Professor Twain

My Nudies #3 just arrived. Lovely and I’ll post a review when I’ve smoked a few. Great to see this happening. The Tampa sticks that Rob previously put together were outstanding.

All is well, I need to stop by here more often. Have a shipment of your custom rolls on the way, very excited.

Great topic! I do not have any rules of thumb, I have only gotten them from one source, Nick, who has had various web sites for Gotham Cigar Museum. Nick has an account here on FOH but I can't find it. See @gothamcigarmuseum on Instagram. Rob when you visited Tampa in 2008, Nick got me a box of 1944 Eden cigars, clear Havanas rolled in Tampa. I gave those out to everyone when you came to town and we had a great visit. There was an extensive link with photos posted here at FOH. I also bought some Peter Schuyler cigars (after Nick had shared some at a sit down) from 1929, he recorded a video of us opening the box. Nick has shared other sticks with me on occasion. I have smoked 8 or 10 of these Clear Havanas, ranging from the 1920s to 1950s, and all were great tasting. But I got them from Nick, they were all in great shape. All had interesting flavors, they often have flavors of spice and tea, I don't know how true they were to their original flavors. Anyone who enjoys cigars and history will enjoy at least dabbling in these. I would suggest that people interested in these see if they can get some singles, Nick always let me try one out before making a decision on buying a box. I never paid over $10 a stick. I would be careful about paying high prices, you can't know if they are dried out or otherwise in poor condition. The links before are a bit off topic to your question about rules of thumb, but here they are for those who are interested. Here is the link to the prior thread about the Tampa Sit Down, including the Eden cigars. Unfortunately many pics were posted using PhotoBucket and resolution is not good. It was an incredible event. Here is video of us opening and tasting these cigars. The first one is pretty long, the second one is a bit short, but you can sense our excitement and enthusiasm.

I loved the Serie du Con #3. Eager to get some! Only current Partagas that comes close to this flavor profile for me is the Culebras.

Petit Julietas are a favorite for me. Avoid high humidity and smoke them slowly, sipping gently. Superb flavor and I have never had trouble with the draw when I'm careful about humidity in storage and smoking conditions.

Great smoking weather in Florida. Floating in the pool is not an option now, but poolside is very nice.

Topping these posts from 2010. This was an event we held to honor our dear departed friend Chuck Vaughan-Lloyd, aka Tampa1257. Chuck was proud to have been a moderator for this Board and had a knowledge and passion about Cuban cigars that surpassed anyone I have met. I can't think of St. Patrick's Day, March 17, without remembering the day in 2010 when he passed to the Great Cigar Lounge in the Sky. Here's to our dear departed friend, raise a thin ring gauge cigar in his honor friends. Oh and the final picture is a packet of the cigars that Rob commissioned in Chuck's honor, dubbed the "Tampa", a shaggy foot dalia size, would love to see these produced again.

They're great. I think they are the most similar in the Partagas line to the old Serie do Con line, my favorites in the Partagas line.

I smoked what has become a favorite, Romeo y Julieta Petit Julieta. This one was from 2006 but I've found they are great with just a few years of age. Beautiful mild floral flavors to my palate. Inexpensive to boot.

Rob did an experiment and posted about it some years ago where he removed wrappers from various cigars and exchanged them to assess the impact of the wrapper on overall flavor. As I recall he estimated that it had a small difference, maybe 10%. I don't recall whether maduro wrappers were in the mix, seem to remember they were.

I've smoked a lot of these, probably smoked through 5 boxes. They were my favorite Partagas (now all gone). I have always noticed a very distinctive "white pepper" flavor from these cigars, with a bit of salt. It's a type of flavor that is different than the thicker ring gauge Partagas. I find that the Partagas Culebras have this flavor as well, and they are still available! Finally, I have never found Partagas cigars to become too tame with age. They might be the way you like them now but I don't think you have to fear them going dull in the years ahead. This would be among my top requests for a Habanos to bring back to life!

For me, the thing that produces that tarry problem is smoking with a wet mouth. I have to watch that, but moisture at the head of the cigar seems to be what traps the tar. Always hold the cigar in your fingers, never just leave it in your mouth to puff. Sometimes I take a second or even a third clip of the head, if it is moist and you use your cutter to take off a bit more, you will find that it freshens the cigar right back up. This is especially true with longer cigars. Hope this is helpful.

I don't smoke enough of these from multiple years to know whether they are becoming more intense. I would suggest you trust Rob on that, he is in a unique position to comment on this. But you can't have too many of these, either the Petit Robustos or Epi 2s. No better cigar when smoked fresh. Buy Hoyo des Dieux if you want to age a Hoyo!

Great cigar. I think of it more as gingerbread. I don't think the flavors have changed, you can't really rely on these reviews. This is one of my favorite cigars to introduce people to cigars and to the special joys of Habanos.

A few favorites in the small cigar/good price range--RJ Coronitas en Cedro, and Bolivar Tubos #3. Both are hearty, full bodied cigars, lots of flavor. The Bolis get really nice with age.

I bought some 1999 Hoyo du Prince, around 2--6. Smoked about half the box and they were OK, but a bit mild. But over the past 5 years or so, they have become duds. I smoke one every 6 months or so, hoping I'll get a winner, but it's just not happening. I pitch them after 10 minutes. I'm not ready to throw out the remaining dozen, just can't do it... I'll try the rest and pitch them if they aren't good, hoping to find a winner. Yes, some cigars just don't have the legs to age for 20 years plus.

I have a commute of about an hour each way to my office. I never smoke on the way in to work, I don't want to smell like smoke at work. But I bought a small humidor for the office, I keep the humidity carefully regulated. I have a nice assortment of cigars to smoke on the way home. Favorites include Upmann Half Corona, RJ Petite Julietas, Partagas Shorts, Hoyo Short Robustos, Monte 5s, RASCC, and various non Cuban maduro cigars (CAO MX2 Daggers and CAO Brazilias, both in tins, and CAO Flathead Spark Plugs). Just right to finish on the drive home with a bit of time to spare. Since I often hit heavy traffic on the way home, the cigar makes the journey much more relaxing. I've had a few mishaps, dropping a lit cigar into my lap or the floor, but so far no serious wounds or scars. I've got a routine, windows down before I get home, and a nice orange air spray that I use, my car never smells like cigars.

I've been buying and aging cigars since 2006. I've built up a big stockpile, but was always on the lookout for bargains and interesting cigars to buy. Last December, after rearranging my very full humidors, I decided to make a New Years resolution not to buy any boxes in 2017. I gave myself an out that I could buy singles. It's been a good thing for me. I used to spend so much time hunting for things to buy, and spending plenty. I'm finding that it's a joy to explore what I have instead of constantly buying more. Depending on how fast I smoke, I estimate I have a 5-10 year supply. I've made it to Easter without feeling deprived or seriously tempted. I expect I'll come back to buying in 2018, but with a different frame of mind. Anyone else ever do this?

I posted a reply to the story. Loved his enthusiasm, but he is way too worried about the health effects of cigars.

Eight years ago today, on St. Patrick's Day in 2010, our great friend and my cigar mentor, Chuck (Tampa1257) passed. I usually make a post on this date in his honor. For this year, I thought it best to top the posts about this great occasion in 2008, when FOH friends, including Rob, met up in Tampa Bay. It was a truly memorable occasion and everyone who was there will always remember the event. Here's to Chuck, a great man and a dear friend.

Lots of great suggestions here. Hoyo Petit Robustos are a sure winner. I have never had a beginning cigar smoker try one and not like it. A bit smaller than the Epi 1. I also like the suggestion of RJ Coronitas en Cedro. Like the Hoyo, they are great young. I find them to be more full bodied so you have something for people who want some heft. Last wedding I went to, I got a box each of those, and also one box of non Cubans that I favor, the CAO Flathead Spark Plug. They are $2-3 a stick and very flavorful, a dark maduro with a lot of cocoa and spice. Enjoy!

The one I smoked was great, but young. I want to give the others 5 years. For me they were worth it because they were of special significance in marking the opening Barack Obama made to Cuba. For me, NO cigar is worth $29 bucks just on price, I find plenty of great cigars for $10 or less.

Diplomaticos #4 and #5. I found these intense and loved them in small doses. Just don't want to smoke a full #2. I have some of the Cuban Regionals, thank heavens, but I grieve the lack of small Dips to buy in volume and age. Making it even more grievous, I had a box seized by US Customs years ago, it couldn't be replaced. Dip 5s were the first Habanos I ever purchased, from my cigar mentor, Chuck (Tampa1257) so they are even more special to me.

A late 90s Monte Especial #1, my cigar mentor and friend Chuck (Tampa1257) and I each smoked one. Chuck's review is the lead review for this item on Cigars Review, the words make my mouth water http://www.cigars-review.org/Montecristo-Montecristo-Especial-No-1.htm

Sure, I've been to the Davidoff lounge. It's big and beautiful, has a full bar, and work stations. Large selection of cigars if you need something to burn. I far prefer the atmosphere at King Corona in Ybor. Informal and you can't beat the local vibe, food, and drinks.