The Cigar Thread. Smoke em' if you got em'.

[malakajim]

Happy Birthday .....

Haha. Thanks, that was back in August.

 

[malakajim]

Don't waste your $. They are not nearly as good as many non-Cubans. I've had them all and still have many in the humidor. Overall pretty poor construction, not flavorful like many non-Cubans, and not aged nearly long enough. Needs a couple years in humidor minimum. Communist Cuba gets them out as fast as possible to make $. Others age them properly. Those who have had many cigars of both know this. Those who have not believe Cubans are better cuz you can't get them. It's not even remotely true.

Wow!
This is the first time I have to disagree with you. Not about the costs in Canada or other places overseas (London).

But last year I was gifted a couple of Cohibas from an acquaintance who is connected (golf course) and they were amazing! Smoothest and tastiest cigar i have ever had. Bar none.

 

[Mono1]

Wow!
This is the first time I have to disagree with you. Not about the costs in Canada or other places

Supposedly, the single most counterfeit cigar in the world. Maybe?

 

[malakajim]

Supposedly, the single most counterfeit cigar in the world. Maybe?

Wouldn't know. What i do know is that those cigars were top shelf in quality. If counterfeit cigars are made to that standard, then they are putting great effort into emulating the original.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Wow!
This is the first time I have to disagree with you. Not about the costs in Canada or other places overseas (London).

But last year I was gifted a couple of Cohibas from an acquaintance who is connected (golf course) and they were amazing! Smoothest and tastiest cigar i have ever had. Bar none.

Cohibas are the best Cubans imo. I also like Partagas. Still have one Cohiba from 1999, as well as Partagas, monte cristo, bolivar, and h upmann. I would take many readily available cigars over any of them. A Kristoff criollo fe will have the same musty flavor but 3-5 times the flavor and way, way, better construction. My father is another good one that has the same Cuban musty taste but more flavor. You can probably still order Cubans in the US from monte fortuna in Switzerland but the cost is up to 5 times what it was just a few years ago. Total waste of $ imo. People think things that are unavailable must be the best. It's not true at all.

 

[Joe13]

Well I'm going to have to smoke it soon but a seasoned co-worker of mine has one cigar that he will buy in bulk and very regularly that I have been hinting at (well outright saying) that I would like to buy one from him at some point to try it and didn't want to have to buy a whole box.

This has been received with very little receptivity for over 2 months now. I'm not sure what the tipping point was (I always work my arse off so that wasn't different to my knowledge) but I somehow earned a gift of a Churchill all wrapped in that pretty white paper at the end of the day.

Idk how "special" they are, but to have been gifted one after so long of radio silence I feel like it is one of the Crown Jewels in my collection right now lol.

Anyway it is the El Rey Del Mundo Oscuro and after 2 months of smelling it I am very eager to try one. They seem like they will be right up my flavor profile and my birthday is next week so I might smoke it this weekend if time allows.

 

[malakajim]

One of my all times favorites is Bering Dominican Republic in a Churchill or Presidente size. Unfortunately they seem to be unavailable nowadays, don't know what happened to the brand, but they were an amazing Connecticut shade leaf wrapped cigar. Have one left.

 

[Jade Falcon]

Don't waste your $. They are not nearly as good as many non-Cubans. I've had them all and still have many in the humidor. Overall pretty poor construction, not flavorful like many non-Cubans, and not aged nearly long enough. Needs a couple years in humidor minimum. Communist Cuba gets them out as fast as possible to make $. Others age them properly. Those who have had many cigars of both know this. Those who have not believe Cubans are better cuz you can't get them. It's not even remotely true.

I've had a Cuban Montecristo # 2 twice, and each time it was as good or better than the best non-Cuban cigars I have ever smoked. Just an amazing cigar. I've thought about risking an import of 10 of them for my tuppador, but it's also a lot of money to spend on cigars while running the risk of having them seized.

 

[nammac]

So, a friend asked me about how hard it is to take the 5 up to Vancouver BC and get some Cohiba's.

I told him I don't know, since I obviously never break the law.

BUT,

Just out of curiosity, what should I have told my friend?

Ha, ha, ha…

Maybe just a couple tucked away in the inside pocket of the ole blazer as you go through customs…

Not that I have any personal knowledge of such actions. Just something I heard or read somewhere…

 

[hongkong2]

Supposedly, the single most counterfeit cigar in the world. Maybe?

Counterfeit cigars you say, this was a from a vendor in Guatemala.


A few years ago I received one of these as a gift from a friend that picked it up in Mexico. I knew they were fake and a few days later I cut one open, The filler looked like barn floor sweepings complete with some live larva wiggling around!

 

[Joe13]

So, a friend asked me about how hard it is to take the 5 up to Vancouver BC and get some Cohiba's.

I told him I don't know, since I obviously never break the law.

BUT,

Just out of curiosity, what should I have told my friend?

It's to early in the morning to look it up but they lifted the ban on bringing in a couple of boxes if you are traveling from overseas for personal use.

You just can not import Cubans into the country.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

All this talk of Patels made me want to smoke one. Vintage 1990

View attachment 2016461

It's been a while but as I recall that one is closest in flavor to the decade but with much less earthiness. Both have that dark cherry flavor. 1990 flavors are a little darker (but not to the point of bitterness) than decade if I recall correctly.

I had serious burn issues with the vintage 1990 so never got any more of them. At that time the company had just underwent exponential growth and I think their quality control really suffered in that period. May be different now so I should give it another try.

Ordered some brazilian inspirados today. Brazilian wrapper cigars tend to be complex (the Macanudo green inspirado is one such). The wrapper itself is both sweet and spicy. Haven't tried the Brazilian inspirado so we'll see.

 

[BlindedByScience]

So, a friend asked me about how hard it is to take the 5 up to Vancouver BC and get some Cohiba's.

I told him I don't know, since I obviously never break the law.

BUT,

Just out of curiosity, what should I have told my friend?

Cuban smokes have gone up 3-5X in price from what they were just a few years ago. I'm lucky enough to have a cabinet, so about ten years ago, I started buying a box now and then, when something I liked was on sale. Used to buy a box of real Cohiba Robustos in the $425-450.00 range if you watched for them. Now that same box is going on the auction site for ~$2500.00 and guys are selling them as fast as they post. Interestingly, they are pretty much all going to Chinese collectors. Been very tempted to move some of mine, not sure about shipping to the ROC.

Cuban cigars are much like French Wine; they are unique and quite good, very very good, but there are others that are as good if not better. Everyone's tastes are different.

Tell you buddy that if he got to Canada and found some legit Cuban smokes (80% of 'Cuban' sticks available are fakes - fact), he's going to pay very full retail plus Canadian taxes which are as high as 100% in some areas.

 

[Joe13]

El Rey Del Mundo Oscuro 7x58 this afternoon.

So far so good in the first half. Burn and draw are very good. Flavor is strong so I am not disappointed by any means. I prefer a little more chocolate/coffee/sweetness from Maduro's but this Oscuro isn't something I would turn my nose up at for sure and I like some variety. Very heavy smoke and nice white ash.

Great cigar for the the $6.50 price range but I think for $4 the 5 Vegas Series A will probably stay as my go to.

 

[Jade Falcon]

Just smoked a La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Rerserva Romantico. Rested 4 years, bought in October of 2020. Not a bad cigar....my hand spasmed as I was reaching for my root beer and hit my ashtray and dropped my stick into my lap. I was about half-way through by that point. Giant mess, ash everywhere and lots of cursing. So out came the vacuum.

I had to relight it and it was fine after that, but I did have to relight it once more before I finished. Not the end of the world, but it did put a sour note on the whole experience. I'm a klutz when it comes to holding my cigars.

 

[Pete F]

El Rey Del Mundo Oscuro 7x58 this afternoon.

So far so good in the first half. Burn and draw are very good. Flavor is strong so I am not disappointed by any means. I prefer a little more chocolate/coffee/sweetness from Maduro's but this Oscuro isn't something I would turn my nose up at for sure and I like some variety. Very heavy smoke and nice white ash.

Great cigar for the the $6.50 price range but I think for $4 the 5 Vegas Series A will probably stay as my go to.

View attachment 2019068 View attachment 2019069

Nice knife too.

 

[JackFrost]

Just smoked a La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Rerserva Romantico. Rested 4 years, bought in October of 2020. Not a bad cigar....my hand spasmed as I was reaching for my root beer and hit my ashtray and dropped my stick into my lap. I was about half-way through by that point. Giant mess, ash everywhere and lots of cursing. So out came the vacuum.

I had to relight it and it was fine after that, but I did have to relight it once more before I finished. Not the end of the world, but it did put a sour note on the whole experience. I'm a klutz when it comes to holding my cigars.

I say old chap, that sounds like a bit of ballyhoo for sure. Good thing you don't smoke in the nude like some fellows do, you could've had a right bloody accident, a spot of bother if you will. I say, mighty good chance of burning the ol frank an beans eh? well, glad to hear alls well that ends well. Cheerio mate.

You have to read the above in a British accent or it sounds retarded!

 

[Joe13]

Just smoked a La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Rerserva Romantico. Rested 4 years, bought in October of 2020. Not a bad cigar....my hand spasmed as I was reaching for my root beer and hit my ashtray and dropped my stick into my lap. I was about half-way through by that point. Giant mess, ash everywhere and lots of cursing. So out came the vacuum.

I had to relight it and it was fine after that, but I did have to relight it once more before I finished. Not the end of the world, but it did put a sour note on the whole experience. I'm a klutz when it comes to holding my cigars.

Not sure how you relight but the method I've found that works best for me is to take a knife or whatever and scrape the ash off of the cigar until you are down to only black char. Then use a lighter to toast it until it is barely white again and instead of puffing to light it, I blow out thru it gently until lit.

It seems to keep any kind of off flavors from tainting the taste. Takes a few extra steps but is worth it to me.

 

[Joe13]

Nice knife too.

I like it. It was on sale for I think $25 when I bought it but they are still only $34. Started as a cheap work knife but has turned into my edc because I like it so much.

Funny that my cheapest knife turned into one of my favorites.

Gerber Sumo

Amazon.com

 

[Jade Falcon]

Not sure how you relight but the method I've found that works best for me is to take a knife or whatever and scrape the ash off of the cigar until you are down to only black char. Then use a lighter to toast it until it is barely white again and instead of puffing to light it, I blow out thru it gently until lit.

It seems to keep any kind of off flavors from tainting the taste. Takes a few extra steps but is worth it to me.

That is actually exactly what I do, literally. In my case, I used a 3" Kershaw Dividend.