6 months into Cigaramageddon: Your attitude and buying habits

[Bagman]

On 10/26/2022 at 9:59 AM, GVan said:

  No they don't have the CC transitions we're used too - but, they're pretty good cigars.  Besides I'm really enjoying the camaraderie with the local B&M guys bitching about supply and prices.

It' funny, I'm finding NC's more transitional than cubans.  Cuban is more complex of course.  I think it has to do with how the cigars are made.  Cubans use 100% long filler.  So unless you believe the left side of the leaf is different than the right side of the leaf, the amount of transition is limited by design.  NC's  use 90% long filler but then they put in smaller leafs within the cigar.  So you actually smoke different leafs as you go thru the cigar.  Sometimes the put in a strong leaf in the back half and a medium cigar suddenly gets super strong.   So by design, NC's are more transitional.  Though as I said, the complexity goes to the cuban leaf.

[frenchkiwi]

interestingly the cheap and cheerfuls seem to have only gone up 40% while most vitolas and brands have at least doubled in price. i can still be tempted by those c&c s.

but now looking to make a foray back into dreaded non-cuban territory, will see if i can have more success than last time...

[MrBirdman]

Really been enjoying what NC skinnies have to offer. To my palate, those vitolas bring more to the table than Cuban tobacco in a wider RG, especially with the widening price gap. Skinnies are just what I prefer to smoke 90% of the time I’m increasingly finding, and while I’d prefer to do so with Cuban tobacco there’s only a handful left from Habanos, most of which are impossible to find. 

 

[Nevrknow]

On 10/24/2022 at 5:52 PM, Chas.Alpha said:

I also would be interested from an analytic POV. My buying habits have had more to do with relocation than price/availability.

 

Same here. Sitting at stoplights sucks.

[Markspring1978]

I’ve completely stopped buying. Not only has the arrogance in Cuba exponentially expanded, they have gone balls deep in fatties and flavor profiles that I have no interest in. I’ve sold about half of my stock, most at 2-10x what it cost me. A literal silver lining for what, at the end of the day, are just little rolls of dried leaves. It was sure a lot of fun while it lasted though, and I appreciate the FOH crew providing this venue of education and camaraderie. 

[Bijan]

I've stopped buying. I bought 3 boxes in July, and 2 in September, and none since.

I was buying like mad all during the pandemic, and with work ramping up, and being sick all the time due to being the parent of a toddler, I'm down to about 2 cigars a week, and at that burn rate a few decades of supply

[bmac]

No CC’s purchased since price increase ,but thousands of  NC’s have been purchased.Miss the 94’s but don’t miss the quality control and crap shoot.

[Hollywood Ninja]

Thankfully I've found an NC house blend that I really like that when bought in bulk comes in really cheap. Great construction and burn. Mix in the CC here and there to keep things interesting.

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[Duxnutz]

4 hours ago, Hollywood Ninja said:

Thankfully I've found an NC house blend that I really like that when bought in bulk comes in really cheap. Great construction and burn. Mix in the CC here and there to keep things interesting.

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Please share.

[KCCubano]

19 hours ago, MrBirdman said:

Really been enjoying what NC skinnies have to offer. To my palate, those vitolas bring more to the table than Cuban tobacco in a wider RG, especially with the widening price gap. Skinnies are just what I prefer to smoke 90% of the time I’m increasingly finding, and while I’d prefer to do so with Cuban tobacco there’s only a handful left from Habanos, most of which are impossible to find. 

 

Which are your favorite NC skinnies? I have enjoyed the Oliva Serie V Lancero.

[JohnS]

18 hours ago, Bijan said:

I've stopped buying. I bought 3 boxes in July, and 2 in September, and none since.

I was buying like mad all during the pandemic, and with work ramping up, and being sick all the time due to being the parent of a toddler, I'm down to about 2 cigars a week, and at that burn rate a few decades of supply

Completely understandable. Life will change again and you'll most likely find you'll smoke more (or differently) in the future as demand on your time changes. Hang in there! 👍

15 hours ago, bmac said:

No CC’s purchased since price increase ,but thousands of  NC’s have been purchased.Miss the 94’s but don’t miss the quality control and crap shoot.

And I think this is fair enough.

15 hours ago, Hollywood Ninja said:

Thankfully I've found an NC house blend that I really like that when bought in bulk comes in really cheap. Great construction and burn. Mix in the CC here and there to keep things interesting.

It certainly does!

1 hour ago, KCCubano said:

Which are your favorite NC skinnies? I have enjoyed the Oliva Serie V Lancero.

Oh indeed. I have too. I am very grateful this very cigar is available as a Lancero!

[dowjr1]

I just made my first NC box purchase in nearly 10 years.  I still look at the CC for sale here and other places but can't see paying the listed prices even though I can.  There are plenty of good NC stogies out there and the homies south of Miami need to get taken down a notch.

[Greenhorn2]

On 10/21/2022 at 12:12 PM, stevenhaugen said:

Luckily I stocked up throughout 2021 so I have a very healthy stock. There are a few things that have eluded me (or I only have a single box) such as Siglo V, Sir Winnie, Fundadores etc.

That being said, if the whole Cuban cigar machine imploded (or imploded even more) I would be more than happy to sip on Padron, Fuente, Davidoff and Ashton for the rest of my days. I'm sick and tired of paying a premium for Cuban cigars that have super tight draws or that are badly constructed when 9/10 I can reach for an aforementioned cigar and know it works and be satisfied. 

I'll miss the Siglo III, IV, Connie B, Esplendidos etc. but I won't be shelling out for them anymore - they just aren't worth it.

My sentiments exactly. I dabbled in Cubans a little in 2017-2020. When Covid hit and everything shut down I knew it was going to be bad so I went wide open on collecting a stash for the long haul. Wasn't as fortunate as the members who collected back when cigars were cheap but I was lucky to build my collection before shit hit the fan. I'm fine knowing that Arturo Fuente and others make some fine cigars.

[MrBirdman]

On 11/19/2022 at 5:54 AM, KCCubano said:

Which are your favorite NC skinnies? I have enjoyed the Oliva Serie V Lancero.

That's on my list to try - I've been sampling a number. The Illusione lanceros are excellent, and I've also really enjoyed The Wise Man lancero (the only box pressed lancero I've ever smoked). There are a number of good ones beyond that though - NC makers seem to have learned that you can't use ligero in skinnies, and that it's ok for the lancero to be a different take on the blend rather than a miniaturized version of the larger RG cigars in the same line. 

Have I ever had a NC that has stopped time the way a CoLa or Especial can? No...but I haven't had a plugged/poorly constructed ones either. And they consistently hit around 90/91 points (best are 92/93). And more often than not, that's exactly what I'm looking for. 

 

On 10/22/2022 at 3:12 AM, stevenhaugen said:

That being said, if the whole Cuban cigar machine imploded (or imploded even more) I would be more than happy to sip on Padron, Fuente, Davidoff and Ashton for the rest of my days. I'm sick and tired of paying a premium for Cuban cigars that have super tight draws or that are badly constructed when 9/10 I can reach for an aforementioned cigar and know it works and be satisfied. 

I'll miss the Siglo III, IV, Connie B, Esplendidos etc. but I won't be shelling out for them anymore - they just aren't worth it.

Bingo. Started to identify boxes to vacuum seal, gonna post a thread on that sometime soon.