Is bigger always better?

[fitzy]

With the explosion of cigars going to bigger and bigger ring gauges I'm curious if I am the only one who thinks bigger isn't always better. 

Also where does it end? 80 ring gauge? 100? 

My preferred shapes are pettite corona, corona, robusto, petite lancero and belicoso or pyramid.

This is my first poll so hopefully I've done it correctly. 

[fitzy]

I should add that I'm new here so I hope this wasn't a recent poll. lol

[cmbarton]

I used to be a big ring guage guy, but I heard it explained before (with regards to where the cigar’s flavor is primarily coming from) that smaller guage = more wrapper flavor, larger guage = more filler flavor.  Since then, I’ve mostly stuck to the 40’s and increased the length.  A good Party Lucy is hard to beat!

[HarveyBoulevard]

I love lots of stuff from 38 to 56.  56 is my top limit and even that is something I don't want to smoke everyday.  I find that the length must increase proportionately with the reduction in ring gauge.  For instance, I enjoy Fundies/MCE/Lanceros but don't want a sub 6 inch stick with a 38/40 rg.  I don't own a single PC or smaller cigar.  The taste might be there but I just don't enjoy the experience.  I have ample time to smoke at night and for whatever reason, just don't want a short thin cigar.  I would love to enjoy a PLMC or a LGC MDO #4 but I just don't.  I think the Corona Gorda and the Gordito are my two favorite vitolas but it very much depends on the weather and my mood as to what length and rg cigar I want to smoke.

1st - 46 to 49 (any Corona Gorda or Churchill)

2nd - 50 to 54 (Vigia, La Fuerza, any Robusto, etc)

3rd - 38 to 40 (Fundies, MCE, Lanceros)

4th - 56 (Topes & Mag 56)

5th - 42 to 44 (Londsales, Coloniales, etc.)

 

[joeman]

With so much flavor derived from the wrapper, it just gets lost once you go over 50-52.  The ideal ring gauge for me, for balance is 42-46. 

[BrightonCorgi]

The occasional smoker is calling the shots in the cigar industry IMO.  To them the bigger the better.  If it was up to members of forums like this, the Habanos portfolio would be much different than it is today.  There could be an element of economics in the larger gauge cigars as well.  Saving the tastier tobaccos and be able to use more volado or leaves with not as much taste.  

[Jfeath74]

If you were to hang out in an American lounge you would see a majority 50+, shoot now a days it seems more like 60+... My observations over the last year or so on this forum has been quite the opposite. Different strokes different folks or to each is own certainly applies here, but generally speaking a lot of cuban cigar smokers appreciate the lower RG for the higher wrapper to filler ratio. Personally speaking I'm in the 46-52 range with a majority of my smokes being Corona Gorda, Churchill, Double Corona, Robusto and Piramides. 

 

[fitzy]

15 minutes ago, Jfeath74 said:

If you were to hang out in an American lounge you would see a majority 50+, shoot now a days it seems more like 60+... My observations over the last year or so on this forum has been quite the opposite. Different strokes different folks or to each is own certainly applies here, but generally speaking a lot of cuban cigar smokers appreciate the lower RG for the higher wrapper to filler ratio. Personally speaking I'm in the 46-52 range with a majority of my smokes being Corona Gorda, Churchill, Double Corona, Robusto and Piramides. 

 

I wasn't sure if it was just an american thing but absolutely here cigars just keep getting bigger and bigger. I don't know why american consumers are pushing the size bigger. I had a cigar store owner tell me once I should smoke bigger ring gauge cigars if I want a full bodied cigar. I seem to have no problem with 50 ring gauge or less having full body. 

 

@HarveyBoulevard How long are you looking for a cigar to last? I don't have a problem getting an hour to an hour and 15 minutes out of a PC. Maybe I'm a slower smoker. 

[Stump89]

I always prefer 50 or under, with the corona gorda being just about ideal.  Also love the laguito 1 and 2 sizes. But Habanos has had some winners with big ring gauge like the Magnum 54 and 56, the Vigia, and the Partagas E2.  As much as we may hate the sizes, some still turn out to be very good.

[oliverdst]

54 and under.

I smoked a 70 in Cuba.

Memorable. On the dark side.

[Philc2001]

I am not a fan of the large girth trend, I'm not even a fan of robusto. Your vote list was binary, but for me even 50-ring is too big. 

I can tolerate slightly larger girth with Churchill or DC, but I seldom smoke those. I smoked a Fundadores, which is 40RG, last weekend and absolutely nubbed it, there was certainly no shortage of flavor or complexity in that vitola. Hence I've culled a list of the skinnies I believe are still in production. 

 

[HarveyBoulevard]

1 hour ago, fitzy said:

 

 How long are you looking for a cigar to last? I don't have a problem getting an hour to an hour and 15 minutes out of a PC. Maybe I'm a slower smoker. 

It is not the time aspect I have an issue with, I just don't like the way a PC/Minuto/Perla/Panatela/Etc feel in the hand and on the lips.  For whatever reason, I just don't get the visceral enjoyment of the smoking experience with a short and skinny cigar.  I can't tell you precisely why, but a larger cigar just 'feels' better to me and I enjoy the flavors.  I don't see a reason to swap that for a cigar that tastes good but just 'feels' off to me.

A PLPC tastes great but feels as if I'm smoking a toothpick...

(Note:  This was hard to verbalize and not make every sentence sound like I enjoy big things in my mouth)

[luv2fly]

Not what I thought this thread was about.

No, for me under 50 RG is my preference.  

[HarveyBoulevard]

9 minutes ago, luv2fly said:

Not what I thought this thread was about.

 

That, Sir, is because your mind is in the gutter...along with the rest of us...

[Kitchen]

I remember reading a short interview with (I think) Rocky Patel about thicker cigar smokers.  He said those who smoke them tend to be the meat heads of the cigar world. 

For me, 47 to 50 is my preferred RG.  I would go up to a 52 as well, but usually they are figurados when I do.  Nothing thicker. 

42 is my limit on the other end.  Anything thinner then 42 just seems to constrictive with the draw. 

[El Presidente]

Shows how niche the FOH community is when it comes to the cigar world. 

[PuffDaddie]

44 to54 is what I like.

[MrGlass]

1 hour ago, HarveyBoulevard said:

For whatever reason, I just don't get the visceral enjoyment of the smoking experience with a short and skinny cigar.  I can't tell you precisely why, but a larger cigar just 'feels' better to me and I enjoy the flavors.

I feel the same way about short fat cigars.  It's important that the cigar feels in proportion, so to me a petit corona feels fine, but a short robusto feels stupid.  But I can also see the hypocrisy in this statement, given that a robusto will end up the same size as a short robusto during smoking and I don't have any problems at that point.  

[tigger]

Voted 50 and under because 46 and under wasn't an option*.
 

 

*Which would be 43 and under if HSA hadn't ravaged the vitolas I really prefer in the last decade and a half. 

Edited January 24, 2018 by tigger

[Buck14]

To exclude a cigar from your portfolio solely based upon ring gauge is ignorant and elitist. Very few people do this truly on preference and often more for the ability to tell others that they only smoke with so-and-so RGs inferring that this somehow makes them a true cigar aficionado.

[...]

31 minutes ago, Buck14 said:

To exclude a cigar from your portfolio solely based upon ring gauge is ignorant and elitist. Very few people do this truly on preference and often more for the ability to tell others that they only smoke with so-and-so RGs inferring that this somehow makes them a true cigar aficionado.

To assume people are ignorant and elitist because they are different is...

?

[TBird55]

38 to 50, sweet spot for me 47..just don't understand  why so many here in the U.S. seem to love fat cigars. But whatever floats your boat.

[tigger]

3 hours ago, Buck14 said:

To exclude a cigar from your portfolio solely based upon ring gauge is ignorant and elitist. Very few people do this truly on preference and often more for the ability to tell others that they only smoke with so-and-so RGs inferring that this somehow makes them a true cigar aficionado.

Having put some thought into it, I can't think of one person I know who smokes thinner cigars for appearance's sake.

I've known more than a couple who smoke fatter cigars for that very reason.

But by and large, the folks I know choose their cigars based on experience and preferences gained over time.

[Phillys]

I gravitate more towards 46 and under, but there are some amazing larger rg cigars. Love the Monte PE, most robustos, all the piramides as well as a few other large rg cigars (Monte 520 comes to mind, damn that's a good cigar). The issue for me is mostly mouth feel and how they draw. In the end a great cigar is a great cigar! 

When I started smoking cigars, all i bought was robustos, robusto extras and piramides. Then I tried some corona gordas, petit coronas, coronas, lanceros... and realized that I liked smaller rg cigars best. I still buy larger cigars, I just don't smoke them as often. Looking at  my humidor, I have maybe 4 boxes of 46 and under (all the way down to 33) for every box of 50 and up.        

[ElPuro]

I agree to some extent with the statement earlier about elitism, with caveats. The issue is that some people are judging others (those stupid Americans and their love for fat cigars, for example) and implying they are ignorant or wrong for their opinion. Why? I understand some folks don't like the trend toward fatter smokes,  but still....