What do I try next?

[CoCigarSmoker]

To extrapolate on my newbie introduction I'd like to give a little background on my cigar smoking and experience. I have been smoking for years but almost exclusively NC's. Perhaps two years ago I had the privilege of smoking a Partagas Corona Senior, H. Upmann Corona Minor, and what I believe was a Cohiba Siglo I or II. Now I got these sticks in the British Virgin Islands and I suppose there was a possibility that they were fakes but I kept the bands and tubos and looked them up online to verify them and by all accounts they appeared to be the real deal. Regardless, I began venturing into the world of CC's and have been attempting to broaden my smoking experience and expand my knowledge of CC's verses NC's.

Recently I had a friend gift me with a genuine Montecristo Petit Edmundo Tubo, two Monto No. 2's, and a RYJ Churchill Tubo. I have smoked all these cigars and my god, MIND BLOWN! While I still enjoy smoking NC's I can't help but feel cheated each time I pull one out of the humidor and don't grab a CC. That being said I realize that I haven't really tried much of anything Habana has to offer and I'm trying to change that. Normally I like very bold med-full bodies cigars when smoking NC's and I have liked all of the above CC's I've tried. I really enjoy that bold flavor coupled with the creamy delivery that the CC has to offer verses the overwhelming pepper/leather/spice that most full bodied NC's taste like. Still I do enjoy my leather/pepper/spice. Truthfully, I enjoy a full spectrum of cigars during different occasions, sometimes mild-med with an espresso for breakfast is just the ticket.

With all of the backstory out of the way I recently acquired the following cigars in my humidor:

1. Cohiba Behike 52 (I had to it was mesmerizing)

2. Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Especial

3. Montecristo No. 2 (had to have another one)

4. Montecristo No. 4

5. Cohiba Siglo VI Tubo

6. Partagas Short

7. Punch Punch

8. Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 2

9. RYJ Churchill Tubo (had to have another one)

10. Cohiba Siglo I

11. Monte Puritos (for me and the wife)

These are still acclimating to the humidor and I haven't smoked any of them yet because I wanted to give them the proper time to rest after their journey. Now my question is I was thinking of picking up the following sticks to try as well but wanted all of your expert advice. Please feel free to critique, change, or add any cigars you think I should try.

Haven't acquired yet but considering the following:

1. Bolivar Belicosos Finos

2. Bolivar Royal Coronas

3. Cuaba Salomones

4. H. Upmann Magnum 46

5. Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 1

6. Sancho Panza Belicosos

7. Partagas Serie D No. 4

8. Vega Robaina Unicos

9. Ramon Allones Small Club Corona

10. El Rey De Mundo Choix Supreme

As far as marcas and vitolas I really don't have a preference. I love all sizes and shapes during different occasions. I will say that of my NC collection I smoke mostly robustos and belicosos. When I have more time I like a ring gauge in the 50-56 range and a length around 5-6". Still I haven't had much experience with lanceros, churchills, etc...and I would love to try them out.

Sorry if this was long winded but I appreciate all the help and advice.

Thanks,

Seth

[PuffDaddie]

Try SLR Regios.

[bradbrennan]

sounds like you have an awesome start! I would say if you can get that second sampler pack in singles definitely go for it, best way to experience try them all if you can. I took someone's advice on aged stock by buying more than you can smoke and eventually you have your own aged stock, and it's working :-) take your time and enjoy the journey!

[brutusthebuckeye]

Try RyJ Cazadores...allegedly the strongest/full bodied cuban cigar...you may not think so after years of Don "Pepper"Garcias and stuff like that though...lol..

[Edwhatever]

Hmm, thats a fantastic list already no debate.

Maybe have some basics in your humidor?

If you have more time than money, you probably would benefit from some basics.

What do I mean by basics? Do you have have black turtle necks? T-shirts? Jeans in your closest? Someting to wear comfortably on a casual day, run out to grab groceries kind of attitre? Comfortable but still interesting enough to wear.

Bolivar Petit Coronas( you already have these), Partagas Shorts(50 cab), upman half coronas...

If you have more money than time, then forget those above and go for something more complex.

Say Cohiba Siglo 1(you already have these), Maduro 5 series, Esplendidos, ryj churchills, SLR serie A, Connie A, Royal Robustos, CoRo(to aged for 5 yrs)

Dont buy blind.

Oh yes, and welcome to the Cuban world.

But i would be perfectly happy with what you have.

I think now you just have to find your taste

[MrGTO]

Sir Winston

[cigcars]

*I'd like to offer my confirmation on just what you're talking about, Seth as far as acquiring authentic Habanos. I'd had any number of not-so-authentic Monte's & so on, but when I'd finally gotten a real Montecristo No. 2...Oh My Holy God!!! It was the most fantastic smoking experience I can recall! That cigar took me to brand new worlds it was soooo fine, and GREAT, wonderfully aromatic, and flavorful. There was more fantastic flavor on the exhale than on the drawing of the smoke into my eager, anticipating tongue! And you have quite an excellent stash now! So enjoy!

[CoCigarSmoker]

Try SLR Regios.

Sorry to sound dumb but what brand is SLR?

sounds like you have an awesome start! I would say if you can get that second sampler pack in singles definitely go for it, best way to experience try them all if you can. I took someone's advice on aged stock by buying more than you can smoke and eventually you have your own aged stock, and it's working :-) take your time and enjoy the journey!

Unfortunately I don't have loads of cash which sucks, because I'd love to start buying boxes to begin aging them. There are already quite a few cigars that I can say I would LOVE to have boxes of but alas, my bank account says otherwise (not to mention the wife).

Try RyJ Cazadores...allegedly the strongest/full bodied cuban cigar...you may not think so after years of Don "Pepper"Garcias and stuff like that though...lol..

This cigar definitely peaks my curiosity but what I love most about full bodied cigars is that they are full bodied without having overloads of pepper etc...it's just an amass of flavors that come together like a medley accompanied by cream. I enjoy cigars of all spectrums depending on what I'm doing. I try and save my full bodied cigars for when I have a good dinner and time to sit down uninterrupted. mild-med to med-full I smoke every time in between.

Hmm, thats a fantastic list already no debate.

Maybe have some basics in your humidor?

If you have more time than money, you probably would benefit from some basics.

What do I mean by basics? Do you have have black turtle necks? T-shirts? Jeans in your closest? Someting to wear comfortably on a casual day, run out to grab groceries kind of attitre? Comfortable but still interesting enough to wear.

Bolivar Petit Coronas( you already have these), Partagas Shorts(50 cab), upman half coronas...

If you have more money than time, then forget those above and go for something more complex.

Say Cohiba Siglo 1(you already have these), Maduro 5 series, Esplendidos, ryj churchills, SLR serie A, Connie A, Royal Robustos, CoRo(to aged for 5 yrs)

Dont buy blind.

Oh yes, and welcome to the Cuban world.

But i would be perfectly happy with what you have.

I think now you just have to find your taste

I definitely don't have a ton of money, but once I get this next sampler rolling I will be starting to purchase boxes. I just would love to kind of "go around the world" so to speak before buying boxes. Yet, as earlier stated I can already think of at least 4 cigars that I would love to have 10 boxes of in my humidor, err maybe 20 or 50 boxes each haha.

*I'd like to offer my confirmation on just what you're talking about, Seth as far as acquiring authentic Habanos. I'd had any number of not-so-authentic Monte's & so on, but when I'd finally gotten a real Montecristo No. 2...Oh My Holy God!!! It was the most fantastic smoking experience I can recall! That cigar took me to brand new worlds it was soooo fine, and GREAT, wonderfully aromatic, and flavorful. There was more fantastic flavor on the exhale than on the drawing of the smoke into my eager, anticipating tongue! And you have quite an excellent stash now! So enjoy!

One of these days I'll have to throw up some pictures online of the bands and tubos I have from before. I'm pretty sure they were real, however I know for a fact that the Monte No. 2 and Monte petit Edmundo were real as real can get. And let me say they BLEW MY MIND. My god, I'd had expensive NC's before but again, MY GOD, CC's blew my mind. Now even when I go to the humidor and see a Padron 1964 Anni I'm like, "meh....where are my CC's" haha.

Thanks so much to everyone for the advice. I'm hoping I'll be able to get the above cigars soon, perhaps plus or minus some in exchange for those mentioned in this thread.

Cheers,

Seth

[CoCigarSmoker]

Try SLR Regios.

I think I figured it out....Saint Luis Rey?

Seth

[acidmase]

Rob has a Cuban sampler that you can sample all the marcas

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bradbrennan]

*I'd like to offer my confirmation on just what you're talking about, Seth as far as acquiring authentic Habanos. I'd had any number of not-so-authentic Monte's & so on, but when I'd finally gotten a real Montecristo No. 2...Oh My Holy God!!! It was the most fantastic smoking experience I can recall! That cigar took me to brand new worlds it was soooo fine, and GREAT, wonderfully aromatic, and flavorful. There was more fantastic flavor on the exhale than on the drawing of the smoke into my eager, anticipating tongue! And you have quite an excellent stash now! So enjoy!

You are talking about cigars aren't you , Janet?!

Seth, I assumed you picked up Rob's sampler, and if you keep an eye on his daily specials he often has some smaller quantity samples as well.

[CoCigarSmoker]

You are talking about cigars aren't you , Janet?!

Seth, I assumed you picked up Rob's sampler, and if you keep an eye on his daily specials he often has some smaller quantity samples as well.

I actually put those together myself. The first one I purchased, the second one I haven't purchased yet, just a list I put together. I'm still new to the forum, so I'm learning my away around who offers what still.

Cheers,

Seth

[garbandz]

SCdLH El Principe is a great short stick

Upmann half corona flavor bomb........

Por Larranaga panatela or petit corona morning w/coffee cigars

Upmann Connie 1 before the Mag 46

Quay d'Orsay corona

I would move the Cuaba to the bottom of the list, too light for me

Please check out the *****US Forum,we have a split from time to time,maybe you can expand your list ...........

[earthson]

Be prepared to have just about every cigar made recommended to you in this thread!

When asking for recommendations, it's good to know what you like. You say med-full, but to me, most cc are med-full (even so-called "mild" brands like por larranaga and h upmann). I personally seek out balance over specific flavor profiles, prefer smokes that are medium-bodied and medium strength.

With that, after discovering cc several years ago myself, I still prefer the standard Ramon Allones line (especially the specially selected), several H Upmanns like the Connie #1, PC, and Mag 50, and the Por Larranaga montecarlos and PC.

Newly discovered gems in my world are the Rafael Gonzalez PC, Parti Shorts, and SLR Regios.

Try some more sticks and then get back to us, letting us know what's striking your fancy. There are few NC I smoke anymore!

[AlBaron]

SCdLH El Principe is a great short stick

Upmann half corona flavor bomb........

Por Larranaga panatela or petit corona morning w/coffee cigars

Upmann Connie 1 before the Mag 46

Quay d'Orsay corona

I would move the Cuaba to the bottom of the list, too light for me

Please check out the *****US Forum,we have a split from time to time,maybe you can expand your list ...........

*****US Forum, I'm unable to see it...

Is it the one which can only be unlocked for me after 20 posts?

Alex

[JohnS]

*****US Forum, I'm unable to see it...

Is it the one which can only be unlocked for me after 20 posts?

Alex

20 posts and email El Pres..... [email protected]

[Franko]

Try RyJ Cazadores...allegedly the strongest/full bodied cuban cigar...you may not think so after years of Don "Pepper"Garcias and stuff like that though...lol..

Don pepper Garcia lmao... Good one.. But his my favorite cigar guys lol

[CUBANO]

Since you're on a budget buy a sampler

[CoCigarSmoker]

So a few of the cigars above were out of stock so I went with the following.

Cuaba Salomones

Upmann Mag 46

Juan Lopez No. 1

Sancho Panza Belicosos

Partagas D4

RA small club corona

Boli petit corona

Boli junior corona

Diplimaticos No. 2

Fonseca No. 1

Fonseca Delicias

Monte Edmundo

Upmann No. 2

This should fill in some gaps. I had some different Boli's picked out but they are now out of stock. Hoping this will be a good well rounded get up to add to the box. As far as what type of cigars I like I'm all over the board. I like different cigars for different occasions. I can enjoy just about anything and rarely run into something I don't like unless it's poorly constructed. That being said, I will say I'm trying to like small sticks, i.e. less than 5" and less than 50gauge but man I just don't get it....so small haha. But I try and keep a few on hand for times when I can't smoke for as long as I would prefer. I also haven't dabbled much with Lanceros. Why is it that it seems Cuban cigars favor the slimmer ring gauges and smaller sizes? It seems that NC sticks don't often go much smaller than robustos or coronas with the greatest majority being slightly bigger. Is there a reason for this or is it just the way things work? I normally try and stick with Belicocos or Robustos as the perfect size. Anything 5-6" with a ring gauge of 50-56 is my perfect zone. But again, I'm trying to diversify haha.

Thanks again guys,

Seth