PE cigars are no problem

[Winchester21]

I am a die hard Monte 2 and Cohiba robusto smoker. I have been able to keep a good supply of both... until now. I have been able to pick up some decent to fantastic Cohiba robustos no problem until the last 6 months.   I have had a steady diet of PSP Monte 2s from this site over the last few years- splitting boxes with a local buddy who is a longtime customer. Recently the Cohibas have been impossible to find and there are a ton of trash montes floating around. So I bought some clearance monte 2s the last time that they were offered on 24/24. The box arrived and I was kinda bummed when I saw the black PE sticker. This was my first expierence with PE smokes. When I opened the box I was relieved to note that the color was spot on. Not a ton of oil but a decent sheen to the wrapper. The sticks were a little inconsistent in size but overall construction was very acceptable. They are smoking great right now. Not PSP quality but anybody would call them good cigars. I have smoked 3 so far and I am completely satisfied. I will happily buy another box the next time they come up. Of course everybody wants PSP/HQ but in this challenged market El Prez is doing a hell of a job to come up with sticks of this quality. My point is to not be afraid of PE cigars. They will do just fine.

[dominattorney]

I bought a box of partagas presidente seconds on a whim because of the price. Very pleasantly surprised as well.  

[wabashcr]

I generally prefer lighter wrappers, so PE stock suits me just fine.  Seems like most wrappers that meet the PSP standard for sheen and thinness also tend to be on the darker side.  I know a lot of times lighter wrappers can be thick, dull or fireproof, but I've not had that experience with anything PE from FOH.  Even the seconds I've bought have smoked very well.  They wouldn't win any beauty pageants, but all I care about is how they smoke.  For my tastes, the best smoking cigars are often not the prettiest.  YMMV of course.

[Smallclub]

6 hours ago, Winchester21 said:

 My point is to not be afraid of PE cigars. They will do just fine.

Afraid? They are the norm, simply the cigars that millions of smokers buy and smoke day after day in every country where they're distributed. If their smoking properties were inferior to that of the gorgeous ones like Rob's PSP selection, someone would have noticed at some point…

[Puros Y Vino]

While I dip into the HQ/PSP realm once in a while, most of my Czar stock is PE and I have no problems. If anything, I'm starting to really wonder how much wrapper hue adds to the overall flavour profile.  My lighter wrappers smoke just as well or better than my dark wrapper cigars (from within the same family).

[Smallclub]

9 hours ago, Winchester21 said:

… there are a ton of trash montes floating around.

Err, where?

This was my first expierence with PE smokes.

I doubt it, unless of course the first habanos you've ever had were Rob's PSP… "PE” is the norm for 99.9% of smokers.

 

[Diabolicalpherpher]

3 hours ago, wabashcr said:

I generally prefer lighter wrappers, so PE stock suits me just fine.  Seems like most wrappers that meet the PSP standard for sheen and thinness also tend to be on the darker side.  I know a lot of times lighter wrappers can be thick, dull or fireproof, but I've not had that experience with anything PE from FOH.  Even the seconds I've bought have smoked very well.  They wouldn't win any beauty pageants, but all I care about is how they smoke.  For my tastes, the best smoking cigars are often not the prettiest.  YMMV of course.

So recently I recieved an hq box of hupc (left two) and comparing it to another vendor's hupc (right two), the hq sticks has a darker and more oily wrapper. For me the lighter wrapper smokes better for me as I get constant tar build up with the dark wrappers. I know I should smoke slower but I can't help myself. 

[KFBR392]

Never had a bad experience either with PE. Just saying 

[El Presidente]

PE and seconds (damaged PE in the main) is what i smoke day to day. Love them 

 

[Winchester21]

8 hours ago, Smallclub said:

 

Sorry I was referring to purchases from this site which makes up about 85% of my collection I rarely go off the reservation unless I have an urge for a size/brand not available from Rob

[Winchester21]

As for "trash montes) I have  friends who buy from other sites on the net. I have seen some montes lately that I would have sent back with really light wrappers  and poor construction particularly in the monte 4 variation. I recently bought a 10 pack of  2s from another vendor that were smokable but inferior to the PEs that I got from Rob. At this point in the marketplace there is no way that I would buy montes blind from the other sites Just sayin

[Winchester21]

I like the darkest wrappers that I cand find so my comments are from that viewpoint . IMHO iI think the darker wrappers have more taste They do have more tar issues

[Smallclub]

1 minute ago, Winchester21 said:

As for "trash montes) I have  friends who buy from other sites on the net. I have seen some montes lately that I would have sent back with really light wrappers  and poor construction particularly in the monte 4 variation.

Yes, I believe you, but this situation is not exactly new. It has been a reality since the late 90's for the Monte 2, Monte 4, Partagas D4…

[kuma]

If I could have only PE's from the 2013 / 2014 years (Rob's) and nothing else I would be one happy camper.

Shit now on second thought I'd take any of Rob's PE's.  His quality and price points are very hard to beat.

When traveling abroad what I have seen in tabac stores, air terminals / duty free shops still fall below Rob's

PE quality levels.

 

 

 

[Winchester21]

Today's 24/24 warns against buying montes blind at present. Based on what I have seen I think that this is good advice