Answer this one for me.....how long does it take to get a handle on the world of cuban cigars.

[PigFish]

I see this question as an enigma. You might as well ask, when will I be happy?

My friend Nik says he knows a guy that buys 1 box of Monte 4's a month. That is all he smokes. That is all he wants to smoke. Does that man have a handle on the Cuban cigar? I would say yes...!

Then there is the data collector, the tester, the experimenter, does he have a handle on the Cuban cigar??? I don't know, ask him.

In the broadest sense, as long as there is a new year, crop, blend and vitola, you never will. Yet as long as you are happy smoking what you are smoking, you have got it nailed.

People often ask me similar questions about storage techniques, and about the time they expect a sales pitch, I ask, are you happy? Cigar smoking is about contentment. And for me as an individual about gaining knowledge and getting better at something. I am both content with my smoking and discontent with 'splinter interest,' humidor making all at the same time. Of course it is not just about the Cuban cigar then. The question is about people, and are we all the same? What makes them content and what makes them happy?

For some it might be owning the last box of XYZ cigars made. For another it might be knowing where and when it was made, and how many. It might be about chasing codes, or identifying cigars, or tasting as many samples of as many cigars as they can... Will they ever taste them all?

I would say to your friend, the Cuban cigar is an unopened, well read book, a short story and a tome... It is whatever you make of it and want it to me.

If you can go to your humidor and be satisfied with the cigar that emerges, smoke it and enjoy it thoroughly, have a reason to have another one on another occasion, you have a handle on it. It won't make a you a sage, or guru, but if it makes you happy, that is all that matters.

-the Pig

[MahDooRow]

7 hours ago, Smallclub said:

All this is also true for non cubans, if one wants to see these things as "issues", which they're not IMHO.

I agree.  CCs are no more complicated than NCs.  The only difference is sourcing the cigars.  Since you've found FOH your sourcing problem is solved.

 

6 hours ago, Fugu said:

Start delving in. Just - smoke - cigars!  Trial and error, make experiences, good and bad, even make mistakes, but make them and learn. 

Just do it!    Buy a sampler and start smoking.  You'll quickly find some vitolas you like, some you like a lot, and some you like less.  Use that experiential feedback to inform future purchases and to guide further exploration. 

 

3 hours ago, Philc2001 said:

KEEP IT SIMPLE MAN!

It's as simple or complicated as you make it. I once worried about much of these things, and then I came to realize I just like to smoke cigars, so I stopped fussing over them and started enjoying cigars much more. 

BOOM!    Keep it simple, keep it fun.  You'll be surprised how quickly you start to see the forest from the trees.

 

 

[GavLew79]

6 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

 A handful have great advice, others are just parrots...  

This. Beware the people who have been here 6 months, racked up 750 posts and spout "knowledge" they picked up last week. Try not to become one. Back it up with your own experience. 

Sit back and learn. Read the "The World of the Habanos", other books, websites etc. Smoke cigars. Take advice with a pinch of salt. Work it out for yourself by reading and smoking and consolidating those two to form your own opinions. 

 

[dominattorney]

I'd say take a look at the blind tasting results from last year, and some of the guesses that come up in the threads that start in the months to come from this year's competition.  You'll see that many people are way off the mark, even those who have been in the hobby for many years.  I will be thrilled if I can guess 1/5 correctly.

Does any of it matter?  No.  i have this friend who wants to be a master sommelier.  He all but ruined wine drinking for me with all of his nit picking pretentiousness.  I've always been a fan of Spanish reds (you can get a gran reserva for under 20 bucks, an unheard of price for aged French, Italian, or even California wines).  Of course, to the mind of the master somme, I'm a backwards thinking moron, unfit to quaff the likes of even Carlo Rossi. 

Just buy some stuff, smoke it, and see what tastes good. 

[Philc2001]

1 hour ago, SaintMickey® said:

I like it..in your opinion how long will it take to master 1 through 12 sans 8?

Mastery is not applicable to something so subjective, so to answer your question simply; Never! You can be obsessed with these niggling details, or you can just smoke cigars and enjoy it. 

No different for Cubans versus Non Cubans. Sourcing is the only difference. 

 

[canadianbeaver]

I say indefinite. New info everyday at different depth and relevance.

If you are happy week one, ok. Year twenty, more power to ya.

[Smallclub]

1 hour ago, sarkozy said:

It takes approximately 10000 hours to master any subject

You know nothing Jon Snow…

[SaintMickey®]

1 hour ago, Philc2001 said:

Mastery is not applicable to something so subjective, so to answer your question simply; Never! You can be obsessed with these niggling details, or you can just smoke cigars and enjoy it. 

No different for Cubans versus Non Cubans. Sourcing is the only difference. 

 
 

Master, feel comfortable whatever. I wasn't the OP. The Prez was looking' for opinions from the board.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Luca]

Honestly just go with it and don't stress. Enjoy the ride and the discoveries you'll make along the way.

This is something that we all do for pure enjoyment. Whenever we light up a cigar - we are smoking an instrument of pleasure...and that is all that matters.

[Munts]

I think 'handle' is a relative term. It all comes down to what you want from it. it comes down to how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. I will give the example of wine. you may start at just knowing red wine and white white, you might then want to go to know the difference between a Cab sav and a Merlot, you may then want to go to knowing the difference between regions, you may then want to go to knowing the difference between years. That is a very broad generalisation but i guess my point is your handle on the topic is dependant on what you want from it. Bringing it back to cigars. Having a 'handle' on the general flavour profiles of cigars is very different to being able to pick 3 from 3 in the blind tasting for example. It comes down to what you are after, what you enjoy. The more detail and knowledge you are after of course means a longer timeframe to learn.

[Baldy]

Anyone found the Instant Gratification for Cuban Cigars app?  Supposedly it ages your cigars for 10 years with just a swipe.  There's a plug-in from phone to cerebral cortex that flashes the entire history of the world in 0.314 seconds.

[bman75]

With FOH as an info source and vendor: 2 years and $3,000 in cigars smoked from samplers and boxes you identify from those samplers.

Not digging deep into FAO posts and buying blind from another vendor: quadruple the above.

[bigbanana14]

To me, getting a handle on cubans would entail possessing a basic level of knowledge on the cigars. To draw an analogy to golf, it would be similar to having the ability to head out to the course and shoot a round of 120. Back to cigars, it would probably be at the stage where I've tried the more popular/common options and ascertained what are my preferences. It probably took me around 6 months (averaging 2 sticks a day).

[Hedgehog]

I am 6 months in.  Bought my first box 6 months ago.  Now have 28 boxes in storage.  I have only smoked a fraction of that.  I know what's out there now, but still am just learning what I like and don't like.  Can't say I have a good handle but I feel much more comfortable than with NCs. 

[Baldy]

10 minutes ago, Hedgehog said:

I am 6 months in.  Bought my first box 6 months ago.  Now have 28 boxes in storage.  I have only smoked a fraction of that.  I know what's out there now, but still am just learning what I like and don't like.  Can't say I have a good handle but I feel much more comfortable than with NCs. 

Good stuff. 

Cigars, NC or CC don't matter, is a journey.  Along the way your palette and personal taste will change as the cigars themselves changes.  I know it did for me and many other smokers I know.  Given those variables, how anybody can say what you will and will not like 1, 2, 3, 10,.... years from now is beyond me.  As I said, it's a journey, you can stress out about small insignificant details or what someone thinks or enjoy finding out for yourself what you like and what makes cigars special for you.  Along the way put a little effort in finding those who also enjoy this hobby.  You never know, they might become friends, good friends in time.  As with all things worth having, it takes time and considerable investment.

I hope after 10 years of this journey that you sit back, pick a random cigar from your collection, pick a nice drink, light up and smile as you smoke in the company of friends.  That's been my journey and I hope the same for you.

[puromaniac]

It's always about the journey. The comfortable handle should always be just tantilizingly out of reach or the journey is sadly over. The answer is thus clearly, fornever.

[Ethernut]

Not how long for me.. more "how much" which happens to be about 5-15 grand... before ya stop believing all the BS and chasing unicorn farts and realize the best sticks in the world are neatly hidden in regular production stock...

[Luca]

4 hours ago, Hedgehog said:

I am 6 months in.  Bought my first box 6 months ago.  Now have 28 boxes in storage.  I have only smoked a fraction of that.  I know what's out there now, but still am just learning what I like and don't like.  Can't say I have a good handle but I feel much more comfortable than with NCs. 

Interesting Hedgehog (and good to hear). Why? Just curious. I hear a lot of people saying the opposite with regards to CC and NCs.

[Bohn007]

20 hours ago, subport said:

The devil lives in the details. Why would anyone want to shortcut a life time journey in the cuban cigar world? That journey is the point. That IS the beauty of it. Trying out cigars and find the best suits us. This has to take a lifetime journey and passion. We are changing as human beings. Our taste is changing with us. The cigars are changing too. Find a handful to smoke regularly and take the ride and enjoy finding more...

no matter how long it takes...

I couldn't have said it better...... it's a journey, enjoy the ride. 

[NSXCIGAR]

This one is easy. 27 brands, 27 cigars.

Took me about one cigar from each marca to figure out the marcas I gravitated towards and which ones I didn't. Pare it down to the marcas you like, and avoid what you don't. I got it down to four real quick--Partagas, Bolivar, Punch and RyJ. The hard part was done. Then, after about 2 years of sampling more of the marcas I didn't immediately gravitate towards, I began to get more knowledge of all Cuban cigar marcas and to appreciate them, but it actually made me even more comfortable with the marcas I did like and reminded me why I preferred those.

If you can even begin to get a handle on NCs, CCs are a piece of cake.

[JC67]

18 years and still learning

[Fugu]

.... and it is NOT a matter of funds.

[Hedgehog]

17 hours ago, Luca said:

Interesting Hedgehog (and good to hear). Why? Just curious. I hear a lot of people saying the opposite with regards to CC and NCs.

Simply the hundreds if not thousands of brands which seem more aimed at consumer obfuscation and maintaining B&M shelf space market share than anything else.  Aggressive marketing and lack of transparency.  Was all very confusing and a turn off when it came to NCs, at least for me.  

[Luca]

That's exactly right. I am often confused or don't know where to start when looking at NC brands (Besides Davidoff). Plus hearing that some major US vendors purchase cigar bands and slap them on any type of cigar is also pretty concerning.

I like the Cuban marca because there is at least some structure to it and you know when a box of cigars was rolled and the factory it was made in etc.

[boopdeep]

1 hour ago, Luca said:

I like the Cuban marca because there is at least some structure to it and you know when a box of cigars was rolled and the factory it was made in etc.

Good point. I haven't purchased an NC since around 2012, but if I recall, there was 1 NC brand that came out with a line where the boxes were dated. 

Why do NCs not do this? Anyone know?