What cigar (or pipe) did you smoke today?

[Hurricane Jack]

Nice. Of which material will you have the stem made?

The extension will be Wood with the metal fittings & rings. It's not a spigot mount but it may be an army mount. I'm not a big fan of acrylic bits, preferring vulcanite or ebonite, but in this case I think I will use acrylic for the coloring. The pipe won't be a clencher anyway so I can accept an acrylic bit.

 

[Blackadder]

Montecristo churchill anejados

 

[Blackadder]

Been dipping into my reserve as the local shop is running short. A 2000 Upmann Gran Corona last night and a 2004 RyJ Exhibicion #4 tonight. Had a couple of the discontinued Rafael Gonzelez longsdale and Hoyo des Dieux in the past week.

 

[belfastboy]

I buy my cigars online and have them shipped to a WA state address and pick them up on one of our frequent trips across the line. It cuts my costs at least in half. But the border closure caught me off guard and my stock is running low. Yesterday I opened my last box of Montecristi #4's. Overall they generally are a top grade smoke BUT yesterday's was not well made. My biggest bitch about a cigar is the draw and this one just never drew well all the way down. Today I may make up for the dissatisfaction and smoke my last A Fuente bellicoso.

Fuentes are my favourite as I cannot recall ever smoking a bad one. The construction is always first rate and the draw never a problem. I do think Cubans are over rated and over priced.

 

[St.Ignatz]

2013 Tatuaje Black corona gorda.
2014 Fuente Anejo #77 Shark.

 

[Blackadder]

I buy my cigars online and have them shipped to a WA state address and pick them up on one of our frequent trips across the line. It cuts my costs at least in half. But the border closure caught me off guard and my stock is running low. Yesterday I opened my last box of Montecristi #4's. Overall they generally are a top grade smoke BUT yesterday's was not well made. My biggest bitch about a cigar is the draw and this one just never drew well all the way down. Today I may make up for the dissatisfaction and smoke my last A Fuente bellicoso.

Fuentes are my favourite as I cannot recall ever smoking a bad one. The construction is always first rate and the draw never a problem. I do think Cubans are over rated and over priced.

That is the problem with cuban cigars, the inconsistency. The non-cubans are very consistent, ready to smoke without a need to pick and choose or age. I love Padron for everyday smoke. There is no hard draw, the taste is the same throughout. Unfortunately, the non-cubans aren't popular here. They actually cost more because of the lack of demands.

With limited choices, I also was forced to buy a few paper box Monte #4s two weeks ago. Big mistake, 50% hard draw. It is why I am dipping into my reserve in stead of buying more unwanted/undesirable stock from the local shop. I have been very picky when it comes to cubans since around 2008. (Very picky as in examining them one by one, often opening ten, twenty boxes at a time at the shop which is why I visit shops in person). That is around the time they started launching new cigars with big ring gauge. Resources started shifting. There is not enough properly selected leaves for corona, petite corona size and you end up with too many stems plugging the draw. So a lot of the old vitolas have gone down hill and some were discontinued. They just simply don't have enough skilled labour and raw materials to sustain the current production.

I have been smoking cubans since 1990s. They were magnificent back then. There also weren't many comparable non-cubans back then. The regular non-cuban Davidoff and Dunhills simply could not compete with the cubans. There was the Opus X but they were more expensive than similar quality cubans. There is also the issue of aging. Cubans tend to age better than non-cubans. I have had some cubans of more than 30 years vintage (I still have some cuban Davidoffs in my humidor). I have yet to find any non-cubans that can age that long without losing all the taste. So yes, if you want a ready to smoke cigar, you can find a lot of excellent non-cubans now like the Davidoff Escurio, Fuentes, Padron etc without going through all the headaches of picking, choosing and aging. And no, cubans are not overrated.

 

[belfastboy]

That is the problem with cuban cigars, the inconsistency. The non-cubans are very consistent, ready to smoke without a need to pick and choose or age. I love Padron for everyday smoke. There is no hard draw, the taste is the same throughout. Unfortunately, the non-cubans aren't popular here. They actually cost more because of the lack of demands.

With limited choices, I also was forced to buy a few paper box Monte #4s two weeks ago. Big mistake, 50% hard draw. It is why I am dipping into my reserve in stead of buying more unwanted/undesirable stock from the local shop. I have been very picky when it comes to cubans since around 2008. (Very picky as in examining them one by one, often opening ten, twenty boxes at a time at the shop which is why I visit shops in person). That is around the time they started launching new cigars with big ring gauge. Resources started shifting. There is not enough properly selected leaves for corona, petite corona size and you end up with too many stems plugging the draw. So a lot of the old vitolas have gone down hill and some were discontinued. They just simply don't have enough skilled labour and raw materials to sustain the current production.

I have been smoking cubans since 1990s. They were magnificent back then. There also weren't many comparable non-cubans back then. The regular non-cuban Davidoff and Dunhills simply could not compete with the cubans. There was the Opus X but they were more expensive than similar quality cubans. There is also the issue of aging. Cubans tend to age better than non-cubans. I have had some cubans of more than 30 years vintage (I still have some cuban Davidoffs in my humidor). I have yet to find any non-cubans that can age that long without losing all the taste. So yes, if you want a ready to smoke cigar, you can find a lot of excellent non-cubans now like the Davidoff Escurio, Fuentes, Padron etc without going through all the headaches of picking, choosing and aging. And no, cubans are not overrated.

I don't have the patience to pick through them or age them. I used to have a wine cellar and abandoned it as too much managing and fussing. Now I just grab a bottle and drink. My cigar habit is the same. I have not been to Cuba for 10 years now and my stock is about depleted. I do have a friend there that I send items to and he sends me cigars in return....I just find a local going to Havana with Jose's phone number but have not bothered with that in a few years. just have 5 of the #4's left. I doubt I will ever bother going back. For my money for a smoke today I would not have a problem choosing a Fuente over a Cuban. IMHO they are over rated and over priced....Habanero has done a great job selling the mystique, selling the sizzle. Castro did the world a favour in casting out the cigar makers as it spread the expertise throughout Central America.

 

[St.Ignatz]

A fine cuban cigar is a thing of joy. A bad cigar is a bad cigar regardless of origin. Inconsistent quality has been a major factor in trusting mail order cubans for a few years. I know I can always trust a Padron Presidente Maduro to be an exceptional smoke and while not inexpensive I never regret the money or time invested in the product. With the exception of the Shark to my taste a large ring gauge is a waste of tobacco. I guess that's why they make chocolate, vanilla AND strawberry.

Tom D.

 

[Blackadder]

A fine cuban cigar is a thing of joy. A bad cigar is a bad cigar regardless of origin. Inconsistent quality has been a major factor in trusting mail order cubans for a few years. I know I can always trust a Padron Presidente Maduro to be an exceptional smoke and while not inexpensive I never regret the money or time invested in the product. With the exception of the Shark to my taste a large ring gauge is a waste of tobacco. I guess that's why they make chocolate, vanilla AND strawberry.

Tom D.

I love Padron and I share your dislike of big ring gauge. For a long period of time, my favourite cigar size is the Laguito #2 then almost all of those were discontinued.
Smoking a 2005 Juan Lopez #2

 

[Blackadder]

2000 Sancho Panza Belicoso

 

[St.Ignatz]

888 Fuente Anejo.

 

[Blackadder]

1998 RyJ Tubos #1

 

[St.Ignatz]

That RyJ looks so good I would almost prefer to be in the room it's being smoked than smoking it myself. The aroma must be astounding.

 

[Blackadder]

So the local shop that I go to finally had a shipment of cigars. It is an unusual shipment of odd brands and sizes. Bought some Fonseca Cosaco and Punch petite coronation. The petite coronation is quite good surprisingly.

 

[Bushman]

Some 4 Aces in my FreeBoy pipe:

 

[Blackadder]

A Fonseca Cosacos

 

[belfastboy]

I finished a project yesterday with a few hours left in the afternoon so I lit up a Nicaraguan Romeo & Julieta, corona gordo. What a great smoke, perfect draw right down to the nub, uniform ash throughout the burn, and great mid range flavour . A perfect 90 minutes.

 

[Blackadder]

Smoked with a fd who said he has never had any non-cubans a couple of days ago, so went off to buy a few non-cubans for him to try. Ended up smoking a AVO Syncro Nicaragua and a Camacho American barrel myself.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

For now the private club lounge must remain closed & deserted. I'm wondering it will ever reopen?

 

[Scooterz]

For now the private club lounge must remain closed & deserted. I'm wondering it will ever reopen?

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Nice joint! I had a Nat Sherman last night with a Glen Grant 12 both were really good. Bars are starting to open here. I haven't been in yet. I wonder if I should cut a cigar hole in my face mask...