I've just started smoking cigars recently and am finding it to be quite the highlight of the day anytime I light one up.

One thing I'm noticing right away is that even if I can pay for the more "premium" cigars ($7-15) on an occasional basis, I'd prefer to not have too big a budget for now as I am a newcomer.

To get to the point--I'm just curious if anyone has tried those "Alternative" cigars featured by that New York retailer that claims to have the biggest online cigar store in the world. You can generally get a bundle of 20 for around $20 and for the wallet, that seems to be a good deal. For now, I'm mainly interested in flavor since I would assume that these cigars may not have the best quality--burn, etc. Are they close to the brands they're mimicking? Or even in general--are they even good cigars?

Thank you

You don't have to be so cryptic. JR Alts suck.

For my personal taste I would rather smoke four 5 dollar cigars than twenty 1 dollar cigars.

If you're talking about JR alts, the few I tried never tasted like their claimed counterparts. It's especially a ridiculous claim for their cuban alts. With that said, the ones I has were okay, nothing special, but there are better values out there IMO. Some brand overruns, seconds, etc. are a pretty good value. Perdomo and Rocky Patel come to mind.

Oops

I regularly buy online from Mike's Cigars and just as regularly get boxes of 20 for anywhere between $60 and $75, They also have good e-mail specials. These are good, handmade cigars with some good CA ratings (Onyx reserve maddura for example) Tey around. Good smokes with good draws and complex flavors are avaiolable within your budget restraints. Enjoy!

I've come around to Pmpimbura's way of thinking. Quality over quantity. That said, JR does sell Consuegra bundles for around $30 which are usually the seconds of Punch, Hoyo, El Rey del Mundo, etc. If you like those, you'll like Consuegras. Do a web search for "Connie Conversion Chart" and you can match the Consuegra size numbers up with what they really are.

Don't forget, there are a lot of very good cigars out there for around $3 a stick: Oliva Serie G (formerly known as Oliva Grand Cameroon and Grand Maduro), Occidental Reserve, Gispert and Gispert Maduro, and Saint Luis Rey to name a few. Cusano M1, P1, MC and CC bundles are decent quality, as are Perdomo Fresco. Rocky Patel has a bundle coming out, and Tatuaje is also doing a mixed filler cigar in the $3 range.

So, you have plenty of options without resorting to JR Alts.

quote:

You don't have to be so cryptic. JR Alts suck. Smile

Couldn't remember if I read somewhere that retailers aren't supposed to be mentioned. Anyway, I will check out the stuff that was mentioned.

Thanks all

quote:

Originally posted by y3n0:

quote:

You don't have to be so cryptic. JR Alts suck. Smile

Couldn't remember if I read somewhere that retailers aren't supposed to be mentioned. Anyway, I will check out the stuff that was mentioned.

Thanks all

Retailers that offer cuban cigars online cannot be mentioned... otherwise mention till your blue in the face

I agree with Pmpimbura. I also agree that looking for and finding a bargain is always cool. What I now consider a bargain is finding a $5-7 per stick cigar on sale via the internet for a box that brings the price down to $3-4 a stick. Famous Smoke (famous-smoke.com or something like that) has pretty good everyday prices and weekly specials that are worth checking out.

i say find a new shop that sells good smokes for under 5 bucks, they should be out there somewhere!!!! if not, try cigarbid.com, i get awesome 5packs from them all the time