just smoked one of these this afternoon,i found a couple lying in one of my humidors.they must be at least 2001.i did not keep records at the time.absolutely wonderful,they have now been dropped by Habanos.but still available from certain suppliers at $100 per box cheaper than Sir Winstons.the only SWs i have are a box SMG Nov 08 and need another couple of years yet.very tempting to buy some of these 00/01 ones still available(monarcas) what do you guys think.
I would do it. I Love these smokes. I had a 06 the other day...and I want to go back to my shop and buy the rest of the box. I was sad to hear that Habanos were dropping them. But there seems to be quite a few around still, so I am going to stock up for sure.
I have some 08s. They are nice but need time. The have a nice tea aftertaste.
quote:
Originally posted by Toner: I would do it. I Love these smokes. I had a 06 the other day...and I want to go back to my shop and buy the rest of the box. I was sad to hear that Habanos were dropping them. But there seems to be quite a few around still, so I am going to stock up for sure.
very tempting to buy some of these 00/01 ones still available(monarcas) what do you guys think
I would be wary of cigars from that time frame that are still in circulation from ordinary vendors. Unless you're getting them from an individual who bought them at the time, or a specialty shop that is charging a premium for aged smokes, I would say to be careful. There's a reason that they're still around...they've been repeatedly been picked over. Cigars from that time frame had a lot of construction problems as production quotas tripled and quadrupled at the time, and less experienced rollers were brought on line to make cigars with similar crop yields. So, for raw materials, (a) there really wasn't enough ligero to go around (ligero is the part of the filler that gives the cigar its strength), so many cigars from that time period were rather dull, and (b) rollers used tobacco that, only a year earlier, might have been discarded and rejected as being substandard. Furthermore, the rollers manufacturing the cigars did not have technique sophisticated enough to master the roll, so it was common in boxes from that time frame to have 8 or 9 (or more) that were totally plugged because the rollers did not have the experience to know that the roll had to be loose initially to allow for expansion of the filler and contraction of the binder and wrapper as the cigar settles.
Anyway, there were some absolute gems being produced at the time, but what's still left on the shelves are more likely the dregs. You'd probably be better off with current stock.
___________________ Santa Cabilla...patron saint of Quericæstan. VIVE COULTER (not Ann)! VIVE CPD! Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go...(Oscar Wilde)
Posts: 10614 | Location: Avenida de las Nalgas, Quericæstan | Registered: May 02, 2002
Somewhere along the line I picked up a couple of Monarchs A/T from 1998. Smoked the first one at the end of last year. Probably one of the best cigars I've ever smoked. I don't know how the '02, '03, etc. are but I would be willing to take a chance.
_________________ AKA Stalebread
Posts: 403 | Location: Paris | Registered: November 19, 2003
Mine are SLA 01 and they're on the mild side. Got mine for $140 and because I try to be a multi-daily smoker the price looked good. Milk chocolate wrappers and on the mild side but no draw problems. Not great cigars but good. Look for something else.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: ROSE,
___________________ Santa Cabilla...patron saint of Quericæstan. VIVE COULTER (not Ann)! VIVE CPD! Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go...(Oscar Wilde)
Posts: 10614 | Location: Avenida de las Nalgas, Quericæstan | Registered: May 02, 2002
Not box, boxes of 25 because they were, now that I'm remembering 2 boxes for $240 so $120 a box. I knew it was a good deal so I got 6 boxes. I'm almost thru my second box and they've all burned perfectly. A little on the mild side but as you said those years have been picked over but at $4.80 a smoke it's a steal.
Well, you probably paid about $90 per box too much, because what you bought isn't what it purports to be. In the end, the only thing that really counts is that you like them, though.
___________________ Santa Cabilla...patron saint of Quericæstan. VIVE COULTER (not Ann)! VIVE CPD! Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go...(Oscar Wilde)
Posts: 10614 | Location: Avenida de las Nalgas, Quericæstan | Registered: May 02, 2002
Sorry they're the real deal. Like you said there's a lot of 99,00 & 01 still around that people need to sell. I know you can't talk about sites and I haven't figured out how to get a photo on my reply but if you email me your address I'll send you a couple to try. rrose@onemain.com I've enjoyed reading your responses on this form and you seem to have quite a bit of knowledge about CC's, I started smoking them in 1969 before anyone ever thought of counterfeiting and I know em when I smoke em.
