My Cigar Dilemma - Not That Bad Actually!

[PolarGar]

Hi all,

I have been lurking for the last few weeks and soaking up all the knowledge on this terrific forum.

A very brief background - I have been a cigar smoker for just over 20 years but by no means a regular everyday smoker throughout those years. I live in Canada and so have smoked many a Cuban. I was much more active in smoking in the early to mid nineties but have been trying to stock up for aging just lately. A few years back in New York City I purchased a box each of Padron maduro robustos, a robusto sized VSG, and Chateau Fuente Rothschilds - sorry if I butchered the descriptions. They have been aging quite well and I am happy with my selections.

So here is where the dilemma comes in.

My wife and I will be visiting Orlando next week on business/pleasure and are limited to 100 cigars to bring back duty free and somewhere in the price range of $500-$600 for the lot.

What I want are cigars that are medium to full with some complexity but that would fit in this price range - somewhere close to $6.00 on average per stick. I could buy a few boxes in the $3 - $4 per stick range which would free me up to nab a box or two of say $9 or $10 sticks.

I am thinking along the lines of Padron (open to discussion but have never tried any of the anniversary lines yet), Perdomo (I have a box of Lot 23 that were a very pleasant surprise), Fuentes, and perhaps a Rocky Patel 10 anniversary box.

I defer to the vast stores of knowledge on this forum of terrific smokes that are reasonably priced and available in the good ol US of A!

Chris

[icehog3]

Welcome to the Jungle, Chris!

I would recommend that you head over to Tampa ( a little over an hour West) and visit Tampa Sweethearts. You can see their cigar selection and prices on their website, tampasweethearts.com. Great selection of Fuente cigars and their own blend.

[PolarGar]

Great thank you for that. I have emailed them on availability of Opus X.

I have found some promising locations in Orlando though and am more wondering about brand selection these days that offer value - not cheapies mind you - unless upwards of $10 per stick is cheap!

Any ideas on lines I should be looking at? I am not much of a small cigar guy - Corona Gorda is about as small as I go - more of a Robusto/Churchill sort of a guy.

[brigey]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Welcome to the Jungle, Chris!

I would recommend that you head over to Tampa ( a little over an hour West) and visit Tampa Sweethearts. You can see their cigar selection and prices on their website, tampasweethearts.com. Great selection of Fuente cigars and their own blend.

The site is actually http://www.tampasweetheart.com/

Orlando had some interesting walk-in hand rolled cigar locations. Local sticks with a lot of flavor.

[Silound]

I would recommend you look for and try some of the following

• La Flor Dominicana Ligero, Double Ligero, and Cabinet Oscuro lines. In particular, the Ligero 500 and the Cabinet 500 are excellent smokes, and IMO one of the best smokes for the price, usually around 7-8 a stick.
• Don Pepin Garcia Blue/Black/601 lines. Ranging from medium to full, there's a gicar in here for almost everyone from somewhere between 7-10 per stick.
• Tatuaje lines of cigars. Can't go wrong here, there's some knockout smokes made that are as low as 4 dollars per stick. Of particular interest are the West Side and limited batch runs.
• Partagas Black Label are some nice fuller bodied smokes. Quite a few people have been known to turn green after smoking one too fast, but I happen to like the depth of the flavors. Usually very affordable at 5-7 per stick.
• Jose Seijas cigars are excellent, but somewhat pricey at 12+ per stick.
• CAO Brazilia lines, especially the Box Press, are a milder maduro smoke that has excellent flavor (the Gol! is the best of the regular sizes) and a twinge of sweetness to them. Usually around 7-8 per stick.
• HdM Excalibur Legends are a new smoke out this year, and have quite a nice kick with a decently balanaced flavor. Around 6-10 per stick.

Hopefully you can find something to spend a good chunk of change on. Don't be afraid to go back with less sticks of a higher quality rather than try to squeeze your 100 stick total in your budget. And don't forget to try some sticks while you're down here, just so you know what you're getting! Good luck!

[bobarian]

I would think about something in the Oliva line as well. Oliva V and G Maduro's are both top notch smokes with tons of flavor. And both the Camacho Triple Maduro and Ltd Corojo are great full flavored smokes.

[acruce]

Anything in the Davidoff line.

[Bear]

Welcome to CS! By the by... I think you are oficially the second Norther most Gorilla here at CS. I'm sure you'll have some interesting discussions with Craig (Str8edg) who is in Resolute Nunavut. (I see a Nunavut box pass of two in the making! )

If you are going to be in Orlando and aren't going to be terribly mobile (ie if you don't have a rental car) your best bet will be to hit up Corona Cigar Comapy's retail location in Orlando. It's not too far from the Convention Centers (just guessing that that's the area you will be in).

As for what to buy, see if you can visit the place twice during your stay. Once to pick up singles to sample and a second time to buy the boxes of what you like.

Also, you don't really need to limit yourself to 4 boxes if you plan on making friends on yor trip. Say you have friends or new acquaintances who are on the same flight as you who aren't loading up on tobacco you could ask them to include some boxes in their count for you.

Failing that, there are several Canada friendly companies who can ship to you (see my Sig line for link). The only down side to that for you is that Northern Air is a pretty brutal mail delivery system (according to Craig anyways).

Bottom line is enjoy your vacation and stay active with CS and I'm sure you will find lots of info and we will be able to ease you down the slope!

[Puffin Fresh]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Welcome to the Jungle, Chris!

I would recommend that you head over to Tampa ( a little over an hour West) and visit Tampa Sweethearts. You can see their cigar selection and prices on their website, tampasweethearts.com. Great selection of Fuente cigars and their own blend.

Definitely go this route to get some nice premiums, then buy the rest of your selection wherever. I will say this, the TS Maduros are supposed to be very good for the price, but if you want to spend more $$$, buy a box of Diamond Crown Maximus Robustos at MSRP or a bit less from tampa sweethearts and pick up some singles of their hard to find stuff.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by brigey

The site is actually http://www.tampasweetheart.com/

Gracias...see what happens when I try to do it from memory instead of my favorites list?

[PolarGar]

Wow this is one amazing board! I knew it was informative but had not idea it was this active - where have you been all my smoking life??!!

[punkymunky]

I would try to get my hands on some Opus and Padron 1926 or 1964. The 26 packs a huge punch and would be more comparable in flavor to most Cubans. The 1964 is my favorite, get as many of those bad boys as you can find. Opus are awesome too, very complex and flavorful. These are where I would go with the more expensive boxes atleast.

In the cheaper range I would go with Rocky Patel Vintage 1992/1990. They age very well and are good for the price. If you were wanting to migrate into a full bodied cigar I would suggest picking up some Rocky Patel Edge Maduro torpedos. They are a great full bodied cigar without a daunting price tag.

In the slightly cheaper range I would look for some Omar Ortiz. They will run you between 3-4 a stick and are good for the money. I haven't really messed with aging these so I am not a wealth of knowledge on that, but if I had to hazard a guess I would say their potential would be limited.

Hope this helps.

[jbonnefsc]

Grab some Oliva if you can...

The V is great, very medium/full Habanos.
The G is great both in Cameroon and Maduro.

Should be about $4 a stick

[seegarfan]

You have been given some great selection to try to score. I would just add if you can find any of the San Cristobal sticks by Ashton, give them a try. My favorite of the line is the Maestro. a 6 x 60 Figuardo that is GREAT!

Good luck on your scores and have a safe trip.

Mark

[Volt]

Originally Posted by Silound

I would recommend you look for and try some of the following

• La Flor Dominicana Ligero, Double Ligero, and Cabinet Oscuro lines. In particular, the Ligero 500 and the Cabinet 500 are excellent smokes, and IMO one of the best smokes for the price, usually around 7-8 a stick.
• Don Pepin Garcia Blue/Black/601 lines. Ranging from medium to full, there's a gicar in here for almost everyone from somewhere between 7-10 per stick.
• Tatuaje lines of cigars. Can't go wrong here, there's some knockout smokes made that are as low as 4 dollars per stick. Of particular interest are the West Side and limited batch runs.
• Partagas Black Label are some nice fuller bodied smokes. Quite a few people have been known to turn green after smoking one too fast, but I happen to like the depth of the flavors. Usually very affordable at 5-7 per stick.
• Jose Seijas cigars are excellent, but somewhat pricey at 12+ per stick.
• CAO Brazilia lines, especially the Box Press, are a milder maduro smoke that has excellent flavor (the Gol! is the best of the regular sizes) and a twinge of sweetness to them. Usually around 7-8 per stick.
• HdM Excalibur Legends are a new smoke out this year, and have quite a nice kick with a decently balanaced flavor. Around 6-10 per stick.

Hopefully you can find something to spend a good chunk of change on. Don't be afraid to go back with less sticks of a higher quality rather than try to squeeze your 100 stick total in your budget. And don't forget to try some sticks while you're down here, just so you know what you're getting! Good luck!

Hehe he will get FULL flavor with these