YOUR Cuban to NC smoking rate %

[tmac77]

I keep a regular stock of NC's specifically for trips to the US where CC's are forbotten! I keep them in a seperate humidor from my CC's. I was down in Orlando on a golf trip recenlty (9 rounds of golf in 5 days) and smoked: Ashton Classic's and Cabaiguan's on the course and Opus X Double Corona's in the evening by the pool. Nice gettaway from -20 Celcius temperatures here in Toronto.

[Hemsworth]

I'm about 95% NC at the moment. I was mostly Cuban for the couple I would buy here and there (a Padron 2000 in Canada is as much as a Monte #3), but at the moment I am going crazy buying the NC's online from the USA. I love the Padron's and the Oliva Serie V. Perhaps my inexperience in how to deal with a cigar had a lot to do with it, but the Cubans that I've smoked never really blew me away.

[Daverazz]

I am around 30% nc to 70% cc. I always love an oily vsg illusion and enchatment, ESG is a wonderful cigar as well. I can't leave out the Opus XxX with a few years age. And a variety of many others. But to be honest, I am always reaching and digging around for the cc as my go to.

[scinmyheart]

I've got a couple of boxes of NCs, but it's been awhile since I've smoked one

[CohibaBehike]

I unfortunately voted for 50-90% NC, I'd say it's around 75% because I work at a cigar shop here in the states and that's what I have access to all week for free When I don't work I make sure I find some CC to smoke for fun.

[sg1234]

Currently I smoke an NC about every 4th or 5th cigar. I expect that number to decrease as I smoke through my NC stock. In general, I much prefer CCs but there are a few NCs I enjoy from time to time.

I expect this number to be around 3% this time next year.

[Jesuscookies]

I'm in the 1% or less category. I will usually end up smoking at least one NC every 2 or 3 months. This is simply because I'm at the local B&M and feel obligated so I will try something new.

I do have a stash of about 200+ NC's that have been sitting in a humidor for years. I broke out a Oliva series V that was a few years old, and I must say it was a plesant change.

[baragh]

I do about 60% NC's and 40% CC's.

Having only smoked about 2 years, I've tried to expose myself to as many different types of cigars as I can. To me, you can only appreciate how good something is only when you've had the bad.

I must say though, I'm getting to the stage where I want to smoke mostly CC's and the odd mild NC. But I'm glad I came to that conclusion by thoroughly trying out the alternatives.

[jedipastor]

Wow ... I'm the 1 vote for 90%, lol. I'm still a CC newbie and my first experiences were mostly crap. Even now, between the difficulty of acquisition at a decent price and my lack of faith in HSA, I'll smoke maybe one a week, sometimes more. I would like to smoke CCs more often, though. That said, there are so many awesome NCs that I can get at a decent price, that I'm not unhappy.

Also, I often like a very strong or spicy cigar, and there just are so few CCs that fit that bill (like 3, lol).

[LuciusSulla]

I still smoke a lot of NCs. Yes there are a lot of brands to sort through to find the gems, but a good start is just cutting out everything General or Altadis produces. Yes, there are some good smokes in there, but there is far, far more junk.

I like a lot of stuff that La Flor Dominicana produces, Oliva Vs (I have a box of V maduros from back when I was a humidor manager I have aged for awhile that are great IMO), and a lot of the Pepin stuff. I also love Joya de Nicaragua, particularly the Celebrcion and Dark Corojo Antano lines. I'm in the Illusione camp, and really dig some of the stuff Drew Estate is doing with their Liga Privada line. I guess I have a pretty obvious Nicaragua bias in my NC selection.

I like the way the taste of tobacco differs by country. I have a lot of fun seeing what every country can do when they really try. Cubans have a unique flavor that I wouldn't expect any other cigar to emulate. However, I feel you can say the same for high quality Nicaraguan smokes as well as a smattering of smokes from other regions. I think the best NC companies are those like Illusione that never set out to emulate a Cuban cigar but to produce something that best represents the way the tobacco in Nicaragua tastes. I think some of the worst are companies that continually compare themselves back against Cuba because it is something their tobaccos can never be. Perhaps a good comparison is whiskey. Kentucky can't produce a a single malt whiskey as well as Scotland can. However, they can produce fantastic Bourbon. It's whiskey, but it is definitely its own style. And I am quite happy to keep good Bourbon next to good Scotch in my bar as I love both.

My two cents.

[dB69]

No NC's for me, please.

They are not cigars, just some tobacco products.

[LeafLover]

1%'er here

[Omskakas]

1/10 might be NC's. I can't remember the last time I smoked an NC, have to be months.

I still have maybe 50+ NC's. I've got to get rid of them. Who wants to trade with me? Will accept Cubans.

[Dourowino]

maybe less than 1% NC in my humidor right now(a 3 pack of davidoffs)

[Peter11216]

Wow ... I'm the 1 vote for 90%, lol. I'm still a CC newbie and my first experiences were mostly crap. Even now, between the difficulty of acquisition at a decent price and my lack of faith in HSA, I'll smoke maybe one a week, sometimes more. I would like to smoke CCs more often, though. That said, there are so many awesome NCs that I can get at a decent price, that I'm not unhappy.

Also, I often like a very strong or spicy cigar, and there just are so few CCs that fit that bill (like 3, lol).

Now you're not alone. But the only reason I answer as such is because (1) I'm new to cigars, and (2) my location in the world. Presumably, it's the combination of those two things that conspire to put me in the 90%+ field. It is not because "I love NC's".

(Today I happen to have had one of each, though.)

[Ken Gargett]

i have no idea what most of those captions meant but i just never see them (nc's, so zero). and have no great desire. wouldn't say no if opportunity offered though. always keen to compare things and learn.

[Xikar]

For NC only tried DD. Light, smells good, burns well. But not the strong type I am after.

[Firewiz25]

I smoke 75% CC, usually I smoke more CC in the summer when I have more time to enjoy a cigar and don't want to rush it.

[Habanakane21]

I only smoke NC's when I hang with my boys at our local cigar shop or when I get them as gifts. Nowadays I don't recognize 1/2 of the cigar brands out there.

When do smoke NC's I usually smoke Tat's, Padrons, Fuente, My Father, Illusione

[gr8tdanz]

I'm in the 50-90 catagory simply as a result of availablity. Not like I can just run down to the B&M and grab some Cubans.

Although, there a lot of NC's I really like, but to be fair I've only had a few cubans to compare.

[headstand]

Winter's sub zero C temperatures reek havoc with CC flavors. I think the cold calls for milder NC's and maybe a Camacho Corojo at Christmas time... 50/50

[bc8436]

70% NC, though eventually it's going to drop to about 20-30%.

NCs are easier to find in the US and offers more options for the budget-minded cigar smokers like myself. I smoke a cigar everyday when I walk my dog and I like to keep some sub-$3 sticks in the humidor so I don't feel bad about exposing them to the elements (strong winds, snow, rain, etc).

[bacalao]

I am American so most of my 20yrs of smoking experience has been NC. Always keep Tatuaje noellas, Padron 2000, and have gone thru about 4 boxes of Carillos club 52 since they came out. But none of these smokes compare to the complexity I've experienced in a quality Cuban. Nothing upsets me more than a cigar that finished just like it started, I want those twist and turns. Unfortunately thats exactly what most NC do.

[LuciusSulla]

I started buying more Cubans in the past 4 months after realizing that they weren't really any more pricey than the NCs I smoked thanks to continual tax hikes at both the state and national level here in the U.S.. It just requires patience as they travel from far away lands. Since the post above, my ratio has taken a beating, but I have also determined which NCs I like a lot. Right now every night is a head to head competition, and the CCs are going faster than my NCs for sure.

I still really dig La Flor Dominicana stuff, particularly the double ligero chisel, the double press, and the Habano perfecto. I have some Oliva V Maduros I stashed away from the first release, and those things have gotten fantastic over the past two years. I still enjoy the regular Antano and Celebrcion lines from Joya de Nicaragua as well as some of the Illusione sticks. Two I used to like that just don't interest me now are the Pepin Blue line and the Dark Antanos from JdN. I notice a lot more bitterness in them than I used to.

I agree with some who've said that perhaps some of the problem is too many manufacturers from these various countries chase Cuba instead of trying to embrace the soil and flavor of tobacco in which they are based in their own right. Illusione is an exception that comes to mind as that company set out to make pre-Sandanista style, Nicaraguan cigars. They have been quite successful, and I think their better cigars are great. As good as a good Cuban? I think that is debatable, but they are certainly better than most NCs in my opinion.

I also think since so much of the market caters to the American taste, and a lot of the U.S. market seems to want bigger and stronger, that you end up with pepper bombs with little other character in giant ring gauges. Where I used to work, we always got, "Any new stuff in a sixty ring gauge?" and lanceros and petit coronas were "girly." I think this plays a pretty big roll in why there are so many giant, boring NCs.

I think I am probably going to end up somewhere around 50/50 for now swinging to a majority of CCs in the not too distant future.

[maverickdrinker]

I am in the 5% category as well. There are some great NCs out there. I mostly stick to Tatuaje, Padron, and Drew Estate.

I like them for a change of pace.