Ok let me start off with the disclaimer I am in no way making an assessment of other peoples tastes, the qualities of brands, the workmanship involved nor any other component of the cigar world. What I am expressing is my opinion with respect to my adventure through the cigar world.
I have been smoking cigars for over 10 years..........I started with the crap, flavoured sticks, wine dipped colts, backwoods etc. Flirted with a pipe but it was a pain in the ass so gave it up. Smoked mostly CC's and the odd Dominican based on what I could get at the B&M or what friends had. About 3 years ago (almost 4 now) got my first 50 ct box and promptly filled it up with CC's and one box of Don Thomas Corona's. I smoked them at a rate of 1 to 5 a week depending on what was going on refilling as necessary.
To shorten it up moved to bigger boxes to hold boxes now I have 2 vinos and 3 150 counts and 2 50 counts (4 of the latter will be leaving soon)
Fast forward to early december, I start lurking on CS, CA and a couple of others I don't remember. In CS I start to learn of this vast non cuban market that I had not known about and lo and behold many many are at a better price point than CC.
So I sign up in February and proceed to get to know a lot of folks (whom I hope to call friends forever) and learn more and more about the cigar world.
I decide that I should broaden my horizons so I make a concerted effort to learn more about cigars and what makes good ones and bad ones. I am going to find the NC's of the world that rock my world like some (not all) of the CC's out there.
Here is a quick synapsis of that tour, it is not all encompassing and in certain cases I cannot remember why I didn't like it but here is my spin for what it is worth.
Ghurka
4 different Ghurkas tried
Gurkha Grand Reserve Robusto
Gurkha Legend Torpedo
Gurkha Regent Toro
Gurkha Ancient Warrior
I never finished one of these, I would say that the flavour was not good, one (I don't recall which) actually smelled like shit and that might have been the flavour but I don't have a reference point.
Don Peppins
I smoked JJ, JJ Maduro Don Peppin blue series, 601 series red
While I found DP's to be waay better than the Ghurkas I couldn't get over what I would descripe as a dryness too them and the smoke was harder to come by, it seemed I had to work for the cigar so none of these remain either.
I have tried a couple Cabaiguans and I can see these being around if I can find them at a reasonable price.
Rocky Patel. Man I covered the realm here,
Sungrown these where not bad actually and I could probably grow to really like them as a mid day smoke, had a great draw and good smoke, just kind of left me wanting at the end but a pretty good average smoke over all and not bad pricing either
Old World reserves Tried 3 of these and just never really thought they were any good, one was plugged the other just blah. Not worth twice the sungrown for sure.
Vintage 90 and Vintage 92. These had some pretty good flavour but seemed to go flat through the middle of the smoke, I could not discern between a 90 and a 92 if I tried but I wouldn't say i am skilled there either.
Rocky Patel Fusion Double Maduro..........lets just say I don't like Maduro and leave it at that.
Padron 2000 and 6000 Maduro.........see above on maduro
San Cristobal Supremo dry dusty and hot very peppery but not in a good way
CAO Brazilia GOL The contradiction to the Maduro rule, I actually really like these, I find them flavorful with lots of spicy smoke and not that dryness I associated with some of the others, I have a box of these and will enjoy them till there gone..........will I buy another....maybe
Aurora Anos Belicosa.......for such a highly rated smoke and for their price I find them to be average. Which sucks because I have damn near a full box and no real desire to smoke them, I look at them often like I should then thing that if I only have one to smoke I might as well go wow...........so I push them back in.
Aurora 1495 Preferida..........same as above, beautiful presentation, great looking smoke...........but really an average smoke another box I just go around in my humi.
Opus X Super Belicosa and Double Robusto I like these very much and will keep the box of each that I have. They are full bodies and an abundance of smoke and I find that the two sized have there own distinct changes. I won't likely buy many if any more of these and will just treat myself through the years from these two boxes, they are overpriced for what they are but that doesn't mean they are not very good. They are a collectors item to me a little as well.
A Fuente
Don Carlos Robusto...........I am on my second box of these and I will keep them around, one of the true "Greats" that I found in my NC tour, great construction, flawless burn every time, wonderful tastes that change in complexity, I think they will age well on and on.
Hemingway Short Story.........I good quick burst of a smoke that fills that short smoke gap pretty well. I don't think I will buy another box after this one as I have lots of small CC's that I think are as good or better for a short smoke. Lots of smoke, not lots of depth but a good little smoke even if they do look like dog turds
Sun Grown Double Chateau.........I nice mild smoke certainly a good keeper for folks that are new to cigars or sensitive to nicotine. Pretty plain throughout but in all a reasonable smoke to have around. Again not like to buy again but I will keep the few I have around.
5 Vegas
I have tried series A and the Miamis and they were nothing great either very one dimensional and the smoke was bluish reminded me of cig smoke.
Illusione CG:4 and 88
Very dissapointed with these, I have to say that they were like smoking straw, dustbunnies and old old vacuum cleaner bags.......couldn't get past the dustiness to even find any flavor, didn't smoke more than half of either.
La Aurora Barrel Aged..............ugh bitter
Carlos Torano Casa Torano..Liked these very much for a mild smoke, creamy with an abundance of smoke........keepers and rebuys
Carlos Torano Res Decadencia...........its a flavored smoke but its a good one, I smokem once in a while and the guys that I play cards with like them a ton, they are a good cigar that is perfect for the non cigar folks and good as a once in a while treat.
Davidoff they are good but waaaaay overpriced in my opinion so I have 3 more tubos that were gifted to me and I will find the right time to smoke them and thank the great gorillas that give them to me, don't think I would buy them at that price though.
Don Lino Africa Duma..........dog rocket nuff said great construction beautiful band shiny and oily. But harsh and burned like crap.
La Flor Dominica Ligero Chisel...........if they where going for strong they got it..........if they where going for good they missed..........I finished it because this was in my early NC test times, but if I would have fired that up today I would toss it after three draws.
There are more that I was either gifted or bought a couple of that I didn't write down or can't remember but the above is my journey through the NC world and what I have found is that I don't like them in general and I find misses way more than hits. I enjoy my cubans and I am not often disappointed, it isn't a forbidden fruit thing as I am fully able and it is legal to buy cubans in Canada. So it appears I have a couple hundred sticks I need to find good homes for.
This ends my chapter of trying NC's and journeying through that realm, if that makes me a snob I guess that is the moniker I will have to deal with. I just don't want to spend my smoking time with such low odds in finding a good smoke for me, when I know that there are tons that are great smokes for me.
I have been smoking cigars for over 10 years..........I started with the crap, flavoured sticks, wine dipped colts, backwoods etc. Flirted with a pipe but it was a pain in the ass so gave it up. Smoked mostly CC's and the odd Dominican based on what I could get at the B&M or what friends had. About 3 years ago (almost 4 now) got my first 50 ct box and promptly filled it up with CC's and one box of Don Thomas Corona's. I smoked them at a rate of 1 to 5 a week depending on what was going on refilling as necessary.
To shorten it up moved to bigger boxes to hold boxes now I have 2 vinos and 3 150 counts and 2 50 counts (4 of the latter will be leaving soon)
Fast forward to early december, I start lurking on CS, CA and a couple of others I don't remember. In CS I start to learn of this vast non cuban market that I had not known about and lo and behold many many are at a better price point than CC.
So I sign up in February and proceed to get to know a lot of folks (whom I hope to call friends forever) and learn more and more about the cigar world.
I decide that I should broaden my horizons so I make a concerted effort to learn more about cigars and what makes good ones and bad ones. I am going to find the NC's of the world that rock my world like some (not all) of the CC's out there.
Here is a quick synapsis of that tour, it is not all encompassing and in certain cases I cannot remember why I didn't like it but here is my spin for what it is worth.
Ghurka
4 different Ghurkas tried
Gurkha Grand Reserve Robusto
Gurkha Legend Torpedo
Gurkha Regent Toro
Gurkha Ancient Warrior
I never finished one of these, I would say that the flavour was not good, one (I don't recall which) actually smelled like shit and that might have been the flavour but I don't have a reference point.
Don Peppins
I smoked JJ, JJ Maduro Don Peppin blue series, 601 series red
While I found DP's to be waay better than the Ghurkas I couldn't get over what I would descripe as a dryness too them and the smoke was harder to come by, it seemed I had to work for the cigar so none of these remain either.
I have tried a couple Cabaiguans and I can see these being around if I can find them at a reasonable price.
Rocky Patel. Man I covered the realm here,
Sungrown these where not bad actually and I could probably grow to really like them as a mid day smoke, had a great draw and good smoke, just kind of left me wanting at the end but a pretty good average smoke over all and not bad pricing either
Old World reserves Tried 3 of these and just never really thought they were any good, one was plugged the other just blah. Not worth twice the sungrown for sure.
Vintage 90 and Vintage 92. These had some pretty good flavour but seemed to go flat through the middle of the smoke, I could not discern between a 90 and a 92 if I tried but I wouldn't say i am skilled there either.
Rocky Patel Fusion Double Maduro..........lets just say I don't like Maduro and leave it at that.
Padron 2000 and 6000 Maduro.........see above on maduro
San Cristobal Supremo dry dusty and hot very peppery but not in a good way
CAO Brazilia GOL The contradiction to the Maduro rule, I actually really like these, I find them flavorful with lots of spicy smoke and not that dryness I associated with some of the others, I have a box of these and will enjoy them till there gone..........will I buy another....maybe
Aurora Anos Belicosa.......for such a highly rated smoke and for their price I find them to be average. Which sucks because I have damn near a full box and no real desire to smoke them, I look at them often like I should then thing that if I only have one to smoke I might as well go wow...........so I push them back in.
Aurora 1495 Preferida..........same as above, beautiful presentation, great looking smoke...........but really an average smoke another box I just go around in my humi.
Opus X Super Belicosa and Double Robusto I like these very much and will keep the box of each that I have. They are full bodies and an abundance of smoke and I find that the two sized have there own distinct changes. I won't likely buy many if any more of these and will just treat myself through the years from these two boxes, they are overpriced for what they are but that doesn't mean they are not very good. They are a collectors item to me a little as well.
A Fuente
Don Carlos Robusto...........I am on my second box of these and I will keep them around, one of the true "Greats" that I found in my NC tour, great construction, flawless burn every time, wonderful tastes that change in complexity, I think they will age well on and on.
Hemingway Short Story.........I good quick burst of a smoke that fills that short smoke gap pretty well. I don't think I will buy another box after this one as I have lots of small CC's that I think are as good or better for a short smoke. Lots of smoke, not lots of depth but a good little smoke even if they do look like dog turds
Sun Grown Double Chateau.........I nice mild smoke certainly a good keeper for folks that are new to cigars or sensitive to nicotine. Pretty plain throughout but in all a reasonable smoke to have around. Again not like to buy again but I will keep the few I have around.
5 Vegas
I have tried series A and the Miamis and they were nothing great either very one dimensional and the smoke was bluish reminded me of cig smoke.
Illusione CG:4 and 88
Very dissapointed with these, I have to say that they were like smoking straw, dustbunnies and old old vacuum cleaner bags.......couldn't get past the dustiness to even find any flavor, didn't smoke more than half of either.
La Aurora Barrel Aged..............ugh bitter
Carlos Torano Casa Torano..Liked these very much for a mild smoke, creamy with an abundance of smoke........keepers and rebuys
Carlos Torano Res Decadencia...........its a flavored smoke but its a good one, I smokem once in a while and the guys that I play cards with like them a ton, they are a good cigar that is perfect for the non cigar folks and good as a once in a while treat.
Davidoff they are good but waaaaay overpriced in my opinion so I have 3 more tubos that were gifted to me and I will find the right time to smoke them and thank the great gorillas that give them to me, don't think I would buy them at that price though.
Don Lino Africa Duma..........dog rocket nuff said great construction beautiful band shiny and oily. But harsh and burned like crap.
La Flor Dominica Ligero Chisel...........if they where going for strong they got it..........if they where going for good they missed..........I finished it because this was in my early NC test times, but if I would have fired that up today I would toss it after three draws.
There are more that I was either gifted or bought a couple of that I didn't write down or can't remember but the above is my journey through the NC world and what I have found is that I don't like them in general and I find misses way more than hits. I enjoy my cubans and I am not often disappointed, it isn't a forbidden fruit thing as I am fully able and it is legal to buy cubans in Canada. So it appears I have a couple hundred sticks I need to find good homes for.
This ends my chapter of trying NC's and journeying through that realm, if that makes me a snob I guess that is the moniker I will have to deal with. I just don't want to spend my smoking time with such low odds in finding a good smoke for me, when I know that there are tons that are great smokes for me.
