NC recommendations!

[Disburden]

So this is obviously a source for CC information and discussion, which is the reason I joined this morning! Love the videos, btw!

I am wondering though, if anyone has any top suggestions for a NC smoke that they still enjoy even though they may be into CC and their complexities more since joining the forums. Thanks for any suggestions!

[Onsto]

So this is obviously a source for CC information and discussion, which is the reason I joined this morning! Love the videos, btw!

I am wondering though, if anyone has any top suggestions for a NC smoke that they still enjoy even though they may be into CC and their complexities more since joining the forums. Thanks for any suggestions!

For a 'walking around' cigar I enjoy the Oliva Series V, particulary the Lancero. Pluses are construction (the caps on these are a sight to behold, just gorgeous) and 'cuban feel' to the draw without risk of a plug. It doesn't have the complexity of Cuban tobacco, but flavour is good and it does develop somewhat.

[thechenman]

Padron's...but you already know that. I prefer the Serie 1926 over the Anniversary 1964, although most people I know prefer the 64s. Love some of Fuentes stuff. Tops would be his Anejo line, Opus X are great and the maduro Hemingways. Also really like the Liga Privada No. 9 from Drew Estates. I'm not a huge Pepin fan in terms of stuff he blends for himself, but I do like some of the stuff he blends for Pete Johnson. La Riqueza No. 4 and No. 2, the OR El Triunfador Lancero and Tatuajes. Like the brown over the red. Hate the tubes. My fave would be the Boris followed by the Black Label OR. Sadly they are hard to get. These cigars are pretty much my staple NCs. There are other great NC cigars out there that I smoke from time to time. Illusione, Ashton VSG, Alec Bradley Tempus & Family Blend, Oliva Serie G and V. These days I smoke far more CCs than NCs and given the price hike that is coming August 1st...CCs will certainly be more inexpensive than NCs.

[lemmycaution]

For a 'walking around' cigar I enjoy the Oliva Series V, particulary the Lancero. Pluses are construction (the caps on these are a sight to behold, just gorgeous) and 'cuban feel' to the draw without risk of a plug. It doesn't have the complexity of Cuban tobacco, but flavour is good and it does develop somewhat.

I just smoked the lancero this morning, it really is a great cigar. I would have to say it is my favorite of the line. You're right about the cap, what a beautiful cigar!

[partagasd4]

I recently smoked an Alec Bradley MAXX robusto. Nice dark wrapper and tons of flavour.

[LeafLover]

Alec Bradley Tempus Imperator

La Riqueza

My Father (original blend)

[dicko]

I have read that they arent everyones favourite but the perdermo lot 23 has to my taste a "cubanesque" prfile, bit of that 'twang' whatever you want to call it but minus any great complexity. found padron 1964 to be very complex and tasty but very expensive! olivia serie g and cao brazilia have been others i ahve enjoyed. the rest has been very average to be honest.

[Disburden]

I just smoked the lancero this morning, it really is a great cigar. I would have to say it is my favorite of the line. You're right about the cap, what a beautiful cigar!

I got a few of these at my shop the other day and I haven't tried them yet, I was going to let them settle in the humidor for a while to see if they settled. I have had the torpedo though and I like that one a lot.

[Disburden]

Padron's...but you already know that. I prefer the Serie 1926 over the Anniversary 1964, although most people I know prefer the 64s. Love some of Fuentes stuff. Tops would be his Anejo line, Opus X are great and the maduro Hemingways. Also really like the Liga Privada No. 9 from Drew Estates. I'm not a huge Pepin fan in terms of stuff he blends for himself, but I do like some of the stuff he blends for Pete Johnson. La Riqueza No. 4 and No. 2, the OR El Triunfador Lancero and Tatuajes. Like the brown over the red. Hate the tubes. My fave would be the Boris followed by the Black Label OR. Sadly they are hard to get. These cigars are pretty much my staple NCs. There are other great NC cigars out there that I smoke from time to time. Illusione, Ashton VSG, Alec Bradley Tempus & Family Blend, Oliva Serie G and V. These days I smoke far more CCs than NCs and given the price hike that is coming August 1st...CCs will certainly be more inexpensive than NCs.

The Aug 1st price hike is going to mess me up big time, it's a shame really. You have a lot of good interesting recommendations, thanks for your help. I was going to pick up some Ashton VSGs soon as well as the Hemingways. Right now all I have is two small humidors though!

[Disburden]

I ended up picking out about 7 sticks of the San Cristobal (not the Cuban ones) at a shop near me yesterday. Have any of you guys had these? They're the ones with the Parrot on them and have a dark wrapper (seems like corojo)?. I'll be honest, I couldn't resist the parrot! I have heard good things about these though, hopefully they live up to what I have seen.

[Onsto]

I have read that they arent everyones favourite but the perdermo lot 23 has to my taste a "cubanesque" prfile, bit of that 'twang' whatever you want to call it but minus any great complexity. found padron 1964 to be very complex and tasty but very expensive! olivia serie g and cao brazilia have been others i ahve enjoyed. the rest has been very average to be honest.

Picked up a box of the Lot 23 Maduro Churchills last time I was in Chicago. They aren't complex at all and much too strong to be 'Cubanesque' to my mind but I like them a lot when I'm drinking. Smoked one yesterday afternoon, construction is excellent, but by the final third the pepperiness is very dominant, and I give up. At $70-80 for 20, you can smoke one for an hour, abandon it and feel like you've had your money's worth and then some. Good cigar for gifting to your drunk mates too...

[sloth]

I'm just going to list the cigars I buy when I go to the local store and there are no new cigars to try... (selection limited to what my local actually sells)

-Tatuaje La Seleccion de Cazador (Brown label) Taino

-Tatuaje La Seleccion de Cazador (Brown label) Regios

-Tatuaje La Seleccion de Cazador (Brown label) Reserva SW

-Tatuaje La Seleccion de Cazador (Brown label) Reserva J21

-Cabaiguan Imperiales

-Cabaiguan Guapos

-La Riqueza No. 2

-La Riqueza No. 3

-Carlos Torano Noventa La Esperanza

-Esencia Corona Gorda

[nonameno]

Hello Gentlemen,

I have been smoking since the late '80s and my favorite is still the Dunhill aged Dominicans. They are always smooth and flavorful. I also like the Perdomo Lot 23 maduro for a change of pace. I just found the Czar and I am waiting for my first box to settle in to it's new home before I fire one up.

Thank you,

Curtiss

[Disburden]

Thanks again for the recommendations, guys! I have had the Perdomo habanos before and they were good I would probably give them another go sometime. I had them when I first started though and they may be totally different to me now! That's the fun though!

[shortfatmexican]

I ended up picking out about 7 sticks of the San Cristobal (not the Cuban ones) at a shop near me yesterday. Have any of you guys had these? They're the ones with the Parrot on them and have a dark wrapper (seems like corojo)?. I'll be honest, I couldn't resist the parrot! I have heard good things about these though, hopefully they live up to what I have seen.

Excellent smokes especially the new "60" but don't like the sungrowns so much...Personally I love the Nestor Miranda Specially Selected Ruky. Great Smoke.

[Charltonc]

Good mild cigar Pinar Del rio exculsivo, Berger & Argenti Clasico robusto

Oliva Conneticut

Good Medium to Full

Don Pepin Cuban Classic, Illusione CG4, Paul Garmarian Syphony, Cruzado Domenicos, Opus X Petit Lancero, Casa Fernandez corojo lancero, Don pepin JJ Maduro Selecto, La Flor Dominicana Coronado Corona, La Flor Dominicana Cabinet Cameroon Londsdale, Joya de Nicaragua Antano Lancero,Anejo 46 by Fuente, Litto Gomez, Ernesto Carillo Perez Short run 4 and 7/8 by 50, the other sizes are nasty.

I hope this helps.

[cigcars]

Well, the Non-Cuban cigars I've managed to enjoy were: *Perdomo Gran Cru series-the Corojo wrapper *Oliveras For Men cigars *a plain ole' machine made Finck company Havana Blends 2nds Delicados size (they're tellin' the truth...those smokes DO have our beloved Habana tobacco in it along w/some fine blend of Brazilian and Connecticut Sun grown) *and just about anything from Arturo Fuente

[JasonInChiTown]

I'm a big fan of the illusione Epernay line - whenever I want to mix it up or do not have access to my CC's, Epernay is very enjoyable.

I also enjoy CAO Brazilia Box Press. Great with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Cheers!

J

[jacksfull]

I don't always smoke NC's, but when I do... Padilla, Padron, Camacho and Joya de Nicaragua are among my favorite producers with that Central American kick I find to be the next best thing when CC's are out of the question. I used to smoke a lot of El Rico Habano's and Maria Mancini's for the same reason, but haven't had any recent editions of either.

[drake2k]

My NCC favorites are:

Macanudo 2000

Opus X Reserve de Chateau

God of Fire - Carlito

Torano Noventa (torpedo)

Torano Tribute (2004 if you can find them; otherwise 2008 is good)

AVO Companero

Fuego Corojo

[Habanakane21]

Pete Johnson of Tatuaje makes a great cigar. He's newest line is La Verite is very good. But I like his La Riqueza line. It's a medium body cigar. Starts out a bit peppery then into earthy/coffee/chocolate notes. Always a perfect burn. His Brown band cigars were his first line and are always good.

[Martindelmundo]

I don't smoke a lot of non's because I seem to have a hard time finding one I really enjoy. When I go to the states I try to pick up the ones I hear about on podcasts and from CA but normally it is lack luster. I do like Perdomo lot 23 Maduro like a few others have said, dona flor selecao robusto are real good and different, The don pepin Black is pretty good too, I don't like many of the rocky's but I just had the decade lancero that was alright and for something cheap the curly head by Arturo fuente alot of people don't like them but for me it's pretty surprising but a great stick at a reasonable price. (these are all cigars I enjoy and your palate may differ) Good luck with it.

[MasterOfEvil]

To add to the list, besides Padron which is arguably the best NC, have any of you tried Graycliff cigars? I have to say that I quite the Chateau Grand Cru and the Espresso. If you can I would say try a Graycliff Espresso, I personally really enjoy them and think they are on par with the Padron 1964.

[Scardinoz]

Try the San Christobal Maestro. Honestly, if you're going to get your money's worth on a NC - to me - the opposite rule of Cuban cigars generally applies.

In Cuban cigars you generally get what you pay for. In non-Cuban cigars I will rarely pay over $10 for a stick as your 'bang-for-buck' significantly falls. If you honestly want a good non-Cuban maduro, pick up a few Flor de Canos or Estrella Cubanas from CigarBid at $1 a piece and keep them in your humidor for two years. You'll have a "$10" non-Cuban.

[TMS36]

oliva serie v maduro especial - 2008, 2009

La Aroma De Cuba - Robusto, Immensia