Is Cigarmageddon changing your cigar protocol?

[El Presidente]

Is Cigarmageddon changing your cigar protocol? 

 

I didn't think it would but it certainly appears to be changing mine. In my day to day CC,  I have regressed to smoking my favourite CC cigars only and that is Mareva/Corona Gorda/Robusto/Beli only.  There is rarely a Cohiba or Trini in sight.  NC would now be 50% of what I am smoking and that is largely the 2023 Nudes rollout with some Padron/AF/Oliva thrown in. 

I have to say I am more than happy with that mix. I haven't missed a beat 

 

[NSXCIGAR]

Only had to drop Trini out of the regular rotation. And no more occasional Cohiba.

Other than that no changes. 

[Tunkat92]

Most certainly I’m located in USA so NWs make up most of my selection but I love the occasional CC. They latest prices pushed CC into the high premium pricing for me and makes me second guess lighting one up or sharing as much. Never thought I’d be hoarding my Reyes stash.

[jakebarnes]

I am a little annoyed at the decline of the Coloniales as that is a favorite. I am still hoping for some correction there where I can eventually find it at the blended price you had them at around June this year. I was fine with a slightly higher Coloniales. Just not the insane prices people are trying to sell them for now. Cohiba is effectively dead to me. Both are getting less rotation time given the prices--so treating them more as special occasion cigars. 

Outside of the "top" brands, not much has changed for what goes in the rotation. Still a lot of robusto, corona gorda, and longer formats when I can take the time. Still pretty generous with my stock at the lounge--I don't get hoarding (looking at you, people with "bourbon bunkers") as I know I can't take them with me and I don't really have the patience or interest in secondary market selling. I bought these for me to enjoy and share as I see fit.

Overall, it's made me more curious about NC offerings. Tried some Caldwell (Last Tsar), picked up some Atabey (the lancero and some other size I forgot the name of), and increased my Padron 1964 Principe stock so they are back to being a rotation cigar. Even got a box of Davidoff Millenium robustos to throw in the rotation. Variety is nice, but I do find myself reaching for my CC stock more.

[DaBoot]

Yes, definitely not reaching for any cohiba I have, and can’t replace. Trinidad boxes are not being touched except for my favorite Reyes, and when they’re gone they are gone.

also picked up some NC sticks for handing out. Approx 6$ each. If you want Cuban, learn what 24:24 is. 

[vladdraq]

Yeah, me too. I have more and more dreams with me smoking Cohibas. 

[Rhinoww]

Been sick w a cold. Yes the old fashioned cold. Not flu. Not Covid. But still did not smoke for two weeks. Enjoying an Epi 1 rn. Will be keeping a spreadsheet of what I smoke this year. Will revisit in six months but my bet is that I’ll be smoking more farm rolls than I have in the past. Doubt I’ll have many nc but time will tell. Still lots on hand. Farm rolls will spread things out even further. 
I don’t see ever buying more Cohiba or Trin. Big dogs are also very pricey. Hard to see what DC are going for in BR. The big dogs on hand will be smoked slowly. 
I will eventually jump back in on some of the mid sized sticks depending on where my collection needs are, but that will be a year or two off given pricing and US issues. Glad I followed advice here to put the proverbial hay in the barn when the harvests were good. 
I will need to figure out how to better store and mark and age my farm rolls/unboxed sticks. Currently out of space for them. 
so in short buying habits have changed for now. Consumption has not. This is not a long term strategy though beyond the next 8-10 years unless I move to NC 

[HarveyBoulevard]

Nothing has changed as far as smoking goes.  Plowing through Esmeralda, Topes, Coloniales, Vigia, Media Luna, Siglo VI.  I know I will never replace them but it seems to have INCREASED the frequency I reach for Trinidad or Cohiba.  I will not be buying more of those sticks so not sure why the aforementioned has occurred.

Buying has changed.  More Nudies.  More nudies planned.  Only will be buying CC Staples like JL2, D4, E2, BBF, DE, PE, Edmundos, RASS, La Fuerza, etc.  Nothing fancy anymore.

[Popof4]

3 hours ago, HarveyBoulevard said:

Nothing has changed as far as smoking goes.  Plowing through Esmeralda, Topes, Coloniales, Vigia, Media Luna, Siglo VI.  I know I will never replace them but it seems to have INCREASED the frequency I reach for Trinidad or Cohiba.  I will not be buying more of those sticks so not sure why the aforementioned has occurred.

Buying has changed.  More Nudies.  More nudies planned.  Only will be buying CC Staples like JL2, D4, E2, BBF, DE, PE, Edmundos, RASS, La Fuerza, etc.  Nothing fancy anymore.

This!

[shokao]

Yeah. No more weekly Cohibas / Trinis, no more Special Editions, no more fancy stuff. Thank God I love regulars like Partagas, Montecristo, QD and Bolivar. Those are not that much affected anyway. I’m back on NC path, mixing both and enjoying a lot. No need to worry, lots of good stuff out there, like Nudies, Padron, Davidoff…

[Kaptain Karl]

I'm definitely smoking less Trinidad and Cohiba, although my Cohiba's still need more rest (only about 2-2.5 years on my boxes) I'm 32 and will have kids 2-3 years from now, so it may take 10-15 years to smoke through the 1600 sticks I have. So really nothing crazy besides not smoking my last 3 boxes of Coloniales too fast. I'm sure I'll be lucky to have 2 cigars a week when I have kids. Hopefully in the future I'll have the means to buy boxes I didnt buy enough of on Bond Roberts, but that sure hasnt came yet! 

[Ford2112]

I'm smoking more NCs lately. When the MoeFoes and Nudies roll out I will stock up on those. So yes its affecting what I am willing to buy now regarding CCs. I'll be extremely selective from here on out, what I buy, when I smoke,and what. I have about 3 years of Cuban stock if I supplement with NC which is fine by me.

 

[Hemclas]

I've been buying NC for the first time in about 10 years.  Trinidad and Cohiba are now reserved for times when I know I'll be in an ideal environment where I can get the most out of the experience.

 

[bates40]

When recently single I smoked 3-5 cigars a day, plus another 5 when golfing. 

One of the (very few) advantages of getting married has been cutting down on cigars and spending more time with the family. 

I was never a big Cohiba or Trini guy- never saw the value of their prices even before the price increase(s). Smoke mostly custom rolls from trips to La Isla and my beloved Monte 4s- which are crazy insane re: their price point but true love is true love. 

 

 

[Corylax18]

Not Really. My protocol started changing year ago. I cant say I saw things getting this bad this fast, but it was pretty clear to me several years ago that we were in the "Good Old Days"

The only real chage is that I've stopped purchasing Coloniales and Fundadores, even in Cuba, and that most likely wont change. I'll smoke through the last 7-8 boxes of Trini I have and that will be that. 

[targa88]

Rob,

I would echo some of your comments about those specific vitolas 

Cohiba, Trini or Behike for that matter were never in my regular rotation.

Price and availability of vitolas that I prefer has had a larger impact in the last 12 months. Which has lead to a voyage of "re-discovery" for NCs (stopped smoking NCs over 20 years ago). In their case too many to chose from at this juncture - so I have been relying on recommendations from those who know better...

Will definitely be curious to try some of the new Nudie vitolas coming soon... 

 

[anacostiakat]

Yea.  With maybe one exception I have not bought Cohiba or Trini in years.  Smoke what I have rarely as most are enterin the 10+ years mark.  Will get around to them at some point.  Have plenty to go through.  Just not purchasing much outside of some customs.  I expect this to continue for the future.

[gustavehenne]

I only got into cigars in 2020 but managed to amass a reasonable collection of CCs although I always had a love of NCs and specifically Padron, Fuente, Ashton and Davidoff (although to a slightly lesser degree). I never started with an eye to flipping anything, however, 'cigarmageddon' has make me look at my collection as an investment which I absolutely hate. Before I would happily pick out a Siglo VI, Lanceros, Esplendidos, Fundadores etc. etc. and shoot the breeze, now I really couldn't bare to do it - Lanceros are currently retailing for £130 in the UK, I paid £18 for them (to be fair, I didn't buy them originally in the UK  )

I am smoking almost six NCs for every one CC that I smoke, and absolutely loving it. I miss the sweetness of the Cuban tobacco but then I get my fix every now and then with an aged Upmann Sir Winston or an aged SLR Petit Corona etc. that is special. Everything else, I'm leaving to appreciate and will eventually flip it and reduce my mortgage dramatically. Additionally, I'm getting far less annoyed and pissed off with CC construction and quality which rarely is seen on NC cigars - so my mood is also better.

I can see my collection being 90% NC and 10% CC in the future and likely not Cohiba or Trinidad but aged regular production Cuban and maybe some special editions in formats that I love (Laguito No. 1 and 2, Julieta No. 2, Prominentes etc.).

[RDB]

I haven’t bought any more Cohiba or Trinidad since The Event, and I’ve slowed my smoking of those marcas. Otherwise not much change on what I smoke, although my buying is much reduced. I tend to smoke only small cigars in the winter, and I’m more disciplined about that now. Smoking and buying Nudies, otherwise all CCs.

[puromaniac]

Hoarding some precious Behike 52s I lucked into in a trade, smoking more regular CCs than ever (semi-retired with the time and attitude: Who knows how long I've got? Kids aren't getting all my money.), and more Nudies.

[DOYLE]

It 100% changed it.

I went from buying a box of CC's a month to now only buying one box a year. The value just isn't there for me personally. The amount I'm paying for the quality of the product doesn't match. I'm mostly smoking NC's with some farm rolls and customs mixed in and the occasional CC. 

[JustDave]

Was just in London, didn't see many cubans.  Oliva seemed to be 'the premium cigar'.

[Sir Diggamus]

My cigar protocol changed when I moved to a climate that has freezing temps for half the year. Because of that I had already cut down quite a bit during those cold months. Cigarmageddon really just had me adding a few more NCs into the mix. Not a huge change. I was never a daily smoker.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[duabley]

Cigarmageddon has all but done me in for cubans... from smoking through 1-2 boxes a month to 1- 2 a year. And while the nc world has deals, cheap wholesalers, and auctions by volume the ones worthy of comparing with my beloved bpc  (@ $4/ stick) are still localy taxed up to $15/ stick plus, nor are they as enjoyable. So even here, in the land of the non cuban,  im being driven out.

Now im  finding my coin is being diverted more and more to golf... my 2nd love.  Since the price hikes ive lowered my handycap 13-14 strokes! 

 

[KnightsAnole]

Changed entirely. Stopped buying CCs for now and will continue until they seem like money well spent. I can hold out for years with my stash, no worries- been having a great time rolling my own NC tobacco in the hiatus, keeps the interest up.