Non-Cubans

[rxavier1979]

3 hours ago, BMWBen said:

Does anyone have any Davidoff suggestions? I've never tried any and after seeing how many different lines they have I don't know where to start.

It depends on what flavors you typically go for but my current favorite is the Classic Series No. 2 which is a very mild but flavorful and creamy smoke that is PERFECTION with a cup of coffee. I think the tobaccos in these are aged 7-10 years so you get a slight musty aged flavor that is common in a lot of Davidoff cigars. My second favorite is quite the opposite in the Yamasa. It's a Dominican Yamasa wrapper/binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It is an excellent cigar with a medium body that fits more as an after dinner cigar. I liked the Robusto but people are raving about the Piramides vitola lately. 

They are pricey but worth a try. 

[HoyoFan]

I've never actually tried Illusione or Tats in all the years that I've been smoking NCs. Can anyone provide a flavor profile description?

Which vitolas/lines in those do you recommend to try?

[Realmikemeadows]

If you DM me your address I'll send you a few and let you form your own opinion.

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[BMWBen]

1 hour ago, Nekhyludov said:

I have to admit that I never cared much for Davidoff. Always seemed way overpriced (2-3 times the price of a CC) for a pretty ordinary smoke. But I have to recommend the Puro D'Oro line if you can find any left. They're not horribly priced and I think they're pretty damn good. They have a great wet hay smell cold, and the smoke is peppery and earthy. The Gigantes I have evolve really nicely from start to finish. 

I'm surprised by how much enthusiasm there is here for Tatajue and Illusione. The guy at my local B&M tried to sell me on them by describing them as "spice bombs," which sounds awful. Maybe I'll have to check them out after all. 

I'll keep my eye out for them, but as for tatuaje and illusione, I think spice bomb would the the exact opposite phrase I would use to describe them. Especially Illusione, the Epernay does not even contain any ligero leaf. They are probably two of my favorite NC lines alongside perdomo and i'm not a big pepper/spice guy at all.

[cigcars]

       * I'd never been much of a Non-Cuban Punch cigar fan.  However, I did just try the Punch Signature the other night - and MAN!  Was it impressive in its make up, aroma and flavor!  Again, very impressive - for a NC Punch! 

[backslide]

I like cigars from all over the world. It's really narrow minded to focus on just CC's IMHO. My favorite NC's from the last few years have been Illusione. I love the 2, 33, MK, MK Ultra, ECCJ, and all Epernay's.

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[HarveyBoulevard]

19 minutes ago, backslide said:

I like cigars from all over the world. It's really narrow minded to focus on just CC's IMHO. My favorite NC's from the last few years have been Illusione. I love the 2, 33, MK, MK Ultra, ECCJ, and all Epernay's.

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I'm quite content being narrow minded I guess...?

[YOM'$]

Romacraft - warped - crowned - Tat - fuente anejo - and Matilde (Jose Seijas-his own line) are a few I've enjoyed on repeat.  Was enjoying the Viva Republica Advanced and Guerilla Warefares, great sticks if you can smoke at a slow pace for the $$

[dageshi]

I was extremely impressed by a warped la hacienda I had last year, the quality of tobacco was outstanding, will be looking to buy some more of them this year.

[CatchNRelease]

Right out of a box from key west. Not bad

[JMacSr]

Oliva rolls some good stuff, and at the right price point. Their Connecticut Reserve line is great cigar with Morning coffee and You can't beat the price for the quality and consistency. Also like Curivari a small company out of Nicaragua my local shop carries their cigars.


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[Philc2001]

I keep some Griffins Robusto, Torano Reserva Selecta crystal tubes and PDR 1858 Sun Grown torps on hand as yard gars or for social smoking in groups. I also stock some Hemi Short Stories, Ashton VSG and Davidoffs for some special events. Most of these I acquired during my decade-long buying boycott of CCs.

I recently sold off a bunch of NCs, including Fuente and Opus. But I kept a rare 2001 Opus X Perfecxion "A" from the 09/11 fund raising run.

Honestly, these are just not in my rotation at all these days.


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[Jimmy_jack]

8 hours ago, Nekhyludov said:

I have to admit that I never cared much for Davidoff. Always seemed way overpriced (2-3 times the price of a CC) for a pretty ordinary smoke. But I have to recommend the Puro D'Oro line if you can find any left. They're not horribly priced and I think they're pretty damn good. They have a great wet hay smell cold, and the smoke is peppery and earthy. The Gigantes I have evolve really nicely from start to finish. 

I'm surprised by how much enthusiasm there is here for Tatajue and Illusione. The guy at my local B&M tried to sell me on them by describing them as "spice bombs," which sounds awful. Maybe I'll have to check them out after all. 

Spice bombs huh? Well I would say for Warped you will get spice in the Hacienda the Corto and the Flor de Valle. Not a lot...but yes some. If you want minimal spice go with Warped El Oso, Futuro and the Maestro. The Illusione Epernay have zero ligero...so while you can still get some spice, its certainly not like 98% of the other cigars out there.I would call any of them spice bombs.

[BuzzArd]

I have the taste-attention span of a labrador, and in addition to the dozens of CC I keep I still buy NC.  Far and away Tatuaje is tops on my list.  My Father is right behind.  I also have about 100 OpusX varieties in various stages of aging all the way back to 2010.  Finished the last of my '08s last fall. 

[Stogieninja]

Warped, Cornelius & Anthony, some of the Crowned Heads productions, Dunbarton, Foundation, select Tats and Illusione... I still love quite a few NCs. In fact, in 2016, I think I smoked more NC than I did CC, letting my CCs rest while I sampled a bunch of new stuff.

[JZBdano]

I've been smoking cigars for a year and a half. 95% CCs for about 8 months after I discovered them.  The last couple months it has been 50-50 and have really enjoyed most of my NCs again.  I have recently been sampling high end NCs, mostly Fuentes, and they will probably consume most of my cigar budget for a while.  I really enjoy a couple lines from Illusione, Crowned Heads, Warped, Ashton, Tatuaje and the Garcia family.  I can't wait to see how some of these develope over the years.  Dominican tobacco is my favorite at the moment but CCs will always be a part of the regular rotation.

[PigFish]

Charter member, narrow-minded Cuban cigar club!

Not really wanting to bash another's tastes, smoke what you want, enjoy what you smoke... but many of the greazzy looking super dark cigars just kinda' turn my stomach, just to look at! I can only hope that they taste better than they look!

Carry on! -Piggy

[Jimmy_jack]

8 hours ago, Stogieninja said:

Warped, Cornelius & Anthony, some of the Crowned Heads productions, Dunbarton, Foundation, select Tats and Illusione... I still love quite a few NCs. In fact, in 2016, I think I smoked more NC than I did CC, letting my CCs rest while I sampled a bunch of new stuff.

Letting my CC stock rest is what turned back to NC as well.

[wabashcr]

Most NCs I smoke these days are either Warped or Illusione, with a few exceptions.  Their blends tend to be more balanced and complex than most NCs.  I have no use for pepper bombs or anything considered full bodied or full strength by NC standards.

[HoyoFan]

So looking at your guys' responses, I keep seeing 3 brands consistently mentioned: Tatuaje, Illusione, & Warped. I'm assuming these have more balanced flavors with less pepper notes than other NCs. Reason for my assumption is that that's what we love about CCs.

That being my assumption, can you guys provide some of your favorite lines/vitolas in these brands? Always down to try something new

[rxavier1979]

6 minutes ago, PadronFan said:

So looking at your guys' responses, I keep seeing 3 brands consistently mentioned: Tatuaje, Illusione, & Warped. I'm assuming these have more balanced flavors with less pepper notes than other NCs. Reason for my assumption is that that's what we love about CCs.

That being my assumption, can you guys provide some of your favorite lines/vitolas in these brands? Always down to try something new

I'm a Warped whore so I'll let the others speak for the other brands. 

I can't tell which I love more but if I had to put them in order it's:

La Colmena No. 44 Corona

Maestro Del Tiempo 5205 Lonsdale

El Oso Papa Size which is a skinny Toro (skinny for NCs)

Warped Corto X46 petit corona

The Cortos pack a little punch but nothing outrageous but you can't go wrong with the first 3. If you can find them that is.

The smaller batch boutique cigar makers generally use tobacco that is in smaller or more limited quantities or are more rare which is what makes them stand out imo. The bigger companies usually pass on the stuff as they can't scale or mass produce a line with those quantities and isn't worth their trouble. 

[JZBdano]

Illusione- MK Corona, 88 Robusto, Connecticut Rothschild, Epernay has been hit or miss for me but mostly hit.

Warped- Flor de Valle, La Colmena

Tatuaje- 7th Capa Especial, 10th anniversary, Brown Label especially with a couple years on them.  Actually I've enjoyed every Tat I've had with a couple years age.

Crowned Heads- JD Howard Reserve and some Jericho Hill

My Father- Lancero, my 2014 boxes of La Atiguidad corona grande and Blue Label corona gorda are getting really good.

I am relatively new to the sport so take it for what its worth.

[cardinalfan85]

I enjoy most from Warped, Illusione, Tatuaje/ My father.  One more that I havent seen mentioned yet would be La Palina the Mr. Sam Line and Goldie line-- both of which are rolled in Miami.

[wabashcr]

15 hours ago, rxavier1979 said:

I'm a Warped whore so I'll let the others speak for the other brands. 

I can't tell which I love more but if I had to put them in order it's:

La Colmena No. 44 Corona

Maestro Del Tiempo 5205 Lonsdale

El Oso Papa Size which is a skinny Toro (skinny for NCs)

Warped Corto X46 petit corona

 

I would put the Don Reynaldo at the top of this list.  It's easily my favorite Warped cigar.  The Lirio Rojo is another good one.  I revisited Guardian of the Farm last night for the first time since right after release, and it was a lot better than I remembered it being.  I'm also a big fan of Villa Sombra.  

@PadronFan For Illusione, the Epernay line is my go-to.  I try to keep a few different vitolas on hand.  They're all good.  It's been mentioned in this thread that it doesn't use ligero, which to my palate lends to a better balanced profile.  The ECCJ 20th is another great blend, as are most of their Singulares.  Fume D'Amour is pretty solid, and their Rothchildes are a great cheap smoke.  For Tatuaje, I pretty much just stick to the black label.  Some of their Reserva/brown label stuff is pretty decent, and anything they still make in Miami is worth a shot.  But for my money the black label is far and away their best regular production line.

[Danimalia]

I still smoke more NCs than CCs. Some of it is money, but a lot of it is just the sheer variety of what's available outside of Cuba. Brands I smoke a lot of: Oliva, Illusione, My Father, Tatuaje, some Fuentes. One cigar I've been super high on lately is the La Galera Habano.