Has anyone caught the magical dragon?

[ha_banos]

Sometimes I think @Ford2112 has been smoking the magic dragon. 

 

[Ford2112]

  On 2/3/2025 at 9:38 PM, ha_banos said:

Sometimes I think @Ford2112 has been smoking the magic dragon. 

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I won't deny that in my life I have smoked just about whatever one can smoke. Unfortunately for me, this is how I am sober. 😔 ☹️ 

[Chibearsv]

  On 2/3/2025 at 9:38 PM, ha_banos said:

Sometimes I think @Ford2112 has been smoking the magic dragon. 

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My glass house is much too fragile to throw that stone. I'm not an active participant anymore but the flashbacks are strong. 😁

[Lamboinee]

I was primarily a NC smoker for the first several years of my cigar life due largely to a lack of availability of CC's where I live. For the past 5 years or so my tendencies have switched. Now, CC's dominate my weekly smoking regimen and I would say that CC's are definitely my preference. I have found that my experience with CC's over the past few years has had a  positive impact on how I select and evaluate the NC's that I continue to smoke. Although your post is directed at those that have transitioned from CC's to NCs, perhaps my perspective can help. 

Do you honestly enjoy NCs as much as Cubans? Some of them, yes.  But the NC's that equal/surpass the CC's are harder to find.

Did you go at it thinking “ok this isn’t steak, it’s chicken, and different is good too”?  I've come to appreciate the journey more than the destination. Now, when I smoke a NC, I look at it from the perspective of "this is a new opportunity to try something that may be the best cigar I've ever had." I find that it helps if I am more deliberate in choosing the NC's that I am going to smoke for some specific reason(s). 

Did you beat your taste buds into submission and made them love the turds you were lighting up? Watching kids eat (or refuse to eat) has taught me that you can't beat your taste buds into submission. My dad desperately wanted me to like cucumbers as a child. It wasn't that I was pretending not to like them, or that I just wouldn't admit to liking them....Rather, I just didn't like cucumbers because they suck...unless they become pickles.   

Are you just a tobacco addict and will do anything for a fix? Not a tobacco addict.

If I may make a recommendation...Finding CC mentors has really helped me explore the world of CC's. Find someone who smokes a lot of NC's who's opinion/taste in cigars you value. Let them select 20-50 NC's for you to try. If you don't like a specific NC, try another sample, to make sure you didn't get a dud. Let your NC mentor guide your NC journey. Like a psychedelic guide to help you catch the magical dragon.  Mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

[BG318]

I discovered CC's in the 1990's. I was hooked immediately. I used to visit the local cigar shops in NYC - De la Concha and Davidoff. There I could buy AF's, Davidoff mostly. They were always good, but I always loved the CC's. Once I realized I couldn't find them, I lost interest in smoking. I nursed around 25 sticks for around 20 years, only occasionally jumping in to buy a Davidoff or two. Only the recent discovery of online sales has gotten me back into smoking again.

I have never found an NC that was steak, really not even chicken. I'm not sure if I have tricked myself into believing that CC's are better, but 20 years of relative abstinence suggests that I believe the propaganda that my brain is telling my taste buds.

[Capn_Jackson]

Found this interesting, as you’re asking not for suggestions but for the mindset when looking around. I’ll offer my nonsense to the mix…

 

“Do you honestly enjoy NCs as much as Cubans?” Sometimes, but not always. There are standouts. Padron (an old favorite), some Fuente Don Carlos, Aladino (a new favorite), Illusione, Nudies/MOFOH, Curivari (a new one to me that I’m just now exploring). Some give me hints of a CC profile, some absolutely do not, and that’s okay too.

Did you go at it thinking “ok this isn’t steak, it’s chicken, and different is good too”? Yes, however that mentality led to some sticks that scratch the CC itch for me, more than I thought they would. You know that old saying, you find love when you stop looking for it? Similar experience here, for me.

Did you beat your taste buds into submission and made them love the turds you were lighting up? That’s no way to live. I’d quit cigars before going there.

Are you just a tobacco addict and will do anything for a fix? Definitely not. My allergies actually cause an aversion to it sometimes, if I don’t keep them under control. Only cigars.

I’ve found several things that I’ve enjoyed as much as or more than some CCs, and other things that are just a great value with flavor I can’t deny. As somebody said above, not all CCs are steak, and not all NCs are chicken. I’ll add to that, there’s a difference between flat iron steak and a filet, and there’s a difference between chicken fingers and smoked leg quarters. Also, some are Duroc pork chops!! 😎  Varying degrees of quality in all corners of the market.

[Havanaaddict]

I have not smoked a NC in over 20 + years and I am not going back any time soon. I even worked in a cigar lounge for many years and had my choice of anything I wanted and I still brought my own😂 When I first started I did enjoy ARTURO FUENTE HEMINGWAY, PADRON 1964 ANNIVERSARY SERIES, Ashton VSG, Opus X. I then found CC and slowly added them and within a year I was 100% CC. I kinda of look at it like if you drink cabernets and you finally find Napa and love that and can't really drink any thing else!