Smoke less but smoke better

A

Addiction

Gentleman Jim Stogie
When I opened my first box of Davidoff Diademas Finas, there is a little book in the box that basically gives you the timeline of the Davidoff cigar business. The first page of the book espouses this theory, that even if you cut back to once a month and smoke the best possible cigars you can get your hands on you will be better for it.

I'd heard it said along this same lines very close to this time last year when I posted a poll asking how many cigars people owned: "I own a large number of average cigars. I own a small number of extraordinary cigars. You can never own too many extraordinary cigars." I said I'd take that for my mantra but lost myself somewhere along the way. I let more and more average cigars cigars creep into my inventory.

I finally had to cut some of them away and move back to place where even f I smoked once a month I was only smoking cigars I really loved. I'm curious, how many people only smoke cigars they really love and avoid the yardgar mentality?
 
I only smoke what I absolutely enjoy. Being that Im a newb ive had some bad ones. I may revisit them at a later date and see if my opinon changes but if not then no.
 
Im tip-toeing around in the NC field testing the waters. It's a hit or miss kinda deal but you just never know until you try each one.
 
The cigars I smoke in the back yard have a purpose; to relax me. Sometimes it's an average cigar and sometimes it's an extraordinary cigar. In the last few weeks, I've been smoking 1-2 cigars nearly every night. The stress of work, having an 18 year old daughter going to college, and realizing I'm not getting any younger requires these forays into the back yard. It evens me out big time. When I cut back to normal consumption, it will be an average of 3-4 cigars per month. At that point, I should have some extraordinary cigars. I probably have about 30 of those extraordinary cigars out of around 800 with the rest being average. I think it would be prudent to get more extraordinary cigars .

MCS
 
I smoke all day, and I guess it is due to the fact that I have merely shifted my nicotine addiction from cigarettes to pipe and cigars. However, I also really enjoy smoking - the more the merrier. On my meagre budget, this has obviously created a vicious circle in that my smoking all day prevents me from saving up for finer cigars, with the exception of rare occasions.

Having had a few fine cigars, I must say though that, in spite of their superior taste, I would rather have the pleasure of smoking every day, than delay my gratification in order to smoke a super stogie once a month.
 
Addiction said:
smoke cigars they really love and avoid the yardgar mentality?
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That's kinda where I'm headed. I have a pretty good variety of onsies and twosies to smoke in the quest for that half dozen or so marca's that I will keep stocked. I've just recently gotten started so it will be a fun ride. :ss
 
I could settle on smoking a "great" cigar every Friday night after work.

But the problem with that is that you must have a LIFETIME of experience or absolutely ZERO curiosity to achieve that goal.

I try different cigars all the time and make mental notes about which ones I like, which ones I will not purchase again, etc.

i'm addicted to the "nose" of the cigar. That's what hooks me. Either I like the nose or I don't, and I won't buy that cigar anymore.

For example, the 5 Vegas Classic tastes like a Cuban cigar IMO. I think it's a very close relative. I could smoke that cigar JUST because of the nose.

The LFD Ligero Oscuro is my favorite cigar. I love the strength, and the nose is relaxing.

If you're interested in just smoking 3-5 cigars/month, I would find an online Cuban retailer and buy a box. They beat NC cigars in taste by 100x (construction is another issue)
 
I have changed my smoking habits slightly since I started, but still stock a lot of "average" cigars. What has changed is my definition of average. I smoke a cigar every day at some point while driving. I spend a large portion of my day traveling from place to place. Smoking around mid day is something I enjoy doing to help relax me. What I can’t always guarantee is the time frame I get to smoke. Some days it’s an hour others it’s 20 minutes. I never know until that day. So I use to just take average cigars so if I had to throw one out early I wasn't mad. Now I have changed the way I buy, buying better cigars for less. That way I’m only out the same amount of money but smoking better cigars. As for the "top shelf" sticks for smoking at home, they too have changed. One other thing I have learned is price is not always indicative of quality. There are some great 5 dollar (actual price not MSRP) sticks out there.

Chas
 
Addiction said:
When I opened my first box of Davidoff Diademas Finas, there is a little book in the box that basically gives you the timeline of the Davidoff cigar business. The first page of the book espouses this theory, that even if you cut back to once a month and smoke the best possible cigars you can get your hands on you will be better for it.

I'd heard it said along this same lines very close to this time last year when I posted a poll asking how many cigars people owned: "I own a large number of average cigars. I own a small number of extraordinary cigars. You can never own too many extraordinary cigars." I said I'd take that for my mantra but lost myself somewhere along the way. I let more and more average cigars cigars creep into my inventory.

I finally had to cut some of them away and move back to place where even f I smoked once a month I was only smoking cigars I really loved. I'm curious, how many people only smoke cigars they really love and avoid the yardgar mentality?
Click to expand...
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I bought some cigars that were marginal; mild with little flavor. After stuffing the cigars in my coolador for over a year, I went back to one of them and relized that it had picked up some flavor from the other cigars. It was still a mild cigar but some times I just want a smoke where I'm not bent out of shape if I have to put it out before I'm through smoking it, yet still enjoyable.:D:D
 
Well the "smoke less smoke better" advice attributed to Mr. Zino works well when you are selling high dollar smokes and to the extent that expensive correlates to extraordinary it make sense assuming limited funds. Not that straight-forward though in the real world as many here will attest. I think if you smoke less often even ordinary cigars will taste better and the idea of cramming 5 or 6 $100 cigars into a herfing extravaganza seems well extravagant at best and requires a cast iron palate and a committment to smoking approaching frenetic- though I would do it in second if ever the opportunity was presented. Jaded palates await thy moment of madness! Somewhere between the extremes of few and many - low cost and high cost - this marca or that marca - small RG and DC's - we each seek to find our unique equilibrium. Its a very pleasant path this insanity we choose of burning rolled up fermented leaves!
 
How about "Smoke more and smoke better"?

I save my "less than stellar" cigars for when I will be physically active and not taking time to truly experience the cigar in the same way I might with a better cigar. Walking the dog, playing golf, and similar activities give me a chance to try some new things, although I obviously aren't giving them the same "chance" I might give a cigar sitting on my deck relaxing with the Ipod. I have discovered a few good smokes this way though...and a boatload of dog rockets. ;)
 
Guys some of you are projecting. I never indicated this was a $ issue. The Gispert is a great cigar at $4. I paid less than $4 for my RS 12s another outstanding cigar IMO. I had a Davi DP yesterday and its far and away the most expensive cigar I've ever purchased, but not the best.

I'm not talking about expensive just better. I'd rather smoke half of an Omar Ortiz Original or 80th and throw it out than all of a 1990. I'm not suggesting you buy the most expensive cigars. I'm saying buy great cigars no matter the price point.
 
Smoke more and smoke better is a better descriptor for where I am in life. Especially when I work from home, 3-4 cigars a day are becoming the norm for me. But each of them is either a cigar I love or one I want to try. I've moved away from utility smokes and towards really trying to enjoy each smoke.
 
:tuHow about "Smoke more and smoke better"?

Or smoke more better smokes - I think we are getting close!
 
Thankfully the smokes I really enjoy only cost me about three bucks a piece. I've tried expensive cigars, many of them, and expensive cubans but none bring the smile to my face that a Camacho Corojo or JdN Antano do. I can smoke every day and really enjoy doing so. :ss
 
Addiction said:
Guys some of you are projecting. I never indicated this was a $ issue. The Gispert is a great cigar at $4. I paid less than $4 for my RS 12s another outstanding cigar IMO. I had a Davi DP yesterday and its far and away the most expensive cigar I've ever purchased, but not the best.

I'm not talking about expensive just better. I'd rather smoke half of an Omar Ortiz Original or 80th and throw it out than all of a 1990. I'm not suggesting you buy the most expensive cigars. I'm saying buy great cigars no matter the price point.
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Yeah, this. I think it's a lesson that guys who fall hard or rapidly down the slope learn the hard way. Within a few months of seriously getting into smoking I had a 70qt cooler that was rapidly becoming full with cbid 5packs and average smokes. Cut to the present, over a year later, I have a cooler thats completely jammed with anywhere from 400-600 smokes yet only about 100 or 200 that I really love to smoke. And I know there are guys who have fallen into the hobby way harder and faster that I have.

So I'm not really buying much now, trying to smoke down some of my stock to the point where I can start buying smokes that I know I love, and sticks that I really want to try. :2
 
scoot said:
Yeah, this. I think it's a lesson that guys who fall hard or rapidly down the slope learn the hard way. Within a few months of seriously getting into smoking I had a 70qt cooler that was rapidly becoming full with cbid 5packs and average smokes. Cut to the present, over a year later, I have a cooler thats completely jammed with anywhere from 400-600 smokes yet only about 100 or 200 that I really love to smoke. And I know there are guys who have fallen into the hobby way harder and faster that I have.

So I'm not really buying much now, trying to smoke down some of my stock to the point where I can start buying smokes that I know I love, and sticks that I really want to try. :2
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Sage advice, but I think everyone learns themselves the hard way....myself included. :)
 
Addiction, you describe my plan with this hobby. When I first got here, I proclaimed that I wouldn't fall victim to the slope. And I've held relatively true to that. I still only smoke about one a month, as you suggest.

However, I'm not quite to the point of smoking only great cigars. I've still been testing the waters with typical $5-8 cigars. Although, I did get my hands on a few PAMs, which I hope will enlighten me when I finally decide to...ahem..."enlighten" them.

I don't really know "premium" beyond that. But I'll learn more as time goes on.
 
I have begun to eliminate the "Yard Gars" from my collection. There are many smokes that I can pick up on C-Bid for two to three dollars a smoke that I really enjoy. I am definatly moving toward smoking only the cigars I realy like as oposed to anything I can get my hands on. I am not smoking less by any means, I am just smoking better. I think this is something that comes with time. You can't know what is really good untill you have smoked a lot of bad cigars IMO. You have to test the waters and see what you like. I am definatly on the smoke better path these days.
 
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