Falling in love with the new world?… again.

[Kaips1]

17 hours ago, VeguerosMAN said:

What Cubans do you enjoy?  I think you may have to just stick to young Cubans bro. Go with cheap brands like Jose L P, Vegueros, etc and don't waste your money on high end NCs.

There's no thinking to it for me, I spent 2yrs on NC's before I even found or knew you could get Cubans in the states back then legally. I learned quickly once I tasted my first Partagas, which arrived with 2 yrs of age on the box (the good old days, right), Cuban was the only tobacco my palate enjoys. I will always take a machine rolled Cuban over a high end NC, always. The Vegueros have always caught my eye and I wish I had stocked up on them back in '17, wish I had stocked up on everything then but that's hindsight. Best NC's I've had, are always thinner, conn broadleaf maduro with an extra at least 5 yrs of age on them. 2 in recent memory where technically from the same place, CLE and then it's usually only in the last third it really shines if it does. I really wanna try some of the nudes but alas, I'm late to the party on all the splits I would have went in on. So I'm actually at the point of learning to blend my own tobacco to roll my own cigars to see if I can find that ever elusive NC that can compete with even a Cohiba short, let alone a JLP Cazadore. Just trying to figure out what I want for fillers that wont taste like hot dirt.

[DeeBeezy]

Personally I have found that fuente is a new world brand that can stand up to the habanos portfolio. Oliva melanio blend also up there. 

I read somewhere that casdagli cigars are the new world that most resemble Cuban profile. Any thoughts?

[Kaips1]

10 hours ago, VeguerosMAN said:

You could still get short filler hand made Cubans very cheap. Or just stick to machine made Habanos and gave up on NCs. Best move

That's literally the only path I see too and the one I'm fine walking, it's actually how I'm budgeting all my smoking again. Looking at chicos or puritos and shorts besides jlp and quintero, I still wanna try some vegueros though and will be making it a point to grab at least a 4pk. I also will be still trying my hand at blending a NC to at least try and get what I want out of it and still trying to sample some of the nudies.

[DeeBeezy]

7 hours ago, VeguerosMAN said:

Try any Tatuaje or Illusione lines. I think they are more Cubanesque in profile than Fuente and Oliva

Which blends specifically? The tatuaje Miami series are presented bandless. Almost looks like a Cuban cigar. 

[GoodStix]

18 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Worse situation I can see is that they will remain a 35-45 million premium cigar business remaining at the top of the prestige tree. 

The problem is they need to have ready on hand now 100 million cigars to refill global shelves and deliver some brand width. 

They don't have it. They will be scratching and clawing for the foreseeable future

Rob, I don’t know the details of the industry in Cuba (only what I read on FOH), so forgive my ignorance in this question… If this is a high demand, low supply problem, and I read they have leaf (at least for now, ignoring large wrapper leaf), can the roller problem not be solved with raising wages and increasing training to develop more rollers?  Yes I understand things are f’ked in Cuba, but would it be possible to increase supply if Tabacuba was so inclined?

[Lt4-396]

Last year i smoked 100% CC, now I smoke 65% cuban tobacco 34% Nudies and 1% NC.

I would highly recommend Warped Maestro Del Tiempo & La Colmena, Illusione Epernay & MK Ultra, Oliva V Lancero, Tatuaje Cabaiguan. Those so far are the only blends that don't taste like straight pepper and dirt to me.

Regarding the FOH cigars... They are stunning, simple as that. Zero pepper/dirt, no rough edges or harsh notes with perfect construction. I've been reaching more and more over my cubans to my Nudies. I've had a few of the Churchills and Robustos this past week and wow, just wow. They are both going to be daily sticks once the weather warms up, especially the Churchill. By far the best large format NC I've ever had and it only had a few days rest.

[El Presidente]

2 hours ago, GoodStix said:

Rob, I don’t know the details of the industry in Cuba (only what I read on FOH), so forgive my ignorance in this question… If this is a high demand, low supply problem, and I read they have leaf (at least for now, ignoring large wrapper leaf), can the roller problem not be solved with raising wages and increasing training to develop more rollers?  Yes I understand things are f’ked in Cuba, but would it be possible to increase supply if Tabacuba was so inclined?

Lack of fuel, lack of electricity, lack of fertiliser, lack of workers on farms, poor prices for farmers, delayed payments to farmers, broken promises to farmers, destroyed or crumbling pre-industry infrastructure.  We haven't even got to the rollers yet 

[GoodStix]

On 1/9/2024 at 12:41 PM, El Presidente said:

Lack of fuel, lack of electricity, lack of fertiliser, lack of workers on farms, poor prices for farmers, delayed payments to farmers, broken promises to farmers, destroyed or crumbling pre-industry infrastructure.  We haven't even got to the rollers yet 

Yikes! Got it. Thanks : )

[Pmo13]

On 1/7/2024 at 7:27 PM, TBird55 said:

Before cigarmageddon I was smoking 100% CC. Now I am smoking 90% NC. I have yet to find any NC cigars that are remotely comparable to an esplendidos,  lancero,  lusitanias, ect... with 7 -10 years of age. Still have a decent supply of CC, thanks to our host, but haven't purchased any in 18 months or so. 

If you can find them, try to track down a box of the Crowned Heads Four Kicks Capa Especial Lanceros (yes I know it’s a mouthful lol). While not really comparable flavor-wise to any CC, they’re absolute flavor bombs and one of the rare sticks that I bought a box immediately after smoking one. As an added benefit, they’re decently priced if you can find em nowadays.

[DeeBeezy]

In the end decided on box purchasing:

Casdagli traditional robusto 

Guardian of the farm Rambo (robusto)

Let me know if you have any experiences with the above 

[MossybackR]

On 1/7/2024 at 6:41 PM, Odessa said:

Could you please specify which Illusione did you smoke? Thank you.

The “Epernay” line is a good example of a cigar that is mostly medium in strength (nicotine and spice) and strong tobacco flavors with a sweet floral finish.

[clickbangdoh]

La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinet no. 3 is a great one I think many CC smokers would enjoy, not strong or peppery at all and in a minuto type vitola. 

[ha_banos]

Just go try an n7 Ninfas. Very decent.

[Ford2112]

30 minutes ago, ha_banos said:

Just go try an n7 Ninfas. Very decent.

Shhhhh...

[avitus]

I would recommend to try Hawaiian Vintage Series (NO KA OI is my favourite). I found a flavor profile to be a bit closer to CC than any other NC.

[DeeBeezy]

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