Two Cigar Mistakes you have made.

[Lotusguy]

1. Starting off with and buying way too many NCs

2. Buying way more than I smoke - not considered a mistake by many (including me), but leads to chronic storage space shortage

3. Bigger/Shiny Band/More Expensive = better. You can find a lot of real treasures in the unhip Marcas and Vitolas, often for amazingly low prices

[Hugomarink]

1. A large cooler with some humidification devices makes for a perfectly good humidor. It's a great option for those who want to buy and store boxes of cigars but don't have the cash (or space) to buy an expensive large high-quality humidor.

2. Buy an accurate hygrometer/temperature device and make sure the humidity is around 65%. Monitor your stock regularly to make sure you don't get any mold or beetle infections in your humidor. Keep your humidor/cooler in a cool place with a stable temperature (preferably below 70 degrees). If it gets too hot beetles can hatch and if it gets too moist mold can grow.

[Stanislaw]

From personal experience:

1. If you invest in a humidor, invest the time and patience in seasoning it properly. I had one suck the life right out of a box of monte 2's once...

2. Never EVER try to light a cigar with a candle.... Absolutely ruins it and may singe nose hairs while you're at it

[mk05]

1. Know your vendor

2. Early bird gets the worm

I can't stress #1 enough...I'm not in the "white book" to even be considering #2.

And finally, less is more. Don't overreach, don't try to be something you're not, don't try to grow to fast. Take time to read all the wonderful information from the past, post when you can defend your position, and don't do things to "get in the game." You will get burned eventually.

[Reevzy]

As a newcomer to this forum and a relative new "returner" to cigars, I'll chime in with my two mistakes so far.

#1 Smoked that Cohiba 66 I was supposed to be saving when I was drunk one night, can't tell you what that was like.

#2 Smoked a Boli BF for the first time walking across the top of a dam wall when it was really windy.

Can't tell you what that one was like either

[Zacapa]

Cigar Mistakes:

1) Don't Underestimate how big of a humidor you need, or will eventually need.

2) Two Words : "Cohiba Secretos"

3) Do your research first on both cigars and vendors.

4) Don't buy boxes before you buy samples.

5) Don't Over humidify your cigars 65% RH Max!

Im with you all the way on 1 3 4 & 5!

..But 2!? I have much love for the secretos

Take Shlomo up on his offer!!

[sengjc]

For the new Havana enthusiast...

...Do not, under any circumstances, tell any one, ever, how much money you are spending on cigars. Just don't do it. Keep your mouth shut.

Even more so if that person is your wife.

[Smallclub]

• Over-humidifying my cigars;

• making generalizations, and thinking that in depth knowledge can be acquired in a few years…

[Ryan]

Calling into Dunhill one day in 2010 one hour too late to buy 4 boxes of Dunhill Estupendo at £700 a box because I was hungover.

Not buying both jars of LGC Deliciosos in February 2011 at Mons's shop.

[canadianbeaver]

1. New horrible attitude. Refusal to smoke with anyone who uses the word "fake" as a topic re cigars etc. (asking how do I know blah blah)

2. First cigars had vanilla in them. What can I tell ya.

[Drguano]

1. Avoid putting the wrong end of the cigar in your mouth especially after it is lit.

2. Don't carry a cigar in your pocket (also especially after it is lit).

Trust me on these.

[brazoseagle]

Oh good lord! I have another box on the way. If it is anything near what my last one was, I'll shoot you a couple. Can be sooooo good!!

If have to taste to believe it! But you don't need to send me anything unless on principle, I have try a good one of these.

[brazoseagle]

1) Be very careful who you buy from. You get amazing service and commitment to quality, of course, from Rob, Lisa and the Czar crew . . . but it's far from the norm. I tried one other source, one other time, and it was a disaster. Not surprisingly, Rob was very generous of his time in helping me understand--via email correspondence--what might have happened. He reached out to me out of genuine curiosity and empathy to the fact that I had had a bad experience. I've never forgotten that, nor will I.

2) Agree with everyone about buying a large enough humidor. Once I truly realized that not every cigar in the humi is "smokeable" at any given point in time, it dawned on me that I needed MUCH more storage than I thought.

Bonus round--if you live in the US, don't bother buying any NCs at your local tobacconist. I know you want to, and they look and smell so good when you're in the store . . . and you want to buy SOMETHING . . . but trust me on this. They'll just stack up in the humidor and take up space you could be using for CCs. Because when it comes right down to choosing what you're gonna smoke on any given evening, are you seriously gonna choose an NC over a CC?

^ The Bonus advice here at the end. Agree 1 Billiondy Percent. I finally sold all of my NC's in one big lot on Craigslist years ago. I haven't bought an NC in years, and the last time one was given to me to smoke ( Padron Annuv.). I chucked it half way, and tasted it in my mouth for days!!!!! Chemical dipped roof shingle.

[JPS72]

^ The Bonus advice here at the end. Agree 1 Billiondy Percent. I finally sold all of my NC's in one big lot on Craigslist years ago. I haven't bought an NC in years, and the last time one was given to me to smoke ( Padron Annuv.). I chucked it half way, and tasted it in my mouth for days!!!!! Chemical dipped roof shingle.

This advice is so true - I have been accumulating Tatuaje's (verocu no.5's, some monsters, little monsters, black labels, etc.) over the past several years that now I know I am most likely never going to smoke again and they are just taking up space in my humidors. Unfortunately, not much activity on Craigslist for cigars here locally so I am probably stuck with these and paid way too much to ever think of tossing them. Would definitely do it differently if I had the chance to again.

[perfectform]

Buying too small of a humidor...4 consecutive times...

Drinking the LE/RE/GR/Book Kool-Aid.

[phidelt076]

Let's see here's my mistakes and advice:

1) skimping on accessories - cheap cutters and lighters can and will ruin the cigar smoking experience. Spend the extra $20 and get a nice cutter and lighter. Nothing worse than ruining a $10 stick because your $0.99 cutter destroyed the end. I have no complaints with Xikar cutters and lighters and their customer service is top notch.

2) buying cheap and small humidors - missing a good sale because you're out of room sucks. So does worrying yourself to death about the RH all the time because you have a crap seal. Wine coolers and regular coolers both with beads are working perfectly for me now while I'm saving up for a custom cabinet.

3) bringing only a couple of premium sticks to a party. Someone who doesn't have the background to enjoy it is going to ask for it and toss it after 10 minutes. This is a lot less annoying with a pedestrian NC stick. On a side note I carried virginia slims cigs with me back in my college days for my friends that always smoked but never bought their own. Hilarious to see people's faces when you pull out those long skinny cigs for them when they're bumming!

4) getting all worked up over slight fluctuations in RH. It happens, don't stress about a 1-2% swing. This happens with temp changes etc. Your sticks will not spontaneously turn to ash like a staked vamp with short term humidity swings.

5) don't get frustrated if you can't pick up all the flavors people describe in their reviews. I've smoked cigars for about 10 years now and still don't have a very refined palate. I know what I like and don't like and that's good enough for me.

6) smoking a cigar with a less than perfect draw. Life's too short and there are too many cigars to fight one and end up unsatisfied after an hour. I smoke to relax and tight or too loose of a draw isn't relaxing.

7) cut and draw test before you head out or carry more than one stick

[LGC]

-Not stocking up on my favorites... wasting money on popular cigars.

-Sharing sources with too many people.. doing trades/favors for friends.

-Spending money on Davidoffs, Dunhills, etc... none were worth the money.

[MPS]

1. Taking too much when they checked.

2. Not taking enough when they didn't check.

[mk05]

1. Taking too much when they checked.

2. Not taking enough when they didn't check.

Schrodinger's cat

[Zacapa]

Schrodinger's cat

Haha exactly

[rsanz]

My 2 biggest Mistakes;

1- wasting $ on lots of fancy gas lighters, they've all crapped out over time and now I use a regular Bic type.

2- using a blunt cutter (some cheap cutters are still really good and sharp). It will squash & tear up the end of your cigar and spoil the experience.

Advice I wish I had when I started;

1- properly humidify your cigars using 65RH beads. Beads are foolproof.

2- buy lots of single small cigars from many different brands from the Czar. You will find something quite surprisingly good amongst them. Then buy them by the box.

One last thing... enjoy smoking what you want when you want.

[Rushman]

I have an interesting viewpoint on this. I don't consider cigars a hobby, it's part of my life. What is the best way to learn as you grow up? Make mistakes. So I don't really look back on any real mistakes because they made me the cigar smoker I am today.

If I gave advice? Treat cigar purchases much like things used to be when you bought hardware from the local hardware store where you knew the owner. KNOW YOUR VENDORS! I am fortunate as I have only purchased online from two vendors, One being our humble host and the other being very well known on this board.

If I had to pick one mistake? Not marrying someone in the cigar business sooner. The benefits are nice.

---

I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=19.307785,-81.379145

[Justmi]

1 - It sounds crazy but I picked up on a lot of tips and knowledge from watching the FoH Channel on YT (!)

2 - Prices vary hugely and it pays to research and hunt around the genuine retailers for a good source of smokes. Go to a London cigar bar and you're paying four times the amount you should do.

[PigFish]

Buying Cohiba Robustos.

Reading books on cigars and assuming that those people knew what they were talking about!

Entertaining the thought of Sick Periods, except as it relates to the flu!

Believing that a trade will net a good cigar experience.

Believing just about anything I read on the internet about cigars.

Going to the Big Smoke. Better to buy a box of coronas, and go to the strip club with a few mates and a slew of dollar bills!

... where to stop? Just two mistakes... I could do this all day. If you have made only two mistakes, even when it comes to cigars, you are either a new born, or you should be canonized!!!

Welcome to the forum people. -Piggy

[Scdalak]

1) Telling my Wife I buy Cuban Cigars

2) See first Mistake....

Best thing i did was shooting the wad on a custom built cabinet Display Humidor, complete with built-in Humidifier, computer controlled humidity, circulation fans, and LED lighting. Best money I everspent!!!!! I figure it saved me at least $1K in humidor upgrades I would have needed for the ever growing collection Take my advice!!! BUILD IT, THEN FILL IT!!!!!