Box of cigars to celebrate an occasion

[Dr Process]

Gentleman, it’s time to celebrate. 

Last week, I went and had the vasectomy done 🤢.  This week I made my last student loan payment.  🥳
 

The time has come.  I’m reaching beyond what the typical budget allows for.  
 
My wife has green lit a budget of $2k USD. The stars (or at least the moon, earth, sun) hath aligned. Must strike while iron is hot or funds likely to go elsewhere. The mailman keeps replacing those summer patio/furniture catalogs as quickly as I throw them out - I sense a conspiracy.  

I have really enjoyed Cohiba (albeit in smaller numbers) and this is what I’m leaning towards.  My humidor would look so much better with a box of Cohiba Robustos, or something.    

Anyway, it got me thinking, I wonder what others would do or have done in this situation.  One box of a pricier marca? Multiple boxes of something a little more affordable? Something else altogether? 

Cheers and hope all are having a great weekend! 

[wjs]

I’m trying to grab a box of Lusis or Winstons for a similar reason. A few months from 50, a box of 25 should hit a bunch of highlights going forward. Now I need to get fast on 24:24. Lol

[rcarlson]

11 hours ago, wjs said:

I’m trying to grab a box of Lusis or Winstons for a similar reason. A few months from 50, a box of 25 should hit a bunch of highlights going forward. Now I need to get fast on 24:24. Lol

Lusis or Winstons would be a perfect choice but very hard to come by.  

[JoshD]

A cedar tray and a 50 pack of Ninfas...spend the $1600 on an event/hotel/drinks/etc.

[La_Tigre]

Has to come down to what you prefer and depends on what stock you already have. If you are light, then sure, grab a big box and save enough to put toward everyday cigar supply. $1200-1500 for one box and the rest on some smoking stock. 

[TheDonTX]

Depends on what you have but if I had 2K for cigars right now (already have Winnies and Lusi) I would get a box of Cohiba Siglo II or IIIs, Quai d'Orsay Corona Claros and San Cristobal de La Habana La Fuerza. COROs and other Cohibas are amazing but the IIs and IIIs scratch the Cohiba itch for me. But like others have said, no collection is really complete without Lusis and Winnies. You should respond with what you already have so we can help you. 2K is a great spot to be in and a blessing! 

[BrightonCorgi]

I'd go for big festive cigars like Double Corona, A's, Salomone's, etc. A size you won't blow through so quick.

[david9985]

It sounds like you are keen for Cohiba. If you already pretty much know what you want and it sounds like you do, CORO will be a beautiful addition to your humidor! Yes they are expensive, but in this case that is kind of part of the remit...they are also an incredible stick.

[Li Bai]

15 hours ago, Dr Process said:

Gentleman, it’s time to celebrate. 

Last week, I went and had the vasectomy done 🤢.  This week I made my last student loan payment.  🥳
 

The time has come.  I’m reaching beyond what the typical budget allows for.  
 
My wife has green lit a budget of $2k USD. The stars (or at least the moon, earth, sun) hath aligned. Must strike while iron is hot or funds likely to go elsewhere. The mailman keeps replacing those summer patio/furniture catalogs as quickly as I throw them out - I sense a conspiracy.  

I have really enjoyed Cohiba (albeit in smaller numbers) and this is what I’m leaning towards.  My humidor would look so much better with a box of Cohiba Robustos, or something.    

Anyway, it got me thinking, I wonder what others would do or have done in this situation.  One box of a pricier marca? Multiple boxes of something a little more affordable? Something else altogether? 

Cheers and hope all are having a great weekend! 

With that kind of budget a few years ago i started to buy by the box for real, I could afford an Epi 2 50 cab, a RASS 50 cab, two boxes of Royal Corona, a Party short 50 cab and two boxes of Bolivar Corona Jr.

Those were different times indeed but the idea was to grab as many great cigars as possible. Of course it is up to you but if you really want this ONE box, whatever you chose be sure you love that cigar beforehand.

If I were you I'd look for a 50 cab of Lusitanias but if you haven't had your fair share yet you might be disappointed. The best for me is to have a good relationship with your retailer and have him call you when he gets what you're looking for, grab one cigar or two and ask him (politely) to keep the box for you to grab when you've had the chance to sample it. It's ideal.

But of course our situations are different as I live in a country where you can't buy tobacco online and you're from a country where you can't buy CCs in a store. I like buying from a shop but tbh I'm kinda jealous I can't buy from our host. 😂😂

I wouldn't buy Cohibas myself, they're so expensive now they can only disappoint, they're generally outstanding cigars but so are many other CCs.

[Çnote]

15 hours ago, TheDonTX said:

Quai d'Orsay Corona Claros and San Cristobal de La Habana La Fuerza

Yeah right here 

[Dr Process]

Friends, thank you for the replies.  

My current stock:  decent amount of BBF, PD4, Monte 2 & 4, JL2, Partagas shorts, Trini reyes.  

I have a 10 ct box of Lusis that have been really great.  I’ve sampled various different Cohiba as 3 packs, courtesy of Rob and 24:24.  The tubos of CORO were really good. It’s a meager supply, I know, but it’s what I’m working with.  

Although I’m likely to go with Cohiba, if I came across a 50 cab of Lusis, don’t think I could pass it up.  

At the end of the day, these are nice problems to have.  

I like reading what others have done! 

[La_Tigre]

2 hours ago, Dr Process said:

Friends, thank you for the replies.  

My current stock:  decent amount of BBF, PD4, Monte 2 & 4, JL2, Partagas shorts, Trini reyes.  

I have a 10 ct box of Lusis that have been really great.  I’ve sampled various different Cohiba as 3 packs, courtesy of Rob and 24:24.  The tubos of CORO were really good. It’s a meager supply, I know, but it’s what I’m working with.  

Although I’m likely to go with Cohiba, if I came across a 50 cab of Lusis, don’t think I could pass it up.  

At the end of the day, these are nice problems to have.  

I like reading what others have done! 

Sounds like CoRo has your fancy. If you’ve not tried QdO 50 or 54 then I would recommend a 10 of those. Seems like Robusto is your preferred for this occasion? It is hard to commit to a pricy single box without more experience and the possibility of going with more variety in a sampler pack. 

[Dr Process]

1 hour ago, La_Tigre said:

Sounds like CoRo has your fancy. If you’ve not tried QdO 50 or 54 then I would recommend a 10 of those. Seems like Robusto is your preferred for this occasion? It is hard to commit to a pricy single box without more experience and the possibility of going with more variety in a sampler pack. 

I agree.  While I generally like the H Upmann marca, tough to commit to a box of Sir Winston when I’ve never even tried one. I’ve had the pleasure of QdO, solid cigars.  I’ve been able to score small supplies of COROs over the past two years and they’ve been solid.  My familiarity (and enjoyment) is what is pushing me this direction.  

At any rate, thanks for your thoughts! 

[Ford2112]

5 minutes ago, Dr Process said:

I agree.  While I generally like the H Upmann marca, tough to commit to a box of Sir Winston when I’ve never even tried one.  

YOLO

[cigaraholic]

Difficult to get, but there’s a reason why🤗 Sir Winston would be my choice. For me you have the best chance of getting a box of really great cigars with them. Of course you have to like vanilla cream cookies 👻You’ll still have money left over for some Cohiba, but you should really get some age on them to get your money's worth. Sir Winston’s age beautifully, but they also come out of the box swinging.

[RDB]

If I had to spend 2k of someone else’s money right now on a box of cigars, I think I’d go for the Partagas Aliados.

Winnies are very hard to find, but do pop up on 24:24 occasionally. CoRos are much easier, but I don’t like being gouged.

[Chibearsv]

Congratulations on your reasons to celebrate!  In my opinion, having quality comfortable patio furniture is celebration worthy too. Making the wife happy to buy it is a Win/Win 😁. 

When you decide to sit quietly with any good cigar to celebrate, it doesn't matter what the cigar is to anyone but you, so just pick one that you know you'll enjoy that day. You'd hate to celebrate with one of our selections on your special day and find that you don't enjoy it as much as we thought you would. I'd take those "extra" funds and expand my inventory with some 10 count boxes that look intriguing. Having an arsenal of varying cigars means you'll have more choices to be able to celebrate with the one that seems right on that particular day. Explore, sample, enjoy. Good luck!

[Chas.Alpha]

10 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

Congratulations on your reasons to celebrate!  In my opinion, having quality comfortable patio furniture is celebration worthy too. Making the wife happy to buy it is a Win/Win 😁. 

When you decide to sit quietly with any good cigar to celebrate, it doesn't matter what the cigar is to anyone but you, so just pick one that you know you'll enjoy that day. You'd hate to celebrate with one of our selections on your special day and find that you don't enjoy it as much as we thought you would. I'd take those "extra" funds and expand my inventory with some 10 count boxes that look intriguing. Having an arsenal of varying cigars means you'll have more choices to be able to celebrate with the one that seems right on that particular day. Explore, sample, enjoy. Good luck!

Hell, I was going to offer up my red dot Coro, but since I’ll be staring both the Roberts in the eye next weekend, I thought it’d be bad form. 🙃

[SUP8333]

I would chase down a box of aged Cohiba robustos and BBFs on BR, and snack on them the whole month. 

[01Vert]

20 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

Congratulations on your reasons to celebrate!  In my opinion, having quality comfortable patio furniture is celebration worthy too. Making the wife happy to buy it is a Win/Win 😁. 

When you decide to sit quietly with any good cigar to celebrate, it doesn't matter what the cigar is to anyone but you, so just pick one that you know you'll enjoy that day. You'd hate to celebrate with one of our selections on your special day and find that you don't enjoy it as much as we thought you would. I'd take those "extra" funds and expand my inventory with some 10 count boxes that look intriguing. Having an arsenal of varying cigars means you'll have more choices to be able to celebrate with the one that seems right on that particular day. Explore, sample, enjoy. Good luck!

This. I would rather have a few more cigars to enjoy overtime than one box that every time I pull one out I would be thinking, “one less than I will ever have” sort of thought. One decent box and some 10s or something you like now and put that away for a few years to have an aged box for another occasion.  

[joeypots]

2K? It depends on what you already have in your humidor and if you have the experience to know what you like. Sure , COROs are great, but if you have the patience to age them, a cab of RASS in five or six years could yield some 90 point cigars all day long. I think Cohiba is worth a good premium, like 30-40% over other marcas but they are not worth triple. If you have a big stash, sure, grab a box of CORO. If you are just getting a collection going you could probably get about 100 or more fantastic Cuban cigars for 2 grand.

How about a cab of RASS, 25s of MC#1 and  PPP?

[BrightonCorgi]

A 50 cab could carry you a decade if you don't go house on them.

[MagicalBikeRide]

If what you buy is going to represent a reasonable proportion of inventory (say total numbers 5-10%), then I’d be trying to diversify / de-risk and buy multiple boxes rather than a single box.

We hate to think about it at current pricing, but the risk remains that you buy a single box and it’s just a complete stinker. That would break my heart.

And then my view re Cohiba - CoRo has given me some of the best cigar experiences of my life - an incredible stick. But some boxes have been better than others. And there are only 3 or 4 retailers that I would actually purchase from these days (call me a sceptic, but such is life). 

[BettyHumpder]

I'd find something on Bond Roberts.

[Dr Process]

Friends, thank you for all of the advice!!! No lie, after I made my final loan payment, the feeling was, shall we say… “irrational exuberance.” Bring on the Behike! As time has elapsed, I’ve drifted back toward sanity. I can’t argue with the logic of gathering many, high quality, sticks. Still, I’m tempted by the Sir Winstons, Lusis, CORO, etc. I really only buy from 24/24 and BR.  Fate will decide for me! I will update with whatever I end up doing. 

Gents, thanks again for the outpouring of replies!