The Noob Thread I Never Read.. On Cuban Cigars..

[hunterbeav]

Good to the nub

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[Ethernut]

9 hours ago, bundwallah said:

And I'll add. Nothing wrong with PE grade either.  I find they smoke just as well or better.  

I prefer PE frankly.. I’ve gotten over wrapper presentation long ago. Just like some of my craziest girlfriends were the pretty ones..

over time I’ve gotten into the, “I couldn’t care less what a cigar looks like” crowd. As long as it smokes great, I’m good if it’s light, dark, oily, dry, veiny, smooth, mangled, perfect... whatever I’m good. Best also if the company I’m with is top notch.. 

[Ethernut]

Update 5/20/19 - Micro edits to several sections to flesh out a thought or remove some verbosity.. (but still left a crap-ton of verbosity)

 

...and a shameless bump for a new crop of fellow noobs!

[Paul Asman]

Great article,  a lot of what you stated I experienced throughout my cigar smoking life. Now I question if some of the cigars I disliked where simply because I was smoking them wrong. Anywho, can't wait to get more educated and rediscover what cigars can offer.

[Ethernut]

8 hours ago, Paul Asman said:

Great article,  a lot of what you stated I experienced throughout my cigar smoking life. Now I question if some of the cigars I disliked where simply because I was smoking them wrong. Anywho, can't wait to get more educated and rediscover what cigars can offer.

I guarantee it. Smoking rhythm/technique and correct RH are probably the single largest things in our control and the things often overlooked for some wives-tale emotion one way or the other. I'm so glad this little thread still lives and brings something of value. Reach out anytime...

[Rabbi]

I don’t know if this “bumps” the thread/topic, but I hope so. Much to digest and heading in to a new year is always a good time to learn something new or relearn something forgotten. 

I would appreciate some feedback on what my mindset is as I start my CC adventure. My Rule 1is that buying CCs is not the time for bargain shopping, but there are bargains to be had.

Happy New Year and thanks for the welcome and the knowledge.

[RDB]

1 hour ago, Rabbi said:

I would appreciate some feedback on what my mindset is as I start my CC adventure.

Your mindset (if you are remotely normal) is: I must try everything and buy everything!

My one bit of advice is: try to relax and focus on the experience and the enjoyment every time you smoke. There’s so much to enjoy, plenty of time, and always more cigars out there. 

[Rabbi]

Thank you for the words of wisdom. I hope my maniacal buying days are behind me. Goodness knows I probably have enough NCs to last the rest of my life. . . twice. ?

[bbguardsp]

4 hours ago, Rabbi said:

I don’t know if this “bumps” the thread/topic, but I hope so. Much to digest and heading in to a new year is always a good time to learn something new or relearn something forgotten. 

I would appreciate some feedback on what my mindset is as I start my CC adventure. My Rule 1is that buying CCs is not the time for bargain shopping, but there are bargains to be had.

Happy New Year and thanks for the welcome and the knowledge.

Buy singles first.  I suggest at least 2 of each cigar in case one is "off" due to Cuban quality control (wish it was better, sorry, but my experience has around 5 cigars in every box will have some construction or blend issue.)  Thankfully all the good ones make up for it.  Get an idea of the flavor profiles among the brands before committing to a box.

[StressedDad25]

This one was still buried pretty deep, but very good read for me. Appreciate the detail!

[bassistheplace]

just caught this. one more reason to love this site!

[asudevil08]

Great read.  Even for those who have been collecting/buying for a long time, its still nice to get a refresher and remind ourselves that we should be prudent and not get caught up buying boxes purely for hype reasons.  ?

[AugustWestNH]

Great read... still fun to get caught up!


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[Ethernut]

@StressedDad25, @bassistheplace, @asudevil08 and @AugustWestNH, Much appreciate the kind words. Glad this is still of some help. I enjoyed writing and re-writing it. It probably needs another nip or tuck. Thanks again. 

[Lamboinee]

It only took me like 3 months to read this!?! So many questions answered. Thanks! 

[Ethernut]

On 9/23/2022 at 3:57 PM, Lamboinee said:

It only took me like 3 months to read this!?! So many questions answered. Thanks! 

Thank you and very happy to have helped. 

 

I re-read it and wondered if I'd add anything. I kinda think I was trying too hard to sound clever and perhaps I should dial the personality down to a 2 from an 11. ...and perhaps I'm getting old.

Since I wrote the original post, I've been to Cuba about a dozen times, have seen more than many as it related to the underbelly of the CC world. What has that time taught me? Well, that this post is dead on. A few details may be worth elaborating on a little more. I tend to not age anything any more. If it gets age its because I have so many other cigars or I forget about them accidentally due to some other thing I'm doing at the time. I'm pretty much in the camp that if it doesn't smoke reasonably well in the first 30 days then it is what it is. If it's ammonia then it needs time down to hopefully finish the ferment process. Of course... I've had Behike's that I haven't been impressed with, and lately, crazily, I've had a few short filler Quintero's I thought were legit better then they should have been. (I probably shouldn't have shared about the Quinteros...) LOL

Best wishes to all!

 

On 9/11/2016 at 1:10 PM, vladdraq said:

@Ethernutwhat about Cohibas famous third fermentation? Is this a myth? Aged cigars tend to have a very similar profile imho. Is ageing in fact a very slow third fermentation?

Ok so... I toured El Laguito before Covid and spent some time in the blending room and even stepped in the Medio Tiempo Room (which was more of an oversized closet). At the time they were talking about a 4th fermentation. I literally LOLed. Smoke, magic and fairy dust. They didn't have enough Medio Tiempo to complete the run of cigars they were doing. They were adding Ligero to fake the funk (and to great effect). Cohibas fermentations are, possibly, often, a bit of showmanship. 

[vladdraq]

i might dreaming, but i feel there is something in common in some higher end limited editions, i would call it a "richness". I was thinking maybe they have some Medio Tiempo. I feel a certain similarity, just a touch if it, in very different vitolas. Soberanos, Dianas from the new R&J Oro line, or the Partagas Maduros.  I never smoked a Behike though, just a very uneducated guess.

[Lamboinee]

2 hours ago, Ethernut said:

Thank you and very happy to have helped. 

 

I re-read it and wondered if I'd add anything. I kinda think I was trying too hard to sound clever and perhaps I should dial the personality down to a 2 from an 11. ...and perhaps I'm getting old.

Since I wrote the original post, I've been to Cuba about a dozen times, have seen more than many as it related to the underbelly of the CC world. What has that time taught me? Well, that this post is dead on. A few details may be worth elaborating on a little more. I tend to not age anything any more. If it gets age its because I have so many other cigars or I forget about them accidentally due to some other thing I'm doing at the time. I'm pretty much in the camp that if it doesn't smoke reasonably well in the first 30 days then it is what it is. If it's ammonia then it needs time down to hopefully finish the ferment process. Of course... I've had Behike's that I haven't been impressed with, and lately, crazily, I've had a few short filler Quintero's I thought were legit better then they should have been. (I probably shouldn't have shared about the Quinteros...) LOL

Best wishes to all!

1) I also think about whether or not to "dial back the personality" in my posts. But that's not my personality. It's hard to judge oneself. IMO, I see no reason to dial yours back. It added rather than detracted. Let it roll. And ... Don't worry .... Much like my own posts, I doubt that anyone can even tell that we are trying sound clever. I've started using grammarly, so I should sound even more cleverer in the future. 

2) although less substantive than your original post, your recent update was very insightful. I have recently started to set a lot of cigars back to "age". I'm a cliche noob I suppose.  I wonder if I have the dedication to refrain from smoking them. Either way, I probably win. But, more so, I wonder if I'm wasting my time when I should just focus on enjoying them.

3) I probably would not have considered trying a quinteros until now. And, now that I think about it, the only reason for that was my own snobbery. Your recommendation has inspired to try something new and I think that's a positive. 

4) what else would you share about the quinteros? 

[Ethernut]

@Lamboinee

Thanks for the reply. 

1. It still reads fun. Anyone here that knows me knows, that's pretty much how I talk in the real. 

2. Some of my older posts said I think a cigar should dance in 3 years. Well.. It should dance somewhat immediately if everything is correct with it. I'm worrying less with the process of storing. My humidifier is dead-nuts on 62-63%. Sometimes it dips to 59 (in winter when I'm not smoking and not paying attention) and I DGAF, they smoke fine. Sometimes it gets to 65%, they smoke fine. The Cigars aren't delicate flowers, they can take it. 

3. Hey, give them a try, you may be surprised. Beware, ash early, ash often with them. I like the Quintero Brevas - but to each his own. They are cheap short-filler. I'm not ashamed at all and great to give to a cigar-curious fella that prob won't finish it. You're out less than 5 bones and he feels like he was treated like a king. 

4. I have a photo somewhere at El Leguito where there were huge bags (like forklift size) of loose leaf that wasn't used in the Cohiba's. That all went to the loose/short filler factories. You could literally be smoking a short filler Cohiba. True story - Try the short filler CC's they're worth a shot. Not super complex but enjoyable, sometimes that's a good thing.

 

@vladdraq

19 hours ago, vladdraq said:

i might dreaming, but i feel there is something in common in some higher end limited editions, i would call it a "richness". I was thinking maybe they have some Medio Tiempo. I feel a certain similarity, just a touch if it, in very different vitolas. Soberanos, Dianas from the new R&J Oro line, or the Partagas Maduros.  I never smoked a Behike though, just a very uneducated guess.

Well there _better_ be for what they're charging! Seriously though, the LE's and high end get first pick of the tobacco. It really has nothing to do with Medio Tiempo (that and Medio Tiempo is ONLY supposed to end up in Cohiba). That leaf makes up less than 10% of the cigar, it's the quality of the combustion leaves that one is tasting the most (Seco/Velado), and there is a difference. Medio Tiempo is a small concentrated Ligero leaf. A roller could simply add a little more Ligero and you'd never know there was no Medio in it. Not saying that ever happens 😜

[Timbballin]

I’m just starting on my CC journey. Thank you for writing this, I had to dig a minute to find it but it debunked a lot of what I was thinking. Especially the aging of cigars. The misconception that an older cigar equates to a better cigar. If it’s this good with a year I wonder what another 5 would do. With the current prices it’s daunting to figure out how I can begin that process. I’m still in the process of finding what I like so money is going to be wasted. 

[Fireball]

This is really great. I think when I started with cigars, I only wanted the best. However, I never knew what that meant, nor did I really know how to enjoy a cigar.

This is a great post.

[RKPStogie]

This was an amazing post. So much information I wish I knew 10+ yrs ago. Thank you!

[Ethernut]

On 8/7/2023 at 10:11 AM, Timbballin said:

I’m just starting on my CC journey. Thank you for writing this, I had to dig a minute to find it but it debunked a lot of what I was thinking. Especially the aging of cigars. The misconception that an older cigar equates to a better cigar. If it’s this good with a year I wonder what another 5 would do. With the current prices it’s daunting to figure out how I can begin that process. I’m still in the process of finding what I like so money is going to be wasted. 

Thats what this post was all about. Damn, back in 2017 had some farm rolls still dripping wet that were uh-mazing. It really depends on the tobacco quality. Glad it was of some help!

On 8/7/2023 at 11:10 AM, Fireball said:

This is really great. I think when I started with cigars, I only wanted the best. However, I never knew what that meant, nor did I really know how to enjoy a cigar.

This is a great post.

LOL - I've had some Quintero y Hermanos that I think are really good. Maybe not the depth, but still an enjoyable smoke. Glad the post was helpful. Reach out anytime.