Hello my friends.
I am new in the world of cigars. I wanted to know what is a good brand to start with? A friend of mine recommended a brand called Tampa Sweet, is that good??
Are there any hints and tips for new smokers like me?

Assuming your friend is being serious, the answer is "no" on the Tampa Sweets.

The best way to get started is to visit a local tobacconist -- preferably a store that sells only cigars and not cigarettes as this type of store tends to focus only on cigars and pipes and hires more knolwedgeable sales associates. They can help you get started.

Likely, they'll recommend some brands, you'll try them, then come back and tell them which you liked and which you didn't and then they can make more recommendations based on your preferences.

Generally speaking, it would be best to start with mild cigars, which generally have lighter wrappers. If you're not used to cigars, smoke only after a meal so you don't get sick.

Buy only a few cigars at a time unless you own a humidor. Cigars need to be kept at a controlled temp and humidity level -- otherwise, they may dry out and once they do, all of the oils in the tobacco dry out too leaving you with a flavorless smoke. By the way -- you don't need a fancy humidor. A tupperware container outfitted with a cheap humidifying device will do just fine. So will a Ziploc bag. Keep it in a cool part of your home (around 65 degrees or less) and open it from time to time so the contents don't get musty. Every few days is fine.

Get a good cutter -- a double blade guillotine is fine and cheap ones cost about $1. Don't light your cigar with anything but a wooden match (let the sulfur burn off first) or a butane lighter. No zippos.

Finally, watch the cigar videos posted on the homepage. They will teach you everything you need to know about cutting, lighting and enjoying a cigar. There's nothing to it, really.

Assuming you don't have a god local tobacconist, here are some excellent mal order dealers:

JRcigar.com -- they offer 5-pack samplers as well as boxes
Holts.com
Atlanticcigar.com
Famous-smoke.com
Cigarsinternational.com

And you can always call my friends at City Tobacco and have them put together a package of singles to try

www.citytobacco.com

If all else fails and you have to go it alone, here are a few good brands to try for starters. All are mild to medium bodied and arranged from mildest to strongest. Some are also available in a maduro wrapper so when you're ready to graduate to something stronger (but not too powerful for the new smoker) you can try that.

Macanudo Gold Label
Macanudo
Ashton
Occidental Reserve
Don Diego
Davidoff
Fonseca
VegaFina
Gispert
The Griffin's
Montesino
Avo
Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real
Helix
Cuesta Rey Centennario
CAO Gold
Romeo y Julieta 1875
Fonseca Vintage
Cuesta Rey Centro Fino SunGrown
Arturo Fuente Chateau Series (avoid the SunGrowns at first -- they may be too strong form a newbie -- stick to natural and maduro)

One final piece of advice...price sometimes does not equate to quality. While brands like Davidoff offer the very best quality available, a $20 Davidoff is not necessarily five times better than a $4 OCcidental Reserve or even three times better than a $7 Ashton.

Smoke what you like -- don't let someone tell you what you should or shouldn't like -- because it's all about enjoyment. (Although someday I may try to do that after you've been a member awhile. That reminds me: flavored cigars blow and are for idiots only. Don't smoke Acids, Kaluhas, etc.).

Enjoy and god luck!

Thanks a lot for the help my friend. I will take your advice. But since I will just start by a Tampa Sweet one, which my friend will give me from his collection, can you tell me why is it not good?? I trust your judgment and I will be trying the other brands you mentioned, but I will just take the Tampa from the man for free and try it.

I'm guessing you mean Hava Tampa sweets, which are made by machines of sweetened scrap tobacco and have a plastic tip.

The cigars I mentioned are composed of 100% long filler, carefully aged and fermented, and rolled by hand.

A world of difference -- like the difference between Mad Dog 20/20 and first growth Bordeaux.

My guess is he meant Tampa Sweethearts....which are seconds of Fuente. Yes they are good and reasonable priced.

Hey guys it's me again. I tried the Tampa Sweet cigar. I don't know I have mixed feelings. This is my first time to smoke ever, I do not smoke normal cigarettes and I do not intend to because I hate their smell. I like the cigar's smell that's why I decided to try it. First I felt it was useless puffing of nothing, but when I finished I felt it was pretty good and it left a nice sweet taste on my tongue. I don't know really, I will try some of the ones you recommended here.

Hey Lucky....smoke what you like.