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NewFatMike
Jun 11, 2015

Seasoning can get finicky, and it kinda takes a while.

Most guides will advise wiping down the shelves with distilled water and leaving them in the container with a ramekin or small bowl of the same at least overnight.

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S.W.O.R.D. Agent
Apr 30, 2012

Dramatika posted:

AF Anejo are much more interesting flavorwise to me - they almost have sort of a liqueur note to them that I just have a hard time putting my finger on - almost a tobacco mixed with a brandy based liqueur? I honestly think that they have a taste I can remember but can't describe is part of allure - the Padron's are fantastic but easily described with the rich chocolate (ranging from milk to dark), espresso, with gentle pepper.

I'll have to try the Ashton ESG/VSG lines - I've had the Ashton Classic and Ashton Cabinet, and they were enjoyable, but I'm just not super into conneticut shade wrappers apparently.

The AF Anejo are aged in cognac barrels, which is where your getting the liqueur flavor from. There's nothing like experience to figure out what you like, because I hated the AF Anejo, haha. I found both the ESG/VSG lines from Ashton good. I preferred the ESG, but most seem to think the VSG is beter. I'm also a huge fan of the Symmetry line.

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003
Some bastard keeps trying to outbid me on the La Aroma de Cuba and now we are up to MSRP, let’s see if he does it again. My last bid will truly be my last but at least I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing he’s paying more than he would have on FS/CI if he takes it from me. drat people not letting me get good cigars for cheap.

I thought the VSG was just so-so (at Ashton prices) but I will try it again at some point. Sumatra haven’t been my favorite but I recently had two that were pretty good.

Edit: Speaking of, I just smoked a CAO Gold Signature Series (might be a Famous Smoke exclusive) that is wrapped in Sumatra. Was pretty good, lots of spice flavors, some anise popped in here and there and then intensified at the end, it was interesting if not something I’d seek out regularly.

Lyon fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Aug 10, 2020

Kenning
Jan 11, 2009

I really want to post goatse. Instead I only have these🍄.



Smoked my second Man o' War Ruination 10th Anniversary box press perfecto yesterday. Opened up like a rich dark chocolate, like a bar of 88 percent cocoa, and then after a while mellowed out into chocolate-covered biscuit territory. A bit of pepper on the spark up, but then it trended sweet, although it's quite a full-bodied cigar. Followed it up a bit later with a Nub Cain 460. It's a good smoke, very meaty and chewy. Also, I'm pretty pleased with the ash I ended up with on this one. I ended up calling it shortly after this photo cause it was late and I suspected it would get hot and a bit less delicious once I finally lost the ash.



Syrian Lannister posted:

I primarily smoke pipes and aromatics from the fall through the spring, and occassionally dip into cigars in the summer.

Right now I'm still trying to figure out cigarwise what I like.

(Drugstore Dutch Masters ruined cigars for me for a good thirty plus years)

Please, post about pipe stuff here! Plus, if you share the type of pipe tobacco you smoke/the flavors etc. we might be able to make some cigar suggestions.

Lyon posted:

Still trying to workout my organization system, how do you guys curate your cigars? I think I’m going to keep it mostly the same but do two boxes for cigars I’ve tried before/are aging, one box for cigars I haven’t tried yet, one box for low to medium regulars, and one box for the nicer stuff maybe.

I also ordered cedar trays off amazon to put in the boxes that don’t have them, should I just dunk them in distilled water for a minute and let them dry?

I follow the advice from somewhere deep in the last thread that the easiest way to age your cigars is to buy enough of them that a few just get lost in your humidor and you accidentally age them that way. In part I follow this advice because it's funny, and in part because I live in quite a small apartment and my girlfriend (who is quite accommodating about cigars in general!) has made it clear that it is a 1 humidor apartment.

As for the shelves, I didn't bother seasoning mine because the fact that they dropped the humidity in my humidor for a week or two was pretty desirable, although my buddies just did the wipe with distilled water and let it soak in thing which seemed to work fine.

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003

Kenning posted:

Smoked my second Man o' War Ruination 10th Anniversary box press perfecto yesterday. Opened up like a rich dark chocolate, like a bar of 88 percent cocoa, and then after a while mellowed out into chocolate-covered biscuit territory. A bit of pepper on the spark up, but then it trended sweet, although it's quite a full-bodied cigar. Followed it up a bit later with a Nub Cain 460. It's a good smoke, very meaty and chewy. Also, I'm pretty pleased with the ash I ended up with on this one. I ended up calling it shortly after this photo cause it was late and I suspected it would get hot and a bit less delicious once I finally lost the ash.




Please, post about pipe stuff here! Plus, if you share the type of pipe tobacco you smoke/the flavors etc. we might be able to make some cigar suggestions.


I follow the advice from somewhere deep in the last thread that the easiest way to age your cigars is to buy enough of them that a few just get lost in your humidor and you accidentally age them that way. In part I follow this advice because it's funny, and in part because I live in quite a small apartment and my girlfriend (who is quite accommodating about cigars in general!) has made it clear that it is a 1 humidor apartment.

As for the shelves, I didn't bother seasoning mine because the fact that they dropped the humidity in my humidor for a week or two was pretty desirable, although my buddies just did the wipe with distilled water and let it soak in thing which seemed to work fine.

I have a bunch of Man O’ War stuff in my tupperdors waiting to get the call up so I’m glad you’re enjoying the line. What’s your favorite from that AJF sampler so far?

My trays arrived this morning so I wiped them down with distilled water and now they’re sitting in the empty boxes with some small bowls of water. I originally didn’t bother with cedar trays for two of my tupperdors but the cigars in those all started to smell the same so I thought I’d add cedar to the new boxes and see if that helps. I don’t think any flavored cigars snuck in but I suppose it’s possible one of the samplers got me. They still taste as I expect them to but they’ve all got a similar smell. Or I’m crazy.

Losing cigars in my boxes is more or less my plan as far as aging goes. I have enough cigars now that I randomly grab something out of the “haven’t smoked it” box and give it a whirl. I’m not intentionally aging anything for a set period of time but I usually buy things in multiples and I’ve been more focused on trying new cigars. This should hopefully lead to a bunch of cigars hanging around for a while and aging naturally. This is how I ended up with 100 bottles of beer in my cellar that will probably never get drank so you’d think I would have learned my lesson but I have not.

Kenning
Jan 11, 2009

I really want to post goatse. Instead I only have these🍄.



Lyon posted:

I have a bunch of Man O’ War stuff in my tupperdors waiting to get the call up so I’m glad you’re enjoying the line. What’s your favorite from that AJF sampler so far?

All the cigars were quite good in that sampler, and it's definitely worth checking out, since I think you can still get it on Cigar Bid for under $70. My favorite was probably the Diesel Unlimited or the Hoyo la Amistad Gold. They're both thick with syrupy notes I enjoy, with the Diesel being a bit more tiramisu and the Hoyo la Amistad being more toffee and cream. The San Lotano Oval was peppery, meaty, and warm spices (cinnamon etc.), the Man o' War, like I said, is very dark chocolate, and the Ave Maria Reconquista was an absolute pepper bomb – quite enjoyable, but more of a sometimes cigar.

ThatOneGuy
Jul 26, 2001

Revolutionary Taste.

Kenning posted:

I follow the advice from somewhere deep in the last thread that the easiest way to age your cigars is to buy enough of them that a few just get lost in your humidor and you accidentally age them that way. In part I follow this advice because it's funny, and in part because I live in quite a small apartment and my girlfriend (who is quite accommodating about cigars in general!) has made it clear that it is a 1 humidor apartment.

Did she say what size humidor? If not, get a really large cooler. gently caress messing with cheap wood poo poo.

Cigar recommendation time!

For Curivari cigars, I can recommend the following: Ciclope, Achilles, Gloria De Leon, Cafe Noir, Socrates, and the Beuna Ventura line. Though all the lines are worth checking out, those are the ones I go back to.

Padron 1964: yes. Smoke whatever size you like. Favorites of mine are the Diplomatico, Princepe, Exclusivo, Corona, and Superiores.
Padron 1926: 6, 35, 47, 80th, 90th. If you only try one: 47. Blows every other cigar in its price range out of the water.
Padron: once again, pick whatever size you like. Londres, Palmas, Churchill, Ambassador, Delicias, Thousand Series, Cortico are my favorites.

Dapper cigars are also worth checking out. Cubo Maduro, Cubo Sumatra, Siempre, La Madrina, El Borracho are all killer.

Lighters/Cutters

Xikar: they have a lifetime warranty for a reason. The cutters are good, but don’t get attached to your lighter. If you send something in for repair, plan on not having it for about a month, and also not getting back the exact lighter/cutter you sent in (it will be the same lighter but not yours).

Prometheus: both are good. I love my Magma T. Sent it in once over the 9 years I’ve had it, and got back the same lighter with all of its character marks (people dropping it not expecting a giant lighter to be heavy).

ST Dupont: for when you are done loving around with other brands. Expensive, but they don’t break unless you’re an absolute ape with your lighters. Use ST Dupont fuel in them. If you can find an Initial and want a soft flame, grab it. Ligne 2 when you are absolutely done with poo poo lighters. They are built so that you can pass them on to your kids.

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003

Kenning posted:

All the cigars were quite good in that sampler, and it's definitely worth checking out, since I think you can still get it on Cigar Bid for under $70. My favorite was probably the Diesel Unlimited or the Hoyo la Amistad Gold. They're both thick with syrupy notes I enjoy, with the Diesel being a bit more tiramisu and the Hoyo la Amistad being more toffee and cream. The San Lotano Oval was peppery, meaty, and warm spices (cinnamon etc.), the Man o' War, like I said, is very dark chocolate, and the Ave Maria Reconquista was an absolute pepper bomb – quite enjoyable, but more of a sometimes cigar.

I just saw it on free fall but unfortunately it’s a CigarAuctioneer week. I’ll have to look for it the next time it goes back up.

Speaking of CigarAuctioneer:

Gran Habano 12 cigar sampler for $20 (50 lot quantity), I bought this a while ago and I’ve had half of this sampler. I enjoyed them well enough, nothing crazy but for under $2/cigar it’s not a bad deal.

https://www.cigarauctioneer.com/gran-habano-top-shelf-cigars/item-40994?auctionnum=4403698

Crowned Heads Coronation 4 cigar sampler for $16 (quantity 5), I’ve had the Four Kicks and the Jericho Hill which were both really good.

https://www.cigarauctioneer.com/crowned-heads-coronation-sampler-cigars/item-54066?auctionnum=4405063

Nub Club 358, two of Habano, Connecticut, Cameroon (quantity 5), $16

https://www.cigarauctioneer.com/the-nub-club-358-sampler-cigars/item-29885?auctionnum=4406581

Oliva Serie V Lancero 5 Pack (quantity 5), $20, I’m the bid on there so don’t steal my cigars thank you!

https://www.cigarauctioneer.com/oliva-serie-v-lancero-5-pack-cigars/item-36474?auctionnum=4405543

Edit: Figured I would kick off sharing some okay-ish deals to try and get you guys sharing your finds. Share your Cigars International, Cigar Bid, Famous Smoke, Cigar Auctioneer, etc. deals.

Lyon fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Aug 11, 2020

Dramatika
Aug 1, 2002

THE BANK IS OPEN

Kenning posted:

All the cigars were quite good in that sampler, and it's definitely worth checking out, since I think you can still get it on Cigar Bid for under $70. My favorite was probably the Diesel Unlimited or the Hoyo la Amistad Gold. They're both thick with syrupy notes I enjoy, with the Diesel being a bit more tiramisu and the Hoyo la Amistad being more toffee and cream. The San Lotano Oval was peppery, meaty, and warm spices (cinnamon etc.), the Man o' War, like I said, is very dark chocolate, and the Ave Maria Reconquista was an absolute pepper bomb – quite enjoyable, but more of a sometimes cigar.

How long did you have the Reconquista sitting before you smoked it? I have a 5 pack in one of my tupperdors, but I read online that they need to sit a few months before they get good.

I've only had my Xikar lighters for a little bit, but the Xikar Verano flat-flame I got for 30 bucks or so is fantastic.

Kenning
Jan 11, 2009

I really want to post goatse. Instead I only have these🍄.



I smoked the first one just a week or two after getting them. I have another one that's been in the humidor for a month or so, and I've got a 5-pack of the normal torpedoes coming soon, so those will probably get some time to relax in the box.

ThatOneGuy posted:

Did she say what size humidor? If not, get a really large cooler. gently caress messing with cheap wood poo poo.

I've got a 19.5 qt. weatherproof plastic bin I'm using for a humidor. It holds a lot of cigars, so I'm not complaining too much.

Lyon posted:

I just saw it on free fall but unfortunately it’s a CigarAuctioneer week. I’ll have to look for it the next time it goes back up.

Speaking of CigarAuctioneer:

Edit: Figured I would kick off sharing some okay-ish deals to try and get you guys sharing your finds. Share your Cigars International, Cigar Bid, Famous Smoke, Cigar Auctioneer, etc. deals.

This is a great idea, and might be a good outlet for me to keep browsing the various sites without buying, since I'll need to slow up after this current set of Cigar Bid lots closes out, just because I won't have space (plus that'll be enough cigars for a few months at least).

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003

Kenning posted:

I smoked the first one just a week or two after getting them. I have another one that's been in the humidor for a month or so, and I've got a 5-pack of the normal torpedoes coming soon, so those will probably get some time to relax in the box.


I've got a 19.5 qt. weatherproof plastic bin I'm using for a humidor. It holds a lot of cigars, so I'm not complaining too much.


This is a great idea, and might be a good outlet for me to keep browsing the various sites without buying, since I'll need to slow up after this current set of Cigar Bid lots closes out, just because I won't have space (plus that'll be enough cigars for a few months at least).

God dammit now I’m going to have to find these sooner rather than later.

I’ve been reading through the old thread and they seemed to share deals a lot. I just grabbed the first few decent ones that I thought new-ish posters such as myself might appreciate (or any lurkers). Part of my motivation is exactly the same as yours, I need to stop buying cigars and maybe sharing cool deals with the thread will work as a substitute. Or I’ll fail dramatically and eventually ascend in a cloud of smoke. I have five of those Sistema containers and I refuse to buy any more.

Edit: All this Man O’ War talk and the first two cigars I grabbed out of the tupperdor were Armada and Ruination so I smoked the Ruination. Very nice cigar. Smoked it until it started to get really hot down towards the nub. Earth, pepper, leather, some chocolate and coffee, it was very enjoyable.

Lyon fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Aug 11, 2020

Kenning
Jan 11, 2009

I really want to post goatse. Instead I only have these🍄.



Got my bid Cigar Bid order in. I'm seeing my buddies on Saturday, which is good because my humidor is packed to the gills. The answer for "How many cigars can a 9.5 qt tub with 3 shelves in it hold" turns out to be "somewhat less than 180." Tonight I decided to throw caution to the wind and smoke a CAO Flathead 660 right off the truck. Luckily cigars tend to not be too dried out when I get them delivered, and this one seemed to be in quite good condition, so I went for it.

First off, that's a beefy smoke. Thick, heavy, and strong on nicotine. Definitely want to have a meal beforehand, and you should probably have some sort of snack/drink while you're going. It was hard to pull out individual flavors, but not because it was muddy. It felt like a well-integrated dark and rich cigar. Draw was excellent, a touch on the light side, which I think is appropriate for the size. There was some pepper right on spark up, then a bit of cola. The middle part of the cigar was mostly subtle, rich chocolate, and then right into the final 3rd there was a nice almost anise tingle, reminiscent of but sharper than the initial cola. The strength of the cigar built towards the end also.

Looking forward to see if it mellows out a bit in the humidor after a month or two, but even if not I can see craving something like this when you want a cigar to really settle you down and force you to take it slow.

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003

Kenning posted:

Tonight I decided to throw caution to the wind and smoke a CAO Flathead 660 right off the truck. Luckily cigars tend to not be too dried out when I get them delivered, and this one seemed to be in quite good condition, so I went for it.

I have found the CAO cigars to be either bad to okay from the ones I’ve gotten in sampler packs except for the MX2 which I thought was quite tasty. I’ll have to try a Flathead and a Pilon if I ever see them pop up. I’ve tried the Gold, Brazilia Gol!, Gold Signature Series (second best), Italia Ciao, and the MX2 which may not be representative of their quality or maybe I couldn’t appreciate the Gold/Brazilia/Italia when I smoked them as they were some of my first cigars.

If you ever see a good deal on the Flathead or Pilon post it for me :).

NewFatMike
Jun 11, 2015

ThatOneGuy posted:

Did she say what size humidor? If not, get a really large cooler. gently caress messing with cheap wood poo poo.

Cigar recommendation time!

For Curivari cigars, I can recommend the following: Ciclope, Achilles, Gloria De Leon, Cafe Noir, Socrates, and the Beuna Ventura line. Though all the lines are worth checking out, those are the ones I go back to.

Padron 1964: yes. Smoke whatever size you like. Favorites of mine are the Diplomatico, Princepe, Exclusivo, Corona, and Superiores.
Padron 1926: 6, 35, 47, 80th, 90th. If you only try one: 47. Blows every other cigar in its price range out of the water.
Padron: once again, pick whatever size you like. Londres, Palmas, Churchill, Ambassador, Delicias, Thousand Series, Cortico are my favorites.

Dapper cigars are also worth checking out. Cubo Maduro, Cubo Sumatra, Siempre, La Madrina, El Borracho are all killer.

Lighters/Cutters

Xikar: they have a lifetime warranty for a reason. The cutters are good, but don’t get attached to your lighter. If you send something in for repair, plan on not having it for about a month, and also not getting back the exact lighter/cutter you sent in (it will be the same lighter but not yours).

Prometheus: both are good. I love my Magma T. Sent it in once over the 9 years I’ve had it, and got back the same lighter with all of its character marks (people dropping it not expecting a giant lighter to be heavy).

ST Dupont: for when you are done loving around with other brands. Expensive, but they don’t break unless you’re an absolute ape with your lighters. Use ST Dupont fuel in them. If you can find an Initial and want a soft flame, grab it. Ligne 2 when you are absolutely done with poo poo lighters. They are built so that you can pass them on to your kids.

Hell yes, this post rules. Timely, too, since I had a Buenaventura last night and a Padron Maduro 2000 this morning. I'm super excited to try more of the lines! For my budget and smoking rate, those Dappers are a bit pricey, but they're on my list!

Maybe one day I'll go for an ST DuPont, but that'll probably be after I've financially recovered from years of freelancing. For now, those Prometheus lighters look great.

I recently came across Atabey cigars from a friend's Instagram post. They're more in the $20-30/stick range. He's an understated fella and said "Pricey, but good" and for the cost and duration of seeing a movie in theaters, why not? I'll probably pick a 3 pack up for my birthday.

I've been in the process of building out my home workshop, so I'm looking at cheap and cheerful at least for the rest of the month while I pick up a 3D printer (the ones at the makerspace are regularly left in disrepair, which loving sucks). Gotta make those box jigs so I can trick y'all out of money for humidors and trays get working on some craft projects at home.

Lotta Curivari variants and probably a box of Tatuaje Series P Robusto on the way for the rest of the month. Hopefully I can cajole my partner into a box of Centurions as well.

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003
So I’m smoking a Creme de Jamaica which I have no idea where I got but I assume a Famous Smoke sampler. It’s a fine little Connecticut nothing special but it’s smokable, lives up to its name and is straight cream with a little bit of coffee and sweetness. So out of curiosity I wanted to see who manufactures the brand and it turns out to be General Cigar Company. Cool cool, I’m not a super snob. I still drink Miller/Bud/Coors while also driving eight hours to Massachusetts and Vermont to get the nectar of the gods. However, this led me to their Wikipedia where I learned that none of the brands GCC brands are affiliated with their Cuban counterparts of the same name? Not even licensing agreements or anything? That seems crazy to me. So all of the US brands like Cohiba, Bolivar, Punch, etc. are basically just used for marketing purposes.

Altadis is/was affiliated with the Cuban brands of the cigars they manufacture for the US right? Somewhere in the convoluted chain Altadis/Imperial Brands owns a stake in Habanos S.A. anyway. Although a quick google informed me that Imperial Brands is selling off their premium cigar business and it looks like the US operations and the other part of the business are being split up but maybe that’s just for legal reasons due to the embargo?

I’m sure I’ve gotten a lot of this wrong but still what a whacky world.

NewFatMike
Jun 11, 2015

No idea about the latter, but yeah, zero of the general stuff has to do with Habanos. It's a straight up rip-off.

I've heard rumors and stuff that like families of the original owners fled the revolution and set up shop in the DR or whatever, but I'm convinced it's all bologna. Same stuff for rum.

There are perennial copyright disputes in American court over it, too. Recently GC was awarded exclusive rights to the branding in the USA, so now even if the embargo is ever lifted there'd be an additional clusterfuck.

Anyway it's all dumb and I get icky feelings smoking the 1:1 knockoff poo poo from GC brands and barely feel any better smoking unrelated ones.

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003
It’s probably common knowledge but I had zero idea. I’ve only ever tried a GCC Partagas and maybe a Punch but I will try to avoid their knock offs on principle. I don’t particularly love any of the Altadis brands either so I doubt I’ll acquire too much more or their stuff, I have some RyJ, Montecristo, and H Upmann but only 10-20 total probably. Altadis at least seems to have some claim to legitimacy but I didn’t delve any deeper than my cursory googling earlier.

I smoked a JD Howard Reserve this afternoon, I grabbed it purely because the cellophane was sticky and I wanted to get it out of my tupperdor. I was expecting it to be some weird Famous Smoke exclusive but when I looked it up I was pleasantly surprised it was a Crowned Heads cigar. It was super tasty, tons of spices, lot of cinnamon and coffee. It was almost too much of a good thing. I wouldn’t smoke those every day but it was definitely good. The last third the spices mellowed a bit and it was a nice ending to a fairly intensely flavored cigar.

I’m about to smoke a Guardian of the Farm because I’m an idiot.

Edit: This may be one of the best cigars I’ve had to date. Pepper, nuts, wood, cream, with an underlying sweetness. drat, reminds me a bit of the Oliva Serie V but a little bit lighter, maybe cream instead of leather and chocolate. It also feels similar to the JD Howard Reserve I smoked earlier but much more balanced. Or maybe that’s all just bias from having smoked them a few hours apart. This is a collaboration between Aganorsa and Warped. I bought the Aganorsa sampler randomly but I’ll have to check out Warped now too.

After finishing the cigar I sort of have the same opinion of it as I do the JD Howard Reserve, wish it had developed a bit and toned down some of the intense flavors maybe but it was still really good.

Lyon fucked around with this message at 06:40 on Aug 12, 2020

ThatOneGuy
Jul 26, 2001

Revolutionary Taste.

NewFatMike posted:

I recently came across Atabey cigars from a friend's Instagram post. They're more in the $20-30/stick range. He's an understated fella and said "Pricey, but good" and for the cost and duration of seeing a movie in theaters, why not? I'll probably pick a 3 pack up for my birthday.

I've heard they are OK, but not at the price point. Skip that poo poo and buy some Padron 1926 or dip into the Family Reserve line for the $20-30 per cigar range (the 6, 35, and 47 are all well under $20 depending on local taxes).

Lyon posted:

Edit: This may be one of the best cigars I've had to date. Pepper, nuts, wood, cream, with an underlying sweetness. drat, reminds me a bit of the Oliva Serie V but a little bit lighter, maybe cream instead of leather and chocolate. It also feels similar to the JD Howard Reserve I smoked earlier but much more balanced. Or maybe that's all just bias from having smoked them a few hours apart. This is a collaboration between Aganorsa and Warped. I bought the Aganorsa sampler randomly but I'll have to check out Warped now too.

What you're tasting in the Guardian of the Farm is all Warped. Skip Aganorsa, head straight to Warped. All of Aganorsa's best cigars are collabs with Warped or others.

For Warped: in general, yes. La Colmena, Maestro Del Tiempo, Futuro, Cloud Hopper, Flor De Valle are going to be your best bets, in that order. Though they are having some issues with shipping product because they are based in Miami, so whatever you can find.


And yes, the US companies snatching up Cuban marcas is 100% if the Embargo falls so they can stake their claim. But in order to maintain the copyright on the name, they have to produce a product under it. They are nowhere near the actual Montecristo, Bolivar (that one in particular is a travesty and insult), Ramon Allones, etc.

NewFatMike
Jun 11, 2015

Oh yeah, the Padrons are way higher on the list than Atabey. Life is long, but it goes fast so might as well give them a shot. Get a pretty label out of it at least :v:

These San Cristobal Revelations have really settled, took about a week with 3 days of a closed off humidor. This box in particular is of the Mystic, the corona vitola, and I normally have the Prophet, which is a Robusto.

It's a little hard to describe how the flavor is different. The funky mulled and intense spices of the Robusto are much more mellow here. The cream is a lot stronger. It's not a peppery spice in this blend regardless of vitola.

It's neat. Really fun case study on how vitolas change things even in the same blend.

Syrian Lannister
Aug 25, 2007

Oh, did I kill him too?
I've been a very busy little man.


Sugartime Jones

Kenning posted:

Smoked my second Man o' War Ruination 10th Anniversary box press perfecto yesterday. Opened up like a rich dark chocolate, like a bar of 88 percent cocoa, and then after a while mellowed out into chocolate-covered biscuit territory. A bit of pepper on the spark up, but then it trended sweet, although it's quite a full-bodied cigar. Followed it up a bit later with a Nub Cain 460. It's a good smoke, very meaty and chewy. Also, I'm pretty pleased with the ash I ended up with on this one. I ended up calling it shortly after this photo cause it was late and I suspected it would get hot and a bit less delicious once I finally lost the ash.




Please, post about pipe stuff here! Plus, if you share the type of pipe tobacco you smoke/the flavors etc. we might be able to make some cigar suggestions.


I follow the advice from somewhere deep in the last thread that the easiest way to age your cigars is to buy enough of them that a few just get lost in your humidor and you accidentally age them that way. In part I follow this advice because it's funny, and in part because I live in quite a small apartment and my girlfriend (who is quite accommodating about cigars in general!) has made it clear that it is a 1 humidor apartment.

As for the shelves, I didn't bother seasoning mine because the fact that they dropped the humidity in my humidor for a week or two was pretty desirable, although my buddies just did the wipe with distilled water and let it soak in thing which seemed to work fine.

Sorry, works been nuts as of late.

Borkum Rift Original
Captain Black Original
C&D Autumn Evening, Black Cherry
Hearth and Home Cherry
Mac Baren: Vanilla , 7 Seas
Sutliff Molto Dolce, Christmas Spice

GL Pease Mephisto was the only odd-ball.

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003
How's everyone holding up with quarantine/social distancing/whatever? I got into cigars because of the quarantine and feeling sort of trapped at home. I'm definitely still using it for my moment of zen and I guess now I'm hooked.

Also, any of the crazy coffee folks still in here lurking? I'm reading the old thread and there was a picture of a coffee brewing contraption that I can't find now. I've reached 2011 and in old thread nostalgia news the double box pass has just swapped routes so Box A is now heading down the reverse Box B route and vice versa.

ThatOneGuy posted:

What you're tasting in the Guardian of the Farm is all Warped. Skip Aganorsa, head straight to Warped. All of Aganorsa's best cigars are collabs with Warped or others.

For Warped: in general, yes. La Colmena, Maestro Del Tiempo, Futuro, Cloud Hopper, Flor De Valle are going to be your best bets, in that order. Though they are having some issues with shipping product because they are based in Miami, so whatever you can find.

I bought an Aganorsa sampler so I've got a few more to smoke through. To continue that I smoked a JFR Lunatic Habano this afternoon, which is an AJ Fernandez collaboration I think. It was pretty good. A lot of red pepper, I can still sort of feel the tingling in my mouth but it was cut fairly nicely with some milk chocolate sweetness and some woodsy flavors. Great smoke production and burn.

I will definitely keep on the lookout for Warped as I'm trawling the the bid sites. Thank you for the suggestions, I have no idea where to start within a given brand other than either a sampler or just grabbing whatever their Connecticut is (though I'm moving away from the latter approach).

NewFatMike posted:

These San Cristobal Revelations have really settled, took about a week with 3 days of a closed off humidor. This box in particular is of the Mystic, the corona vitola, and I normally have the Prophet, which is a Robusto.

It's a little hard to describe how the flavor is different. The funky mulled and intense spices of the Robusto are much more mellow here. The cream is a lot stronger. It's not a peppery spice in this blend regardless of vitola.

It's neat. Really fun case study on how vitolas change things even in the same blend.

I'm going to have three different Oliva Serie V vitolas that I plan to do a comparison of. See if I can get a feel for the differences or if I'm a complete tasting failure. I haven't smoked enough of the same cigar in different vitolas and I don't know that I will be truly able to tell the difference but it seems like a fun experiment. I'm curious as to the most "dramatic" differences people have experienced within the same cigar but different vitolas but I imagine it's probably pretty mild.

NewFatMike
Jun 11, 2015

Nah, you won't be a failure if you don't notice! It's all about breaking in and paying attention to your palate. Takes time, but it's a skill worth having. Also there's so much variability cigar to cigar that it's all pretty whatever. Enjoying it however you do is the only right way to do it!

Quarantine has been tough. Prior, I was 3-4 cigars/week, now I put as many away in a day. Going on walks is all well and good but it's gonna be winter soon. I guess we're finally going to put up some vinyl sheets on the balcony to smoke outdoors!

Luckily I've been about to work from home, and I'm grateful every day for lucking out on landing this job in January.

How about y'all?

Kenning
Jan 11, 2009

I really want to post goatse. Instead I only have these🍄.



Lyon posted:

How's everyone holding up with quarantine/social distancing/whatever? I got into cigars because of the quarantine and feeling sort of trapped at home. I'm definitely still using it for my moment of zen and I guess now I'm hooked.

Yeah, me and my buddies would usually meet up once a week to smoke cigars. Now we're usually once per day on video chat. It's a good excuse to hang out and catch up. I'd been wanting to properly learn cigars for a while, and COVID finally provided the impetus.

I smoked one of Diesel d.5 robustos last night. It was a good, solid smoke, rich and flavorful, but maybe a bit less distinctive than the BP perfecto from the sampler. Still I quite enjoyed it and am looking forward to having more (which is convenient, because I have a lot of them now). Today I tried out one of the Perdomo Champagne puritos (4 x 38) and it was everything I hoped it would be. Mellow and creamy, excellent draw and smoke production. This is an excellent small cigar. It'll be hard for me to avoid picking up more in the future. Highly recommended if you're looking for an easy half hour smoke.

Syrian Lannister posted:

Sorry, works been nuts as of late.

Borkum Rift Original
Captain Black Original
C&D Autumn Evening, Black Cherry
Hearth and Home Cherry
Mac Baren: Vanilla , 7 Seas
Sutliff Molto Dolce, Christmas Spice

GL Pease Mephisto was the only odd-ball.

Can you provide notes on flavors and intensity? I assume the one with Vanilla in the name is creamy and a bit sweet, you should try a Nub Connecticut if so.

Kenning
Jan 11, 2009

I really want to post goatse. Instead I only have these🍄.



D-d-d-double post!

Okay, so I'm going to do the thing Lyon suggested and post some deals here.

Cigar Bid

Some Free Fall items you can get for an excellent price

My Father La Promesa Petite. Short robusto, 4.5 x 50, 20 box. The urge to buy this one is extremely powerful. I think the price bottoms out around $110.

Perdomo Champage Puritos. Petite corona, 4 x 38, 5 five-pack tins. This one bottoms out somewhere around $65 I think.

AJ Fernandex Box Press Perfecto Sampler II. Gordo perfectos, 6 x 60, 4 each of 5 different cigars. I loved this whole sampler. Bottoms out around $70 I think.


Cigars International

Today's Joe Cigar deal is a 10 pack of Nub Habano 460s for $39.99, free shipping. Pretty solid price for Nubs, tbh.

CRIP EATIN BREAD
Jun 24, 2002

Hey stop worrying bout my acting bitch, and worry about your WACK ass music. In the mean time... Eat a hot bowl of Dicks! Ice T



Soiled Meat
I've been seasoning my cedar trays for my tupperdor by throwing a few 84% boveda packs in there. It's been like 3 days and it seems like it should be only a few more days before it hits 84% (it's at 79% right now). Once it holds at 84% for a day can I just assume it's ready to go?

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003

Kenning posted:

D-d-d-double post!

Okay, so I'm going to do the thing Lyon suggested and post some deals here.

Your first mistake.

Kenning posted:

Perdomo Champage Puritos. Petite corona, 4 x 38, 5 five-pack tins. This one bottoms out somewhere around $65 I think.

I smoked one of these this afternoon. This and the robusto if I want a slightly longer smoke are the perfect size for this cigar. I had a couple of toros but that’s a little too long in my opinion. The Perdomo Champagne was my first love.

I’m going to pull my payment info out of CigarAuctioneer and CigarBid so I can’t impulse buy anymore. I bought a lot of cigars this week. It might be some sort of record. I just bought two new Sistema boxes and swore no more but I think I’ll need order at least one to hold all this. I think I bought almost every single My Father/Pepin Garcia I haven’t tried that I could find on CigarAuctioneer. A few of the My Father/DPG’s were poorly labeled on CigarAuctioneer, particularly the Le Bijou, and no one bid on them so they were significantly lower than the prices on Famous Smoke or Cigars International.

CRIP EATIN BREAD
Jun 24, 2002

Hey stop worrying bout my acting bitch, and worry about your WACK ass music. In the mean time... Eat a hot bowl of Dicks! Ice T



Soiled Meat

Lyon posted:

I also ordered cedar trays off amazon to put in the boxes that don’t have them, should I just dunk them in distilled water for a minute and let them dry?

I hope you really don't mean dunk. You definitely don't want to do that.

Maksimus54
Jan 5, 2011
Picked up an AF Opus X Lost City double robusto for my birthday. I've never had an Opus X so I'm quite excited to dig into it.

This thread has been a bad influence, I've picked up a number of recommendations, though I haven't had time to smoke them yet. I'm very much a fair weather smoker and I've got a toddler I don't care to smoke around so time is tricky.

CRIP EATIN BREAD
Jun 24, 2002

Hey stop worrying bout my acting bitch, and worry about your WACK ass music. In the mean time... Eat a hot bowl of Dicks! Ice T



Soiled Meat
How long has Boveda been around? Last time I tried to maintain a humidor was probably over 10 years ago, and I don’t remember even hearing of Boveda or their packs that seem to work like magic.

Just tossing some bags in a box seems way too easy compared to refilling propylene glycol and keeping tabs on it.

ThatOneGuy
Jul 26, 2001

Revolutionary Taste.

CRIP EATIN BREAD posted:

How long has Boveda been around? Last time I tried to maintain a humidor was probably over 10 years ago, and I don’t remember even hearing of Boveda or their packs that seem to work like magic.

Just tossing some bags in a box seems way too easy compared to refilling propylene glycol and keeping tabs on it.

They’ve been around for quite a while actually. Started as a way to keep guitars humidified.

And they are way too easy. And they are actually 2 way humidification, so they’ll pull excess humidity out as well. Throw the crispy ones in a container with a shot glass of water and they’ll come back to a usable state. Haven’t bought any in years, use them in all my humidors.

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003

CRIP EATIN BREAD posted:

I hope you really don't mean dunk. You definitely don't want to do that.

I was being mostly facetious, I don’t have that much distilled water left anyway. They are just some cedar trays I’m tossing in the bottom of sone tupperdors and with the boveda two way humidifiers I feel like being super precise isn’t as necessary as when I seasoned my actual humidor.

I’d post my buys this week but the extreme excess has me both excited and ashamed.

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003
Double post to try and get some eyes on this question. Has anyone smoked the Ave Maria Divina? It’s currently $40 for 10 on CigarBid. There’s 250 lots so it probably won’t go up too much from there. I’ve never had it, I’ve liked the Ave Maria stuff well enough but I really don’t need 10 more cigars so maybe it’s best if no one answers or you tell me it’s bad. It has an insane MSRP and a 5 pack is listed at $80 on CI.

In cigar journal news, I smoked a Kristoff Shade Grown earlier today. It was fine, nothing to write home about. I smoked a Perdomo Champagne Purito (4x38) which is one of my favorite go to small guys. I am now smoking an EPC Seleccion Oscuro which I just started but it is dynamite so far. I bought these because La Historia was real good and I am not disappointed so far.

Lyon fucked around with this message at 05:24 on Aug 14, 2020

CRIP EATIN BREAD
Jun 24, 2002

Hey stop worrying bout my acting bitch, and worry about your WACK ass music. In the mean time... Eat a hot bowl of Dicks! Ice T



Soiled Meat
Hey thanks to whoever informed me that cigarbids is a thing because my amex is on fire right now.

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003

CRIP EATIN BREAD posted:

Hey thanks to whoever informed me that cigarbids is a thing because my amex is on fire right now.

One of us! One of us! One of us!

What are you bidding on? Open right now on CigarBid AJF Box Press Perfecto II sampler Kenning has been enjoying, AJF Divina 10 pack is one of the current specials (seems like a heavy discount but no idea if it’s worth it), Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro 5 pack cigar of the year 2019, etc. are all up with a decent number of lots. If I see solid cigars, for a decent price, with large-ish lot quantity I’ll try to post them periodically.

I’ve found that CigarAuctioneer is a lot sloppier but also has a lot less people using it so you can get better deals if you are judicious with your search and can sift through their samplers and five packs. I snagged a ton of Don Pepin Garcia blends/brands 5 packs for cheap. I would avoid any of the samplers with Famous Smoke exclusives though.

NewFatMike
Jun 11, 2015

Picked up a mess of Curivari cigars from Fox Cigar. Really thrilled to order from them again. Had a few big purchases on this one paycheck, so it's definitely cheap and cheerful for at least a month.

My partner is proposing tomorrow (had to change of plans from the original surprise weekend so planning it out kinda needed my knowledge), so I've laid out my fully decadent arrangement:

Arturo Fuente Añejo Shark
La Aurora Hors D'Age 2018 Corona Extra
My Father La Gran Oferta lancero
Hamlet Tabaquero Salamon

Tomorrow is very special and my final splurge will be on my favorite whiskey: Nikka Coffey Grain.

I hope everybody has a special weekend and great smokes!

Lyon
Apr 17, 2003
Congrats! That’s awesome and looks like a hell of a line up.

NewFatMike
Jun 11, 2015

Thanks! I'm swimming in :kimchi: feelings

Kenning
Jan 11, 2009

I really want to post goatse. Instead I only have these🍄.



NewFatMike posted:

Picked up a mess of Curivari cigars from Fox Cigar. Really thrilled to order from them again. Had a few big purchases on this one paycheck, so it's definitely cheap and cheerful for at least a month.

My partner is proposing tomorrow (had to change of plans from the original surprise weekend so planning it out kinda needed my knowledge), so I've laid out my fully decadent arrangement:

Arturo Fuente Añejo Shark
La Aurora Hors D'Age 2018 Corona Extra
My Father La Gran Oferta lancero
Hamlet Tabaquero Salamon

Tomorrow is very special and my final splurge will be on my favorite whiskey: Nikka Coffey Grain.

I hope everybody has a special weekend and great smokes!

Congrats, and also congrats! Looks like a great day of smokes, and I hope it's a great time in general.

Maksimus54
Jan 5, 2011
Congrats! Also sweet choice on smokes and drink

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Dramatika
Aug 1, 2002

THE BANK IS OPEN
Congrats cigar friend :unsmith: That's a day to remember for sure!

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