What are your favorite value smoke(s)

sychodelix said:

Smoked a Benchmade today that is every bit as good as cigars double the price.

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I use to buy seconds when I lived in So FL and could visit calle Ocho and pick up bundles from factory store fronts.

I use to buy bundles from Jose Garcia before he moved his factory out of Miami to Nicaragua.

Benchmade is an Ashton line blended and made by the Garcia factory in Nicaragua. I'm a big fan of My Father and Tatuaje, Antillas, etc. the benchmades I have had did have great flavor but construction was hit or miss for me.

Okay...I admit. I'm not very picky as long as it holds together and tastes good.

Casa de Garcia -- about $1.25 delivered for a Churchill with a CT wrapper, mild. Good cigar for friends who aren't regular cigar smokers.

Consuegra -- I'll second Argonaut's rec. These pop up in a lot of B &Ms, medium-full.

n2hql said:

Nica Libre, usually from cigars international

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I have a box in my mental cue but have yet to pull the trigger. I have always been disappointed by Padron knock-offs, but I hear good things. One of these days I will simply have to pull the trigger on the box, as singles don't seem to be readily available in my area and a 5-pack from CI makes no sense, price wise. Is the flavor profile similar to Padron?

I completely agree with GA Gator on the value perspective. Most inexpensive cigars do not deliver on value and not all value cigars are inexpensive. But when I can find a terrific smoke for little money I get pretty excited. Right now I don't really have a "cheap" cigar that I love. But there are a few I can deal with.

When funds are particularly tight (they are always somewhat tight these days) I can smoke Alcazar, an OK maduro Nicaraguan (mostly) bundle smoke--for about $3 at my local shop--these will do in a pinch.

I really enjoy Sancho Panza Double Maduro Cervantes. My local ABC Liquor Store used to sell them for $3.50 with discounts for 6+ sticks, and discount coupons after buying a certain number of cigars over time. They have increased their price to $4.50, but they can be had online for about $60 for a box of 20 sticks. These are a creation of Estelo Padron, brother of the more famous Jose from Padron Cigars. They may look Padronesque, but these are very different than the 1964's they look like. Not nearly as good of course, but still good and very different.

A friend of mine orders all of his cigars from J&R and there are a couple of knock-offs that aren't too bad, and represent good value. One in particular is a Rocky Patel alternative that I sometimes think is better than the real thing. But like most J&R alternatives, they are not particular consistent.

Consistency (and very good quality) is why I consider Padron 3000 maduro (my "every day" smoke) to be a good value, even if they aren't particularly cheap. At less than $6 they represent great value, IMO. Been smoking them well over 20 years and I don't think I have ever come across a bad stick. Amazing! And during the cigar boom of the 1990's, when many other companies gouged on price, or increased production and compromised quality, Padron did neither. (End of unpaid promotion.)

Another cigar I love, and forget about once in a while, is the El Rey del Mundo paper-wrapped oscuro. Great smoke for about $6 or so.


Argonaut, that Consuegra looks pretty damn good. Never heard of it. Can you tell us a bit about the strength and flavor profile? Thanks

The Dean said:

Argonaut, that Consuegra looks pretty damn good. Never heard of it. Can you tell us a bit about the strength and flavor profile? Thanks

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From the JR website

ORIGIN: Honduras
WRAPPER: HondurasBINDER: HondurasFILLER: Dominican Republic/Honduras/Nicaragua
STRENGTH: Medium-Full The Consuegra brand is the Holy Grail for those serious smokers who appreciate a full, rich-tasting cigar at a deep discount. These cigars are bundled segundos and production overruns made in Honduras by the makers of Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur, El Rey del Mundo, and J•R Ultimate, to name a few. These are wildly popular with our customers—and with good cause!

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The one that I pictured is the Double Corona Maduro, it's exactly what you'd expect from a good quality maduro, medium to full bodied, earthy and sweet(maduro sweet, not swisher sweet), Consuegras were my first online cigar purchase many moons ago and never fail to please. Every once in a while I'll find one with a really tight draw, or a cosmetic issue, but for $1.52 a stick (37.95 for a mazo of 25), I promise you would have a hard time in blindfold test to pick it out from a $6 to $8 stick and higher. They look right at home in the humi next to my higher dollar sticks.

Argonaut said:

From the JR website
The one that I pictured is the Double Corona Maduro, it's exactly what you'd expect from a good quality maduro, medium to full bodied, earthy and sweet(maduro sweet, not swisher sweet), Consuegras were my first online cigar purchase many moons ago and never fail to please. Every once in a while I'll find one with a really tight draw, or a cosmetic issue, but for $1.52 a stick (37.95 for a mazo of 25), I promise you would have a hard time in blindfold test to pick it out from a $6 to $8 stick and higher. They look right at home in the humi next to my higher dollar sticks.

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Thanks, Argo,. I did notice the description online but am sometimes suspect of the retailer's interpretation. Glad to hear they are meeting your needs. I think my buddy who orders from JR is going to order 2-3 singles so we can test them--unless there is a 5-pack I missed. He is a big Hoyo/Honduran fan, so I think these will be right in his wheelhouse. I smoke a few Hondurans and Dominicans, but I have become a big Nicaraguan fan over the years. Still a good smoke is a good smoke.

The Dean said:

Thanks, Argo,. I did notice the description online but am sometimes suspect of the retailer's interpretation. Glad to hear they are meeting your needs. I think my buddy who orders from JR is going to order 2-3 singles so we can test them--unless there is a 5-pack I missed. He is a big Hoyo/Honduran fan, so I think these will be right in his wheelhouse. I smoke a few Hondurans and Dominicans, but I have become a big Nicaraguan fan over the years. Still a good smoke is a good smoke.

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FWIW, I have had the Nica Libre, and they are a good smoke. The construction leaves something to be desired IMO, a bit loosely packed and I don't care much for box pressed cigars. The flavor was very good, and I can see the similarities to the Padron, a very nice cigar for the price. I wouldn't turn my nose up at one if offered, but not one that I'd re-stock the humi with. My opinion on this cigar is based on one box purchase, so take that for what it's worth. The Consuegras I've kept stocked for years, in several sizes, including some of the Dominican ones so I'm fairly confident recommending them.

Yes if you aren't a fan of box-pressed cigars I can see how you wouldn't stock one. I actually prefer box-pressed. The seem to rest in my mouth more comfortably. And they are a bit less penile.

The Dean said:

Yes if you aren't a fan of box-pressed cigars I can see how you wouldn't stock one. I actually prefer box-pressed. The seem to rest in my mouth more comfortably. And they are a bit less penile.

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Well it is all about what is comfortable, though I also do prefer smaller ring sizes.

Another vote for Gran Habano Vintage 2002
Perdomo Fresco
Sancho Panza
Maria Mancini

And a 1/2 vote for Nica Libre. Some are great but half the box was rubbish at best.

When my smoke shop was stocking them, I loved Sancho Panza Valientes. Great medium body smoke with a complex yet somehow mellow profile. Singles were somewhere just over $4, but a box of 20 is under $60 right now on bestcigarprices.com (haven't been able to pull the trigger yet, but I will soon enough!). Also I was just recommended the Flor de Las Antillas Toro from My Father. WOW what a smoke! For $6.50, it was better than anything I've ever had. It was voted Cigar Afficianado's cigar of the year and beat out a $50 Cuban Cohiba. I'd call that a bargain. Oddly, I prefer tradicional round cigars over box pressed, but both of my favorites happen to be box pressed (though the MF I'd say is more of a muted box)

Bahia Maduro's with the red label. I got them in a CI sampler pack and I shared them with a couple of friends. We enjoyed them, although none of us claim to be cigar experts.

Old Man Army said:

Bahia Maduro's with the red label. I got them in a CI sampler pack and I shared them with a couple of friends. We enjoyed them, although none of us claim to be cigar experts.

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hey that's what it is all about if you ask me. If you enjoyed the smoke and had great company while smoking it, it tops any super high end super exclusive fancy cigar.

Old Man Army said:

Bahia Maduro's with the red label. I got them in a CI sampler pack and I shared them with a couple of friends. We enjoyed them, although none of us claim to be cigar experts.

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Bahia, Maduro and Gold, were among my favorite cigars at one time. But they suffered some terrible quality control issues and a lot of shops stopped carrying them--too many returns and unhappy customers. Now this was quite a few years ago (late 80's? Early 90's? If I had to guess probably early 90's during the boom.)

I've been meaning to try them again to see if they got their act straighten out. Tony Borhani is supposedly a very odd and erratic character. But I know he is capable of making fantastic cigars.

I'm glad to hear you like them. Based on this, and my existing desire to give them another shot, I will try to hunt some down.

Thanks for reminding me.

Argonaut said:

Consuegra from JRCigars.

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Just had my first Consuegra Madura today (split a bundle with a friend)/ Governor #16. Excellent smoke for the price. I imagine they will improve while in the humi for a short while.

Thanks for the tip!

The Dean said:

Just had my first Consuegra Madura today (split a bundle with a friend)/ Governor #16. Excellent smoke for the price. I imagine they will improve while in the humi for a short while.

Thanks for the tip!

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De nada. Glad you liked it.