Quote:
Originally Posted by Neurorad
Don't buy a great humidor for several years. Just buy a Chinese-made cheapo from your local tobacconist. I don't like buying humidors online because I like to test them for quality first - drop the lid closed, shouldn't slam. Because you don't smoke a lot, get a 20-50 cigar humidor. Should come with a humidifcation device and a cheapo hygrometer - those will work for about a year, replace them when they crap out.
For travel, I use wooden boxes from the tobacconist - they cost 1-2$ or free if you buy a few cigars (just ask). Each lasts me typically about 1-2 years, depending on how often I travel. Never check them in your luggage, always in the carry-on. Put cigars in ziplocs inside the wooden travel box - they'll be good 4-5 days (squeeze air out of ziploc before closing).
Never leave cigars in your car - the heat will make them expand and the wrapper will crack. If I'm going to the gym after buying cigars, I'll toss them into my gym bag rather than leaving them in my car for an hour.
Every line of cigars comes in a variety of sizes, just pick the size you prefer. The taste of a robusto compared with a corona will only be slight and not noticeable to the novice.
I found the Ashton VSG cigars to be pretty close to the flavor of my favorite Cubans, but just as with Dominican and Honduran cigars, there are wide ranges of quality and tastes of Cubans too. There are really crappy Cuban cigars, too.
I have favorite expensive cigars and favorite 'everyday' cigars.
Expensive - Opux X, Ashton VSG/ESG, and all Avos (Avo XO and Avo Signature are my favorites), Fuente Don Carlos
'Everyday' cigars - Fuente Chateau line (only the 'Sun Grown' wrappers, the ones with the black ribbon wround the foot, come in 4 sizes, priced $3.50 - $8, avoid the natural (green ribbon) and maduro (red ribbon) wrappers), La Gloria maduros, CAO Extreme, Rocky Patel 'The Edge'.
Most of these are more 'flavorful' (powerful?) cigars. For the novice I'd recommend the regular Avo. IMO, Avos are the best all-around cigars available in the U.S., running you ~$7-15/stick.
For the 'advanced', filthy-rich cigar smoker, you can buy boxes of Cubans from Canada by phone. Thomas Hinds in Toronto will mail you whatever you want, if you want to spend hundred of dollars on a box.
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i agree alot with Neurorad, especailly about the sun grown Fuentes, i like the KingB's.
I have a small cigar shop and recommend Fuentes, CAO gold, Macanudo, Drew Esate,.....to alot of my new cigar smokers. After they start on those I move them up to some more flavorful cigars, Gurkha, Monticristo, Ashton,....
I got a box of the CAO Vision cigars and they come in a nice humidor which keeps them at about 70% humidity. I tested the open box outside of the humidor and it stayed 68% all day, i'm impressed. And the lights are different look for cigar boxes. I always like CAO boxes....here are some pics of the CAO vision box....i'm going to smoke one of those next chance I get before they sell out
Here is the Vision box:
funny I came here to post a topic about these cigars....and i find a cigar thread