Recomendations for a cigar n00b?

SuperiorBrew · 01-25-2008, 09:47 PM

I want to get my EAC card and I figured I should smoke cigars too. I have wanted to try a couple for quite a while but I live in BFE and there are only two places that sell them. A small market and the liquor store.
At the market there was just a young girl behind the counter so I just asked for the most popular cigar and got this:

Garcia Vega Crystal 200 $1.99

The liquor store had a much larger selection, they even had one Cigar cutter in stock!
I asked the guy at the counter if he knew anything about the cigars and he said no but said this one was real popular and that they had just came in.

Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Sun Grown $5.99

Where is a good online cigar shop and any suggestions for a good n00b cigar or two?

I also grabbed some Goose Island Reserve Pere Jacques Belgian Style Ales while I was there. Thought they would go wekk with my first cigar.

c.n.budz · 01-25-2008, 09:55 PM

Check this place out. It's not bad, though I haven't ordered from there in a long time. You're better off finding a store you can go into and pick the cigars yourself so you don't get dried out or cracked ones and you can smell the cigars and pick out something that appeals to you.

The Arturo Fuente is a nice cigar. Take the Garcia Vega, split it open, scrape out the tobacco and then refill it with weed, that's basically all it's good for

Anything buy Montecristo, Cohiba, Romeo y Julieta is going to be very good but also kinda pricey. I'm a big fan of these in the Robusto size

Scimmia · 01-25-2008, 09:58 PM

It's hard to go wrong with anything from Fuente.

www.clubstogie.com is the place to start, great community. As far as buying online, I've used www.cigarsinternational.com www.famous-smoke.com www.atlanticcigar.com And the most fun is www.cigarbid.com, an auction site run by Cigars International. Whatever you do, stay away from Thompsons, they're prices are high, they're house cigars are crap, and they'll hound you until you die if you order from them once.

Scimmia · 01-25-2008, 10:01 PM

And personally, I'm not a fan of the Dominican Montecristo or Cohiba, but Romeo y Julieta makes a couple of nice ones.

Vels · 01-25-2008, 10:07 PM

I like Davidoff. Number 2 is a good size and taste great.

Avo's are great too.

If you like cognac get a bottle of Renault Carte Noir, it goes great with cigars.

Cheers
Jakob

Beerlord · 01-25-2008, 10:12 PM

Garcia vega's are the epuivalant of BMC. Fuente Sun Growns are the only thing they make that i like, but I dont' buy anythign them make becasue of theri business practices. Romeo Y Julietta's are good starter smokes.

menschmaschine · 01-25-2008, 10:13 PM

Bigtime cigar guy here. It's been another hobby/passion of mine for about 9 years now. I also used to cover Sundays in a great cigar cafe. Oh GOD... slowly back away from the Garcia Vegas, turn around and never look back. (Yes, I'm a cigar EAC.) The other one you hit on the nose. Fuente makes some of the best non-cubans on the market. Carlito Fuente is a true blue "Brother of the Leaf" and puts a lot of time and care into his cigars. I met him once and we got into a conversation that ended in him giving me an unreleased Fuente cigar (Opus X Maduro). He's a great guy. Anything from Fuente is good IMO.

Like various beer styles' alcohol content, cigars come in differing strengths. If you're not used to nicotine, go with the lighter colored cigars (and if you don't already know, cigars are not meant to be inhaled). These are generally called "Natural", "Shade Grown", "Connecticut Shade", Claro and Candela. The darker Maduro cigars are a lot milder than people think. Usually not as mild as a Natural, but relatively mild cigars with a chocolaty, roasty flavor profile. "Sun Grown" cigars are usually strong and are my favorite. You always want "Hecho a mano" (sp?))... hand made. Machine made cigars are made of lower grade tobaccos (usually). Here is a list of some good cigar brands:
Fuente, Ashton (made by Fuente), Padron, Avo (made by Davidoff), La Flor Dominicana... well there are a lot. There are also a lot of brands out there with some good cigars and some not so. Stay away from Macanudo unless you like smoking air

. A great starter cigar would be Fuente's Chateau in Natural or Fuente's 858 in Natural.

Holts is a great retailer and online store. JR Cigars is another decent retailer, but be careful with "Blow Out Specials"... there blowing them out for a reason. I hoped that helped. Cigars are a whole new world. There are forums and passionate people out there just like homebrewing. Good luck.

Scimmia · 01-25-2008, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by menschmaschine

I met him once and we got into a conversation that ended in him giving me an unreleased Fuente cigar (Opus X Maduro).

Wow, that's one rare cigar. The real question, though, is have you, or could you smoke it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by menschmaschine

JR Cigars is another decent retailer, but be careful with "Blow Out Specials"... there blowing them out for a reason. I hoped that helped. Cigars are a whole new world. There are forums and passionate people out there just like homebrewing. Good luck.

I'm not a fan of JR, mostly because of too much of the stuff that I have read that Lew wrote (half owner of JR), and because they push Altadis cigars so hard (other half owner of JR).

bdub · 01-25-2008, 10:29 PM

for the starting smoker, i recommend cusano c10's. they are fantastic cigars of a full flavor, but light body. they are also reasonably priced. I am also rather partial to hemmingway short stories, but those are a bit higher up in the price tag.

Willy Boner · 01-25-2008, 10:38 PM

Try Backwoods Honey flavor. The women love the smell!