Cubans & Non Cubans

[RijkdeGooier]

Almost entirely CC with some AF varieties as well.

[rodrigodeanda]

I enjoy the ocasional non cuban but there are so many different cigars out there I get a little confused when it comes to buy new non cubans, specially because there's a lot of cigars that are pretty difficult to find information of, and in my experience it's almost like Forrest Gump would say you never know what you're gonna get (I repeat, in my experience)

[Habana Mike]

I enjoy the ocasional non cuban but there are so many different cigars out there I get a little confused when it comes to buy new non cubans, specially because there's a lot of cigars that are pretty difficult to find information of, and in my experience it's almost like Forrest Gump would say you never know what you're gonna get (I repeat, in my experience)

Well said. There are so many new, boutique and special release NC cigars on the market it is impossible to keep up.

HSA isn't making it much easier lately either.....at least they're not introducing new Marques every other week though.

[Mckucci]

I really smoke it all.... There are tons of great non Cuban cigars on the market.... My humidor consists of 40% Cuban cigars and 60% non Cuban cigars... However, lately I've been trying to grow my Cuban collection, as I've been finding more of the smaller, less recognized Cuban brands that I've really been enjoying... With that being said, I think I can say that I'll still always switch it up between both!

[torsion]

Interesting thread - having started off smoking Cubans when I lived in London, then moving to NY for the past 1.5 years I've been able to sample probably more non-Cubans than Cubans due to availability. There certainly are a huge range of non CC available to us here in USA and my favourites have been Davidoff Nicaragua, Ashton VSG and of course the Padrons (1926 and 1964) which have all been excellent

However I still think Cubans have the edge, certain in terms of the flavour profiles that I prefer.

I just came back from a trip to Spain and London and smoked several CC's - Partagas SDN4, Cohiba Siglo VI, Monte 2, RASS, Trini Reyes/Coloniales and Por Larranaga Secretos, they were all fantastic!

I have bought boxes of Trini and Por Larranaga Secretos (Spain) as well as few odd sticks of Partagas SPN2 and Monte 2's which now tip my humidor balance to 90% CC/10% non-CC.

I will continue to build my stash probably maintaining that ratio.

[cigarbreak]

Started with NC's and once i went to Cuba and also found out about online options as opposed to Canadian bnm's i havent bought an NC since. Granted last time i was in the US i picked up a an Opus X DC (i think) and a Padron 1926 Maduro and smoked the latter but didnt really enjoy it. The former is still sitting in my Humi and based on the OpusX thread i'll be waiting a while b4 lighting that up. Now i strictly enjoy CC's with very little (and diminishing) interest in NC's.

[cdnstogie]

Currently myself I am 90% NC but I can see myself as my collection grows over the course of the next year or two I will be swaying more to the 50/50.

Some great sticks to be had in the NC - for me at least, though my CC testing is not nearly up to snuff yet.

[rickmccarey]

One of the few NC that keep me coming back are ten AF Anejo line. Such a solid line.

[Maplepie]

One of the few NC that keep me coming back are ten AF Anejo line. Such a solid line.

AF in general.

I've never had a bad one to date.

Sent by the Enigma on BlackBerry.

[dowjr1]

Used to smoke pretty much all NC, until i discovered how easy it is to buy them online. To me, i can't see any reason to spend $8-10 on a NC romeo/monte etc when I can have the really version around the same price.

This. Working through my NCs and building up CC stash. As I smoke the NCs the CCs age and season.

[mikek]

Back 30+ years ago I only smoked Cubans then in the late 90's I could'nt catch A break they were pluged harsh,underfilled and the price was go'n up on about 90% of them. I started smokeing Padrons! Just started smokeing Cubans again in the last eight years! Sometimes I like A very full body cigar like A Room 101 Durama Churchill,or A 1926 Padron #9,or for A short smoke A CAO Pirana,I gravitate to full bodied,and sometimes want that nicotene kick!

I guess if everbody liked the same horse in the race,you'd never get A bet down!

[Guest gerlinan]

I'm about 90% CCs and 10% NCs. For my palate I've found I enjoy CCs much more. The only NCs I smoke are Padrons, Tataujes and some of the Nat Sherman cigars.

Gentleman, you may smoke

[BehikeLover2]

Whats a good onlineshop in the us for drew estate cigars?

Rob doenst sell them, right?

[canucks6024]

Almost all the vendors carry them. Prices will vary though. Usually he placed with higher prices will still have them in stock .

[BehikeLover2]

Yeah, but there are good and bad vendors, just need a tip

[ramon_cojones]

100% CCs all day every day

[FredClever]

I've tried a good few non-cubans, especially from the Cigar Aficionado's top list, but found them all lacking some taste I seem to be longing for. Don't know what exactly it is, maybe my palate is simply trained to like CCs. I don't mind! :-)

[Onelove]

Only ever tasted cubans. Only own one non cuban, Padron Churchill, I'll smoke it one day.

[Webbo]

I wonder what the correlation is between geographic location ( and thus CC availability) and the vote? Specifically if you took our USA based members votes out of the poll how would the results look?

[Habsfan67]

I wonder what the correlation is between geographic location ( and thus CC availability) and the vote? Specifically if you took our USA based members votes out of the poll how would the results look?

My "exploration" of NCs is more recent and a result of rising prices. Roll back the clock 18 months or even a year and I might still be 100% CCs...

[CdnLimitada]

This is exactly me although it was more like just over a year. I didn't know about this place and I found that the NC forum was a good place to start. It was difficult for me to get information about Cubans as the Americans were hush, hush and the few international people that I could contact also didn't seem forthcoming. I didn't know legit from non-legit in the Cuban realm so didn't want to risk it. I just dove into the NC and learned the lingo, technique, "etiquette" and general cigar knowledge and assumed that the Cuban side would open in time. I went through a ton of over priced garbage but I considered it paying-my-dues ("Cough", Liga Privada, "cough"). I still enjoy the Oliva V maduro, Padron 1926 or a good Opus X. I haven't bought any new NC sticks unless I am in the US and run out of Cubans that I brought with me.

I spent two years trying anything and everything non-Cuban that I could get my hands on and I found a few gems. Ultimately that lead to Cubans though, and I haven't bought any non's since. There are some I will always have around, but I haven't quite scratched the surface of what Cuba has to offer, so that is where I will concentrate my purchases for some time.

[tjohn7]

After finally smoking a true, high-quality CC I've realized there is no comparison. Sure, many NCs are good, but in my experience I never came across a smoke that was complex and really grabbed my attention. The Epi 2s from the Pres were exactly what I was looking for, and made every second a thrill ride that I wished would never end.

Tom

[laficion]

Hi everyone,

Today I had to laugh at a YOUTUBE show on COHIBA- RED DOT . The guy said that this was his frist time he

smoked one, he said he had already smoked a Cuban Cohiba. I watched him make a fool of himself saying that he found some nuts in the tastes,( I found that the cigar had no taste) and compared to a cuban , It was the same,(Oh really ?????)

This guy,(Even If he has been smoking cigar for 25 years),knows nothing about cigars or he has been smoking fake cubans every time.

Guy

[mash]

I have always had a mixture of both in my collection. Padron Churchills were my first box purchase and I still like them. For the last several years, the ratio of CC's:NC's has been about 4:1.

I'm increasingly finding that my taste for NC's is fading. I had a couple over the last month that I really used to like (Illusione ECCJ and Padron 1926 #9), and I was bored. I'm not sure how much of that is just a natural evolution, and how much of it is due to the fact that these are several years old. I find some NC's dull with age.

I did have the AB Prensado Churchill a while back, and I thought that was a very nice smoke.

I'll probably never stop smoking them entirely for a change of pace (I've still got several hundred to burn through), but I doubt I'll be buying many more.

[tjhernandez34]

I usually only smoke Cubans, but I do often enjoy the occasional NC as well. That being said, when I do smoke NC's I tend to stick to only a couple brands. Anything by Pete Johnson is good, and then Illusione. I am pretty sure they are all cigars made by Pepin Garcia. I have found myself being drawn back to NC's more than in years past, as Habanos has been cutting back on the thin ring gauge offerings and starting to produce jawbreakers... In the NC market, you can usually find long and skinnies in each of the boutique brands' offerings.