Do you stick to a few brands or vary your collection?

[kobsjones]

I find myself rethinking my cigar buying. Only been smoking since 2015 so I would get boxes of cigars I thought I would like. But now I'm rethinking this strategy.  I really like 4-5 brands and for the time being I am going to try different vitolas within these brands.  I guess maybe I should try buying more singles of things I want to try in the future.

What are all your collections like out there? Varied or do you stick to a few brands?

[Heatmiser]

I definitely vary my collection but that is because I like variety.  However, I have my favorites.

[Wertman]

35 minutes ago, Heatmiser said:

I definitely vary my collection but that is because I like variety.  However, I have my favorites.

What favorites do you have?  Also why are they your favorite brand and format?

[Astar20]

Definitely have favorites within the different brands. 

[Stump89]

I have a box/boxes of every marca except Cuaba lol. 

[Colt45]

1 hour ago, kobsjones said:

I guess maybe I should try buying more singles of things I want to try in the future.

That's the way to go - buy boxes of what you already know you like, and a number of singles each of what you'd like to experiment with. What I have / have had is somewhat spread across the board, but I guess that's been tilted more toward experimentation versus variety for variety's sake. I do have, of course, cigars I've reacquired.

[kobsjones]

34 minutes ago, Wertman said:

What favorites do you have?  Also why are they your favorite brand and format?

Big Upmann fan.  Also Partagas and Cohiba.  I do like smaller vitolas (corona, petit corona, lonsdale).  Had a siglo I recently and was blown away by it.

[SOFLO88]

starting out, I bought a few of the milder 10 ct boxes,some 3 packs if available and of course some singles for ones that dont have 10 ct or 3 packs. I got to try a few before deciding if i liked the cigar. Id say go with that. I have a variety and with most marcas I have a favorite or two from each. 

 

A good example for me is the Partagas brand has small packs for most of their cigars. D4, D5, D6, P2, E2,. I tried them in the smaller packs first before buying boxes.

[CaptainQuintero]

  I'll warn you now, the harder you look the more cigars you'll find that you like and then end up getting a box of!

 

[Booyaa]

Very varied

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[Hollywood Ninja]

  I'll warn you now, the harder you look the more cigars you'll find that you like and then end up getting a box of!
 

So true! My “cigars I’d like to try” list keeps growing because of all my “looking.”


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[Vortigan]

Definitely varied but Bolivar and Partagas heavy.

[Notsocleaver]

I don't think you are going to find many 'I only smoke Monte #2' types on this forum. They have already figured out what they like and don't have much use for further discussion.

I'd like the claim I'm a 'variety is the spice of life' type, but in truth my humidor is at least 50% H Upmann and that isn't likely to change. For a lot of marcas, I like to keep a box around, but only a box is fine. But if I don't at least have some Mag 46, Mag 50, Connie A, and #2s I feel like I need to stock up.

[JGD]

If you had asked me a few months ago I would have said that my current stock is very varied. However, as I have been trying to keep up with the weekly marca review contest I have discovered that there are a few maracas that I don’t have any boxes of at all. As a result, the current shopping list has gotten longer. My wife is up for a new job with a significant pay bump, so if she gets it she may not notice a quick increase on the credit card...

[tigger]

I used to keep a wide variety of Marcas on hand. Over time, I've whittled it down to just a few, and a few vitolas within those Marcas.

Partagas and Upmann make up the vast majority of my collection. Then classic-sized HDM Le Hoyos. Then Cohiba (though less and less so). Once in a awhile I'll buy a box of something different, but it's pretty rare.

I think there have been three main drivers to this: 

- My tastes have solidified
- I smoke a lot less than I once did (one or two a week down from three or four a day)
- Some of the cigars I loved in other Marcas are no longer in the Habanos catologue. For instance, I don't have a singe stick of Punch on hand, but if Ninfas and RS#11s were still being rolled, I would have boxes of them. 

[Heatmiser]

4 hours ago, Wertman said:

What favorites do you have?  Also why are they your favorite brand and format?

My favorites are Partagas, Upmann, Por Larranaga and Montecristo.  I don't really have a favorite format.  I really like all different formats but if I had to choose just one it would probably be a robusto.

[MigsG]

I was like you, buying boxes only of cheap and cheerfuls I like. This year, been buying 6ers on 24:24 of Petit Corona sized and larger to try, and after two months find myself with a huge variety from almost all marcas. Worth trying, can always trade what you don't like.

[captain]

I buy boxes of what I like, multi boxes of what I love and 1/4 boxes of what I testing to see if I like 

[MD Puffer]

Both.  There's so many I haven't tried.  I pick something new up often enough, but I routinely procure Monte 4s, SLR Regios, Monte 2s, PD4s, P2s, etc.

[HDGSN]

I like variety - preferably I would have an exemplar box of each marca if I had the space - but always need H Upmann, Partagas and Por Larrañaga in the humidor. 

Cab of Shorts, 898s, cab of PLPC, couple staggered PLMC, Connie 1 and Sir Winston and the rest could be whatever and I’d be happy.

[Wertman]

For me I have a bunch of singles but my favorite is Monte PE or no2.  Then PSd 4. Then hoyo no 2.  Those are my favorite bands and sizes.  Those are current production.  I have not had to many aged cigars. So which cigars to age long term 5plus years is the big question for me.  

[Derboesekoenig]

I tend to buy boxes only, convincing myself that it is more "economical" that way hahaha

I started smoking habanos in 2016 and still haven't tried everything. I'm working on it though. I seem to vie towards Partagas, Diplomaticos, Rafael Gonzalez, Bolivar, and LGC, but I have some of all the marcas. I like the aspect of aging my own stuff, hence the box purchases. And if my tastes change, I figure it's better have aged sticks on hand for trading purposes to something that suits my tastes 5, 10, 15 years down the road.

Best decision I've made was joining this community. I frequented 2 or 3 other cigar forums previously (USA geared more towards non-cuban cigars) and their atmosphere was very hostile, snobbish, and just overall a negative experience for me. So thank you FoH for being so welcoming and providing a solid base of knowledge. It is much appreciated.

[HumidorJuan]

I'm still in that phase of trying as many different vitolas out as I can..And I also fear the fact that if you buy a box, youre committed to 25 even if they turn out "meh". Thats what has happened with a box of monte 3s.  a few good ones, and than one tasted like sand and midway thru tasted like chemical, threw it out the car window.

[joshhooper7]

I definitely have a little bit of everything, but I have waaaaaay more Bolivar and Montecristo than anything else. I’m pretty fearless when it comes to buying a box to try something new. Either you like it and have an entire box, or you don’t like it and recoup the costs on the secondary market and tasted 1-2 for free. 

[Islandboy]

I like variety, a lot.

That said, I'm only about 3 years into Habanos appreciation, and I'm starting to see a fine tuning of my tastes shaping and influencing my purchases. 2 years ago I was buying quarter boxes a lot, which almost always lead to a box purchase. I'm now honing in on the more complex earthy/spiced stuff that still has a nice touch of sweetness: HUpmann, Bolivar, Partagas, Punch, etc.

I do like Cohiba, but I've noticed I'm more into the Linea Classica line than Linea 1492 (Siglo), and these are all part of my longer term aging plan.

There's also a time and place for the spiced fruitiness of RyJ, Ramon Allones, SLR.

And where would a Sunday morning coffee be without the caramel goodness of Por Larranaga or Rafael Gonzalez?

Then there's the chocolate fix of Montecristo. 

Yeah, I like variety.