Need a hand: Thinking back “what do you wish you knew when you were first getting into cigars?”

[BrightonCorgi]

- If you're not into skinny cigars, don't buy them. 

- If you can swing it, always buy two boxes. One for short term, the other for the long haul or to trade down the road.

- If you are open to recommendations, ask the vendors you buy from (especially online) what is good at the moment for the vitola you like.

- Don't buy NCs with an eye on investment value. They don't increase with value over time like Habanos.

- Plenty of humidors, ashtrays, cutters, etc. on Facebook Marketplace and the like.

- The more humid the cigar gets, the more muted the flavors become.

 

[JohnnyO]

Don't smoke a wet cigar. You will struggle with it and it's unpleasant flavors. It will not draw smoke. If you manage to get to the halfway point it might open up. But you just spent 45 minutes pissed off and didn't understand what's wrong with the cigar. Dry boxing would have fixed much of this, laying them down for a while even better. Don't buy $5 Cohibas that the mop boy is selling in the bathroom along with cologne, chewing gum. John

[chasy]

Best deals on Cohiba are found on the beach in Mexico 😉

[El Hoze]

Don’t worry that you are buying too many CC, buy more without hesitation. Your wife is dead wrong, you can confidently laugh her off. 

[El Niño]

Don't worry about knowing what you're doing. You don't need to impress anyone; just enjoy your cigar. And don't try to enjoy a cigar if you aren't enjoying it. You can put it down whenever you want. 

[Ford2112]

I would have bought way way more had I known. 50 cabs especially. Oh to have a time machine. I would have a lifetime of Winnies, Punch DCs, Lusis and all manner of discontinued classics.

[HuffnPuffff]

1. Cigars taste very different at different times of day. Smoking in the morning / afternoon / after dinner can be quite different, and vastly different depending on what you’re pairing it with.
2. Check the draw and use a perfect draw if it’s tight (or pick another cigar)
3. Acclimatise with patience
4. Your opinion of a cigar is not wrong. (But bear in mind it’s important to acclimatise and store correctly).


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[03Hemi]

Get a good cigar tool with a spike, that would have saved a lot of Cubans that went in the garbage whole.

[canadianbeaver]

A wine fridge makes a great coolidor. We have 6 of them and love them.

Your best cigars are up to you but box splitting will help try lots of different ones with fellow collectors.

We smoke cigars every day and love dryboxing a selection outside coolidors. Then they stay lit, burn evenly and mmmm taste great too.

Don’t think wrong of us but we have two humidors for guests. One is for smokers we know who are worth good stuff. The other is nc’s or traders etc for noobies or less important folks, let’s just say that.

CB

[Capn_Jackson]

Well, I was a young teenager, so I wish I’d known more about girls! 😆

Seriously though, I wish I’d understood how to acclimate, drybox, smoke slower, and savor them earlier on. I always smoked them right outta the shop, over-moist, and puffed away like a banshee. Obviously made myself sick several times in the beginning, but luckily I kept with it. It didn’t take long before realizing I liked them on the drier side, and that my local shop was keeping them way over my preferred humidity. Hiding them from my parents while acclimating them was a challenge, but kinda fun. I used the dry coffins off a few special release something-or-others, hidden in my desk drawers. Worked like a frickin’ charm to dry them in just a few days!

I also wsh I’d learned how to retrohale sooner. Wasn’t until my early 20’s that I learned how, and since then I retro every puff. After a couple decades, it’s become involuntary.

[ha_banos]

Some people will taste tapioca in cigars and some won't. Don't believe the hype.

Keeping notes/a journal/simple log of cigars smoked and bought is both nerdy and useful. 

Fakes have been around for a very long time. Trust your vendor, trust their provenance. 

Buy more than you smoke.

Cigars are like Pokémon. You got to catch em all. 

Age can do wonderful things to a cigar. But no guarantees.

Smoke slowly. Make sure you make the time. 

There are NC using the same brand names as some CCs?!