A Sampler of Cubans

[Chef]

On 2/7/2019 at 2:57 AM, Colt45 said:

Again, me personally, I'd start to sample after acclimatization. Typically, when we discuss aging, it's in years and not months. A sampler will give you a general idea of cigars you might want to investigate further. At some point you'll end up with enough cigars, and be able to leave some to "age" and see what the differences might be.

It is a bit of a journey....

It seems I keep shooting myself in the foot over and over again. What I mean by “right away” is after a 4-6 week period of exclamation.

On 2/7/2019 at 2:31 AM, 99call said:

In terms of not spending a great deal of money, whilst also getting a good idea of how the brands should taste,  I think these cigars would provide a great cheap sampler

- Por Larranaga Monte Carlo

- Romeo Y Julieta Royales

- Ramon Allones Club Corona

- Monte 4

- Juan Lopez No 2

- JLP Cazadore

- Quintero Favorito

- Partagas Short

- LGC No 4

- Trinidad Reyes

- Bolivar Petit Coronas

- Cuaba Divino

- Le Hoyo De Monterrey Palmas Extra

- Upmann Half Corona

- San Cristobal El Principe

- El Rey del Mundo Demi Tasse

- Diplomaticos No 2

- Rafael Gonzalez Perlas

- Vegueros Tapados

- Quai D'Orsay 50 (Coronas Claro if you can get them)

- Saint Luis Rey Regios

- Sancho Panza Non plus

- Pack of Cohiba Shorts

Whoa, thank you for taking the time to write out this list. 

[99call]

16 minutes ago, Chef said:

Whoa, thank you for taking the time to write out this list. 

Im not suggesting they're all the best cigars.    But they are all IMHO the best entry points into each marca, that still have the quality. 

I forgot a 

- Punch Punch.

 

[CaptainQuintero]

Yeah minimum of 30 days but I don't touch really for 3 months, it really pays to wait for them to settle down

[Chef]

12 minutes ago, CaptainQuintero said:

Yeah minimum of 30 days but I don't touch really for 3 months, it really pays to wait for them to settle down

Torture

[CaptainQuintero]

1 hour ago, Chef said:

Torture

I know right! It's going to be difficult when it's you're first lot too, if you haven't ordered yet you could always add on a few cheaper singles that can keep you going and you can revisit later: RyJ Mille Fleur/cedros deluxe, Quinteros panetela, partagas cheapies etc

Or maybe order two of the samplers and test the first lot after 30 days then the rest later. 

It's no firm rule, you might get great smokes right on delivery, you could always dry box a few for a week and see how they go?

[joeypots]

To be clear, acclimateization is about letting your cigars recover from a ride in a aircraft cargo hold from half way around the world and getting the excess moisture out of young cigars. 30 to 60 days at a much lower RH than you are used to keeping cigars, something like 60%RH will do the trick. I like the corona and corona gorda idea but I don’t think you can go wrong. Don’t be intimidated by other’s experience. Just have fun and enjoy the journey. 

[HopeUgood]

11 hours ago, Chef said:

Torture

Can confirm....I failed to wait 30 days many of times ((although it does seemingly make a noticeable difference) I am a fellow noob).  You may know this already, but some of the cubans do better with age (years) while others are good young.  It is worth finding out what is good young, and also worth grabbing cigars on 24:24 threads that have a couple years age on them (when they come up), since the box date and codes are posted with the cigars offered. My 2 cents, some veterans probably have much more valuable advice. Seems like every week or two something with a couple years on them pops up. 

[CaptainQuintero]

^^good shout, didn't think to mention that, the rest period is about getting the cigars to recover from the journey and acclimatised to your humidor, not to do stuff cigars being freshly rolled and full of ammonia etc. That seems pretty much a thing of the past now; Cubans are essentially good to go right away. Of course they generally have a peak to hit with a bit of aging, but you're good to go as soon as they've got over their jetlag.

[aphexafx]

Everyone makes a good point.  Just because specific cigars are known to peak in 3/5/8 years, doesn't mean you're committing a sin by trying them out before that.  If you can learn to appreciate a bit of youth, you can very easily determine what they are and where you want to go.  I see absolutely no point in trying to chase well aged cigars with your first examples.  Let them acclimate and have at 'em.  Just understand that they're probably young.  They might present some youthful flavors, or they might grab you in the throat.  You're just ball-parking.  If you come across some more aged examples, by all means grab a few and see what all the fuss is about.  But don't ever worry about not sitting on your samples.

Personally, I enjoy tasting fresh cigars and I've never put a box away without giving it a go first.

Dig your smokes!  ?

[Chef]

Thanks for all the opinions and suggestions, gang.  What I finally ended up doing was completely different than my initial thoughts.  I ordered the petit corona sampler and then added a half dozen other individual cigars in various shapes and sizes.  

 

[Colt45]

4 minutes ago, Chef said:

Thanks for all the opinions and suggestions, gang.  What I finally ended up doing was completely different than my initial thoughts.  I ordered the petit corona sampler and then added a half dozen other individual cigars in various shapes and sizes. 

Nice work! Post up your thoughts as you give them a try.

[aphexafx]

Congrats!  You will enjoy them.  Yes, let us know what you think.  

[HopeUgood]

10 hours ago, Chef said:

Thanks for all the opinions and suggestions, gang.  What I finally ended up doing was completely different than my initial thoughts.  I ordered the petit corona sampler and then added a half dozen other individual cigars in various shapes and sizes.  

 

That sounds like probably the best possible way to approach, enjoy my friend. I personally reach for a petite corona or something even smaller 4/5 times. I honestly dont have the time to do a prolonged cigar session as often as I would like.  

[stunod]

I like the robusto sampler. I have bought twice. Great selection. Imo

[garbandz]

the majority of my rotation is from 2014 and 2015.

occasionally I will dip into a '16 box.

my '17 and '18 boxes are in a dark place, waiting.

less often I will have a 2011 or '12.

I don't have very much that is older than that.

I have smoked a lot of young sticks,and they were not bad, but the difference after a couple of years has spoiled me.

Now I am really not interested in trying anything else young.

Hope you will get a chance to burn a 4 or 5 year old stick one day.

[aphexafx]

2 hours ago, crking3 said:

 ...or at least before having more than one just to try ROTT lol

WHO!?  Who has ever done that!?  

[earthson]

The robustos are good, but chunky.  RASS was my first favorite cigar.

If it's thin RG, the Corona sampler is your ticket.  I prefer marevas and the smaller.  You cannot beat a box of PLMC for a sampler, it's been my new favorite for years, irrespective of price.  Sure, it's 25 of the same cigar, but masterful?  Yes.

You're gonna need a cooler for storage.

[Chef]

On 2/14/2019 at 10:40 PM, earthson said:

 

You're gonna need a cooler for storage.

I have multiple weathertote boxes on standby.  

[Chef]

I received my petit corona sampler pack today.  The countdown starts now.  T-minus 30 days and counting...

[Chef]

So, after 6 weeks of acclimatization, I finally smoked the first from the sampler pack.  

Here are my thoughts...

 

[Chef]

Another week, another "first" in the world of CCs.  Here's my review of the Monte no. 4...

 

[anjimj]

My advise is to take it slow. Like everyone says buy samplers and get to know what you like. Don't buy into the hype because what people like may not necessarily fall into your wheelhouse.once you figure out what you like just stick those and occasionally continue the journey with exploring different Marcas and vitolas. The cigars aren't going anywhere.