Bought a Nice Cigar for New Year's Eve... Doesn't Compare to Pipes Anymore

[milehighpiper]

Funny thing is I also tried this after a hearty Christmas Eve dinner. I had an Arturo Fuente Short Story. AF is my go to brand for a delicious creamy smoke. However, after three months of jumping from tin to tin and finding the small differences between this bowl and that blend, the cigar did not fulfill my smoking needs for the night. I have a humidor with a bunch of AF that I will slowly work through in 2019 but a drawer full of blends that I will blast through this month!

 

[5star]

Though I enjoy both, if I was forced to choose only one (a ghastly prospect !) - I would choose pipes. The reason for this are the advantages already listed in this thread.
I already have a good sized collection of cigars. Probably around 80% of the dollar value of my tobacco purchases in 2018 was for pipe tobacco, 20% for cigars. 2019 should be about the same.

 

[recluse]

I enjoy both. I'll prefer one or the other depending on mood, weather and personal sense of aesthetic at the time. Like all things, preference for one or the other has its own season.
To be more specific; sometimes I want the less hassle, dragon-plume smoke session of a good cigar. Other times, I prefer the aesthetic of a pipe in my hand and the slow pace that lends itself to enjoying the tobacco and the zen focus of enjoyment I often experience with it.
One thing I'll give pipes over cigars for me is consistent, healthy introspection or clarity of focus.

 

[mrmachado]

Cigars are also much less hassle and maintenance. Just cut, toast, light, and enjoy. No fussing about drying, packing, tamping, the thing going out all the time, cleaning the thing after smoke, &c.

Don't you think that's part of the appeal of the pipe smoking ritual though?
I enjoy most of the pipe maintenance stuff, the lighting, the packing, the drying...

 

[olkofri]

I do enjoy it too. But sometimes I just want simpler things. All a mood thing, as has been said.

 

[mikethompson]

I would choose a good pipe over a good cigar any day, but can appreciate a cigar smoker.
Part of it for me is if I spend $xx on a cigar and smoke it, its gone. A pipe is a repeated use instrument, and I can get many bowls from a tin.

 

[ssjones]

I'm picky about my pipe buttons/stems, so every occasional time I smoke a cigar, it feels strange. For me, it's only acceptable at the beach, on a real hot day, etc. (typically with my son-in-law & his father). Other than that, I stick with the pipe.

 

[npod]

One big advantage to cigars is the social aspect.

+1

Cigars are also much less hassle and maintenance.

+1

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I mean, even mediocre local pipe tobaccos (that you guys wouldn't know) taste better than "good" cigars for me these days.

We seem to have missed a small sliver of information buried in the OP.

Tell us more about these local pipe tobaccos. This is what I am interested in. Screw talking about pipe tobaccos that anyone in the 1st world internet community collective can obtain, I want to know more about small time local pipe tobaccos.
I was prepared to talk about cigars, but as soon as I gleamed this nugget from your OP I could care less about cigars.
Tell us about these, please. And, you can skip your subjective opinions, I want facts, like... how can I get some of these? ::

 

[mrmachado]

Tell us about these, please. And, you can skip your subjective opinions, I want facts, like... how can I get some of these? [::]

Well, there are 3 main brands that sell a lot here in Brazil, they are Irlandez, Cândido Giovanella and Finamore.
Most of those come in a variety of flavors, especially Cândido Giovanella. Finamore comes only in a non-aromatic version if I remember well, haven't smoked it yet. Those are less than $6.
There's also Geross, which I mentioned as the worst tobacco I've ever had (bought it as my first one because it was the cheapest - $2.50 on the internet). You can try it if you want (seems that you probably will ), but it's not very well regarded here.
You can import from Brazil, and the store I buy seems to accept addresses from the USA, UK and the rest of the world. The more expensive part should be the delivery so I'd say buy in a decent amount (all of them at once). I still don't know if it delivers though. There aren't so many stores available (it's a small niche, very few people smoke pipes here) so it should be a little hard if this one doesn't deliver, because the smaller ones don't seem to.

 

[irishearl]

Saltedplug, as to your comment re prices of wine, beer, etc., it's a good thing I don't have a well-developed, picky palate for wine. Am a red wine drinker and wouldn't be able to afford the "good" stuff prices you mention. Fortunately, my regular vintner sells what I like for about 1/3 of what you quote.

 

[instymp]

Smoke pipes all day long & after dinner.

But at cocktail hour smoke a cigar, every evening.

 

[cajomu]

An 80 year-old friend of mine who is a veteran cigar and pipe smoker turned me on to smoking cigars in a pipe. I have a pipe that I reserve for cigars in which a 50 ring-size cigar fits perfectly. I cut the cigar in half after tying strings above and below the cut so that it doesn't unravel, and then stuff one of the halves in the pipe (reserving the other half for another smoke). A good cigar smoked this way is much more flavorful than when smoked in the traditional manner. Another advantage of smoking a cigar in a pipe is that you can smoke the entire cigar. The final inch of the cigar is the tastiest, although you have to take it slow, as the last bit is really strong.
My favorite cigar to smoke this way is the Camacho Triple Maduro Robusto. Another good one is a Cohiba Nicaragua Crystale Robusto.

 

[perdurabo]

I had a Pretty good cigar the other day, but it didn’t quite scratch the itch.

 

[leafsmoker]

Cigars work well for me in the summer.Too cold to smoke in winter in Indiana.I smoke my pipe indoors in winter.Whether it is a Cigar or Pipe..enjoy!

 

[hakchuma]

I love really dirty amd ugly Cheroots.

 

[wallbright]

I think it depends on the cigar and the pipe tobacco. It takes finding the right cigar for your pallette. But once you do it can sometimes be a hard call on going with the pipe or cigar.
To me they are different enjoyments with different purposes. I tend to gravitate towards pipes in the winter where I can load a partial bowl and call it quits if the cold gets to me. Versus commiting to a cigar say in the summer time when the weather is gorgeous and I can really enjoy it.
At the end of the day though smoke what you like!

 

[mso489]

I've intended to get a fine cigar for a special occasion, but I end up popping a tin. Better.

 

[jvnshr]

I enjoy smoking cigars, as Duane stated somewhere, each scratch different itch for me. I smoked 47 cigars in 2018, taking the five packs (mostly Toscanos) and cigarillos into account, the number goes up.