A question about named Cigar retailers?

flowbee

I have seen advertisements from Thompson, J.R.Cigars and a couple of other sites that offer alternatives to named brand cigars. These companies have their own labels as well.

My question is this; are the cigars they sell made of quality or are they just junky and slapped together. They look affordable and to be honest the cigar shops around me vary widely on the prices of the cigars I like to smoke.

I love the cigar experience, but I do not want to be broke after every visit to the cigar shop.

Rain

This won't answer your whole question, but I love trying house blends...online and B&M alike. Some are good, some are meh...but that's really like any other cigar. It would be cool to find a good house blend at a B&M...I don't have one near me.As far as CCom goes, I like the American and Corojo the best.

Vulchor

Seem to be of the same quality to me. I have heard others disagree from time to time, but I have never found that to be the case. As far as house blends, Corona Cigar Company in Orlando has the best house blends going....period. The Gold Series is amazing, the silver band is good, and the Cielo brand is great. Not as cheap as some you may find here or other places, but still cheaper and better than alot of sticks 2 or 3 times the price.

jd50ae

I think part of the cigar experience is to try some house blends because you never know what you might find. When I first joined this forum I bought a number of samplers and was pleasantly surprised by a couple of brands, especially the whole 5 Vegas line.

The only B&M near me is Ye Olde Pipe Shop and their humidor ain't huge. The one time I was in there I noticed some strange bands and I was going to check them out, but I got stopped by the Fuentes and went no further. I will go back this week and do a better job of investigating.

Bob_Luken

jd50ae:

I think part of the cigar experience is to try some house blends because you never know what you might find. When I first joined this forum I bought a number of samplers and was pleasantly surprised by a couple of brands, especially the whole 5 Vegas line.

The only B&M near me is Ye Olde Pipe Shop and their humidor ain't huge. The one time I was in there I noticed some strange bands and I was going to check them out, but I got stopped by the Fuentes and went no further. I will go back this week and do a better job of investigating.

So you've been inside the "walk-in"? LOL Any smaller and it would be a reach in. But I like it there. I haven't ever had enough time to hang out but the guy who's always there on the weekends is very helpful.

brianetz1

flowbee:

I have seen advertisements from Thompson, J.R.Cigars and a couple of other sites that offer alternatives to named brand cigars. These companies have their own labels as well. My question is this; are the cigars they sell made of quality or are they just junky and slapped together. They look affordable and to be honest the cigar shops around me vary widely on the prices of the cigars I like to smoke. I love the cigar experience, but I do not want to be broke after every visit to the cigar shop.

Ok I'll take the opposite take here. I am a newer cigar smoker with the same issue as you with a budget. I have tried the house blends from the retailers you mentioned and to me they were not good. There are plenty of quality cigars out there that you can get in the sub $5 range where I feel you don't need to go to the house brands unless you want to. The daily cigar deals here, sprint sale, cigar auction sites, samplers, etc where you don't need to buy the cheaper house blends to stay on a budget.

Cigary

I think a lot of us have tried them at some point..I have and didn't like them at all. For just a little more money you can have a much better cigar IMO but taste being what it is....it's what you like.

flowbee

Thanks for the feedback, I am still trying to decide which house blends to actually try.

flowbee

Thanks Vulchor, This is great information, I had never heard of the Corona Cigar Company, I will check it out.

Martel

Cigary:

I think a lot of us have tried them at some point..I have and didn't like them at all. For just a little more money you can have a much better cigar IMO but taste being what it is....it's what you like.

It also depends on how much you smoke. If I can smoke two $3 cigars that I kind of like or one $6 cigar I really like, I'd go for the second option. Some people like the frequency and need the value. I totally get that.

Or just hang out here for a bit, and get more than you can reasonably smoke, anyway.

scarlin

The reason I love CCOMs House blends are because they are almost as a taste test for me. I start to associate some flavors to the tobaccos and blends. It is a great sampler pickup to try and see what you like if you are new. They are solid mid range sticks by themselves. I do tend to stray from house blends of B&Ms and some retailers just because they are all hyped up by the owner (who many times has a hand in blending) since they are made for their own tastes. I will give them a try, but I like sticking with stuff I know I may like.

Lee.mcglynn

brianetz1:

flowbee:

I have seen advertisements from Thompson, J.R.Cigars and a couple of other sites that offer alternatives to named brand cigars. These companies have their own labels as well. My question is this; are the cigars they sell made of quality or are they just junky and slapped together. They look affordable and to be honest the cigar shops around me vary widely on the prices of the cigars I like to smoke. I love the cigar experience, but I do not want to be broke after every visit to the cigar shop.

Ok I'll take the opposite take here. I am a newer cigar smoker with the same issue as you with a budget. I have tried the house blends from the retailers you mentioned and to me they were not good. There are plenty of quality cigars out there that you can get in the sub $5 range where I feel you don't need to go to the house brands unless you want to. The daily cigar deals here, sprint sale, cigar auction sites, samplers, etc where you don't need to buy the cheaper house blends to stay on a budget.

i will somewhat agree...I'm on a budget and well I'd rather have a good experience then a ok one. Sales and the daily deal can be great but don't limit yourself! If you don't try something because it's out of your range you'll really never know then

Vulchor

flowbee:

Thanks Vulchor, This is great information, I had never heard of the Corona Cigar Company, I will check it out.

No prob at all, I encourage everyone to. Their stores are amazing and their inventory is second to none as B&Ms go. I am also a COTM member there, mainly for the 10% discount, so if anyone ever has a big order they wanted to save a few bucks on let me know and I can help out.