Non-Cubans

[torsion]

Variety is the spice of life as they say!
I was somewhat only mainly into Cuban cigars for a number of years but since last year I started trying more New World smokes when my friend Mike who's a cigar sommelier in the UK came over the NYC and we sampled some together (as well as plenty of CC)
Since then I've been reading more and buying mainly singles of so called HTF sticks which some of seem to be sort after domestically like the Opus X for example (I've yet to smoke one yet)
I like what I've smoked from Warped like a lot of the others here and my ex-boss/friend/BOTL@sunsmoke and I used to smoke a fair few Davidoff and Padron.I have also enjoyed some Nat Sherman.
Tonight I'm smoking the Don Carlos Personal Reserve Robusto for the second time - I really like this cigar!
Anyway whilst my cooler is 98% Cuban my New World is very slowly building for those change of pace smokes.



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[NorCalAaron]

3 hours ago, rxavier1979 said:

I smoked a Warped MDT lonsdale today after being disappointed by a Boli CG today.  Maybe I'm crazy but I could swear that in the second third  The flavors were very reminiscent of a RA Club Allones.  It was only the second third but wow, that was awesome. 

 I definitely need to add to my stock of RA CA  before they disappear forever.

Smoke this one yesterday and OMG...

 

what year is the RACA from??

[Egluck1031]

I am a huge fan of Tatuaje (especially the lanceros) as well as Fuente (the anejo and short stories are classics). I am backward compared to many of you...started with non Cubans and now working them into my choices

[rxavier1979]

2 hours ago, NorCalAaron said:

what year is the RACA from??

TOS DIC 15.

[Bohn007]

I just dumped 90% of my NC stock this last week to make room in the humidor for more Cuban cigars. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but for me, everything I need comes from a little Island just south of Florida. 

[n0s4atu]

Still being fairly new to the hobby I've found that there are NC I really enjoy (Tat, AF and Padron), but CC for whatever reason seem to require less hunting for really enjoyable sticks (ie a bargain basement Quintero Favorito is likely going to be better than many NC at double or triple the price).  Excellent NC are out there, it's just harder to find them than excellent CC.

[gusto616]

... I've found that there are NC I really enjoy (Tat, AF and Padron)

Those happen to be my favorite NCs as well


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[Jimmy_jack]

what year is the RACA from??

Warped is an excellent NC brand. Kyle is the owner and he works with the farm in Nicaragua to get the profile he wants. He's hands on and flies down there every 3 months or so for blend validations. Seems like a cool guy, he'll talk to you in social media. His cigars are one of the three NC I'll smoke. Tatuaje, Illusione and Warped. I don't bother with any others because I'm always disappointed.


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[havanaclub]

First time with this one. Don't know what to think about it. Construction is perfect.


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[Cigar Surgeon]

Not sure how I haven't participate in this post until now. Because my part-time / full-time hobby includes writing reviews, 80% of the cigars I smoke on a regular basis are NCs. I enjoy a variety of flavors so I smoke NC profiles across the board from a light and airy Conny Shade all the way up to a RoMa Craft punch you in the pancreas ligero bomb. Obviously I'm the same with my range of Cuban cigars as well.

The brands that tend to consistently come up for me when I have a chance to smoke for myself:

• Warped. Has been mentioned many times here. Rolled out of Casa Fernandez, it's that magical Aganorsa tobacco
• Illusione. Dion is undoubtedly one of the top boutique blenders.
• Black Label Trading Company. James definitely blends towards the full strength spectrum, and I love it.
• Southern Draw Cigars. From a balanced complex Conny Shade up to a full in your face Pennsylvania Conny Broadleaf
• Nomad Cigar Company. More than any other NC brand Fred has my palate preferences dialed in perfectly. Medium+ cigars
• Cubariqueno. New entrant to boutiques, definitely blended towards the full spectrum
• Crowned Heads. Tends to blend for medium, again a wide spectrum of cigars to choose from.
• Mombacho Cigars. Elegant and balanced. Claudio always blends for balanced and complex before anything else.
• Espinosa Cigars. They like their cigars medium-full+.

[n0s4atu]

21 hours ago, gusto616 said:

Those happen to be my favorite NCs as well
 

Obviously, you sir have excellent taste. lol

My humidor is probably about 50/50, with the top 3 shelves being Cubans and the bottom 3 being non-Cuban, of which 2 of those shelves are Tats.

[CigarsRLife]

A question like this can go either way depending on who you talk to. I have a friend who only smoke LFD airbenders because that is the cigar they like, he will appreciate new cigars and CCs I have let him try but still prefers his cigar of choice. I like many need a variety, and feel that there are cigars for many occasions. I do purchase NC and CC completely differently. For NC I have always bought 5 packs or singles on new releases as they come out, as I want to try everything at least once. In the NC world there is significantly more variety in my opinion. I have had many NC that I thought I wouldn't like and end up loving them. When I find something I love or something special I buy a box. 

For CC I am not in a position to buy a ton of singles so I purchase mostly boxes, and haven't had one that I don't enjoy, but as we know there is a higher level of inconsistency with CC. Because of this I get a bad one from time to time out of a box of great cigars, most recently I had one cigar from a box of Montecristo Petit Edmundos be terrible, while all the others Ive had from that box were great. This doesn't typically happen with my NC cigars. With that being said, I purchase far more CC than I do NC. So while I have a higher variety in NC, buying boxes of CC has allowed my CC collection to pass my NC. 

I think we should always do what we are most comfortable with, if you only enjoy CCs then more power to you and keep smoking. But for me I personally want to try everything, you never know when you will find something that checks all of the boxes. The La Palina Goldie is one of these, just an amazing stick for a morning cigar. 

[Danimalia]

On 3/8/2017 at 6:29 PM, rxavier1979 said:

Looks like I'm late to the punch but...

I would go Warped El Oso Vitola:Papa(Corona Gorda or Toro).  My favorite warped is the Maestro Del Tiempo Lonsdale, and the La Colmena No. 44 Corona Extra. Although I prefer the MDT, I would opt for the La Colmena for a more Cubanesque feel, in terms of less pepper, balanced flavors and medium body. The MDT is perfect to me, but does requires a bit of a slow puff to not overfill your mouth with smoke in a draw. If you draw less than you think is enough, the flavors are out of this world!

I personally didn't care too much for the Futuro.  It wasn't a bad cigar at all, but for me, just wasn't memorable enough for me to go out of my way for them again.  Only had 1 though so who knows...

 

The La Colmena recently showed up at my local B&M. $17 is quite a bit of money for a corona (California), but it looks stunning, and I am inclined to pay a bit more for cigars made in the U.S. Maybe on payday. In the meantime, they have a few others (La Hacienda, MdT) I'll try first. I'm late to the Warped bandwagon, but if they're as good as everyone says (and I haven't heard any negative feedback), I will happily jump on it.

[CigarsRLife]

59 minutes ago, Danimalia said:

The La Colmena recently showed up at my local B&M. $17 is quite a bit of money for a corona (California), but it looks stunning, and I am inclined to pay a bit more for cigars made in the U.S. Maybe on payday. In the meantime, they have a few others (La Hacienda, MdT) I'll try first. I'm late to the Warped bandwagon, but if they're as good as everyone says (and I haven't heard any negative feedback), I will happily jump on it.

The La Colmena is amazing, it was the cigar that made me a warped supporter. There are some online retailers that run it for a much better deal than that. 

[Danimalia]

14 minutes ago, rusticdonut25 said:

The La Colmena is amazing, it was the cigar that made me a warped supporter. There are some online retailers that run it for a much better deal than that. 

Cool. Pricing aside, I love a good corona. Perfect size for me.

[rxavier1979]

8 hours ago, Danimalia said:

Cool. Pricing aside, I love a good corona. Perfect size for me.

Yeah, Kyle Gellis of Warped has made it known that he blends cigars in the "smaller RG". Knowing that smaller RG is subjective, he says he doesn't plan on making any cigars beyond a 48. 

However, he wouldn't be the first nor the last to adjust their business model if the market dictates it...

[rxavier1979]

On 4/3/2017 at 10:25 AM, Avrus said:

Not sure how I haven't participate in this post until now. Because my part-time / full-time hobby includes writing reviews, 80% of the cigars I smoke on a regular basis are NCs. I enjoy a variety of flavors so I smoke NC profiles across the board from a light and airy Conny Shade all the way up to a RoMa Craft punch you in the pancreas ligero bomb. Obviously I'm the same with my range of Cuban cigars as well.

Is that you Surgeon???  Holy crap, I listen to your podcasts every week!!!  Great seeing you on here if that's really you!!!

BTW, You're the reason I made a dent on my Club Allones box over the weekend...

I need to get more now...

[Danimalia]

1 hour ago, rxavier1979 said:

Yeah, Kyle Gellis of Warped has made it known that he blends cigars in the "smaller RG". Knowing that smaller RG is subjective, he says he doesn't plan on making any cigars beyond a 48. 

However, he wouldn't be the first nor the last to adjust their business model if the market dictates it...

Ha! I was looking at their website today and there is a 5.5 x 52 La Hacienda that they say is the largest they will make, so maybe they have already adjusted their business model. I prefer the more traditional RGs myself, but we're all in the minority of consumers, apparently. Really, as long as the more slender sizes stay in production, it doesn't bother me at all if the larger sizes are made. And sometimes, I like a good 52-56 stick myself anyway.

[rxavier1979]

37 minutes ago, Danimalia said:

Ha! I was looking at their website today and there is a 5.5 x 52 La Hacienda that they say is the largest they will make, so maybe they have already adjusted their business model. I prefer the more traditional RGs myself, but we're all in the minority of consumers, apparently. Really, as long as the more slender sizes stay in production, it doesn't bother me at all if the larger sizes are made. And sometimes, I like a good 52-56 stick myself anyway.

Good catch. I stand corrected. I definitely smoke 50s, it's just nice to see when someone blends towards the 44-46 RG as I gravitate towards them. 

Ill try almost anything once though. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

9 hours ago, rxavier1979 said:

Is that you Surgeon???  Holy crap, I listen to your podcasts every week!!!  Great seeing you on here if that's really you!!!

BTW, You're the reason I made a dent on my Club Allones box over the weekend...

I need to get more now...

Yeah buddy! Thanks for tuning in, we appreciate it.

Those Club Allones are so good. I'm sure once I get through a few boxes I'm going to regret not having more.

[Stick burner]

I had the opportunity to visit a quality shop a few weeks ago and based on all the rage from this forum decided on these sticks. The Padron looks amazing....it's getting nicely crystallized


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[Dmpotocek]

I had the opportunity to visit a quality shop a few weeks ago and based on all the rage from this forum decided on these sticks. The Padron looks amazing....it's getting nicely crystallized


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Those Flor de Las Antillas are pretty good sticks. They were my go to, pre CC and I still keep them on hand. The fact that I smoke mostly CC at this point means my NCs have the opportunity to get some age on them and improve.


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[havanaclub]

I had the opportunity to visit a quality shop a few weeks ago and based on all the rage from this forum decided on these sticks. The Padron looks amazing....it's getting nicely crystallized


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Let me know what you think about that tatuaje black label. It was a cigar Pete Johnson made after a trip to Cuba where he smoked a hand rolled given to him. It was an amazing experience that he decided to try and recreate it. He had Pepin help blend it for him. It's a beauty. Very cubanesk if you ask me.


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[havanaclub]

I had the opportunity to visit a quality shop a few weeks ago and based on all the rage from this forum decided on these sticks. The Padron looks amazing....it's getting nicely crystallized


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Let me know what you think about that tatuaje black label. It was a cigar Pete Johnson made after a trip to Cuba where he smoked a hand rolled given to him. It was an amazing experience that he decided to try and recreate it. He had Pepin help blend it for him. It's a beauty. Very cubanesk if you ask me.


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[Stick burner]

Dmpotocek

The FdLA were recommended by the shop owner and are one of their best sellers so I decided to follow his advice.

havanaclub

I heard so many good things about Tat Black Label I couldn't resist it either. Out of all of them I'm most excited about the Tat and Padron




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