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I picked up a box when I was in Havana last December. Since then, I've aquired several more. Some say (including myself), its one of the best sticks out of Cuba. Let's see what I thought of it: For those with a foot fetish, you'll like this: A post-cut, pre-light draw was lovely and easy. 1st third: Earthy cream, lots of smoke, nuts, and fresh coffee. I suppose I should say that the review was accompanied by a dram of scotch.(well, maybe 2 drams LOL). 2nd third: Lovely grey-white ash. Richer taste with moca and nougat. Still very creamy. Final 3rd: A sweetness, with full bodied caramel. Finger burning good. This stick is a beauty all around. Total smoking time was about 90 minutes.

2007 Monte Especial. Awesome, potent flavors after 10 years! Feeling good about cracking this box finally. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Hey guys! Just joined here and been kicking this hobby around for a bit. I decided that my smokes just needed a better place to sit. I know I have read my threads on here regarding towers, cabinets. And this site has been more then helpful. Purchasing a Cabinet can be a very hard process. Going on line I have run across, Tower of power, couple others. But nothing is compared to what Mr. Staebell is capable of. His work is tremendous. What I wanted was something I did not have to worry about, nor keep on top of. So researching and researching and after contacting Bob, He is patient, and also doesn't try to up sell you on something you do not need. I went with the 48 plus. I did not want something over powering, since my wife was giving me a limited space. At the time I wasn't so much collecting boxes, but in the time frame of waiting I have collected quite a few. Here are a couple of pictures. It's currently shipped and on its way.

Day off, going for a MX ride, and enjoying a C&C Party Short

Another cracker box from the team Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

C&C Time. [emoji4] Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

Monti 2 ....clearance from 5 or 6 months back. They didn't smell good when they got here, and I tried 1 ROTT and it was awful. After sitting they are are coming along great. I think they must have got some excess heat/dampness more than normal on the long ship here. Down for a good nap now, glad to see they turned the corner.

Enjoying this relatively young (MAR 17) BRC quite a bit. Pepper, cedar, coffee, and cream. These will age nicely.

I think this thread is more one about pricing than it is about 10-count boxes. There are decent 10ers even for reg prod., which come at the +/- same price as the larger packs. E.g the above mentioned PPP tubos - why not a 10-count? You can even buy the "meagre" Party Milfs in a 10er dress box. Monte 2, 3, 4, 5, nice! What's wrong about that?! I particularly like the option of 10-ct SLBs in certain regular or special production. Attractive packaging, I say, with not too much commitment done on a single box. Nothing wrong with that (and the price per stick is more easily calculated... haha). Now it is a whole different thing for me with simply overbearing the price with double- or triple banders, or the most recent "foot-banders".... Well, easy to avoid: be selective in your buying.

Troya Universales, March 1999. Took notes on this, will post a review tonight or tomorrow. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

Here in The Blue Mountains, Ontario, Canada, bars have “Open Mike Night” throughout the week in the different towns, on different nights. The bars are restaurants too and the food is fantastic. Two of them, one here and one twenty minutes away are so good, I board my dog Blue on Wednesday and have a standing reservation. But last night was different. It was Thursday at The Crow Bar and Variety in Collingwood, Ontario . I will let the pictures tell the rest! That’s bourbon of course. The couple with halos brought me the present. CB

So [mention=2756]mkz[/mention] gifted me an incredible "sampler" a while back (from his epic thread in the photo gallery subforum) and I've had a hard time keeping my hands off the cigars. Yesterday I finally gave in again and smoked my second stick from the pack, an old Troya Universales. Now, I should start out by saying that this was probably the cigar I had the least hopes for. About a year and a half ago, I was sitting in the José Martin Airport with a shitty-rum hangover lighting up the worse cigar I've ever in my life. It was a Troya that came in a plastic tube. Format: Universales / Short panatela / 38 x 5.3". Technically discontinued in 2005 but replaced with the same exact format (?). Pre-light / appearance: Overall uniform color, with a couple of small water spots near the cap. Toothy veins on the back. Filling looks good. Very little, if any, smell on the foot. Straight cut, doesn't appear dry or brittle and the filling looks good on this end too. Not much in terms of pre-light flavors but perfect draw. Light up / first 3rd: Salty vegetables on the very first puff. After this, the cigar alternates between nothing and very faint notes on the front of sweet bread. Little there on the retro, no spice. The finish has a pleasant and warm earth, once again combined with a distinct saltiness that goes well when the front produces sweetness. Burn has that characteristic shortfiller jaggedness but sticks close to a razor line. About an inch into it, flavors start picking up on the finish. Once again, salty vegetables. Second 3rd: Something tickling appears on the retro but is only there for a few drags. The front sweetness is now more pronounced but also spottier. Again, once it is there it makes up a beautiful duet with the saltiness that comes in after but I can also imagine that this has lost some over the years, and is only a fraction of what it once was. Mild but the finish has improved from "not unpleasant" to "enjoyable". Salty earth, hints of vegetables. The retro picks up once again, salty. Its a saltiness different from that which I've experienced with old cigars, it is more... Fitting? Draw flawless, burn now straight as an arrow. Final third: Big burst of spice on retrohale, almost out of the blue. Front not as prominent, no more sweetness (or at least my palate is not good enough to pick it up anymore). Has become more medium in body now continues to ramp up. Becoming very salty and briny, almost to the point of harshness. This is where I leave it. Final thoughts: The best Troya I've ever smoke but lets be honest; that isn't saying much. When it comes to the construction, I am extremely impressed. Beautiful bellowing smoke, PERFECT draw, great burn line throughout the cigar (especially after an inch or so into it). For being a machine-made cigar, construction is outstanding and better than many hand-rolled sticks that I've had recently. The flavors were spotty and weak at times but also gave glimpses into a beautiful blend of sweet and salt, earth, and hints of vegetables. The more I try turn-of-the-century machine-mades, the more I am sad to see that they are all but gone (at least in that quality). Thanks again to mkz for this smoke!

2016 Punch Punch. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Seems the OP is focusing on PRICE elevation using the format of the 10 ct box rather than on the actual 10 ct box price in and of itself. I don’t really focus on box count numbers but on price. Once I get over $10 a stick my pain threshold goes down immensely - I become much more selective as prices go north of this number regardless of the format or production: regular, RE, LE, LCDH. It does seems to me that HSA might be using the RE line, which is primarily packaged in 10 cts, to jack up the price and profit margin. But, there also seems to be a great demand out there for REs and that market is willing to pay premium pricing.

Rd 2...LGC No. 4 - 24:24 [emoji4] [emoji4] [emoji4] Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

Bill O'Reilly and 'unbiased' used in the same sentence... ?

Por Larrañaga Monte Carlo... Mild but great flavors. Cedar. Cinnamon. Vanilla. Cheers men!

This is a Nicaraguan rolled cigar for the German market. Here are the stats: Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina Binder: Indonesia Besuki Filler: n/a Length: 5 Inches Ring Gauge: 50 Vitola: Robusto Outwardly a NC but unavailable in the US which caused speculation that it contains Cuban tobacco. Although it is thirdhand knowledge, it has been privately disclosed that the filler does indeed contain Cuban tobacco so this cigar would be a NC/CC blend. Cold aroma: Ripe barnyard. Cold draw: Sweet barnyard. Perfect draw. First third: Black pepper and oak. Second third: black pepper and oak are still dominating but there is a sweetness that is building. Hints of earthy coffee too. Nice white ash and construction is good so far. Last third: On top of all the flavors in the first two thirds, I now get some chocolate. Very good smoke production and very enjoyable. Thanks for looking

waiting to get yelled at...................scored huge on Craigs list..........$750 for both!!! tucked away in the basement - how long before I get smacked?

I was lucky to snag a 1/4 box on 2424 a while back. If I knew how good they are, I would have bought more Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

As a true lover of Habanos I enjoy my trips to the island, you know why, because I go down there with low expectations and the notion to go with the flow, what ever happens, happens......that's why each of my trips have been so memorable IMHO real Cuban cigar lovers should make the journey down to the island at some point in their lives to see everything from start to finish on what makes the cigars the best in the world and the people involved...kind of like people interested in Architecture goto Europe, wine lovers flock to Italy/France, etc. If you are worrried about dragging your family and friends, staying in a high end resort/hotel then maybe you are missing the big picture of what Cuba is really about I will bet ANYONE here that takes a trip to Cuba with an open mind will leave a changed person and have a different perspective about cigars, the Cuban people and their own lives....no doubt in my mind Do I really want to hang around people more worried about accommodations than realizing what Cuba is all about...... Bart

Hey Everyone! I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring for the Regional Review Rumble. I'd been wanting to revisit this cigar recently - seems like the LFDC Gran Canos (same release year) gets a lot of great press, but the Grandiosos gets an equal amount of contempt. My good friend @Onsto helped me out by lending me one - all my boxes are still in my Czar locker. I admit the last time I smoked one, I was underwhelmed in the extreme. Let's hope I was mistaken - not the least of which because I have three boxes of these sticks LOL! Forgive me for the slight blur on the photo....My phone's camera is slowly dying, as is the rest of the phone haha. General thoughts - Nice Colorado wrapper. A good pre-light aroma, pleasant and slightly sweet. The Pre-light draw is good, a shade loose from perfect. Toasted tobacco on the palate, nothing too intense or interesting. It'll smoke, but will it deliver? First Puffs - Bowled Over! Sweet Cream and smooth hazelnut crosses across my palate in waves. Where have you been all my life? First Third - This is bang-F**king-on. Loads of perfectly sweetened Cream (think Triple Creme with a dusting of powdered sugar), with light, pleasant nuttiness (it wavers between hazelnuts and pecans). If I was smoking this blind, I would call it an aged Hoyo Epi Especial - but as many of you know, Hoyos have not delivered in a long time for me, they have all tasted like hot crap to my palate. This LFDC RE tastes the way Hoyos should - a light-to-medium cream bomb (damn....that sounds a bit naughty!) To say I'm impressed would be an understatement. Medium Third - Just keeps right on trucking. More balanced cream and hazelnuts, delivered perfectly, with a good draw and decent burn to match. There's not much more I can say - The palate is unwavering, it just keeps on pumping out the good stuff. It's not evolving much, but i don't want it to! Final Third - All good things.....With about an inch and a half to go, the cream and sweetness withdraw and some harsh bitter notes start to poke through. I keep on going for another half inch but the cream never returns, so I let it down without trying any more - the first two thirds were too divine to sully with a bad end. Final Thoughts - Damn-near perfect. Missing were the grassy notes that usually accompany the sweet cream that I got from the LFDC Short Robusto RE UK, that tended to set it apart from the Hoyo blend, but I'm not complaining. This was a revelation cigar, showing me that this blend wasn't messed up - it just needed time. I think it needs another year or two to finish sorting out the last third, but it's well on the way to being a classic. I'm happy with my multiple boxes now Final Score - First two thirds - 94.5. Final third brings down the overall score to 91. Potential to be 96-98 smoke..... Thanks for reading!

Received initial testing results and all samples returned as some form of fungi. Comprehensive results will be in by next week. Keep you posted!

I love SLR, my favorite is the discontinued Lonsdale and Churchill cabs. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Next PLANNED purchase is a couple of 50 cabs of the next German RE - PL Coronas. There will likely be quite a few impulse purchases in the meantime. Accessories I am eyeing the new Xikar V-cut 2. I use my current Xikar V-cut 1 almost exclusively these days.

I bought two boxes of the TAA 2017. Great smoke.

Juanita custom.

Should really pick up a box of 1964 Padrons

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Partagas Serie D No. 4 from 2016 PSP 24:24 and it shines, very smooth smoke tonight while making some corn chowder

Typically the 10-box price is reasonable, and for that reason I'm all for it. Yes, special production 10-box pricing is creeping up and I'm leery of that but regular production and LCDH releases are very well priced and I appreciate the lower risk option.

These are TGA Nov 12 from cardboard petacas (OR, and packaging disc-ed after five years, so last chance to see "round" RGPs...). Matured spectaculously and obviously aging quicker than in dressboxes. Though I guess - and hope - they have the legs to stay up there for a while. But I think, and from what I've read so far, current production is no less good (got a few dbs stored away but not tried any so far). You might be able to still find older stock, as - quite incomprehensibly for me - they aren't that popular. Well in fact it is comprehensible: unassuming format, unassuming packaging, unassuming band.... The release of that stick has to be one of the greatest anachronisms done by HSA in a while - and I am happy about it!

A flavourful Oliva Serie V Double Robusto:

Hope this is not taken politically. Not meant that way.

Finally getting comfortable outside here. Liga #9 and a local milk Chocolate Stout tonight while waiting on my first CCs to arrive. Pretty tasty pairing.

The 10-box price-per-stick premium is offset in many cases by the benefits mentioned by others here. I appreciate a 10 box as an option to having to buy a 25 for all those reasons; what I do not like is not having an option to purchase a standard 25 box. RACA comes to mind. Lots of us went deep on this cigar, and had to do so in 10 stick increments, presumably paying that per-stick premium 10 times when we could have gotten to the same place with 4 25s at a per-stick savings, on top of which the packaging waste is unconscionable.

I received my humidor from Bob a couple three weeks ago and he did an amazing job. Hook up was simple and set and forget it is so true. good stuff. Congrats on new humidor bro.

One of the best things about our FriendsofHabanos community are the regular competitions our host runs for the benefit of our community. It was one such competition in June this year, the Sublime Selfie Weekend Competition that, thanks to you, enabled me to win a prize of 5 regular production cigars. The timing of that competition was impeccable. I was coming to the end of a hectic June work period and looking forward to a well-earned holiday break, and this competition was coincidentally on the winter solstice so I made sure to get away as soon as I could to enjoy a cigar in the sunset. After acclimatising the cigars to my humidor for 90 days, I decided to review them in appreciation of their reception, and so give back a benefit to our members in sharing how these cigars smoked. The cigars in the image below are, from left-to-right; H.Upmann Magnum 46, Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchills, Saint Luis Rey Regios, Cohiba Siglo II and the Montecristo No.2. Below are the cigars I smoked in order... Saint Luis Rey Regios Vitola: Hermosos No.4 - 48 ring gauge x 127 mm or 5.0 inches I started this review series with the Saint Luis Rey Regios. Why? I had an aged Saint Luis Rey Serie A the week before so I figured that it would be great to compare notes. Plus, with the Double Corona and Serie A in a current production hiatus or possibly deleted, it gave me a chance to see what Saint Luis Rey currently represents. The Regios has been in consistent supply in the last year, going by how often it comes up on 24:24 listings. Our host, El Pres, recommends smoking these sooner than later, and after researching the topic, I deduced that the Regios is indeed not a cigar that benefits greatly from aging, unlike the Serie A. This cigar was medium-strength, light toast and hay, with elements of a honey sweetness at times and a cocoa edge. The thing about this cigar is, it needed to be smoked slowly to prevent acridity, as that toast, hay and tobacco flavour was dominant, but when smoked slowly and allowed to remain cool, this Regios rewarded me with elements of those sweeter flavours. I wonder with marcas such as Saint Luis Rey and Trinidad, whether there is a 'fine line' between complexity and muddled blandness, you know, when it seems all the flavours roll-into-one. They can reward you and they can punish you, bring you joy and make you weep in frustration, yet you still feel inclined to persist because they can be so good. Cohiba Siglo II Vitola: Marevas - 42 ring gauge x 129 mm or 5.1 inches Cohiba is a marca that polarises cigar enthusiasts. Firstly, there's the marked-up price, which in the past 12 months was increased 10%, in comparison to most other marcas increasing by an average of 3% and then secondly, there's the flavour profile that leaves some people wondering where's the appeal (to them). I must admit, that the great majority of my friends who I share this noble hobby with, enjoy Cohiba (and Montecristo) just as much as I do, which is saying something when you factor in Australian taxes on cigars. So what was it like to smoke this Siglo II fresh? The grassiness was the dominant flavour, with espresso coffee just a little behind. There was a little honey, but not much and spice through the nose, but no cream texture to be found. It was distinctly Cohiba, but I admit I do like them rested at least 3 to 5 years. Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchills Vitola: Montesco - 55 ring gauge x 130 mm or 5.1 inches If Cohiba and Montecristo represent two marcas I find great comfort in, than Romeo y Julieta and Bolivar alternatively represent two marcas which I find tend to make me suffer. If given a modern context, I wonder if Jesus would revise his famous saying in Matthew 11; "Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest, except if you've had a Romeo y Julieta cigar that is all toasted tobacco, then you are on your own!" Well, this Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchills was such a pleasant surprise. In fact, of all these cigars, I'd consider this one to have been the best in light of their comparative youthfulness. It had excellent construction, great amounts of smoke per draw, the aroma at cold was a wonderful barnyard cocoa that instantly appeals to many an experienced cigar aficionado and it delivered. A touch under medium, this is not the type of cigar that obviates simplicity, it's not complex and that's not why you'd smoke this. Its combination of toast, tobacco and a cream cherry edge all throughout made it quite satisfying for me. Mind you, don't fret, I have Bolivar and Romeo y Julieta in my humidor, and it's cigars such as this one which make me re-visit the marca from time-to-time, even if the 55 ring gauge made me 'sip' it from the head. Then again, the larger ring gauge made me slow down and really savour this cigar. H.Upmann Magnum 46 Vitola: Coronas Gordas - 46 ring gauge x 143 mm or 5.6 inches I was reading over @ATGroom's excellent blog, (A Harem of) Dusky Beauties tonight, and apart from being elated that it's back online (I was only remarking to a few Sydney FoH members last night that it down since Cuban Cigar Website crashed in December 2016 - it's nice to be corrected in this instance), I was intrigued to learn that the H.Upmann Magnum 46 was the 9th most common vitola in Cuban Cigar Website members' inventories (the H.Upmann Half Corona was 8th). This Magnum 46 showed me how young it was. It had its H.Upmann espresso coffee and shortbread, but it had its toasted tobacco too, which made it a little over medium in strength. Perhaps some slight licorice redeemed this for me somewhat, as I did enjoy it well into its last third, yet my preference for Magnum 46's is a milder coffee, shortbread, cedar and hay expression, with a touch of spice. Then again, I think that this Magnum 46 was the type that @Chickenlassi enjoyed when he wrote this review a few years ago, you know, the kind of cigar that Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone would digest for breakfast, lunch and dinner without blinking! Montecristo No.2 Vitola: Piramides - 52 ring gauge x 156 mm or 6.1 inches I consider myself very fortunate to have had a great run of Montecristo No.2's this year, perhaps the last 8 to 10 have been all consistently superb. What can I say? I just love them, when they are 'on' that is. This cigar was exactly 'off' in comparison, it had excellent construction, a great draw and smoked well. So what was this issue? The wrapper shade! Yes, I prefer a lighter wrapper shade on my Montecristo No.2's, the type that give a lovely milk coffee, nut and cream combination. I find darker wrappers on Montecristo No.2's can make the cigar more intense, with more emphasised flavours of toasted tobacco and dark cocoa or chocolate, as this cigar was. But as cigars are a subjective experience, there's nothing wrong if you enjoy your Montecristo No.2's to be more intense in strength and flavour. If so, then this Monte 2 is for you!

So these cigars on here are insane. Wow. I wish i could even come close but here is probably to best looking box I have.

From our host LEP NOV 16 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Late entry... My Vigias just got here today and O.M.G.

2010 OR Behike 54.. Oh yea!! PLPC MOL JUN 2011. Oily and sexy!!!

'15 Sir Winston Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cohiba Maduro Magicos SOM Dic16 Montecristo 80th Anniversario LAU Dic15

Beautiful PSP MEG FEB 2016 PSP MUL July 2014 PSP 2016s...

Not a box of cigars, but definitely cigar porn that will never be seen again....

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Parker's Heritage Collection 13 Year Old Wheat Whiskey (8th Edition). http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160718/b541a0845410ba82f77a9c31270763eb.jpg

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This was a good one! Reminded me of the HC Seleccion De Maestros but more smooth.