cant see the reason for buying brand names

[UPHOTO]

Some people think that wine in a box taste just fine.

Does that make the others a rip off? HELL NO!!!

Good for you if the house brands taste good. I remember when a $4 bottle of wine kept me happy.......those were the days.

[shilala]

I just like what I like.
My rotation right now looks like this:
Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte
Sancho Panza Double Maduro
Taboo SFO
DPG JJ Maduro
Whatever Fuente appeals to me at the moment

Of the last 50 cigars I've smoked, probably 40 of them have been under 2 bucks a piece, despite I've got hundreds upon hundreds of cigars that cost a whole lot more than that.
I think I get a certain peace from not being wasteful, moneywise. I don't always get to smoke a whole cigar, things come up and I have to put it out or throw it away.
The Sancho's are very inexpensive, but they're VERY good. I love them.
If I only smoke half of one and toss it, I don't feel guilty about being wasteful. If I spark a Don Carlos and have to toss it, I feel awful about it.
Ultimately, I'm not going to smoke a cigar that sucks, at any price.
And if a cigar costs a lot, it better be damned good. Unfortunately that is very seldom the case in my experience.
That's why I just smoke what I like.

[Volt]

Originally Posted by shilala

I just like what I like.
My rotation right now looks like this:
Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte
Sancho Panza Double Maduro
Taboo SFO
DPG JJ Maduro
Whatever Fuente appeals to me at the moment

Of the last 50 cigars I've smoked, probably 40 of them have been under 2 bucks a piece, despite I've got hundreds upon hundreds of cigars that cost a whole lot more than that.
I think I get a certain peace from not being wasteful, moneywise. I don't always get to smoke a whole cigar, things come up and I have to put it out or throw it away.
The Sancho's are very inexpensive, but they're VERY good. I love them.
If I only smoke half of one and toss it, I don't feel guilty about being wasteful. If I spark a Don Carlos and have to toss it, I feel awful about it.
Ultimately, I'm not going to smoke a cigar that sucks, at any price.
And if a cigar costs a lot, it better be damned good. Unfortunately that is very seldom the case in my experience.
That's why I just smoke what I like.

I agree 100% Life is too short for cheap booze and a cheap cigar. And I'm not talking about price.

[Dgar]

I usually dont try bundles or house brands ( hope that dosent make me sound like a cigar snob), but there are plenty of well know brands with excellent budget cigars, Padron X000 series are the first to come to mind.

As a few others have stated smoke what you like. And If House Brands and Bundled cigars suit your taste, I agree... consider yourself fortunate.

[craigchilds]

Right now, I'm working my way through a bundle of Famous Honduran 1000 Double Coronas. About $1 apiece. But surprisingly good.

[brigey]

Originally Posted by Volt

I buy from $2 to a very occasional $15 stick. I worry less about the name and more about how it smokes andtastes. It might have a popular name or not.... my .02

Ding, Ding, Ding!

[JCK]

without a market for brand names, would house brands exist?

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by mmblz

I envy you.

Me too.
I would probably own a few vacation homes by now.

[Puffy69]

I hear ya brother...Ide much rather smoke a JLP over a DP. or Hydrox cookies over Oreos

[epyon26]

Smoke what you like, smoke what you want. It's your choice.

[[OT] Loki]

Originally Posted by DonnieW

We have a local roller in Toronto who imports the cuban leaf. They roll their own house blend and make them for stores, businesses, etc. I even had some made for me with a cool monogram. Its actually better than many $5+ smokes I've tried.

now that sounds like a nice stick

[Lynchmeister]

I'm sure my budget plays a larger role than I may let myself believe, but my current favorites include Perdomo Fresco Maduros and Flor de Olivas. I'm still very new to all this, but my bad stick/let down ratio is much lower than my experiences with the so called "super premium" lines.

This of course is all so subjective, though, because I'm sure there were several factors at play, the most notable probably being when I grab an "expensive" stick out of the lounge's humidor, flop down in the leather chair, spark it up, and 30 minutes later get the nasty, acrid, too wet/young cigar taste. This of course is my fault and not the cigar's.

What I'm struggling to say here, hehe, is that at the end of the day, if it's enjoyable and affordable ($2.00? $25.00?), then you've hit pay dirt and can enjoy your cigar that much more.

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by DonnieW

I don't think its bad form to post this, if so let me know.

Since the cigars contain cuban tobacco, you might want to edit your post. They are still illegal in the US and the link you gave does not comform to the rules of CS.

[borndead1]

This is how I explain my cigar tastes:



I like GOOD cigars. Some good cigars cost a dollar. Other good cigars cost lots of dollars. It all averages out.



This morning I smoked a cheap bundle Honduran cigar that retails for $1.25. Shemp knows which cigar I'm talking about. I've written no less than FOUR reviews of this line of stogies on the Famous website. I tell everyone I can about them. Dollar for dollar, they are in my top 5.


This afternoon I smoked a BBF. Don't need to explain that one.


Average cost of the 2 cigars I smoked today: $4.12. Hellz yeah!



I will buy "brand names", but what I won't pay for is obvious and unmerited hype. Anejos come to mind, as do Padron Annis, and of course Gurkha. Even Pepin is starting to rub me the wrong way as far as "bang for buck" goes. If I'm gonna shell out top dollar for something I'm going to set on fire, it had better WOW me.

[zmancbr]

Well... not that I am a label whore, but I do prefer the bigger names. My palate tends to favor the medium priced sticks... I find that the real cheap ones (most of them) aren't terribly special... one notable exception is the Perdomo 2 mistakes. Those are some sweet cheap sticks...

Same goes for me and the higher priced stuff... I had a GOF on Saturday that absolutely sucked... I will try a couple more of them to make sure it wasn't a dud... but it didn't cut it to me for a $20 stick...and it was one of the few Fuente sticks I don't LOVE....