Hey all, my name is Andrew and I'm an LSU student. Im originally from Beaumont, Tx, and although my dad has dabbled in cigars for as long as I can remember, I have only begun to fan my love for cigars over the past year or so.

Now that the introduction is out of the way, I just ordered some new smokes from JR's (some Montecristo Whites) and from CI (RyJ Viejo Robustos and a "Brown Bag" sampler). I have mainly dabbled in RyJ's and Macanudos, occasional Montecristos, A. Fuente and H. Uppman, brands I grew up seeing my dad smoke. Anyway, to get to the point, I'd like to branch out, heard good things about partagas, anyone have some suggestions for someone who likes a medium, sweet, and complexly flavored smoke?

Also, a noob question, I have been storing my sticks in an old cigar box with a BOVEDA humidity control pouch, is it really worth it to purchase a humidor when I normally keep only 15-25 mixed cigars on hand?

Welcome aboard.

First, when I started, I tried different cigars all of the time. I eventually found ones that I like. I prefer Nicaraguan tobacco to the others available to us in the States! Oliva, Padron, Illusione, and anything done by Don Pepin. His list of cigars and brands is long: Several Don Pepin labels, Tatuaje, 601, Cubao, San Cristobal, Benchmade, Cabaiguan, La Riqueza...

As for the humidor question, definitely. A cigar box works but may not have an adequate seal. I did that for a bit and then went with a small 25 cigar humidor ($20 from JR's since you are familiar with them). You will soon outgrow that, so go larger. 100 cigar, minimum.

Good luck, enjoy trying various cigars, and maybe PSU and LSU can meet up in a bowl game!

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm gonna have sample alot of sticks, and I'll start looking for some Nicaraguan smokes. My local b&m has a massive humidor, its gonna take me a while to smoke that many cigars.

If they meet in a bowl game we'll have to bet some sticks on the game, haha

A. Fuente Hemingway line sounds precisely up your alley.

I thoroughly enjoyed going through CA's top 25 list for all the previous years and trying those cigars. There is an extreme range of strength and flavors in that list.

Also use the search key and look for favorite NC. There should be a few threads. Many, including myself, have listed their favorite cigars. I have found several myself.

To name a few which I believe is a must try:

1. Padron 1926, natural and maduro (very expensive)
2. Padron 1964, natural and maduro (expensive)
3. Opus X - Holiday season coming so be on the lookout in the next 2 months. (expensive)
4. Tatuaje - Brown label (not cheap) or Red label (not expensive)
5. Anything Don Pepin Garcia - relatively cheap. I personally love the DPG Black(Cuban Classic) as well as his Centurion (expensive) The DPG black can be gotten for $3-$4 a stick so watch for specials at CI
6. Padron thousand series - 3000's or 5000's maduro is what I prefer. $4-$5 a stick
7. Oliva Series V and Series G. I'm not crazy about the Oliva flavor, but most really enjoy them.
8. Gispert Maduro - $3 a stick. A very good cheapy
9. San Cristobal - Very flavorful. ($7-$10/stick)
10. Ashton VSG - Favorite among many here. (expensive)

Happy hunting. This is my favorite part of the hobby.

Thanks for the suggestions. I just ordered my own subscription to CA. After years of ignoring my dads old issues, I now wish I had some of them.

I think you are starting out right, I have been a cigar smoker for about 3 years and the best advice I can give you is to sample several brands.

I would imagine we all have our favorites and stand by's but I still like to drop by our local shop's every week or so and pick up something different and in all price ranges.

I also like to keep a nice supply of bundle cigars for the everyday use or at times when I want a cigar while I am doing yard work, fishing, hunting, golf, etc and do not really get to just sit and enjoy. For this I have found the Alex Bradley SB's fit my bill but I have also use the inexpensive Quaroum's which are not bad for a cheap o at least in my opinion.

The brand I am really getting hooked on is the Rocky Patel's, I love the vintage 90 & 92 and they are my favorite and really I never tried them until my brother in law handed me one while sitting around his pool one evening enjoying a nice Corona and I got hooked. Funny thing is he really does not care for them but had picked up a few.

I also was impressed with the Soprano's as well, I really thought this was a gimick cigar but again Bro in Law brought a couple over to my house one night and these are really good.

On the flip side you will find some that just do not suit your taste and I have as well but that is a lot of the fun of cigars as well.

You will get a lot of good advice on here and I really enjoy the magazine


The RYJ's are one of my other favorite brands as well

Ashton VSG is in my humble opinion the best Non Cuban around as far as "reasonable" on the price range...if you want to look at the 5-6 buck range than Oliva V is a great cigar...if you are willing to spend a little more Padron 26 or 64 and Opus X would be great plays.

I'm also a newbie to the cigar world. My favorite cigar so far is a CAO Gold. They're about $5 a stick and have a sweet creamy flavor.

Welcome Andrew, I'm Jerry and I live in Denham. I've been a cigar smoker for a while now, but just joined the CA forums in June. Email me and maybe we can hook up for a smoke sometime. If the B&M you are referring to is Don Juan's we can go to one of their monthly smoker's when a cool label comes to town. A couple months ago the CAO girls and the Playboy girls visited back to back, what a night those were. Looking forward to hearing from you.

quote:

Originally posted by Tonito:
Welcome Andrew, I'm Jerry and I live in Denham. I've been a cigar smoker for a while now, but just joined the CA forums in June. Email me and maybe we can hook up for a smoke sometime. If the B&M you are referring to is Don Juan's we can go to one of their monthly smoker's when a cool label comes to town. A couple months ago the CAO girls and the Playboy girls visited back to back, what a night those were. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Well, its good to know I'm not the only one down here in Tiger Country. Don Juan's was the B&M that I was referring to, and from what I've seen it seems to be a fairly nice place, although their prices do seem to be a little on the high side at times. I haven't seen anywhere that beats their selection as of yet though. Have you been to Hemingway's? I hear they have a really nice selection but I haven't been able to make it over there yet. The next tasting is an Ashton Tasting on the 25th, after that the next one of interest that I see is the Macanudo 1968 tasting event, mine are on their way in the mail right now, but I love getting a free cigar, haha. We'll have to go sit and have a smoke over there at don's sometime.