Home Cigar 101

Help me make bad choices

jthanatosjthanatos Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭
So my first big-boy 100ct humidor will be here end of this week, and with it permission/wifely blessing to increase my stocks from the 1 or 2 weekend burners to, and I quote, "Go crazy, have fun, just make sure to get some for me too" and with another humidor possibly on the way for my birthday. I love my wife

Now, my dilemma...what to fill it with. I have a few wishlist ones that I will get now that I have proper storage. And most likely a large quantity of Mi Amors as it is the wife's favorite. But beyond that, I am overwhelmed. I am not sure how to proceed from purchasing a couple sticks a week, to actually having room to have a "regular smoke". So, I am turning to you...people I have just met...for suggestions and opinions (no one has accused me of wisdom...but ya'll seem nice, and way more knowledgeable than I).

What follows is my current plan:
  • Join Cigar of the Month club to introduce me to cigars I wouldn't buy myself
  • Probably a box of Mi Amors (Wife's fav, and have yet to find someone who didn't enjoy one)
  • Some My Fathers (Brother-in-Law's fav)
  • A couple Davidoff Millennium lonsdales (an esteemed friend's fav)
  • A couple Macanudo vintages (my pastor's fav)
  • Some quantity LP Undercrowns and #9s(My current favs)

That's the current plan, with a few special sticks I know I am getting to stare at until I have a kid...or just decide to smoke them.
I know a lot of these seem to be for other people, but one of the things I love about this hobby is being able to hand a friend a stick to enjoy together. What I am hoping for is thoughts and suggestions to add to this list. Must haves and the like. Also, thoughts on a good everyday stick to enjoy with friends. I have a pretty serious birthday get together coming up soon, and, while I like my friends, most don't smoke often, and I dont want to see my entire bank account go up in a series of small fires.

On a side note, anyone had the CCOM replica Hemingway Short Stories? I see them, they taunt me with their price and how good the AF ones are...but I am always leary when another groups says this tastes just like X popular cigar.
Thanks for any help in advance.

Comments

  • jliujliu Posts: 7,735 ✭✭✭✭
    if you're still relatively new to exploring cigars, I would suggest getting various samplers. When I first started, that's all I did. Grabbed a ton of samplers. Smoked them. Eventually made notes on what I liked and disliked about it. etc. Now I have a better gauge of what I want to lean towards
  • VisionVision Posts: 7,764 ✭✭✭✭✭
    jliu:
    if you're still relatively new to exploring cigars, I would suggest getting various samplers. When I first started, that's all I did. Grabbed a ton of samplers. Smoked them. Eventually made notes on what I liked and disliked about it. etc. Now I have a better gauge of what I want to lean towards

    +1

    1. I would get some Arturo Fuente Anejo and a couple OpusX.
    2. Get some Limitied Ed. stuff. Keep them for a year. When you smoke those.... Get more Limited Ed stuff. No matter the brand.
    3. Find a stick you really like. Get 5-10 more. Smoke one ever 4 months to a year. You will be amazed with the change. Just a few things I have done. I would also say dont be afraid to try stuff you normally wouldnt. I never liked Lanceros and Corona's because I thought they were "girly"..... Now.... I LOVE THEM. I admit I was a 6X60 guy when I started because I didnt know better. Still love a big ring but I can appreciate all the vitola's now.

    Once you find www.cigarsprintsale.com.... Say bye bye to the space in your humi!
  • Cazzie13Cazzie13 Posts: 48
    Vision:
    jliu:
    if you're still relatively new to exploring cigars, I would suggest getting various samplers. When I first started, that's all I did. Grabbed a ton of samplers. Smoked them. Eventually made notes on what I liked and disliked about it. etc. Now I have a better gauge of what I want to lean towards

    +1

    1. I would get some Arturo Fuente Anejo and a couple OpusX.
    2. Get some Limitied Ed. stuff. Keep them for a year. When you smoke those.... Get more Limited Ed stuff. No matter the brand.
    3. Find a stick you really like. Get 5-10 more. Smoke one ever 4 months to a year. You will be amazed with the change. Just a few things I have done. I would also say dont be afraid to try stuff you normally wouldnt. I never liked Lanceros and Corona's because I thought they were "girly"..... Now.... I LOVE THEM. I admit I was a 6X60 guy when I started because I didnt know better. Still love a big ring but I can appreciate all the vitola's now.

    Once you find www.cigarsprintsale.com.... Say bye bye to the space in your humi!
    say bye bye to the space in your humi as well as the cash in your account...lol
  • Bklyn78Bklyn78 Posts: 65
    Cazzie13:
    Vision:
    jliu:
    if you're still relatively new to exploring cigars, I would suggest getting various samplers. When I first started, that's all I did. Grabbed a ton of samplers. Smoked them. Eventually made notes on what I liked and disliked about it. etc. Now I have a better gauge of what I want to lean towards

    +1

    1. I would get some Arturo Fuente Anejo and a couple OpusX.
    2. Get some Limitied Ed. stuff. Keep them for a year. When you smoke those.... Get more Limited Ed stuff. No matter the brand.
    3. Find a stick you really like. Get 5-10 more. Smoke one ever 4 months to a year. You will be amazed with the change. Just a few things I have done. I would also say dont be afraid to try stuff you normally wouldnt. I never liked Lanceros and Corona's because I thought they were "girly"..... Now.... I LOVE THEM. I admit I was a 6X60 guy when I started because I didnt know better. Still love a big ring but I can appreciate all the vitola's now.

    Once you find www.cigarsprintsale.com.... Say bye bye to the space in your humi!
    say bye bye to the space in your humi as well as the cash in your account...lol
    yep great deals on boxes and 10 packs on sprint sale. just wait till you hit buy now and its gone and never see it again lol.
  • bandyt09bandyt09 Posts: 4,335 ✭✭✭✭✭
    5 packs and/or samplers. I focused on 5 packs early in my smoking hobby, that and mixed samplers, mostly 5 packs. What i found with 5 packs it that you can smoke 1 or 2 pretty much right after you get them (let them acclimate after the trip first of course), then you can get to 1 after about 6 months, just to see what a little rest will do. The last 2 inevitably get buried and then they get aged by default. I bought a few boxes early on as they were my "favorite" at the time; as my palate evolved and tried other stuff, my boxes of favorites weren't so much a favorite any more. It took me about 18 months to buy boxes again as I had a better idea of what I really like as I tried A LOT of 5 packs. In fact, I still have a couple of sticks that I bought back when I began (2007 - La Gloria Cubana Serie R #5's) and they just keep getting better.

    Other than that, you can learn like a lot of other people on the forum did. Buy a ton of stuff and learn by default.

    As far as getting another humidor, once you have a nice one that is all you really need as you buy a cooler for all the rest of it.
  • StreaterStreater Posts: 293
    Get some Tats. The cojonu 2012 sumatra is my favorite. Get a bundle of Flor de Oliva Cameroons for some yard gars.
  • mmccartneydcmmccartneydc Posts: 3,407 ✭✭✭
    Definitely check out the "kelly's deal" thread as well. It has been a great way for me to try sticks that I normally would have never bought!
  • jthanatosjthanatos Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭
    I appreciate all the responses and suggestions. I do plan to get at least 3-10 of anything I buy as half my excitement is to see what age does to my known favorites. Probably in a few different sizes. I too used to be "big only" guy, but after being shown by a friend the differences in flavor coming off the wrapper in smaller gauges, I tend to vary sizes quite a bit

    I have watched the sprint sale...and it terrifies me. If anything could make me hemmorage money in this hobby, that will be the thing that does it. As far as the second humi, without getting into too many details, a coolidor is not viable for me and I think it is what a certain charge the wife put on the card is for.

    Getting some limited stuff makes sense to me, but I am not sure where to start with that. Opus X seems like an easy choice, but otherwise I am at a loss. Reading the ratings forum helps...but in case you guys didnt notice...there are like 27k posts in there. And I am but one man. Anything new and exciting recently? All I am aware of is the Lil' monsters release, but that seems to be sold out everywhere. Also, the review forum has placed the Airbender on my list for must buy.

    Finally, repilca series? ...I see reviews for the padrons, and they seem good, if different than what they "replicate". Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and try it myself. Then write a nonsensical super noob review.

    Again, thanks
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    Well before you jump on the replica padrons I'd say if you haven't had the real thing try that first so you know what the differences are!! But one of my mid grade go to sticks is the lfd dl natural or maduro. They seem to only get better with age and I can't see ever going wrong with litto Gomez! They are on the full side but damn they are just flat out good!!
    Money can't buy taste
  • jthanatosjthanatos Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭
    Sorry, should have been more clear. I meant the replica hemingways, like in in my first post. I have had quite a few short stories. I just referenced the Padrons as they were the only review I found which seemed to boil down to "Similar, different, but good...also easy on the wallet".
  • *Petey**Petey* Posts: 375
    jthanatos:
    So my first big-boy 100ct humidor will be here end of this week, and with it permission/wifely blessing to increase my stocks from the 1 or 2 weekend burners to, and I quote, "Go crazy, have fun, just make sure to get some for me too" and with another humidor possibly on the way for my birthday. I love my wife

    Now, my dilemma...what to fill it with. I have a few wishlist ones that I will get now that I have proper storage. And most likely a large quantity of Mi Amors as it is the wife's favorite. But beyond that, I am overwhelmed. I am not sure how to proceed from purchasing a couple sticks a week, to actually having room to have a "regular smoke". So, I am turning to you...people I have just met...for suggestions and opinions (no one has accused me of wisdom...but ya'll seem nice, and way more knowledgeable than I).

    What follows is my current plan:
    • Join Cigar of the Month club to introduce me to cigars I wouldn't buy myself
    • Probably a box of Mi Amors (Wife's fav, and have yet to find someone who didn't enjoy one)
    • Some My Fathers (Brother-in-Law's fav)
    • A couple Davidoff Millennium lonsdales (an esteemed friend's fav)
    • A couple Macanudo vintages (my pastor's fav)
    • Some quantity LP Undercrowns and #9s(My current favs)

    That's the current plan, with a few special sticks I know I am getting to stare at until I have a kid...or just decide to smoke them.
    Welcome to the forums, man.

    First off, your wife seems really cool. A supportive spouse makes everything in life easier, including the cigar hobby. haha. And Secondly, the lineup you already have listed sounds like a GREAT start. although start doesn't relaly do that lineup justice. that is a pretty serious selection of smokes there man. So if you already like all that, then . . . . . you aren't the typical noob, and probably don't need too many suggestions.

    So overall, what I usually recomend folks is to smoke as much variety as you can for a while and try to smoke em without any preconceptions of what you should be experiencing. This way, you can really focus on figuring out what you like and not what you think you should like. Once you start to figure out what you like, then get more along those lines. It sounds simple, but it'll take a while.

    It seems that ultimately most folks fall into following something once they figure out what they like vs what they don't. for some its a brand, for others, its a regions of the world, others will try anything in a certain wrapper type, and finally there are a bunch of guys like me, who follow certain blenders we like.

    The other thing to keep in mind as you figure out what type of cigar smoke you are, is that several folks are pure smokers while others are pure collectors of limited edition and hard to find stuff. Those are the two extremes, but most folks on here are some sort of combination of the two. I fall pretty close to the practical smoker side and not really much of a collector, so take the following advice with a grain of salt. I usually recomend trying the baselines of different brands before jumping straight for the top shelf or limited stuff. What I mean by that is that you probably shouldn't smoke an Anejo or an Opus X before you've tried most of Fuente's other stuff first. My thought process is that, if you don't like anything else they have to offer then you probably won't like the top shelf stuff. But if you do like their other lines, then you will probably REALLY enjoy the experience of smoking some of their top shelf lines as it will offer a lot of the same flavors that you've grown to enjoy, but it might be more refined, might be stronger, might be playing off the core flavors with some new flavors. Weather you like it or not is all up to you.

    Sorry this is long, I'll summarize, smoke more of what you like and less of what you don't, and don't worry about other folks opinion affecting your own.
  • jliujliu Posts: 7,735 ✭✭✭✭
    *Petey*:
    jthanatos:
    So my first big-boy 100ct humidor will be here end of this week, and with it permission/wifely blessing to increase my stocks from the 1 or 2 weekend burners to, and I quote, "Go crazy, have fun, just make sure to get some for me too" and with another humidor possibly on the way for my birthday. I love my wife

    Now, my dilemma...what to fill it with. I have a few wishlist ones that I will get now that I have proper storage. And most likely a large quantity of Mi Amors as it is the wife's favorite. But beyond that, I am overwhelmed. I am not sure how to proceed from purchasing a couple sticks a week, to actually having room to have a "regular smoke". So, I am turning to you...people I have just met...for suggestions and opinions (no one has accused me of wisdom...but ya'll seem nice, and way more knowledgeable than I).

    What follows is my current plan:
    • Join Cigar of the Month club to introduce me to cigars I wouldn't buy myself
    • Probably a box of Mi Amors (Wife's fav, and have yet to find someone who didn't enjoy one)
    • Some My Fathers (Brother-in-Law's fav)
    • A couple Davidoff Millennium lonsdales (an esteemed friend's fav)
    • A couple Macanudo vintages (my pastor's fav)
    • Some quantity LP Undercrowns and #9s(My current favs)

    That's the current plan, with a few special sticks I know I am getting to stare at until I have a kid...or just decide to smoke them.
    Welcome to the forums, man.

    First off, your wife seems really cool. A supportive spouse makes everything in life easier, including the cigar hobby. haha. And Secondly, the lineup you already have listed sounds like a GREAT start. although start doesn't relaly do that lineup justice. that is a pretty serious selection of smokes there man. So if you already like all that, then . . . . . you aren't the typical noob, and probably don't need too many suggestions.

    So overall, what I usually recomend folks is to smoke as much variety as you can for a while and try to smoke em without any preconceptions of what you should be experiencing. This way, you can really focus on figuring out what you like and not what you think you should like. Once you start to figure out what you like, then get more along those lines. It sounds simple, but it'll take a while.

    It seems that ultimately most folks fall into following something once they figure out what they like vs what they don't. for some its a brand, for others, its a regions of the world, others will try anything in a certain wrapper type, and finally there are a bunch of guys like me, who follow certain blenders we like.

    The other thing to keep in mind as you figure out what type of cigar smoke you are, is that several folks are pure smokers while others are pure collectors of limited edition and hard to find stuff. Those are the two extremes, but most folks on here are some sort of combination of the two. I fall pretty close to the practical smoker side and not really much of a collector, so take the following advice with a grain of salt. I usually recomend trying the baselines of different brands before jumping straight for the top shelf or limited stuff. What I mean by that is that you probably shouldn't smoke an Anejo or an Opus X before you've tried most of Fuente's other stuff first. My thought process is that, if you don't like anything else they have to offer then you probably won't like the top shelf stuff. But if you do like their other lines, then you will probably REALLY enjoy the experience of smoking some of their top shelf lines as it will offer a lot of the same flavors that you've grown to enjoy, but it might be more refined, might be stronger, might be playing off the core flavors with some new flavors. Weather you like it or not is all up to you.

    Sorry this is long, I'll summarize, smoke more of what you like and less of what you don't, and don't worry about other folks opinion affecting your own.
    +1. Boyd taught me this when I started really getting into cigars. It has faired for me quite well. Now I am in the deep end.
  • jthanatosjthanatos Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭
    *Petey*:


    Sorry this is long, I'll summarize, smoke more of what you like and less of what you don't, and don't worry about other folks opinion affecting your own.
    This is a sentiment I can get behind. Though I think it is nice to outside what is comfortable sometimes to see how or if your tastes have changed. And besides, someone must like it...so just find that guy or gal, and make their day.
  • *Petey**Petey* Posts: 375
    jthanatos:
    *Petey*:


    Sorry this is long, I'll summarize, smoke more of what you like and less of what you don't, and don't worry about other folks opinion affecting your own.
    This is a sentiment I can get behind. Though I think it is nice to outside what is comfortable sometimes to see how or if your tastes have changed. And besides, someone must like it...so just find that guy or gal, and make their day.
    hahaha, right on man. And yeah its always good to branch out and try new stuff, but make sure to spend a good bit of time with your favorites. These days I'm at about 75% stuff I know I like and 25% new stuff. Finding your perfect ratio is what its about.
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    Ok sitting here right now smoking a padron Palma in maduro, I've had it sitting for a little over a year and all I can think is I want to eat this thing!! Everything about it is great! I've had the naturals aged but the maddy is excellent!!!!!!!!
    Money can't buy taste
  • RhamlinRhamlin Posts: 8,908 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I still love samplers and 5 packs. I always preferred samplers that had at least 3 of each cigar. Just expierement brother. I prefer a wide variety. Part of the enjoyment for me is standing there for 20 minutes trying to decide what to smoke.
Sign In or Register to comment.