HawkI84

I actually like the tradicionales...

There's another site that's rather popular that's had a lot of the Cohiba line that would sell out in seconds (Maduros, Espys, Robustos) available for weeks, if not over a month now though. Even some BHK's took weeks to move at the new pricing. Trinidads appear to be moving pretty slowly there too. When some of the other popular stuff that saw a hike, but not to the same extent (PSD4's, Epi 2's, Monte 2's, etc) show up those are typically gone very fast still, though.

I've got a 2020 box that so far tastes like basically nothing. I got some peanut butter on my last one, but I don't get the hype. Not buying again.

The Godfather by far for me. But, for a mindless 90's action movie, I always thought Eraser was fun.

This kind of thing isn't limited to just construction. Asia became the worlds factory, so when demand for shipping and port capacity exceeded supply and trucking labor died from COVID/retired early/said f*** it for the pay, we started running in to months long delays getting stuff from Asia to anywhere else. Shippers took advantage and jacked up rates - and those shipping costs get passed along to pretty much everything. COVID shutdowns of ports, factories, etc just exacerbated the issue. Factory labor became hard to come by, even when unrelated to COVID, and still is even though stimulus payments have dried up. I know those payments took a lot of the blame, but $15/hr and no benefits isn't something people are going to go to work and take the time out of their day for when that barely covers the essentials, if that. Then there was Russia's invasion, which further constrained the supply of a lot of essentials (grain, oil, neon, etc). Port/shipping capacity and the mismatch in the labor market aren't things that get solved quickly - nor is moving supply closer to demand, which I can assure you, is happening a lot. Powell and his cronies at the Fed were obviously completely out of touch calling inflation "transitory", and given everything that was going on, they should have been able to see it.

Probably my first Sir Winnie I treated myself to on Father's Day. But, the TLU MAR 21 PSD4 is pretty close.

Wrapper color is fairly light – just a shade darker than the Connecticuts you’d find if you’re into the NC world at all. Love the first puffs – pretty straightforward, but tasty mix of peanut and shortbread. The shortbread seems to fade after the initial puffs, overtaken by some light herbaceousness and woody spice (nutmeg comes to mind), with a prominent peanut note forming the core flavor. Peanut note becomes a bit richer – almost peanut buttery – about halfway though. The final third shows an increase in spice (chili oil, if you listen to CA’s review) and woody notes. Medium body. Construction, draw and burn are flawless. I’ve been a fan of these for awhile, but I have to be in the mood for that peanut flavor. A bit more depth and complexity would be nice, but what it does, it does well. 87 pts.

I get there's more than a hint of sarcasm in this, but if they really cared about health they'd start taxing sugar like alcohol or tobacco. I can't go to Wal Mart without seeing 5 diabetics on scooters.

Wish this was my experience with them. I got a couple singles and they were both bland as hell.

The wrapper’s a pretty middle of the road brown (or is the term rosado?) color. I get some stronger coffee/earthy notes with some of the darker wrapper-ed ones, but not anticipating that here. First puffs are delicious – cream, baking spice (nutmeg especially), cedar, gingerbread. Light to light-medium body. Gets a bit more woody and earthy as it progresses, but the cream and baking spice core remains. Construction is pretty good – I’ve had some issues with the burn on these, and this one starts off a little wonky, but evens out pretty nicely. Great smoke output. This is everything you’d expect an Epi 2 to be. Not my favorite cigar in the world, but it does what it does very well, and I find myself reaching for these at least once a week. 90 pts.

And why Davidoffs no longer are too.

You sir are a gentleman and a scholar.

Sorry, I don't have a factory code/date - it's from a PSP quarter box Rob/Di sold me on Feb 28 (maybe March 1 Aussie time?) of this year, so if they have record of that (not that I anticipate they do) maybe they can fill us in. Color is fairly dark – darker than my other box of PSD4’s that I've been loving (TLU MAR 21 box). I’m used to getting a sweet breadyness from PSD4’s, which I love – this one with the darker wrapper has the bready notes, but they’re a bit darker – more like a rye or pumpernickel, almost, along with some woody, earthy, and savory spice notes. Maybe some raisins as well (flavor, but not the sweetness 😉). Full bodied, fairly intense – moreso than I’ve experienced in the past from PSD4 (closer to PSD5’s or PSP2’s I’ve had), though it seems to mellow a bit about halfway through. A fleeting creamy note comes in towards the end. Construction and burn are spot on for the most part, though I do need a relight or two near the end. Rarely do I find issues in this regard with a PSD4. The lighter wrapper-ed versions I think are my preference, though this is still pretty nice. I’d probably score this high 80’s (lets say 88), vs the low 90’s I’d probably typically give recent versions of this.

1. I could go either way between Sir Winnie or PSD4. BBF/BRC would be right behind that. 2. I woulda said PSD4 a year ago...RASCC now maybe? Love those things. PLPC are tasty and still an OK value (used to be a great value at $6/stick), but are a bit mellow for me to say they're my pick in a "most flavorful" listing.

This right here. Engineers lost out to finance/accounting far too much then (and probably still do), so even if they did have good ideas they'd get neutered. The Reckoning is one of my favorite books, and covers it from Ford's (and Nissan's) perspective in a lot of depth.

@El Presidente - I can't hear that song without thinking of this:

These Cuban price hikes are gonna steer me towards buying a lot more of these - maybe not this vitola, though, I had a couple ~6 weeks ago and they were pretty bland. Loved the No 3 and Presidente though.

He's been quoted as saying Lusis are his favorite cigar. You are correct in saying he knows his Cubans.

Jose Jimenez? Dude threw a no hitter! Why couldn't he roll a decent cigar?!?!

I've got this one, which I've seen around my neighborhood a bit:

American here, so I can't do the B&M thing for these. That said, what I've seen on other sites I used to buy from is somewhere around: ~$1600+ for CoRo 25's ~$600+ for Monte 2 25's (I've seen upwards of $800) ~$500+ for PSD4 25's Love all of these, but outside the CoRo these aren't $20+ sticks IMO. Gonna be buying a lot more Fuente Don Carlos and custom rolls once I burn through my doomsday stash enough that I have more space. Also, the increases I've seen on the Monte 2 and PSD4 (not to mention BBF, yikes) seem to be far and above what non-Cohiba/Trinidad increases were purported to be.

I think I got the Toro, but I too was disappointed by Davidoff Late Hr.

I really liked this one, and the La Historia. Encore was good, but didnt quite measure up.

There's a ton of anecdotal evidence that says demand in one country has exploded (all the stories about tourists, a different website has a set of guidelines posted addressing just how much those customers can order, etc), so now HSA has set pricing to try to mimic what cigars go for in that country.

Wish I could participate in this one - I remember liking these a lot, maybe some stone fruit, but since I only had a couple and it's been maybe a year since I've seen any in stock my memory is a bit fuzzy. Gonna have any come in soon @El Presidente? Pretty please...