If you could start this hobby/passion again....what would you do differently?

[El Presidente]

There are always many new members and some of those members are new or relatively new to the world of Cuban cigars.

Those who have been into Cuban cigars for some time have generally made some mistakes over the years.

If you could reflect on your own Habanos journey......what advice would you give to a relative newcomer that may help him/her in avoiding some of the things you wish you had. What would you do differently if you could have your time over

[cadillacdoc]

Build a bigger walk-in!

[garbandz]

buy from a dealer who will hand pick my boxes.

single thing that I would do differently.

[Lasabar]

Samplers or Box Splits:

To this day I still will buy an untasted box just because of someone else's review or it's rarity. But I've found that the box split cigars are the BEST way to go since I don't invest money on sticks that don't appeal to my tastes. My perfect boneheaded example is Romeo y Juliet DUKE. Bought two boxes in 2010 because they wouldn't be made again. Now I still have two half boxes of cigars that I'd rather give away during parties and now I have a list of cigars that I LOVED and am watching the 24:24 for those cigars.

Don't get caught up in rarity or age:

My favorite cigars right now are Monte No. 2s and Sancho Panza Belicoso and while I won't turn down a LE or Regional, I'd rather just smoke myself to heaven with those.

MAKE A DAMN LIST:

If you can't afford cigars or can't remember the cigars you want make a LIST! Recall prices when they are posted so you can make a sound decision when they come up again. Write down cigars you want from reviews and videos so you know it when they pop up. Do not be the person researching every cigar on the 24:24 to read reviews and then when you know a certain cigar is a great deal or a rarity you go back and it's already sold out because someone else already knew the info.

Don't friggin' worry:

You forgot to check your boveda pack or beads for a month - your cigars will be fine. You had a cigar left in your travel case in the car for a weekend - your cigars will be fine. It got over 70*F in your room for about 5 minutes and now you're worried about beatles - Your cigars will be fine.

Don't cheap out:

Yes, you can find cheaper cigars from other sources. But you will find stories of mold argued as plume and hassles from them. You also get the barcodes cut off the box showcasing that the grey market is shady. Buy from Rob, have your list, don't worry and know what you want to buy and be patient and you'll find better deals than anywhere else

[maxcjs0101]

Shouldnt have spent too much coin on machine mades when i started.

[tmac77]

Would have made many more trips to Cuba.

[MIKA27]

Very basic change for me...

I started with a small 10 count desktop humi thinking that would be plenty as I didn't plan on enjoying cigars that often (Boy was I wrong!) but only on occasion. Not even one month in, I was mortified that I seriously needed far more storage space.

If I can give one piece of advice is to grab a minimum 100 count desktop and stock it as much as possible and or even better, grab a wine fridge.

[oliverdst]

I would have bought more boxes from the time when I started and let them rest.

But this is a hard thing to a newbie do.

[MrGTO]

I should have bought a Aristocratic cabinet before I had all these kids!

[jholen]

Being here in the US I would have stuck to the advice given from more seasoned vets of keeping to a minimum of purchases while starting to develop a palate, instead of amassing a large collection, as now I find myself with a lot of cigars (NC) that I don't have much interest in smoking. Buy a few, smoke them, repeat. Basically avoid even getting a collection while figuring out what preferences I have, as in the year I've been at this, they've changed two or three times (mild -> maduros -> full bodied/full strength -> now beginning to appreciate more nuanced/complex flavors).

I don't think I had the palate, which is still in it's childlike stages, in the beginning to appreciate the more complex nuanced flavors found in CCs or that of some other NC mild/medium cigars.

[LordAnubis]

Find FoH straight away and get a fridge straight away. So that i don't bother wasting my time and **** loads of money with my local retailer.

[sharks]

Samplers or Box Splits:

To this day I still will buy an untasted box just because of someone else's review or it's rarity. But I've found that the box split cigars are the BEST way to go since I don't invest money on sticks that don't appeal to my tastes. My perfect boneheaded example is Romeo y Juliet DUKE. Bought two boxes in 2010 because they wouldn't be made again. Now I still have two half boxes of cigars that I'd rather give away during parties and now I have a list of cigars that I LOVED and am watching the 24:24 for those cigars.

Don't get caught up in rarity or age:

My favorite cigars right now are Monte No. 2s and Sancho Panza Belicoso and while I won't turn down a LE or Regional, I'd rather just smoke myself to heaven with those.

MAKE A DAMN LIST:

If you can't afford cigars or can't remember the cigars you want make a LIST! Recall prices when they are posted so you can make a sound decision when they come up again. Write down cigars you want from reviews and videos so you know it when they pop up. Do not be the person researching every cigar on the 24:24 to read reviews and then when you know a certain cigar is a great deal or a rarity you go back and it's already sold out because someone else already knew the info.

Don't friggin' worry:

You forgot to check your boveda pack or beads for a month - your cigars will be fine. You had a cigar left in your travel case in the car for a weekend - your cigars will be fine. It got over 70*F in your room for about 5 minutes and now you're worried about beatles - Your cigars will be fine.

Don't cheap out:

Yes, you can find cheaper cigars from other sources. But you will find stories of mold argued as plume and hassles from them. You also get the barcodes cut off the box showcasing that the grey market is shady. Buy from Rob, have your list, don't worry and know what you want to buy and be patient and you'll find better deals than anywhere else

Lasabar sums it up for me.

Also utilize Robs OLH great way to store when you don't have the room

[cigcars]

I suppose I should buy better quality humidors! I bought over 32 desktop 50ct. to 150ct. humidors, and probably 8 were real quality boxes! Nothing like PROPER cigar storage!

[mk05]

Wish I weren't so naive.

[jg31]

Would of bought from Rob when I first discovered foh and not wasted so much money buying blind. Also would of been nice to lay some boxes down from 5-10 yrs ago.

[Laxman]

Would have bought more boxes from the 90-97 and 02-04 when I had a chance at reasonable prices as there where a lot of great cigars that got discontinued, like the RA 898 and a bunch of Punch and Partagas cigars I love which I am paying an arm a leg for now. Definitely would have asked more experienced members more questions. As always in life if I knew now what I knew then...

[smokum]

Discover what you truly like taste wise . Start with singles to try the different marcas and see how you like them. If I had to do it all over thats what I would do. I have some oddball boxes that I bought to try and found I didnt care for them. I would probably have a humi filled with 3-4 different marcas in only 2 or 3 sizes. If you can , start with the very best temp and humidity cotrolled humis that you can afford. I had to take several years off doctors,orders and thankfully my cigars were well kept for all these years. Also use the OLH. I still have several boxes there ! So as it turns out I have a humi filled with aged stock. Some may be over the hill and I am kind of craving some young cigars now !!!

[Paul3]

Probably would not have bought the Aristocrat M-plus. Don't get me wrong it is a fantastic humidor, but all that empty space demanded to be filled with cab after cab. My end of month credit card statement went up and up and up. First world problems...they are tough!

Cheers

[soutso]

Buy a few well reviewed cigars of different ring gauges to see what you get best taste from

[markmurase]

I'd join FOH from day 1

[AndrewNR]

Im pretty happy to be honest.. Practically bought 90% from here which I'm pleased about.. Would've gotten a wineador or some more beads sooner.. Even though I never smoke the LE's I bought early on.. I still like having em..

[hebbe72]

I would go straight for CC´s.

The NC´s that I smoked in the early years seem like a waste now in hindsight.

[Hunter1974]

do your research!!!! there are lots of damn good cubans out there that dont cost $350 a box. invest in some of those till you build up a stash then worry about buying those Cohibas! And at least get a good 150Qt cooler to make a good coolidor . you start pulling cigars out of boxes and packing them in desk tops all over your house. you will damge more han you smoke (yes I am Guilty ) ! and I agree Joining FOH is A HUGE step towards your CC education. get into box splits A 5ver will save you money in the long run . because it will keep you from investing in boxes you might not enjoy as much as somthing else . last but not least ! ASK QUESTIONS !!! You will not loose cool points because you dont know something! A wealth of good Knowledge and good folks who will share it with you here .

[Smallclub]

I would learn to speak spanish.

[subport]

I would learn to speak spanish.

You can always do that. Never too late to learn ;-)