Best Smoke at Reasonable Price?

[Mike S]

G'day friends, I need advice for a quality cigar at a reasonable price. I'm generally a pipe smoker but every so often enjoy a cigar. Can't do both full time due to cost (I'm in Australia). Any advice would be most welcome.
Have a great day!

Mike

 

[ChuckMijo]

Partagus shorts!!

 

[mso489]

Depends what you like. If you like milder but flavorful sticks, usually you can find some from the Dominican Republic that are good but don't cost twenty bucks a piece.

 

[STP]

I’ve always liked Punch as a reasonably price cigar, but there are better depending on price, taste, size, profile, etc.

 

[originalnutcracker]

G'day friends, I need advice for a quality cigar at a reasonable price. I'm generally a pipe smoker but every so often enjoy a cigar. Can't do both full time due to cost (I'm in Australia). Any advice would be most welcome.
Have a great day!

Mike

I guess you guys are in the same boat as us here in Canada. Some Cubans represent decent value - Partagas, Romeo Y Julieta and Bolivar most noted, and others of overpriced (Cohiba, Trinidad) Luckily you guys have Rob Alaya in Oz - he gets great cigars at awesome prices for you guys (Friends o Habanos)

As for non Cubans I find My Father, Oliva and Drew Estate not badly priced quality sticks.

 

[pruss]

The inclusion of "reasonable" in the question around price means that you're going to get a bunch of subjective responses. Because what's "reasonable" to me might not be to you.

For instance, I think Cohibas and Trinis are well worth the price variance that separates them from Partagas, RYJ and Bolivars. I'd smoke the Cohiba Robusto over a robusto from the other four factories any day of the week. But that's just me and my taste-buds.

I don't know how anyone in Oz gets good prices for cigars, but if they do, I would like an introduction (I'm in NZ).

My favourite non-Cubans are currently CAO Consiglieres, LFD Andalusian Bulls, The latter sell at a premium but if you're in the USA, they're cheaper than what I'd be paying for and ACID at NZ street value.

I agree that the My Father and Oliva series cigars are highly approachable and represent good value.

-- Pat

 

[Mike S]

I guess you guys are in the same boat as us here in Canada. Some Cubans represent decent value - Partagas, Romeo Y Julieta and Bolivar most noted, and others of overpriced (Cohiba, Trinidad) Luckily you guys have Rob Alaya in Oz - he gets great cigars at awesome prices for you guys (Friends o Habanos)

As for non Cubans I find My Father, Oliva and Drew Estate not badly priced quality sticks.

Cheers, I'll need to find Rob! Thanks for your advice.

 

[Mike S]

The inclusion of "reasonable" in the question around price means that you're going to get a bunch of subjective responses. Because what's "reasonable" to me might not be to you.

For instance, I think Cohibas and Trinis are well worth the price variance that separates them from Partagas, RYJ and Bolivars. I'd smoke the Cohiba Robusto over a robusto from the other four factories any day of the week. But that's just me and my taste-buds.

I don't know how anyone in Oz gets good prices for cigars, but if they do, I would like an introduction (I'm in NZ).

My favourite non-Cubans are currently CAO Consiglieres, LFD Andalusian Bulls, The latter sell at a premium but if you're in the USA, they're cheaper than what I'd be paying for and ACID at NZ street value.

I agree that the My Father and Oliva series cigars are highly approachable and represent good value.

-- Pat

I was in Paris last year and couldn't believe how cheap cigars were, I smoked a Cohiba every day. I'm no expert but can tell a quality cigar. If I had my own way I'd bloody immigrate to Cuba. Thanks for your advice.

 

[danimalia]

For non-Cubans, it is hard to beat the value of Oliva. Even their "expensive" cigars aren't that expensive. Most lines come with a good variety of sizes. MF Flor De Las Antillas is another suggestion. They're not as affordable as they used to be, but the Fuente Rosado Sungrown Magnum R line is one of my favorites and not too expensive.

In terms of Cubans, I really thought the H. Upmann Majestics punched well above their weight class in terms of price. If you like a thin cigar, the Por Larranaga Montecarlos are also excellent. Sometimes Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 2 are a bit cheaper than other robustos, and they're probably my favorite in that size. I have not had them so I can't vouch for them, but the new Vegueros are quite reasonable in price. May be worth trying.

All suggestions based on my tastes and sense of value, of course.

 

[cshubhra]

I will only stay with non Cubans

1. Padron 1926 Serie Natural
2. Oliva Serie V Melanio
3. La Aroma de Cuba

 

[shanez]

G'day friends, I need advice for a quality cigar at a reasonable price. I'm generally a pipe smoker but every so often enjoy a cigar. Can't do both full time due to cost (I'm in Australia). Any advice would be most welcome.
Have a great day!

Mike

I could make better recommendations if I knew 1) what you consider reasonably priced and 2) what you have available to you where you live.

Even a couple of examples of "I can get this cigar for this price" would help.

 

[lelik]

Arturo Fuente Chateau Sun Grown or natural robustos or Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo du Prince.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

G'day friends, I need advice for a quality cigar at a reasonable price. I'm generally a pipe smoker but every so often enjoy a cigar. Can't do both full time due to cost (I'm in Australia). Any advice would be most welcome.
Have a great day!

Mike

Padron 2000

 

[ron123]

Luckily you guys have Rob Alaya in Oz - he gets great cigars at awesome prices for you guys (Friends o Habanos)

One of the all time favorites there is, or at least used to be, Ramon Allones Specially Selected "RASS". Turned out to be a good recommendation?

 

[kcghost]

Lot of good choices mentioned but it is real tough to get a good stogie in Australia.

 

[spicy_boiii]

Padron "Thousand series", especially if you don't need a big cigar. They have a cheaper "Londres" line that I haven't tried yet.

Oliva as mentioned. Gotta find your pick of the litter.

CAO cigars can be had dirt cheap, again gotta pick the line that suits your taste.

The cheaper Arturo Fuente sticks.

 

[SoddenJack]

Why is it so hard to get good sticks in Australia? Is it laws/taxes, no cigar culture?

I’d recommend Brick House for reasonably priced cigar. Would be my everyday smoke if I smoked everyday. That’s what I usually reach for when I don’t really know what I’m in the mood for anddon’t feel like making up my mind.

 

[danimalia]

Padron "Thousand series", especially if you don't need a big cigar. They have a cheaper "Londres" line that I haven't tried yet.

Good suggestion. The Londres size (5.5" x 42) is my favorite, but the Panatelas and Palmas are also good and the 1000-6000 sizes are good if you like 50+ ring gauges. .

Padron also has samplers and some include a mix of the more expensive anniversary series and family reserve lines along with the core line so you can try and see whether you want to shell out the big bucks or not. I think the 1926 series that @cshubhra suggested is wonderful, and its hard to find a more highly acclaimed cigar, but it's a rare treat for me given my budget.

 

[saltedplug]

First, stop thinking reasonable in regard to cigars. Pipe tobacco is reasonable @$12.00/50g =13 smokes. So that's
about a dollar a smoke. That's reasonable. You may say "I'll just smoke a 5 dollar cigar." You can, but I never found one to like, trying a half dozen brands across 18 mos. For a reasonable cigar you're at 7 or 8 dollars.

Smoking a cigar a day @$7.50 per is 2700 dollars a year. That's $50,000.00 or more a year territory, which I have had no problem avoiding. To afford cigars I sold at least half of my pipe tobacco cellar (very big) and a lot of pipes. I kept waiting for God to love me better so that I could afford cigars but finally accommodated to smoking one every week or two.

And if you like the $7.50 it won't belong before you've just gotta try the $15 or 20. I did. Big thumbs up for the Don Carlos and Padron '26. Heaven, but at a price.

But no, cigars will never be reasonable.

 

[DAR]

Yes, cigars are more expensive than pipe tobacco. Theres a reason for that but that's for another thread.
That's what makes pipe smoking so wonderful. The rich and the poor can experience the same pipe tobacco and bond without elitism.

"Reasonable price" is a relative term. When comparing prices of cigars, there are plenty of "reasonably" priced cigars. Just as in pipe tobacco, you don't need to pay $10 per smoke to enjoy a good cigar. I've had many $10+ cigars that I thought were trash and many lower priced cigars that stay in my rotation. The Romeo and Julieta line offers a lot of mid priced gems that have good construction and are not too full or too light.

Reviews on cigar sites help somewhat but not as much as pipe tobacco reviews. It's a totally different animal....... I think if you want a relatively low price, Don Diego, Baccarat, Rosa Cuba..... just 3 off the top of my head, are hand rolled and priced lower than many and offer some pretty good cigar satisfaction. You can find machine rolled cigars at much lower prices but they are quite different and provide a totally different experience than hand rolled cigars. Just like when dealing with pipe tobacco, you just have to try as much as you can until you find what clicks with you, price wise and taste wise.