New cigar smoker from pipes
chrislw324
Posts: 3 ✭
Been a pipe smoker for a while and decided to give cigars a try.
If I'm looking to try a variety of different cigars with different flavor profiles, what should I look for?
When it comes to pipe tobacco, I know that Virginia tobacco, burley, va/per, latakia/english blends will all taste different, but I'm lost when it comes to cigars.
I went into into a cigar store looking to try cigars with various different types of tobacco for the filler, binder, wrapper and was given the impression that tobacco type doesn't make as much difference as I thought.
Any suggestions for top cigars to try?
I've had:
Aladino Cameroon
Aladino Classic
Roja Street Taco Barbacoa
Cla Flor Dominica
La Galera
Perdomo Reserve 10th anniversary champagne
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Comments
Not sure where you got that idea, you'll pick up lots of flavors from the different tobaccos when you develop your cigar palate. Which ones that you've tried have you liked?
The wrapper will impart the most flavor. Whatever or whoever it was that have you that notion was wrong. If the different tobaccos didn’t matter they wouldn’t use so many different ones.
Of those, the ones that stand out are the Rojas Street Taco Barbacoa (went back and bought more) and the La Galera
Since you liked the Barbacoa, which is a great cigar with a nice Ecuador Sumatra wrapper you might try a Pichardo Clasico Sumatra (blue label), a Crowned Heads CHC Serie E, a Fiat Lux, or a Luciano the Dreamer cigar. These are all pretty tasty sticks.
Those are all good options for sure. The dreamer has an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper. It will have a different flavor profile but is also a very tasty stick.
Almost all pipe tobacco is cased or topped with a flavoring unless it is a straight blending tobacco. Almost all cigars are not. The difference between one cigar and another is much more subtle in comparison. What Yakster said, above, is good advice. Oh, and if you want to try a flavored cigar they are out there. Welcome to the forum, @chrislw324 !
Try My Father cigars, just about anything by AJ Fernandez. Folks around here are partial to Viaje, Tatuaje, Black Label Trading company. Check the "what are you smoking?" Threads. Welcome aboard.
Trapped in the People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts.
All the ones that I suggested are or were in the case of the Crowned Heads cigar, made at Tabacalera Pichardo which is now Luciano Cigar Factory. Where cigars are made matter just like where your pipe tobacco is made because of the different tobacco processing (fermentation, etc.), the quality of the construction of the cigars (rollers, etc), and even the tobacco that they have available.
Right now they have great Sumatra wrapper tobacco which is why I really have been enjoying those cigars.
AJ Fernandez and My Father Cigars are known for having great construction quality. AJ makes a lot of cigars for a wide range of tastes under a lot of different brands but is a great blender. The other recommendations above are good too, though I'm kinda off of Viaje lately.
Cigars improve with rest and age just like pipe tobacco, but cigars that haven't had enough rest after rolling can dramatically change in just one or two months of rest in your humidor. Sometimes you'll get a cigar that doesn't have all that much flavor and in a month or two will really taste much different. Keep this in mind when smoking a cigar you just got ROTT (right off the truck), you may want to lay down the rest of the cigars for a bit and try them again in another month or two. This seems to be more of a problem lately with cigar makers being under increased demand in the last couple of years.
Also look for the Tatuaje Capa Especial which uses a Sumatra wrapper.
Cool! I'll add those to my 'cigars to try' list and place a nice cigar sampler order soon