Cigar Suggestions for beginners

[Hair Vise]

Gents,

I'd like some suggestions as to a selection of cigars for a cigar newbie. Here's what I'm thinking for criteria:

1. Cigars that are on the smaller side of the continuum (I seldom have 2 hours to smoke, what with family and all).

2. Cigars that are reasonably priced (under $10?)

3. A good range of cigars that will take my across the mild to spicy spectrum.

So, what do you think? I live in SF and would like to pick up 3-5 cigars as a start. If there are online and brick and mortar vendors that you would recommend for this, I'd also appreciate that as well.

Thanks,

HV

[RexHavoc]

Rocky Patel Edge missile lite sounds like what you are looking for. After your palate matures there are lots of Rocky Patels to move into

[Geo Dude]

The CAO brand has a wide range of cigars for you to pick from, all the way from smooth and creamy to heavy and spicy. They're also, on average, reasonably priced. You may also want to look into Padron for reasonably priced every day smokes, though whether they're good or not seems to be a controversial subject, depending on whom you ask.

[timmy]

Rocky Patel Edge lite - very nice

For milder cigars most with a Connecticut warper will suit. Great starter sample of 20 mild to medium bodied cigars for 50 plus shipping. (http://www.jrcigars.com/index.cfm?page=itemDetails&itemcode=HERFMM)

[brianw]

Punch London Club

[badmammajamma]

You probably want to start out more mild and work your way up.

Rocky Patel has a few good ones to start out with, try anything from the Vintage series, as are ones from Fonseca, Macanudo, Cu-vano Connecticut, Perdoma Champagne.

For the price to quality ratio, it is hard to beat either Five Vegas Gold or Five Vegas Classic.

After you try something on the lighter side work you way into something spicier - the other Rocky Patels, Don Pepin, Punch, Cohiba, Padilla, and the other five vegas lines

[PetersCreek]

Three recommendations from little old me, that might fit the bill:

Mild: La Flor Dominicana Reserva Especial, El Jocko Perfecto (http://www.famous-smoke.com/la+flor+dominicana+reserva+especial+el+jocko+perfe cto+cigars/item+13453?Nav=1000111%204294967241%20500679&Ne=500000) — I'm normally a medium-to-full-bodied kind of guy and I've only had a couple of these but I remember them being quite nice. I'm a fan of the LFD ligeros.

Medium: Arturo Fuente Heminway series (http://tampasweetheart.com/?page=shop/browse&category_id=6a95b3944138099f265871e158a5225d&PHPSESSID=a75c9a030ff47d3aaf60f7e315808557) — For a short smoke, you can't go wrong with the Short Story, Best Seller, or the Work Of Art.

Full: Don Pepin Garcia Blue "Invictos" Robusto (http://www.cigarsinternational.com/proddisp.asp?item=CS-JXA&stext=cs-) — There isn't much from Don Pepin I don't like.

[AceBuckeye]

Olivo is another brand you may want to look into, they make many small sizes in both natural and maduro wrapper and they should fit into your price range.

I have also smoked a few from Nub in recent months that would suit your description as well.

In general I look for Toro or Robusto size cigars when I am looking for a shorter smoke, that is a size cigar that should suit your requirements.

Best of luck and let us know what you decide on and how you liked them !

[Hair Vise]

Thanks guys for all of the suggestions. I'm going to walk over to a tobacconist this afternoon and see what I can find--I'll most certainly look for those cigars that you recommended.

HV

[PetersCreek]

Just to expand on AceBuckeye's excellent suggestion, the Oliva Series G and Series V lines are very nice. Both have made Cigar Aficionado's 25 Best Cigars of the Year list over the last two or three years. I think the Special G would fit your size preference nicely.

[cybrok]

For the size, I like the "perla" 4"x40 gauge.

Thick enough to have a satisfying amount of smoke to pull, short enough so you don't get bored smoking. Perfect size for me.

[Megatron]

Stick with a lighter wrapper, Corona Gorda is my base size. I flip flop between those and the slightly thicker Toro's. Habano wrappers I find have a lot of spice but it also has to do with the binder and what the filler is comprized off. I find Nicaraguan puros have a certain zing to them but Dominican puro's are to mild of a ride for me. Brands I often enjoy are as follows:
Padilla Miami
Padilla Dominus
Esencia
5 Vegas Miami
Oliva Series V(super spicy ^_^)
Arturo Fuente Hemming Way line up is really good. Check out the "Short Story"

I just got a box of My Father Le Bijou 1922 Toros because the one I smoked 3 weeks ago knocked my socks off.

[boomer56]

The best on the planet, imho, is the Avo No.1. It isn't much more than your desired price range, and is so very worth the extra cash.

For bargain daily use, I'd recommend National Brand. They look like a disaster...again in my experience, they're pretty tasty.

There's lots of other stuff in the middle depending on taste- macanudo, romeo and julieta, aurturo fuente, henry clay...all perfectly decent cigars that will give you a nice mild smoke.

See what you like. And let us know what you decide on. Also, consider the cutter...more important than most realize.

Boomer

[hicksdm]

AF 858 maduro
Olivia Series G or maduro

Both of these are tremendous and cost less than $5 a piece.

[Mazeman]

Rocky Patel Edge lite - very nice

For milder cigars most with a Connecticut warper will suit. Great starter sample of 20 mild to medium bodied cigars for 50 plus shipping. (http://www.jrcigars.com/index.cfm?page=itemDetails&itemcode=HERFMM)

I'll second that. Rocky Patels are great bang for the buck.

[flabajaba2213]

For a bit more spice, I like the Onyx Reserve, which you can usually find in the 4X44 size.

[Megatron]

AF 858 maduro
Olivia Series G or maduro

Both of these are tremendous and cost less than $5 a piece.

He's right, the Oliva O and G line are great starter sticks! Excellent quality and consistency.

[Bristlingbeardofodin]

Rocky Patel Edge lite - very nice

For milder cigars most with a Connecticut warper will suit. Great starter sample of 20 mild to medium bodied cigars for 50 plus shipping. (http://www.jrcigars.com/index.cfm?page=itemDetails&itemcode=HERFMM)

I checked the link and agree it looks like a solid recommendation.

[Not A Nice Person]

. . . Corona Gorda is my base size. I flip flop between those and the slightly thicker Toro's. . . . Brands I often enjoy are as follows:
Padilla Miami
Padilla Dominus
Esencia
5 Vegas Miami
Oliva Series V(super spicy ^_^)
Arturo Fuente Hemming Way line up is really good. Check out the "Short Story"

I just got a box of My Father Le Bijou 1922 Toros because the one I smoked 3 weeks ago knocked my socks off.

Add some Illusione and Tatuaje and that's pretty much my humidor, right there. Esencia Corona Gorda is one of my favorite cigars in the world. :thumbup1:

NANP™

[Argonaut]

Personally I would try a Fuente for your first go round. They're a light medium smoke and really, if you don't like a Fuente, you probably don't like cigars. IMHO.

[AceBuckeye]

if you don't like a Fuente, you probably don't like cigars. IMHO.

That's probably about as true a quote regarding cigars as I have seen, some people can get scared off by the price tag of the top end of the Fuente line, but I also feel their quality is hard to beat.

Their story is a great one as well.

[Argonaut]

That's probably about as true a quote regarding cigars as I have seen, some people can get scared off by the price tag of the top end of the Fuente line, but I also feel their quality is hard to beat.

Their story is a great one as well.

You are obviously wise beyond your years, even if you're 100. The fact that you are a Yankee fan only emphasizes this point!:thumbup1:

[Geo Dude]

That's probably about as true a quote regarding cigars as I have seen, some people can get scared off by the price tag of the top end of the Fuente line, but I also feel their quality is hard to beat.

Their story is a great one as well.

I don't have much experience with Fuente's, but I really like the new one that came out about a week ago. Gran Reserva or something along those lines.

[dpm802]

My recommendation is the Chateau Fuente. About 5x50, with each stick wrapped in cedar with a green ribbon at the bottom.

Its a great all-around smoke. Pairs well with any food or beverage. A taste you never grow tired of, you can smoke it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a midnight snack. Its also nice and comfortable to smoke while you're driving, what they call a "car cigar."

Cheap enough (around $5) to enjoy daily. Classy enough to take to a wedding or Bar Mitzvah. You can find it in every tobacconist.

They come in both Connecticut Shade and Maduro wrappers. You should get a few of each and try them out to see which you prefer.

[wilsondude]

5 Vegas Gold = Mild
Perdomo Lot 23 = Medium
Don Pepin Garcia = Spicy

Awesome!

[TimmyBoston]

Macanudo

[yuppiejr]

Great info, bookmarking this thread for future reference - I'm always looking for a way to change things up during fishing/hunting/shooting/golf/"drinking for the sake of it" trips with the boys and hauling along a box of decent cigars along with the usual whiskey or scotch sounds like a nice change of pace.

I do subscribe to Cigar Aficionado (extra airline points + young kids means you end up with random magazine subscriptions rather than trips to the beach and cold bottles of Sol...) and saw a lot of hits in this thread were also in their "Best Bargain Cigars of 2009 (http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Features/CA_Feature_Basic_Template/0,2344,3048,00.html)" list.

[Hair Vise]

Thanks to everyone who offered their advice. Since there's a group of three of us who wanted to test out some cigars, I bought the following 5-packs:

Vegas CLASSIC Robusto

Arturo Fuente Chateau

Oliva Serie 'G' Torp

Perdomo Lot 23 Toro

Any thoughts as to which of the four you'd smoke first? We'll try to take notes and post them as we go.

HV

[PetersCreek]

Eat first. Start mild. Finish strong. Did I mention eat first?

[Hair Vise]

Thanks to everyone who offered their advice. Since there's a group of three of us who wanted to test out some cigars, I bought the following 5-packs:

Vegas CLASSIC Robusto

Arturo Fuente Chateau

Oliva Serie 'G' Torp

Perdomo Lot 23 Toro

Any thoughts as to which of the four you'd smoke first? We'll try to take notes and post them as we go.

HV

So, three of us yesterday spent a couple of hours together, drinking coffee, JW. Weller Bourbon, and breaking open the Arturo Fuente Chateaus. Perhaps it was due to the great company, the lack of family members around, and/or the fantastic weather in SF, but we all three remarked on how enjoyable a smoke this was. I wouldn't say it was the most challenging of cigars, but just a very, very enjoyable smoke all the way through. I had some uneven burning, but that's probably my fault more than anything else.

Thanks again for the suggestions--now on to the Perdomos!

HV

[s1mp13m4n]

Take a serious look at JR Cigar (http://www.jrcigars.com/index.cfm?page=cigars). I smoke one now and then. I have a box of medium bodied cigars. The JR Alternatives are hard to beat for the price and they fit the value that you are looking for. You can get a package of 20 handmade cigars for around $35. Give these people a try. They have a huge selection of cigars.

[johnmrson]

My recommendation would be a Diplomatico #5 or a Jose L Piedra Petit Cazadore.

[timmy]

Take a serious look at JR Cigar (http://www.jrcigars.com/index.cfm?page=cigars). I smoke one now and then. I have a box of medium bodied cigars. The JR Alternatives are hard to beat for the price and they fit the value that you are looking for. You can get a package of 20 handmade cigars for around $35. Give these people a try. They have a huge selection of cigars.

I have looked at those JR Alternatives before, and was wondering do they really come close to the real thing. The ones I have been interested in buying are the
PADRON
MONTECRISTO
ASHTON
MACANUDO
PUNCH
ROCKY

I emailed JR to see if they could or would be willing to throw together a sample bundle of these but they informed me at this time they were unwilling to but would pass the idea along to appropriate personnel for further review.

[sticksgs]

When I first started smoking cigars, I enjoyed the AVO robusto.

[jsrdrnr]

I have looked at those JR Alternatives before, and was wondering do they really come close to the real thing. The ones I have been interested in buying are the
PADRON
MONTECRISTO
ASHTON
MACANUDO
PUNCH
ROCKY

I emailed JR to see if they could or would be willing to throw together a sample bundle of these but they informed me at this time they were unwilling to but would pass the idea along to appropriate personnel for further review.

They do come very close to the real thing. If you had the two side by side you might be able to tell the difference but otherwise you really cant. The macanudo alternatives are really nice. My father smokes them all the time and loves them. He has had the real ones and says that the jr alternatives are just like the real ones. I say give it a shot.

[sproosemoose]

If it's a good store you can also ask the owner. I think though you can pretty much just take any cigar and have a go, it's just fun to smoke them :D

[langod]

Oliva makes some great sticks in that price range. Try the Oliva "G" or Olive "O".

But my standard inexpensive go-to stick is the Punch Champion. It's a really fantastic everyday cigar, much different flavor than most in it's price range -- plus they have a unique shape. I really don't think you can find a better cigar for the usual $4-5 price. (less than $3 if you buy a box at a time.)
http://cigarfan.files.wordpress.com/2006/03/Cnv0138.jpg

[Hair Vise]

Oliva G is next on the list, so it sounds like I'm on the right track. I'm curious to know if the same cigar but with a different wrapper is a completely different smoke. For example, I enjoyed the AF Chateau w/natural wrapper, and I see that they have it in maduro as well.

Will I find this to be much different?

HV

[One Fierce Beer Coaster]

http://www.neptunecigar.com/1/prodImg/O/2646_0.gif

Romeo y Julieta 1875 Churchill Tube 7"

You might want to try this cigar. The ones I had, my buddy got on a trip to Hong Kong. A pack of 5 cost him 60 smacks. Granted, I'm not an expert on cigars..but these bad boys knocked me on my rear. Got all light headed and everything..was like whoa. :w00t:

The pack he gave me, all of the tubes had made in Cuba on them. I couldn't tell you if they were or were not from Cuba, but damnit, it was the best smoke I've had.

:tongue_sm waiting on him to come back state side with more

[impulseballer]

check out acid cigars by drew estate. blondie will blow your mind.

[langod]

Oliva G is next on the list, so it sounds like I'm on the right track. I'm curious to know if the same cigar but with a different wrapper is a completely different smoke. For example, I enjoyed the AF Chateau w/natural wrapper, and I see that they have it in maduro as well.

Will I find this to be much different?

HV


Yes, you will. The Maduro will give a deeper, richer flavor. It will (probably) also boost the "strength" of the cigar a bit.

A fun thing to do is find a reasonably good, inexpensive cigar that comes different wraps, but is otherwise identical and smoke 2 or 3 different wrapped sticks simultaneously. Take a a few draws on the lightest one, then the next richer one, and the next. Give a few minutes and repeat. You might not be able to smoke them all down to nubs (it could be a LOT of smoking), but even getting through just 1/2 of each one will teach you how the wrap changes the flavor, and how it changes through the burn.
Make sure you drink something while smoking to help refresh your palate in between samples -- cola works well especially if you're a newbie, since the flavor melds well with many cigars and the sugar will help offset the nicotine effect.

[plexibass]

Drew Estate Jucy Lucy or the Dirt Torpedo

[RazoRock]

Fuente Hemingway Short Story

Cuesta Rey Centennario

Diamond Crown Natural #4 or 5

Padron Londres Natural or Maduro

Macanudo (any)

Cuban: JL Piedra Petit Cazadores

Cuban: Trinidad reyes

Cuban: Montecristo #5

Cuban: Diplomatico #4