Super Premium Stogies, worth it?

[smoke_screen]

I don't know if super premium is the right thing to call them, but I am talking about you more top shelf $20+ a stick. The only indulgence I have had down this road are the Padron anniversaries, and yes they were quite exquisite. But enjoyment wise, yes the taste and pretty much everything about them was better, but not my leaps and bounds. Perhaps its just those perticular cigars and there are some that warrent shelling out the money.

As of right now, regardless of their worth, in my world these cigars will be kept for special occasions, but if they are even worth it for that.... we'll see

[Dgar]

the longer I've smoked cigars the less impressed I become wiith limited editions, or super premium pricing.... lots of great cigars to smoke without taking out a second mortgage, my guess is blind taste testing would probably surprise some folks.

[scottw]

I have 8 sticks in my humi with a $20+ price tag and they are great. I also have over 350 sticks with a $10 and under pricetag on them and I consider many to be premiums just purchased at the right prices. WTS threads here and Cbid are great resources.

[commonsenseman]

Some are worth it, some not. I only have a few super-premiums, I mostly smoke under $8 cigars. There are so many good cheap cigars these days that I save the expensive ones for special occassions. I do enjoy a Opus now and then

[rajuabju]

While some great cigars like Padron 1964's or 1926's are EXCELLENT smokes, you can get other great smokes for much less. I recently just bought Rocky Decade's for less than $7/stick!

And I've grabbed some amazing Padilla, Ashton and Arturo Fuente's, all in the range of $11/stick or lower.

My general feeling is people should have a range... I've kept mine something like

10% of my cigars are $15/stick or higher
30% of my cigars are in the $10-$15 range
50% of my cigars are in the $5-$9 range
10% of my cigars are under $5/stick

Thats just a general guideline I've tried to keep to. The really high-end stuff is saved for special occasions, the lower-end stuff is for friends who are not into cigars, but smoke when there's a big group around and they dont want to feel left out. The middle 2 ranges are where I'm usually at. A bit nicer if its after a good meal and with a glass of quality scotch.

Of course, its not like I pick a cigar to smoke based on how much I paid for, but what I'm in the mood for at a particular time, but, I do *try* to pay attention to costs. It's easy to smoke Padron's all day long if I had unlimited budget, and maybe one day I will. But for now, I loosely keep track.

It's always important to remember- GREAT deal can be found in the lower price ranges if you're willing to be patient and do your research.

[madurolover]

For every 10 people you find who feel that a $20 cigar is not worth the price you will find 10 others who feel that it is. This is another one of the things about our hobby that makes it such a personalized one.

I may feel that a $12 Opus X is worth the price while another brother thinks it is not.
In the end, smoke what you like and like what you smoke!

[Cyber]

How do you judge the cost of your stick?

For example. On one of my favorite smokes It looks like this

C-bid $.90 to $1.10 a stick
Cigars Int. $1.76 a stick
Local B&M $5.10 a stick

so is it a 1$ stick, a 2$ stick or a 5$ stick?

[teoulennon]

I agree with everyone here. I'd also say it depends on how often and how long you've been smoking. If you only smoke on the weekends a $20 stick may not be considered alot of money to some.

As for how long you've been smoking, I know that if I smoked a padron anniversary series when I first started smoking cigars I would definitely not have enjoyed it as much as I would now because I can pick up so much more on the palate.

Even though I only smoke on weekends, Im just a college student that can't afford super-premiums. I don't own a stick that's over $8 and would put some of my favorites mano y mano to many super-premiums I've smoked before! To each his own

[scottw]

Originally Posted by Cyber

How do you judge the cost of your stick?

For example. On one of my favorite smokes It looks like this

C-bid $.90 to $1.10 a stick
Cigars Int. $1.76 a stick
Local B&M $5.10 a stick

so is it a 1$ stick, a 2$ stick or a 5$ stick?

I don't judge the cost of my sticks, just how they taste and whether I like them or not. Now, obviously, if I paid $20 for a cigar and it sucks, I'll react differently than if I purchased it for $5 but nonetheless,I judge them on their flavor, strength and body, not necessarily cost.

[Cigary]

I agree with Donnie about cigars in general. It is a personal thing and regardless of the price of any stick it's about what you like. Cigars tend to be bandied about like they are trading cards,,,one seems to be worth more than another one or a better smoke than this one. I have a range of all costs in my humidors and I have gotten a lot of pleasure from a cigar that cost $1.25 because it has a taste I enjoy, I had a great drink with it and I had some great ruminations of the day. Conversely, I have had a $25 cigar and had a lousy day with a crappy drink and the wife and I had just had an argument so you can imagine how that cigar smoked. It's a state of mind that you share with a cigar and if your mind is relaxed and receptive a $4 cigar can taste like a super premium one.

[Aaron871]

Originally Posted by Cyber

How do you judge the cost of your stick?

For example. On one of my favorite smokes It looks like this

C-bid $.90 to $1.10 a stick
Cigars Int. $1.76 a stick
Local B&M $5.10 a stick

so is it a 1$ stick, a 2$ stick or a 5$ stick?

It's $5 to see if you like it... well $10 if you do like me and always buy 2 (one for your buddy).

Then if you like it enough to buy a box, they are $1.50.
Doesn't seem fair, does it?

[muhren]

I've only been able to get the top shelf stuff via trades, PIF, PIB and art trades with folks...though mostly the art trades. I couldn't afford to try one at B&M prices.

M

[smoke_screen]

Great reply's, all went pretty much according to what I was thinking. It is hard to not get the placebo effect when you know your smoking a super-premium, so its always just hard to tell. I know some people are good at putting all aside, but I am usually nudged by preconceived notions, ah the power of the mind

[veteranvmb]

Originally Posted by Cyber

How do you judge the cost of your stick?

For example. On one of my favorite smokes It looks like this

C-bid $.90 to $1.10 a stick
Cigars Int. $1.76 a stick
Local B&M $5.10 a stick

so is it a 1$ stick, a 2$ stick or a 5$ stick?

Exactly. Price of my everyday stick has ranged from a good buy on a bid for around 3.50. The 4 local b and m,s charge 12-13 dollars for it. They must have some markup Maybee I should sell them some of mine. lOL
Much regards Jerry

[Esoteric]

I have to say that because of my current financial situation (2 children and a son coming on Oct 8th, pre-planned c-section), it is hard for me to buy a lot of cigars over around $8 so to me, the super premiums are partially worth it just because when I get them it is such a treat.

Also, I put a lot of stock in the sentimentality of everything. For instance, two of my most prized cigars are a Camacho Liberty 2009 and a Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo du Roi that were given to me via trades by some great BOTL. I know the Liberty is expensive and I believe the HdM to be premium as well but the fact someone cared enough to send them to me really means a lot to me so I will enjoy both when I smoke them (the hard part is making myself smoke them because I know once I do smoke them they will be gone lol!).

So to put it simply, just an expensive cigar with no meaning isn't as worth as much to me as premium ones that mean something (if that makes any sense to anyone or if anyone can relate).

I am really excited to try to figure out what cigars I am getting for the baby coming. I was thinking Ashton or something. No matter what, it is definitely a great excuse to the wifey for me to have a reason to spend some money on great cigars lol.