El Presidente Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 It was on the Monday that I took my contingent to Conde de Villanueva to check out some customs. The thinnest ring gauge I could find was 52. The largest a 60. It was very busy so I didn't hang around too long to chat but I did so later in the week. I also had a chat to Hamlet who confirmed my suspicions. Approximately 95% of all Custom Cigar requests are gauged 50 ring gauge and above Now most of the rollers in the Divans have "ready to go" customs for purchase and it reflects the customer wants. A small cigar is a Robusto. Mons is almost the exception with his excellent monsdales. If you have a good relationship with the rollers, they will roll you what you like and Hamlet certainly gifted me some 8 inch x 42 classics as he knows I enjoy them. I know he hates rollin them I did pick up some very good Corona Larga from Yolanda as i just couldn't bring myself to smoke a monolith. All in all I found the tobacco to be smoking very wet this trip and a large cigar often became a struggle to kep it lit. The market certainly continues down the "Big is Beautiful" track! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlohaStyle Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Yeah, I've never bought so many large RG cigars as I did in Havana, wow. I'm usually not a fan of big RG cigars, but I couldn't resist as the ones I tried were outstanding. However, I couldn't fathom getting the 60+ RG Reynaldo that Enis (sp?, sorry) got and kept showing us all!?! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rushman Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Petit corona / Lonsdale or bust! --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=20.631704,-87.070658 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbeaver Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I keep asking Enis if his cigar vibrates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Petit corona / Lonsdale or bust! --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=20.631704,-87.070658 Hear, hear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigaraholic Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 The donkey decade........volume II Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 That's a shame. Last February Reinaldo had some great lanceros in his shop. I was planning on getting more next feb. I suppose it makes sense for the shop rollers too to make bigger cigars though. A 7 X 54 cigar takes no longer to roll than a 7 X 42 and they can charge twice as much for it. The cost of the extra tobacco is tiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 The main problem for me is to smoke the huge ring guage cigars you need one of these: This reminds me of something a good Dutch friend once said in his broken English: ""Cigars here are not thought homosexual like large moustache, cigar are not homosexual thing in UK, no?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverickdrinker Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 It was good to see that lonsdales, petit coronas, lanceros and coronas were available for sale at the custom roller tables in Miramar and Havana Central. Reynaldo usually has lanceros and petit coronas available as well. He just doesn't show them first. Not a big fan of the fat ring gauge cigars. I remember when I went to see Reynaldo last year and he showed me this monstrosity he called the Elephant foot. It has gigantic, in terms of ring gauge. I asked him do people buy them and he said with conviction, yes, ABSOLUTELY!!! We sell out of the large ring gauge cigars much faster than the smaller ring gauge. Thank goodness he had my order of lanceros though.. Hamlet also had some long and skinnies for me to smoke. As he gave them to me, he said something in Spanish that I know wasn't 'it was a pleasure rolling these.' LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dara Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I bought 4 elephant foots and smoked 2 in Cuba. I brought the other 2 home but god knows why as you can't get away with smoking them anywhere but Cuba without looking like a total arse. The one thing I learnt from buying in Reynaldos is to ask them to cut them in the shop as most cutters aren't big enough to get a decent cut and a hard draw on a big cigar is a painful experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CigarmanTim Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Chuck aka Tampa turned me on to long and skinnies. I was at a cigar event in Pa this past year and Rocky Patel was there. I was taking a pic of my friend with Rocky and I yelled to him, "bring back the long and skinnies." He just looked at me. Buy up as many of the skinnies as you can because it will be years until this fad ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk05 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Well think about it this way. We know the majority of the consumption is the US market. The US market has also been predisposed to the big RG cigars over time, so makes sense that the crossover smokers will want the big cigars. As for Asians and others, maybe they want value for tobacco, so they get the biggest cigars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexG Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 havent had any good experience with long and skinnies, but ive heard there are good ones out there. one day my son, one day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverickdrinker Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 A good lancero can be life changing. One of my favorite memories of Havana is seeing Conor have his epiphany moment, smoking a Cohiba lancero. You could see the emotion come to fruition as the light bulb came on. He spent the remainder of the trip trying to find good long and skinnies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangedog Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 There is a novelty aura around the big RGs still. Think about how many Coronas you can find versus Sublimes. My top size right now is a lonsdale, but a good chunk of my $s are going to sublimes, 109s, etc. because they aren't always around and I like to have a mix. The mistake (for my part) for HSA is to think the $s chasing the big ones indicate a permanent buying shift. Ill have more coronas, lonsdales, lanceros etc. in my humi, but if a sublime comes out I'm chasing it down. If sublimes flooded the market and lonsdales were hard to find (really hope this isn't where we are heading)... I'd be chasing lonsdales. Still, none of that explains a 60RG which is just batsh!t crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzz Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 As for Asians and others, maybe they want value for tobacco, so they get the biggest cigars. Nope. Just compensating... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
investandprosper Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 This really saddens me. There's just something about a corona, lonsdale, or lancero that feels right in the hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demiurgic Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Petit corona / Lonsdale or bust! --- I am here: http://maps.google.c...1704,-87.070658 Ditto! It's going to make a come back someday, like any cycle in the world. Right now it's PC's and Lonnies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokum Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 This really saddens me. There's just something about a corona, lonsdale, or lancero that feels right in the hand. Agreed. To me a corona is a cigar ! Choices are very limited now. Anything over 50 rg just seems a bit too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justmi Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 When I was offered a cigar at a recent gathering, I was dismissed when I wanted a PC. I was told "once you go to 50 ring gauge, you won't go back. It smokes cooler and hence is more pleasant." All I know is bigger ring gauge equals bigger price, equals bigger profits. I do enjoy Robustos but I won't go bigger as there is a limit to how much I will smoke in one sitting before wanting to drop the cigar and do something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrims Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 If people want massive cigars then so be it, I know I don't...had a Robusto the other day and was just thinking even that was borderline too big. Love Lonsdales and dahlias my self and if people want a short smoke then the Reyes, RASCC and Shorts are great. I'll only get concerned it is obvious that the best tobacco starts to go to just the big boys...I have a feeling a bit like wine that the massive RG thing could be a phase, just like big Rhone wines etc were Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 When I was offered a cigar at a recent gathering, I was dismissed when I wanted a PC. I was told "once you go to 50 ring gauge, you won't go back. It smokes cooler and hence is more pleasant. That's the point when you need to throw your drink in the face of the guy and shout 'You told me you loved me!' and storm out It's what I find leaves a nasty aftertaste about the general UK (Mostly London) cigar scene although there are excellent exceptions (Fox etc), people tell you what you should enjoy and look down at you if you don't agree with them. I'm just happy I found a group of real cigar smokers and great people who run against that trend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brazoseagle Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I no longer get offended when someone says: " Hey is that a cigar in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" The answer is yes and yes! Haboners 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotusguy Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 People on this very board go all googely-eyed over the 55RG Monte 520.... 'nough said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGC Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 People on this very board go all googely-eyed over the 55RG Monte 520.... 'nough said. Exactly what I was thinking. They keep making them because people keep buying them. The demographic that truly prefers lonsdales, dalias, coronas, laguito #1/#2, panatelas, ninfas, etc., etc..... represent only a very small portion of the smokers out there. I think a lot of the vitolas out there stayed on the shelves for quite a while.... until they were discontinued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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