Cheap Smokes

[punch]

There has been some discussion on this list about low cost cigars, and how to save money on cigars while still getting some enjoyment out of the pastime. I posted a list of what I considered to be high quality, yet low cost cigars, but this was lost in the server crash. What I thought that I would do is redo this list with some comparisons, and also include what I would consider “B” grade cigars.

First, I will list some machine made domestic cigars to use as a cost comparison to the premiums. I will give the price (mail order) as well as my grade and comments. Then we will look at some alternative premiums.

Dutch Masters President – Corona - $0.46 – D: This is a good example of the run of the mill mass marked machine made cigar. Sheet binder, sheet wrapper and short filler. Price is about as low as it gets for a corona, but these are nearly unsmokable if you have ever tasted a premium cigar. Certainly NOT a low cost alternative to premium cigars.

El Producto Queens – Corona - $1.38 – B: I found this to be a relatively good tasting and good burning domestic machine made cigar. It has a tobacco wrapper with a sheet binder and short filler. Burns even but fast and gets too harsh to smoke after ½ way through. Comes in a glass tube to preserve freshness. This is probably one of the best of the mass market cigars, but is so close in price to the lower cost premiums that you have to ask yourself, “why bother?”

Garcia y Vega Maduro Crystals – Long Corona - $1.10 – B--: Another of the better mass market domestic machine made cigars. Burns great with lots of smoke, but get harsh real quick. Again, for the cost, not a good deal.

Garcia y Vega Gran Premios – Long Corona - $1.00 – C: Basically the same cigar as above but in a plastic tube. Tastes a bit more papery even with this natural tobacco wrapper.

Topper Old Fashioned Extra Oscuro – Perfecto - $0.89 – B--: For those who like the looks of a perfecto but don’t want to pay for one, and who really don’t want the taste of one either. Smoke and draw are excellent, but taste leaves something to be desired.

Schimmelpenninck VSOP Grand Corona Delux – Corona - $0.90 – B: Probably the only machine made that provides a real cost alternative to the hand rolled premiums. Not bad tasting and very good burning. Dutch made dry cigar.

Now that I have listed the mass market cigars that some turn to for the purpose of cutting costs, lets examine some premium cigars that are low cost, yet provide a high degree of smoking pleasure:

Arturo Fuente Cubanitos – Small Panatela - $1.10 – B: This cigar is smaller than the above mentioned machine made cigars, but it can be smoked down to the band giving almost as much burn time. Not my favorite, but a good alternative if you want a short and inexpensive smoke.

Arturo Fuente Curly Head Delux – Lonsdale - $2.00 – B: Not bad tasting, but short filler gives this smoke a bad burn that gets hot about ½ way down. I really don’t see an advantage over the mass market cigars with this one, other than it is 100% tobacco. But then again, so is the Schimmelpenninck at half the price.

Punch London Club – Petit Corona - $1.12 – B+: On of my favorite short smokes. This is a hand made Honduran premium that actually costs less than some machine made cigars. Burns cooler due to the long filler, and can often be smoked to the band with no harsh taste. This is a good low cost premium cigar.

Punch Elite – Corona Extra - $1.68 – A-: Still under $2.00 and still a premium long filler hand made cigar. Excellent flavor and very good burn. One of the better values out there.

Montecristo Afrique Safari – Small Panatela - $1.27 – B+: Very good flavor and burn. About what you would pay for the better mass market cigars, but again, this one can be smoked to the band.

This is the information that I have from my logs to date. As it currently sits, I find the Punch Elite and Punch London Club to be the best low cost (under $2.00) premium cigars out there. With premium cigars like these on the market, the advantages of machine made mass market cigars are few. The ONLY real advantage that I can think if is availability. To get the Punch cigars at the prices that I have listed, they have to be mail ordered by the box. Another smaller advantage of the machine made cigars is that they usually do not need to be stored in a humidor. These cigars are intended to be smoked dry. However, this must not be pushed to extremes, either. Dry means “Dutch Dry”, or about 40% - 50% humidity. If you live on the high plains like I do, where humidity levels are routinely lower than 30%, a humidor is a good idea for ANY cigar, eliminating this potential advantage.

[punch]

My first installment of this series discussed smokable cigars under $2.00. In this installment, I am going to provide a list of cigars that I consider excellent that cost $4.00 or less.

Arturo Fuente Cuban Corona – Corona - $3.24 – Grade A-
Arturo Fuente 858 Maduro – Grand Corona - $3.48 – Grade B+
Cohiba (Fauxhiba DR) Corona – Corona - $3.00 – Grade A-
Cuban Cigar Factory Monterico – Toro - $3.60 – Grade A-
Don Thomas Corojo #2 – Belicoso - $2.50 – Grade B+
Havana Sun Grown Corona Extra – Grand Corona - $3.75 – Grade B+
La Aroma de Cuba Corona – Corona - $3.56 – Grade B+
La Aroma de Cuba Robusto – Robusto - $3.91 – Grade B+
La Tradicion Cabinet Series R – Robusto - $3.75 – Grade A
La Tradicion Cabinet Series R Maduro – Robusto - $3.75 – Grade A
Macanudo Maduro Hyde Park – Robusto - $3.72 – Grade B+
Macanudo Vintage Demi ’97 – Short Panatela - $2.10 – Grade B+
Montecristo Platinum Petit #2 – Belicoso - $3.25 – Grade A-
Montecristo Afrique Safari – Small Panatela - $1.27 – Grade B+
Montecristo Afrique Machame – Petit Corona - $3.80 – Grade A+
Montecristo Afrique Uhuru – Corona Grande - $4.00 – Grade A
Punch London Club – Petit Corona - $1.12 – Grade B+
Punch Elite – Corona Extra - $1.68 – Grade A-
Punch Rothschild – Rothschild - $2.13 – Grade A-
Punch Delux Royal Coronation – Corona - $2.43 – Grade B+
Punch Gran Cru Robusto – Robusto - $3.46 – Grade B+
Punch Rare Corojo Pita – Toro - $3.48 – Grade A-
Punch Rare Corojo Rothschild – Rothschild - $3.08 – Grade A
Romeo y Julieta Romeo’s Court – Corona - $3.65 – Grade A-
Saint Luis Rey Reserva Especial Belicoso – Torpedo - $2.71 – Grade A
S. T. Dupont Tubo – Lonsdale - $2.50 – Grade A

I consider all of the above cigars to be premium, high quality smokes. I would not hesitate to smoke any of these as my “evening” smoke, and indeed, many of these regularly appear on my list for the night’s wind – down smoke. You really do not have to go broke to enjoy a first class cigar.

[CPT Smoke]

Originally Posted by punch

My first installment of this series discussed smokable cigars under $2.00. In this installment, I am going to provide a list of cigars that I consider excellent that cost $4.00 or less.

Arturo Fuente Cuban Corona – Corona - $3.24 – Grade A-
Arturo Fuente 858 Maduro – Grand Corona - $3.48 – Grade B+
Cohiba (Fauxhiba DR) Corona – Corona - $3.00 – Grade A-
Cuban Cigar Factory Monterico – Toro - $3.60 – Grade A-
Don Thomas Corojo #2 – Belicoso - $2.50 – Grade B+
Havana Sun Grown Corona Extra – Grand Corona - $3.75 – Grade B+
La Aroma de Cuba Corona – Corona - $3.56 – Grade B+
La Aroma de Cuba Robusto – Robusto - $3.91 – Grade B+
La Tradicion Cabinet Series R – Robusto - $3.75 – Grade A
La Tradicion Cabinet Series R Maduro – Robusto - $3.75 – Grade A
Macanudo Maduro Hyde Park – Robusto - $3.72 – Grade B+
Macanudo Vintage Demi ’97 – Short Panatela - $2.10 – Grade B+
Montecristo Platinum Petit #2 – Belicoso - $3.25 – Grade A-
Montecristo Afrique Safari – Small Panatela - $1.27 – Grade B+
Montecristo Afrique Machame – Petit Corona - $3.80 – Grade A+
Montecristo Afrique Uhuru – Corona Grande - $4.00 – Grade A
Punch London Club – Petit Corona - $1.12 – Grade B+
Punch Elite – Corona Extra - $1.68 – Grade A-
Punch Rothschild – Rothschild - $2.13 – Grade A-
Punch Delux Royal Coronation – Corona - $2.43 – Grade B+
Punch Gran Cru Robusto – Robusto - $3.46 – Grade B+
Punch Rare Corojo Pita – Toro - $3.48 – Grade A-
Punch Rare Corojo Rothschild – Rothschild - $3.08 – Grade A
Romeo y Julieta Romeo’s Court – Corona - $3.65 – Grade A-
Saint Luis Rey Reserva Especial Belicoso – Torpedo - $2.71 – Grade A
S. T. Dupont Tubo – Lonsdale - $2.50 – Grade A

I consider all of the above cigars to be premium, high quality smokes. I would not hesitate to smoke any of these as my “evening” smoke, and indeed, many of these regularly appear on my list for the night’s wind – down smoke. You really do not have to go broke to enjoy a first class cigar.

I sincerely thank you for your post. I have been trying to put together a list of good smokes that I can obtain at a fair price. I will certainly give some of the sticks on your list a try. I already had the Saint Luis Rey Reserva Especial brand on my list. Thanks again for the post.

“Sunset and a fine smoke with friends is a true pleasure here in Afghanistan”

[celticgent]

thanks very much, punch.

i am on a fixed income, so this list will be invaluable to me.

cheers!

[punch]

This is the last installment of this series. The prices that I have been using are the per stick prices BY THE BOX from mail order houses such as Holts and JR Cigars. But let’s face it, for many of us springing for a box of cigars is an investment. What I have attempted to do here is provide a list of cigars that I rated excellent in my logs, and that are consistently rated such. To appear on this list, I would have smoked several of these cigars from different batches and at different times and still consider them to be excellent cigars. This is important when making a box purchase. There are few things more depressing than ordering a box of cigars and finding that the one cigar that you sampled prior to purchasing the box was the best example of that vitola. Consistency is the key for guaranteed enjoyment of cigars, and this list contains the cigars that I do not hesitate to buy in quantity. Also, I should state that these are my “special occasion” cigars and not the ones that I smoke on a daily basis. As such, I have not put a per stick price limit on this list. However, you will quickly note that none of these favorites of mine exceed $10.00 per stick. There are other cigars that I have rated as high or higher in my logs, but I have not smoked enough of them to consider consistency accurately, so I have not listed them here.

Arturo Fuente Hemmingway Signature, Corona Grande. This Dominican made cigar features a Cameroon wrapper and DR binder and filler. I have found this cigar very consistent from box to box and within each box. I can honestly say that I have never had a bad one. Price runs $6.00 as stick. I rate this cigar an A+, and the raters at T25C give it an average rating of 8.25. We agree on this one.

Montecristo Afrique Machame, Petit Corona. This is another DR made cigar with a Cameroon wrapper. Binder is Ecuador and filler is a mix of African, Nicaraguan and Peruvian tobaccos. This cigar requires a bit of age to maintain consistency, usually at least a month with six months being better. Once they have been stabilized, I have found that it does not matter which batch they came from, they are excellent. These smaller sticks run $3.80 a stick by the box, which is almost inexpensive enough to use as an every day smoke. I rate this stick an A+. T25C rates it an average of 8.75.

Montecristo Afrique Jambo, Robusto. This is the robusto version of the above cigar. I find these to have a flavor slightly less intense than the Machame, but perhaps a bit smoother. These, too, require a bit of aging with a downtime of a month or more really bringing out the flavor. Six months has made some of mine near perfect. These run $4.40 a stick by the box and I rate them a solid A. T25C gives these an excellent rating of 9.83!

Punch Gran Cru Monarcas, Churchill. This is a large Honduran cigar wrapped with a Connecticut wrapper and binder. The filler is a DR / HON / NIC mix. These cigars age very well, but do not seem to need it. I am not a big fan of CON wrapper, but a few weeks in the humidor seem to marry the flavor a bit to something that I really like. These tubos sell for $4.40 a stick by the box. I rate them a consistent A-. T25C gives them an average rating of 9.3. Since these come in boxes of 10, they don’t take up much room in the humidor, so there is always a box in mine aging.

Romeo y Julieta Romeo’s Court, Corona. Another DR cigar. This one has a Java wrapper with a DR binder and a DR / Brazil filler mix. These tubos are a bit harsh when they are fresh, but they mellow out after about a month. I have found these to be very consistent after sitting for about three months; to the point where I cannot tell the difference between cigars that came from different boxes or different vendors. These run $3.65 each by the box of 10. I give the aged versions an A- overall. T25C is not quite as impressed and rates these a still respectable 7.9.

So there you have it, a collection of 5 different premium cigars suitable for special occasions, or a nice, relaxing weekend smoke. All of these are under $10.00 a stick, with four of the five being under $5.00! I have found the consistency of these cigars such that I do not worry about a box purchase as I am sure that I will enjoy each cigar. Yes my friends, you can enjoy the wonderful world of cigars without being a millionaire or going broke!

[Eichen]

Punch: There's a lot of work you put into this thread. I enjoyed reading it since I consider myself a budget smoker. I'm sure there are quite a few others who will find this information valuable.

[floydp]

I sure did punch, excellent lists.. I'd forgotten how much I liked the Elites and the London Clubs. Nice work..

[miki]

Punch, thanks for the great list, this will definately come in handy. I am smoking an 858 Maduro and it's a very nice cigar.

[JezterVA]

You've obviously put a lot of time and effort into this list and for that, I thank you. There are many smokes on here that I have yet to sample, that I will now based on your list.

Steve

[al two]

yes Punch, a big thanks. low income and a fairly high volume of smoking doesn't add up. i will definately be looking at this list a lot.

[stonelifter]

i picked up a couple of those on the list...very happy for my 2nd & 3rd cigars ever.

[dagrinch]

I'd like to add to the list Trilogy Churchill $3.25 and Helix which as a collective is less 4.00 a stick.

Grinch OUT!!!

[TTgirl]

For me the AF's are an amazing value. Most of them run in the $3-$4 range per cigar - the Rothschilds I like so much are $3.85 each where I'm at.

[piperman]

Thanks Punch I printed the list and going on a shoppin spree!!

[Txdawg]

Thanks Punch, I've printed your list and I keep it in the car for trips to the local tobacco shops.