Spent a little time in Vegas recently, forgot my CC's tried some NC's..

[Ethernut]

Shields up! *slips into fireproof suit*

(I know I've been pretty quiet lately. I've been busier than a one legged man in a dancing contest...)

On with it..

Call it forced experimentation.. I forgot my CC's and had to buy some NC's in Vegas.. I didn't buy on the strip in one of those high priced humidors with the locked doors. I actually sought out a true cigar shop and a darn nice one at that well off the strip. The first thing I noticed when entering the humidor was that is was hard to find a smaller ring gauge. The Humidor was literally filled with HUGE phallic cigars. The smaller ring gauges were definitely a minority. What I tried; 2 Olivia V's, Olivia G, Montecristo Reserva (I think), 2 Padron Series 1964, Siglo 1, and some other non-memorable pieces of crap. Every one of the cigars (except the Padrons) never made it past the first 3rd before being thrown into the ashtray. They were that bad. I have a rule, if a cigar sucks, I don't finish it. If it doesn't show me anything in the first 3rd, it's not gonna (especially if it's a NC).

I just have to say that, the only cigar that was half decent was the Padron, and at that, one of them was better than the other. Every time I've tried a NC lately it just seems to be the same peppery crap no matter what the brand. The Padron did have some nice cream which seems to be a rarity for NC's, but that was it. A complete one trick pony. Also the NC's seem to always leave me with a mouth taste analogous a cat crapping in my mouth (it's very difficult to get rid of). I know I'm preaching to the choir here. I know that if I'd posted this over on CA there'd be zealots coming out of the wood work defending this junk. But I gotta say, now that I have a taste for CC's, no I'm not imagining things, yes there really is a difference, yes they do have more character, yes there is more diversity in their profiles, and yes they are better. A lot better.

I just thought I'd share my experience.

Ether..

[samb]

Ive noticed the difference between the NC and the CC. Even my untrained palate can detect way more complexity from CCs. Im almost done phasing out my NC collection, and will be buying only CCs. I agree with you that many NCs are just lacking.

[brutusthebuckeye]

Very well written Ether!!!!!! I agree 100%!!!!

I quit buying NC's well over a year ago.......

[Danashan]

Right.

I'm exactly the other way around - spend a bundle on 25 different CCs and I'm still looking for the one that would consistently beat my favorite NCs on taste, complexity or, at least, quality. Smoked Siglo II this weekend. Nice, not more. Best so far, to me, were BPC and RJPC, but nothing to write home about.

Personally, I don't care for Padron, even the 1926 PC didn't impress me too much. From Oliva V's I prefer the lancero, the others are little too muddy in taste to me.

To each its own, is what I'm saying. Each person is different and I, for one, while enjoying learning about CC on this forum, find that I enjoy them much less than many NCs I have in rotation. In addition, the CCs are much more expensive in comparison with what you can find here in US. But, I mostly buy from discount internet sites, no good B&M in my area, so the pricing is my personal issue, I'm sure. Plus, finding smaller cigars in B&M is a challenge, absolutely agree with you on that.

[Ethernut]

Dan, I have a few friends that are hard core NC smokers and they've adapted to that flavor profile. When handing them a 03 Des Deiux they called it a good cigar but they weren't impressed at its sweet cream and cedar/wood profile (it's one of my top 5 faves).

It took me a quite a while to begin to understand the CC difference. Out of my first 50 or so maybe 10 of them were good. The rest were quite inconsistent and I couldn't get my head wrapped around what was going on with them. What I came to understand was, I was ordering cigars that weren't smoking well for that time period. After speaking to Rob and asking questions, I started ordering sticks that were considered to be good stock for that time. Rob could have Cohibas that were smoking great one month and are less so the next month (requiring age). Depends on what's coming out of Cuba and many other factors. Some years have been bad years and I've ordered complete boxes that just sucked all the way through.. Speaking with Rob or Smithy was the key to getting cigars that were of higher quality than just an off the shelf pick. Many tobacconists just aren't that intimate with their current stock to advise.

I've also been buying CC's long enough to have a modest but decent amount of aged stock that would be 2-10years old. I also find that if I don't like a box and wait a year or so, eventually it comes around (with a few exceptions) to have something that I like. Walking right in to a B&M generally doesn't offer that level of refinement. In my humidor I have one tray of NC singles. I bought two of each and smoked one young. I'm waiting a couple years on the others just to see how they develop. I might be surprised and hope that I am.

Ether..

[Ellery]

I agree with you regarding the peppery taste. I've noticed that many of the NCs I smoke have the same flavor profile, and half way through the cigar, I get really bored with them.

[cgarner]

I haven't smoked a NC since I found this place. I have about 40 NC's that need smoking.

[matthew261]

I've had some decent NCs: Perdomo, Padron, (1) Opus X, San Cristobal... But once I discovered the richness and complexity of CCs, I've not spent a penny on NCs. I would actually rather go without than waste my time or money. A bit extreme I know, but I don't drink cheap wine either.

[Danashan]

You know, my biggest question would be: do I really want to deal with inconsistency and aging time requirements of CCs if I am not floored by the flavor profile? Don't know the answer to that yet.

BTW, I bought all my CCs after suggestions from Lisa. So, I think I AM getting the best if them. I'm not even going to bother with RE/LE and other "special" releases.

Dan, I have a few friends that are hard core NC smokers and they've adapted to that flavor profile. When handing them a 03 Des Deiux they called it a good cigar but they weren't impressed at its sweet cream and cedar/wood profile (it's one of my top 5 faves).

It took me a quite a while to begin to understand the CC difference. Out of my first 50 or so maybe 10 of them were good. The rest were quite inconsistent and I couldn't get my head wrapped around what was going on with them. What I came to understand was, I was ordering cigars that weren't smoking well for that time period. After speaking to Rob and asking questions, I started ordering sticks that were considered to be good stock for that time. Rob could have Cohibas that were smoking great one month and are less so the next month (requiring age). Depends on what's coming out of Cuba and many other factors. Some years have been bad years and I've ordered complete boxes that just sucked all the way through.. Speaking with Rob or Smithy was the key to getting cigars that were of higher quality than just an off the shelf pick. Many tobacconists just aren't that intimate with their current stock to advise.

I've also been buying CC's long enough to have a modest but decent amount of aged stock that would be 2-10years old. I also find that if I don't like a box and wait a year or so, eventually it comes around (with a few exceptions) to have something that I like. Walking right in to a B&M generally doesn't offer that level of refinement. In my humidor I have one tray of NC singles. I bought two of each and smoked one young. I'm waiting a couple years on the others just to see how they develop. I might be surprised and hope that I am.

Ether..

[Ethernut]

I don't buy RE/LE's either.. good call :-) Lisa in all her fantastic sweetness doesn't actually smoke cigars. She can definitely tell you what's popular and what other people are buying at that time. I'd highly recommend talking to Rob, I'm sure he'd welcome the conversation.

[Colt45]

You know, my biggest question would be: do I really want to deal with inconsistency and aging time requirements of CCs if I am not floored by the flavor profile?

Seriously, why would you - and I mean that with no sarcasm and all sincerity. If you are truly happier with what you normally smoke, why waste

time with cigars you've not been as happy with?

[cigaraholic]

Lesson #1 don't forget your cigars!

Most Americans think a good cigar leaves your mouth tasting like an ashtray that hasn't been cleaned for a week.

But you can't blame them, we haven't been able to buy great cigars for 50 years.

It's always funny to me how people cringe when they see a cigar and then come up to me and say "your cigar smells good".

What's really sad is how much they charge for NC's. I think this keeps driving up the price of CC.

They see how much people pay for lousy cigars in the US and figure they should charge more for something better.

Now we have $100 Cohiba's and going up!

[thechenman]

As I posted in another thread, while I predominately smoke Cuban cigars, I also smoke NCs. Different cigars have a time, place and mood. Whether one is better than the other is purely a matter of opinion. Each individual has their own preferences. If Dan prefers NCs, but still gets some enjoyment out of Cubans, it does not hurt for him to smoke an occassional Cuban. While I much prefer my Cuban cigars, I still smoke NCs to see what else is out there. I have actually found a few that I really enjoy. Maybe it will be the same for you Dan, but in reverse. You'll smoke predominately NCs, but have a few Cuban cigars that you enjoy as well.

[Danashan]

I didn't intend to hijack the thread like that. Sorry, ethernut!

I have decided to smoke what I enjoy the most. I don't care where was it made, as long as it is smoking well and doesn't make me work for it. Well, that is not entirely true, I can't stand the flavored stuff, makes me cringe just smelling it

Anyway, I still have a bunch of CCs in my humidor, and I will be coming back to them once in a while (actually, I am really looking forward to trying partagas short) to see if anything can strike my fancy repeatedly (I got 3 or more of each cigar to make sure i don't judge by 1 example). If nothing else, I enjoy the exploration.

Thanks for all the opinions, I appreciate it!

[thechenman]

I didn't intend to hijack the thread like that. Sorry, ethernut!

I have decided to smoke what I enjoy the most. I don't care where was it made, as long as it is smoking well and doesn't make me work for it. Well, that is not entirely true, I can't stand the flavored stuff, makes me cringe just smelling it

Anyway, I still have a bunch of CCs in my humidor, and I will be coming back to them once in a while (actually, I am really looking forward to trying partagas short) to see if anything can strike my fancy repeatedly (I got 3 or more of each cigar to make sure i don't judge by 1 example). If nothing else, I enjoy the exploration.

Thanks for all the opinions, I appreciate it!

The Party Short is a great cigar...hope you like it. It is definitely in my top 10.