for the bigger humidor. (Boveda packs are very precise humidification.) If your willing to be a little more patient you can check around everywhere for a bargain. Check out the sprint sale here on cigar.com where you can find some humidor bargains. (I saw a $70 100 count cigar humidor go for just under $40) If you're patient and check out what's available you can find a bargain on humidors.

macs-smokes

I am also relatively new to the hobby... but know you have been handed sound advice. Welcome to the forum and be prepared to learn a lot quickly.

Rhamlin

Your better off buying your own humidor and getting a sampler. And if your on a budget you don't even need a humidor a gallon sized ziplock bag will work just fine. Or the Tupperware containers make good cheap makeshift humi's.

Ron Guinness

Thank you I think I will heed your advice and wait to buy a nicer/bigger humidor. 
I do still want to buy the 5 Vegas collected works and I was looking around for the $5 Boveda but all I can find are large packs.  I did find something similar I think.  It is a Round Crystal Humidifier - Clear
Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be very precise in the ammount of humidification it produces.

Please let me know if this is sufficient.  I was planning on using this item either in a Ziploc bag or I have a few nice sealed glass jars.

I do have a B&M close to me are the Boveda packs easy to come by in a B&M or are they more of an online item?

Lastly thanks for my new addiction The Sprint sale is going to take up a lot of my computer time.

Thanks again for all of the answers.  I will do more research on the forums and other but time is not on my side today as I am in the middle of studying for an exam for my job tomorrow.

Thank you all again,
Ron

Stsepas

Every B&M I've been to has the packs

Rain

Rhamlin:

Your better off buying your own humidor and getting a sampler. And if your on a budget you don't even need a humidor a gallon sized ziplock bag will work just fine. Or the Tupperware containers make good cheap makeshift humi's.

+1 to this. Humis are out, get a cooler!

big chunks

I agree get a cooler and some boveda packs

Ron Guinness

A cooler huh?  Looks like I have something else to add to my research list!

I am going to pull the trigger on the sampler.  I'm gonna make a trip to my local B&M in a little while here. 
Thanks for all of the advice!

Ron Guinness

OK just did a quick google of a coolidor, very cool.  I might go this route for now.  Its not the prettiest but I am a big DIY guy and this looks like a fun project!  The big upside seems to be that I will have a lot of storage space.

big chunks

Yeah I still have some humidors but after a while my stock kept growing, lol a cooler helped, but I might need a new one soon, I'm thinking of a igloo 150 quart might do the trick, lol

jfaciane

Cooler advice is good but it all depends on you too though. I'm still learning and I've been doing this for two years now. My mother in law bought me a 25 ct humidor and it filled up on my first ccom order! I then purchased a 300 ct humidor and have yet to fill it up, yet. I now use the 25 ct for infused cigars and 300 ct for regular stogies. I don't know how much a 50, 100 quart or larger cooler can hold but it just seems too big for me. Like I said, just be your own judge on how much you think you'd smoke and buy in a normal month or so and go by that. Good luck and welcome to this great forum and hobby!!

Bob_Luken

Ron Guinness:

Thank you I think I will heed your advice and wait to buy a nicer/bigger humidor. 
I do still want to buy the 5 Vegas collected works and I was looking around for the $5 Boveda but all I can find are large packs.  I did find something similar I think.  It is a Round Crystal Humidifier - Clear
Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be very precise in the ammount of humidification it produces.

Please let me know if this is sufficient.  I was planning on using this item either in a Ziploc bag or I have a few nice sealed glass jars.

I do have a B&M close to me are the Boveda packs easy to come by in a B&M or are they more of an online item?

Lastly thanks for my new addiction The Sprint sale is going to take up a lot of my computer time.

Thanks again for all of the answers.  I will do more research on the forums and other but time is not on my side today as I am in the middle of studying for an exam for my job tomorrow.

Thank you all again,
Ron

Yes the Boveda packs (or something similar) can be found at your local B&M along with some great advice from guy's who love cigars. I use several of the round crystal humidifiers that you mentioned and they work well in desktop humidors and could be used inside a ziplock bag or jar but the humidity will just not be as foolproof as with a boveda pack. Good luck on your exam. And sorry about turning you on to the sprint sale. Yes it's addictive.

webmost

I am going to go one hundred eighty degrees from all this advice and tell you that if you have a decent cigar store anywhere near enough to get to, then don't buy a thing. Instead, go to the store, use their humidor, select from their array, and spend some time discussing what you like with one of the cigar geeks there at the store. That's what they do. Tell him what scotch you like -- maybe bring a sample for him to smell. Smell each stick before you buy it and think how it will taste. Will you pay more? Sure. But good advice is worth something. And so is their humidor room. And so is their selection.

The time to buy a humidor is when you can honestly say; "You know, I could stand to smoke a whole box of this module." That's also the time to go on line where prices are better.

Where you live? Maybe someone here can advise you of a good shop. I am in Dull_Aware, where we have the best cigar store imaginable. I still try out new sticks there or call up Paul or Joe there for advice. Good guys.

If you don't have a shop nearby, then pick up the phone and hit the fine guys and gals at the cigar.com phone bank. Again, say "I like peaty scotch" or whatever. Let them put together a bundle you can try. These people will bend over backwards for you. Just say: "I'm a newb and I need help. Who there knows scotch?"

Buying a blind box and sampler is like shooting at a noise in the dark. You might hit the varmint ransacking the trash, or you might just plug your car. I say go put a light on the target.

Bob_Luken

webmost:

I am going to go one hundred eighty degrees from all this advice and tell you that if you have a decent cigar store anywhere near enough to get to, then don't buy a thing. Instead, go to the store, use their humidor, select from their array, and spend some time discussing what you like with one of the cigar geeks there at the store. That's what they do. Tell him what scotch you like -- maybe bring a sample for him to smell. Smell each stick before you buy it and think how it will taste. Will you pay more? Sure. But good advice is worth something. And so is their humidor room. And so is their selection.

The time to buy a humidor is when you can honestly say; "You know, I could stand to smoke a whole box of this module." That's also the time to go on line where prices are better.

Where you live? Maybe someone here can advise you of a good shop. I am in Dull_Aware, where we have the best cigar store imaginable. I still try out new sticks there or call up Paul or Joe there for advice. Good guys.

If you don't have a shop nearby, then pick up the phone and hit the fine guys and gals at the cigar.com phone bank. Again, say "I like peaty scotch" or whatever. Let them put together a bundle you can try. These people will bend over backwards for you. Just say: "I'm a newb and I need help. Who there knows scotch?"

Buying a blind box and sampler is like shooting at a noise in the dark. You might hit the varmint ransacking the trash, or you might just plug your car. I say go put a light on the target.

Best Answer