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Posted

I’ve been slicing and dicing my collection a bit lately to see where I should be focusing any buying efforts beyond replacing what I’m smoking. 
 

I added a column to my CC spreadsheet to denote what I considered my more special regular production sticks. Not the ones I just randomly grab, but something I look forward to smoking or consider a more special occasion stick based on price or availability. Right now that’s most things cohiba for me, Hoyo DC, Connie A, Party E2, party 898, Sir Winnie’s, some of the trins etc. 

After slicing and dicing, I realized that of the 7-8 year supply of daily cigars on hand, about 1/4 would fall into the “special” or hard to get now category. 
 

As the consultants would say, I’d like to do a little benchmarking here. What’s your ratio of what you consider your regular CC to your special production CC, however it is you make that distinction. 
 

A secondary question is if your rate of smoking these special sticks matches your ratio. 
 

With prices where they are, I’m trying to be a bit more disciplined about the maintenance/development of my stash. Curious what others are doing. thanks for playing along. 
 

 

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Posted

I do not smoke often comparatively to most who frequent cigar forums. 1-2 per week or so, sometimes only 1 every other. Hence, when I smoke it is always a special occasion for me. My humi reflects this…75%ish premium stock, and it’s not accidental. I’m a small fish though with just a 28 count converted wine fridge as my only humi. It is easier to justify spending the extra $$ on Cohiba though….as my fresh 2021 boxes will easily be 5+ years old before I finish off my older stuff. 

Posted

Daily drivers for me = I don't think twice when I reach.  N1 Lancero/ N1 carlota/ JLS2/D4/RASS/Monte (4/2/1/), BBF, 46/50  etc. 

They make up 20:1 of my cigar consumption for no other reason that I love them.  

  • Like 2
Posted

Funny, some of Prezs daily drivers are my ‘premiums’ lol. That said, I don’t carry ELs or REs. I played the EL game for too long and spent too much to figure out they simply aren’t for me. REs I’d be more inclined to spend for, but I no longer enjoy the chase, so I invest in regular production cigars I know I love/enjoy instead.

  • Like 4
Posted

According to the definition here, I've got mostly premium stock of Limited/Regional/LCDH/Aged/Trini/Coh due to 'real estate' issues and for the daily drivers I pick up 1/4 boxes from 24:24 or grab whatever at the local B&Ms

Posted

50/50?

JLP, Quintero, RGPE, and NC being daily drivers, regular production CC as special. Consumption is a few per month in total. Cohiba comes out for national holidays or birthday half the time.

I'm curious as well how close my estimate is to actual consumption.

Posted

Almost exclusively boxes under $200 and I've been building up some singles for the pricer/premium sticks. Any cigar over $10 is a special occasion cigar for me, so I end up having those premium sticks probably 3 to 6 a year. Some out of the time they usually take and for financial reasons too.

Posted

This question is tough since the cigars I consider "special" can change so often.  Right now, I've got a box of light wrapper P2s smoking so well that I wouldn't trade it for a box of Esplendidos.  Rough guess, I'd say I hold about 30% of my inventory in high regard right now.  But I don't avoid those cigars, they taste too good.  My thought is always to keep 4 or 5 from each terrific box separate from the rest to build a magical inventory for later.  But that never works for me.  When they're smoking great, they are going down. 

40% or so are either just OK or not exciting (yet?).  Those get sampled far less frequently hoping for some future transformation. 

The other 30% are unopened boxes that I'm going to put a couple years into before I begin to sample.

  • Like 1
Posted

Funny, before I dove deep into CC and only had a handful of boxes I held the 2 boxes of robustos (RASS and BRC) in very high regard. Maybe had one every few months. When I started stocking in 2019/2020 I added more larger sizes such as Robustos and No 2's. They quickly became daily smokes for me. Now with the price and availability of everything I rarely touch them anymore and they are right back to my special cigars. Mostly Minitos with the occasional larger stick until this crap blows over. 

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Posted

The few specials I have are some I got in trade. I'm a daily smoker and my ratio reflects that. +98% regular production daily smokes and around 40% of those are petit coronas. I'm actually trying to add to the petit corona percentage because that's my favorite size for weekdays. Not to say that I wouldn't like to have more special stuff but I'm still working on building a cushion of daily smokes.

Posted
7 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Daily drivers for me = I don't think twice when I reach.  N1 Lancero/ N1 carlota/ JLS2/D4/RASS/Monte (4/2/1/), BBF, 46/50  etc. 

They make up 20:1 of my cigar consumption for no other reason that I love them.  

I certainly can’t really comment on one’s mindset, but cigars chosen at this ratio is either habit, which I am not likely to believe except from a cigarette smoker, or a broader statement of knowing one’s own mind and taste.

”…no other that I love them “ says it all. This is defining. It means that the choices are special, and/or premium 95% of the time. MHO.

Knowing what is good, is not a sacrifice of what is or isn’t special.

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  • Thanks 1
Posted

Every single one. I smoke two or three cigars a week and I lay most down for about five years until I put fire to them. I am often stunned at how good regular production Cuban cigars can be when they are properly stored. A good example is a 50 cab of Punch Punch that's about 6 years old that I'm about half way through. I think the cigars are fantastic  in every way and as time passes I am less and less inclined to share them. When I get stingy that means the cigars are good. I've been burned by REs, Els and other assorted special cigars and have found that what I like is pretty ordinary in the Cuban cigar world. And, BTW, smoking fewer cigars is key for me getting the most out of them. I find I rapidly loose my sense of taste and enjoyment when I smoke cigar after cigar. My .02$

  • Like 4
Posted
1 hour ago, PigFish said:

Hangin’ out in my hotel watching an old British comedy and smoking an Ayala Lancers. No compromise here.

image.jpg.341f94230960053f76bd04d2c4287164.jpg

 

 

This is NOT a paid advert :rotfl:

 

I can't tell you how much it stokes  me that you enjoy the Nudies N1.  We rolled them for ourselves who are lovers of skinnies. You will love the next evolution. 

  • Haha 1
Posted
6 hours ago, El Presidente said:

 

 

This is NOT a paid advert :rotfl:

 

I can't tell you how much it stokes  me that you enjoy the Nudies N1.  We rolled them for ourselves who are lovers of skinnies. You will love the next evolution. 

Sure….Sure….No chance a leggy model like the Mr. Pig comes for free.

 

😉

 

  • Haha 2
Posted
6 hours ago, El Presidente said:

 

 

This is NOT a paid advert :rotfl:

 

I can't tell you how much it stokes  me that you enjoy the Nudies N1.  We rolled them for ourselves who are lovers of skinnies. You will love the next evolution. 

Can’t tell you how much it stokes me you made them.

We have been friends for 20 some years. I have been bashing Tabacuba for at least 15 of them.

I must have a dozen requests on this site for…. Tabacuba… roll me a consistent 42 or less cigar, bag the fancy box and the fancy price, wrap them in cello, save me the cost of the fancy crap and send me a cigar I can smoke and l love …. every day.

 I have also said that Cuba is not the love of my life. I don’t know people there. There is no romantic mystery for me. They just roll the worlds best cigars. I would replace them in a second. I hate their government and what they do to oppress people. Their beliefs have killed more people than 100 plagues.

You have done what I asked… almost to the letter except without Cuban tobacco. I never would have believed it. I will swear you make this cigar with Cuban tobacco and just say you don’t to protect someone… the romantic in me…

These are truly superior cigars.

You could not pay me to say they are on par and potentially better than the Lanceros. But I will honestly rate them as such without any compensation.

 If I blindly smoked these next to Cohiba, I would likely rate them as better on average. I would not call them Cohibas, in general they have more robust flavor. They are not as polished, but the complexity and character are generally better. I always bring at least one when I travel.

I am thinking 5 bundles of these this time around! Where I will put them, I don’t know…

Cheers mate! Ray

  • Like 2

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