Cigar of the Month- Worth it?

NewbfromNEO

Hey gentlemen,

I recently subscribed to Cigar.com 10 stick monthly subscription. First month was great. Some really great sticks and obviously over the $50-$60 dollar price of the subscription. Just curious what other similar services you all participate in and whether or not you have recommendations. Looking forward to your input!

Amos_Umwhat

It has its ups and downs, but I've been a steady subscriber for over 10 years. From time to time there's a cigar or two that really stand out that I wouldn't have ever bought. Some are OK, but not something I would buy again, but they make great yard 'gars. Some I give to my nephews, who would like to be cigar smokers but really can't afford it at this time in their lives. All in all, it's been worth it to me.

CAcigarguy007

A different perspective, take that money you would spend on a subscription and stick it in a jar and buy a box of something good every 4-6 months. It’s a great way to grow your collection in terms of quality vs quantity.

You will undoubtedly experience cigar acquisition syndrome (aka CAS) organically. This way, once you finally move pass that phase into targeted acquisitions, you’ll already be two steps ahead and not have coolers/bins full of mediocre cigars.

This advice could have saved me a lot of money had I followed it early on in this journey lol. Having 200-300 quality cigars is better than having many hundreds more that are just “alright” or that you habitually skip over in favor of what you really want.

NewbfromNEO

@Amos_Umwhat said:
It has its ups and downs, but I've been a steady subscriber for over 10 years. From time to time there's a cigar or two that really stand out that I wouldn't have ever bought. Some are OK, but not something I would buy again, but they make great yard 'gars. Some I give to my nephews, who would like to be cigar smokers but really can't afford it at this time in their lives. All in all, it's been worth it to me.

Great perspective. Its how I originally viewed these programs. I'll have such a broad assortment that I can offer my friends and family a plethora of different sticks. Good or bad. Thanks for the insight!

NewbfromNEO

@CAcigarguy007 said:
A different perspective, take that money you would spend on a subscription and stick it in a jar and buy a box of something good every 4-6 months. It’s a great way to grow your collection in terms of quality vs quantity.

You will undoubtedly experience cigar acquisition syndrome (aka CAS) organically. This way, once you finally move pass that phase into targeted acquisitions, you’ll already be two steps ahead and not have coolers/bins full of mediocre cigars.

This advice could have saved me a lot of money had I followed it early on in this journey lol. Having 200-300 quality cigars is better than having many hundreds more that are just “alright” or that you habitually skip over in favor of what you really want.

Sound advice. I am to the point where I know my next humidor needs to be a 200+ and I am trying to look at how to be curative in my "personal" assortment but still have a quality selection for the neighbors or friends that smoke occasionally. I appreciate the advice. I can see the over inventory problem on the horizon

Amos_Umwhat

I'd say that it's time to start looking for where to put the right cooler, rather than a 200+ humidor. Better storage, more money left over to fill the cooler with.

ShawnOL

Boveda.

Amos_Umwhat

@CAcigarguy007 said:
A different perspective, take that money you would spend on a subscription and stick it in a jar and buy a box of something good every 4-6 months. It’s a great way to grow your collection in terms of quality vs quantity.

You will undoubtedly experience cigar acquisition syndrome (aka CAS) organically. This way, once you finally move pass that phase into targeted acquisitions, you’ll already be two steps ahead and not have coolers/bins full of mediocre cigars.

This advice could have saved me a lot of money had I followed it early on in this journey lol. Having 200-300 quality cigars is better than having many hundreds more that are just “alright” or that you habitually skip over in favor of what you really want.

This is actually pretty close to where I am nowadays. I used to buy fivers etc., from The Daily Deal, a lot, mostly because I'd never heard of most of those brands/blends. Ended up with all kinds of cigars that were, well, meh. After a couple years of that I settled into what I like, and not much else.

This is where the COTMC comes in, I'm only getting 5 cigars, all different, and if something really turns me on I'll go and get a fiver, or ten. If they give me the same result as the first one, I'll start considering a box purchase of that cigar.

Meanwhile, I scan periodically to see if what I really want is available. I've learned to buy what I want when I can, because apparently the cigars that I like have a tendency to not be available again for long stretches of time.

NewbfromNEO

@Amos_Umwhat said:

@CAcigarguy007 said:
A different perspective, take that money you would spend on a subscription and stick it in a jar and buy a box of something good every 4-6 months. It’s a great way to grow your collection in terms of quality vs quantity.

You will undoubtedly experience cigar acquisition syndrome (aka CAS) organically. This way, once you finally move pass that phase into targeted acquisitions, you’ll already be two steps ahead and not have coolers/bins full of mediocre cigars.

This advice could have saved me a lot of money had I followed it early on in this journey lol. Having 200-300 quality cigars is better than having many hundreds more that are just “alright” or that you habitually skip over in favor of what you really want.

This is actually pretty close to where I am nowadays. I used to buy fivers etc., from The Daily Deal, a lot, mostly because I'd never heard of most of those brands/blends. Ended up with all kinds of cigars that were, well, meh. After a couple years of that I settled into what I like, and not much else.

This is where the COTMC comes in, I'm only getting 5 cigars, all different, and if something really turns me on I'll go and get a fiver, or ten. If they give me the same result as the first one, I'll start considering a box purchase of that cigar.

Meanwhile, I scan periodically to see if what I really want is available. I've learned to buy what I want when I can, because apparently the cigars that I like have a tendency to not be available again for long stretches of time.

Insightful as always. Thank you sir.

CAcigarguy007

@Amos_Umwhat said:

@CAcigarguy007 said:
A different perspective, take that money you would spend on a subscription and stick it in a jar and buy a box of something good every 4-6 months. It’s a great way to grow your collection in terms of quality vs quantity.

You will undoubtedly experience cigar acquisition syndrome (aka CAS) organically. This way, once you finally move pass that phase into targeted acquisitions, you’ll already be two steps ahead and not have coolers/bins full of mediocre cigars.

This advice could have saved me a lot of money had I followed it early on in this journey lol. Having 200-300 quality cigars is better than having many hundreds more that are just “alright” or that you habitually skip over in favor of what you really want.

This is actually pretty close to where I am nowadays. I used to buy fivers etc., from The Daily Deal, a lot, mostly because I'd never heard of most of those brands/blends. Ended up with all kinds of cigars that were, well, meh. After a couple years of that I settled into what I like, and not much else.

This is where the COTMC comes in, I'm only getting 5 cigars, all different, and if something really turns me on I'll go and get a fiver, or ten. If they give me the same result as the first one, I'll start considering a box purchase of that cigar.

> Meanwhile, I scan periodically to see if what I really want is available. I've learned to buy what I want when I can, because apparently the cigars that I like have a tendency to not be available again for long stretches of time.

Good advice, buy when the getting is good! Nothing worse than a reblend to “improve” (La Aroma De Cuba EE for example), or even worse, the sneaky blend change with no announcement. l still get pissed at La Aurora whenever I look at the pile of preferidos in my stash that I stalked out and and waited over a year to find a deal on, only to to learn the wrapper was changed and it was no longer the exceptional cigar I had bought previously and selectively smoked on special occasions. These new ones don’t even burn right. I have them buried in the humi hoping for a miracle with time. Feel duped. 😡

Amos_Umwhat

So THAT's what happened to the Preferido!

I had the exact same experience. I thought they'd just been cooked in the top of a truck somewhere or something.

CAcigarguy007

@Amos_Umwhat said:
So THAT's what happened to the Preferido!

I had the exact same experience. I thought they'd just been cooked in the top of a truck somewhere or something.

Bought 25 of them (maduro) and was super pumped but then they showed up looking a lot lighter and bells started going off. Wrappers were super thick and the bands looked different also. I tried to smoke three so far and all were rolled too tight, wrappers wouldn’t stay lit and that sublime flavor was absent. Being well past the return period, I was stuck with them. Still hoping for a miracle but the odds aren’t high. I think I’ll try one again soon actually. They have been sitting since 6/8/20.