Im new and need some advice.

[radioactiveage]

My father, many of my other family members, and other people who I look up to smoke cigars. It seems that the only thing in common with all my influential figures is the fact that they are all men and they all smoke cigars. Also, I want to start because im cuban! what can I say! I want to get into it.

Anyway I have some questions:
Most people when starting to smoke are usually seasoned with age.
- Is being 19 too young to start this hobby?

It seems that there are thousands of brands of cigars but all of them seem to be in some sort of catagory. So..
- What kinds of cigar should I try?
- And of the kinds what brands?
1. not expensive (willing to pay less than 5$ a cigar.)
2. Does not smell like crap.(girlfriend might complain)
3. Is not an aquired taste. (Remember Im new)
4. And is not from Cuba. (I may be cuban but as long as I live in USA I do not trade with the enemy!)

Now I would go into the cigar store and ask the woman to sell me a few samples. It is just that she is a dumbass, she does not understand english, and she is a woman. And do woman know anything about cigars?

Thanks for your advice!

-Age

[kansashat]

Uh......if she's working in a cigar store, this woman may very well know a lot about cigars. Ask her. Also, you might be surprised at how helpful your father & older friends & family members might be if you express some interest in their pass time.
Don't try to cram in a lot of information & experience & then go try to impress them. It won't work & you will probably make a fool of yourself.
Ask their advice & listen respectfully. They will be gratified & you will probably learn something.

Good luck!

BTW, welcome.

[coppertop]

Welcome to CS.

However the first....well second thing I will say is slow your roll on women. There are many many women who know a lot about cigars. I know you are young and I'm not being an A-hole but you need to be more thoughtful about women and cigars.

Also, smoking Cubans has nothing to do with trading with the enemy. Kennedy, you know the president who started the embargo, smoked Cubans. As a matter of fact he had his press secretary go to every cigar shop and buy EVERY H Upmann Petit Upmanns. Not to mention almost every president since, Jesse the mind Ventura and so many more to include me. Just wanted to give you a little info about Cubans. I am a patriot, but why smoke crappy overpriced dominican cigars when I can smoke Cubans.

Now the rest of your post. There are a lot of brands. With those there are a plethra of tastes to go with the brands. Being new I would recommend a mild cigar. There are a lot of decent choices. I would also reccomend talking to your dad and other family members for some choices. Here are some ideas.

CAO Gold line.
CAO MX2
Indian Tobac Anniversary
Helix
Punch Rare Corojo

The only cigars that smell like crap are Swisher Sweets, Black and Milds or Backwoods...those kind of cigars. I'm sure some other people will give you some other choices. Good luck and enjoy.

[coppertop]

I see Kansashat beat me to the punch.

Cigar Chic...who comes to this BB every now and then works in cigar shop....and knows ALOT about cigars.

[summerkc]

Also try:

Padron 3000s or 2000s
CAO L'Annivasare Maduro (little more expensive unless you buy on internet)

For cheaper but still good cigars:

Flor de Olivia, can usually be found on the internet for $25/25 sticks!

[txmatt]

Originally Posted by coppertop

Welcome to CS.

Also, smoking Cubans has nothing to do with trading with the enemy. Kennedy, you know the president who started the embargo, smoked Cubans. As a matter of fact he had his press secretary go to every cigar shop and buy EVERY H Upmann Petit Upmanns. Not to mention almost every president since, Jesse the mind Ventura and so many more to include me. Just wanted to give you a little info about Cubans. I am a patriot, but why smoke crappy overpriced dominican cigars when I can smoke Cubans.

Now the rest of your post. There are a lot of brands. With those there are a plethra of tastes to go with the brands. Being new I would recommend a mild cigar. There are a lot of decent choices. I would also reccomend talking to your dad and other family members for some choices. Here are some ideas.

Good luck and enjoy.

Coppertop your reply is quite shortsited, ignorant, and insensitive. I try to always say nice things here but your reply deserves to be called out. Please don't misconstre this as a "flame" but if I were radioactiveage I would be offended by your remarks.

Let me start off by saying you should NEVER question an ex-Cuban national's knowledge or reasons for not wanting to support cuban industry. You should never question any refugee's knowledge about the situation in THEIR country.

Since you apparently don't understand the way things work, let me enlighten you a bit. The Castro Regime IS the Cuban cigar industry. When you buy Cuban cigars you are putting money into Fidel's coffers. If a resident of Cuba tries to start their own cigar factory that isn't owned/skimmed by Castro it will get raided like a drug lab would here in the US. Fidel is like a pimp to overworked underpaid whores that are Cuban cigar factories.

Now many people will argue it gives Cubans jobs, however any Cuban decendant or immigrant I have ever asked about this take radioactiveage's position in not wanting to purchase products produced in Cuba. People with these "jobs" are still impoverished and exploited while the Castro Regime whipes their @$$es with money moistened with the sweat of these people.

The fact that Kennedy smoked cubans and Ventura illegally smokes Cuban makes this practice no more patriotic or American. Actually Kennedy was quite the hypocrat (intentional mispelling). Even if this regime wasn't America's enemy, that is irrelavant to the fact smoking Cuban cigars is supporting the Cuban people's enemy.

Again, not meant to be a flame.
Matt

[txmatt]

Originally Posted by radioactiveage

My father, many of my other family members, and other people who I look up to smoke cigars. It seems that the only thing in common with all my influential figures is the fact that they are all men and they all smoke cigars. Also, I want to start because im cuban! what can I say! I want to get into it.

Anyway I have some questions:
Most people when starting to smoke are usually seasoned with age.
- Is being 19 too young to start this hobby?

It seems that there are thousands of brands of cigars but all of them seem to be in some sort of catagory. So..
- What kinds of cigar should I try?
- And of the kinds what brands?
1. not expensive (willing to pay less than 5$ a cigar.)
2. Does not smell like crap.(girlfriend might complain)
3. Is not an aquired taste. (Remember Im new)
4. And is not from Cuba. (I may be cuban but as long as I live in USA I do not trade with the enemy!)

Now I would go into the cigar store and ask the woman to sell me a few samples. It is just that she is a dumbass, she does not understand english, and she is a woman. And do woman know anything about cigars?

Thanks for your advice!

-Age

Welcome radioactiveage!!

Please qualify for us what you mean by not expensive.

Here are a few I think most people will enjoy by price:

Sancho Panza (Honduras) Double Maduro Quixote: Around $42/ box of 25 from JR Tobacco. Should run you around $3 - $3.50 retail These are mild in that they won't give you a big buzz, but have a lot of nice flavor.

Flor De Oliva/ Flor De Oliva Maduro - These run $1.50 and $2.00 retail and can be had for $28 - $40 for bundle of 25 mail order.

Padron 2000 or 2000 Maduro - These are amazing cigars for the money. They can be found for as little as $60 for a box of 25 mail order or around $3.50 - $4.00 retail. I have had many $10 cigars that weren't as good as these.

Anything the Fuente's make - this goes for Arturo Fuente, AF Hemmingway, AF Don Carlos, Opus X (overpriced but good), La Unica, La Unica Cameroon, Cuesta Rey, Cueste Rey Centro Fino, Cuesta Rey Centario, Montesino, Tampa Sweethearts, etc.

Not sure where in the US you are, if by any chance you are one of the many Cuban immigrants in Miami, the Little Havana area has cigar shops with Padron's mixed filler, curly head Fumas (mixed filler) available for around a buck a stick. You can find them on the internet, but will pay twice that.

Again welcome to Club Stogie!!!
Matt

[(909)]

Welcome, Radioactive

I'll agree with the Flor de Olivas, good cigar for a low price. I'd also recommend La Gloria Wavells, at about $4.50 each they are a solid cigar and you can get them in natural (mild) or maduro (stronger) and are a good burning shorter cigar. Online merchants sell sampler packs, I bought a lot of these at first and got to experience a lot of different cigars and not spend a bunch of cash. It gave me some insight as to what I liked and what I didn't. We all have different tastes so you'll need to find what you like.

Also, keep reading the posts, I think that you'll find that just observing some of the posts will give you lots of insight as to what is good and what is not. There are a lot of good cigars out there, you just need to do a little research.

Most of the talk on the forum is about non-cuban cigars so you'll get the info you need and not violate any of your personal beliefs. The people of Club Stogie are a good bunch, don't be afraid to ask questions, you'll get a lot of answers.

Once again, welcome.

[drc]

Welcome to the jungle. Lots of good advice from others regarding smokes to try.

[LeafHog]

welcome radioactiveage!!

[kamikaiguy]

Wow!!!! wholly let's get political batman..... It all good....

I have to agree with the FdO's, Padron's are good, and the most commonly missed the Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 Silver edition.

[SilvrBck]

Welcome aboard. Yes, there are mostly guys in the cigar industry but there are plenty of ladies involved who know tons about cigars.

For some reason, I have always liked strong, full-bodied cigars. If I read a review that said, "not for beginners," I'd buy a few to try. And for the most part, I haven't been let down. Most of the "premium" cigars available today are great smokes. Some good brands to try would be:

1) CAO-I like the criollos and brazilias. Golds are more mild.
2) Arturo Fuente-a little pricey but one of my favorites when I was just starting out.
3) Joya de Nicaragua-hardcore full bodied smokes. If you want to fall out of your chair and barf with a nicotine buzz, then this one's for you! Believe me, this is fun for some of us!
4) Camacho corojo-another full bodied smoke. Very good quality though.
5) La Gloria cubana-they have a million different lines of cigars. I like their maduros. The R Serie is more full bodied.
6) Carlos Torano-relatively inexpensive, quality, smooth smokes. A favorite among the LLGs.
7) Padron X000 series-inexpensive and smooth. People on here swear by them.

Hope this helps. Give the power spectrum a try and see where your tastes fall. Everyone is different.

SB

[IHT]

Originally Posted by txmatt

Coppertop your reply is quite shortsited, ignorant, and insensitive. I try to always say nice things here but your reply deserves to be called out. Please don't misconstre this as a "flame" but if I were radioactiveage I would be offended by your remarks.
IHT - what the fluck do you think your reply to Coppertop is then? not meant as a flame, my ass. talk about being rude, you must've wrote the book.

Let me start off by saying you should NEVER question an ex-Cuban national's knowledge or reasons for not wanting to support cuban industry. You should never question any refugee's knowledge about the situation in THEIR country.
IHT - just curious here, but WHERE DID HE SAY HE WAS A REFUGEE? all he said was that he was cuban and he was upset that a woman couldn't speak english. you take it that he is/was a refugee? unless you know him personally... still, i'm german, but i don't know much about Germany...

Since you apparently don't understand the way things work, let me enlighten you a bit.
IHT - so YOU know everything now? and where did he say anything remotely deserving of the response you're giving him? not a flame, huh?

The fact that Kennedy smoked cubans and Ventura illegally smokes Cuban makes this practice no more patriotic or American.
IHT - did he say it was "patriotic"? i'm pretty sure he was meaning that not smoking cubans because of the embargo is silly because the men who pass the laws don't even follow them themselves.

Again, not meant to be a flame.
Matt

ssssuuuuuurrrreeeeee.... it wasn't meant as a flame.

you talk to coppertop like a child here, immediately calling him out on something so small.

but it's not meant as a flame...

you say if you were radioactiveage you'd take offense...
now, what if you were coppertop? you wouldn't take your reply as a flame?

right... i agree -10000%

[coppertop]

Thanks for the backup IHT.

I to find it curious that radioactiveage has yet to reply to his own post. It might be that he can't get to a computer everyday, or has read the ideas people have given him and is to rude to reply with a simple thanks, I don't know. I just find it odd.

As for the whole thing with txmatt. We have been PMing each other and have gotten this situation under control. He tried to go back and edit his post, tone it down a bit. But since there is such a short period to do so he was unable to. We are both cool. I really appreciate IHT sticking up for me. As most everyone here knows we are friends and co-workers. Thanks Greg.

Ctop

[MitchellF]

I am new to this board but have been enjoying cigars for a couple of years now. If you want a no nonsense, excellent priced, good tasting cigar that won't cause you to go broke try the La Finca Corona! You can buy them online for $29.95 for a box of 25 and that includes shipping! The cigar rates from 89 to 91 on Cigar Afficianado. Check them out at jrcigars.com. Punch makes some reasonably priced good cigars as does Carlos Torano. Torano's vary widely in price but you can find a good smoke at a good price. Start with the 1916 series about $3.50 per smoke for a corona if bought single. I would really try the La Finca as you can afford to give some of these to your friends and enjoy a quality built very good cigar. They are even better if you can age them in a hummidor if you get that far along and interested.