Brands to Avoid?

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eugenepark

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 13, 2018
140
273
Oklahoma
Honestly, there aren't too many brands I'd advise writing off completely. Even some of the manufacturers that have a lot of misses have some hits as well. Maybe Gurkha is one I'd avoid, but hell, they probably have some decent cigars too, and I just haven't found them yet. If you see something that interests you, look it up and see if it's available at more than one retailer, or if it has people not affiliated with retailers recommending it, etc. Aside from some of the bottom-shelf discount sticks that are barely even trying, most of the premium, handmade cigars out there are at least decent in quality. Everything else is a matter of taste, mostly.


Gurkha... ugh too many bad memories of their sticks. I should have known there was something wrong when it seemed like Thompson Cigars was practically giving away bundles of them lol.

Plus they go way over the top with branding and designs... sort of a red flag.
 
May 2, 2020
4,664
23,771
Louisiana
Gurkha... ugh too many bad memories of their sticks. I should have known there was something wrong when it seemed like Thompson Cigars was practically giving away bundles of them lol.

Plus they go way over the top with branding and designs... sort of a red flag.
That’s funny. Only had one, I didn’t know they were known for being bad. Mine was so awful I couldn’t finish it. I threw it into my fire pit.
 

rajangan

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 14, 2018
974
2,809
Edmonton, AB
Avoid Davidoff Nicaragua. A local, panel, blind taste test concluded that Vega Fina's Nicaragua was better despite being half the price.

Fuente curly head. Garbage.
 
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jerseysam

Can't Leave
Mar 24, 2019
456
4,566
Liberty Township. OH
Gurkha... ugh too many bad memories of their sticks. I should have known there was something wrong when it seemed like Thompson Cigars was practically giving away bundles of them lol.

Plus they go way over the top with branding and designs... sort of a red flag.


Gurkha is (or was, I haven't paid attention them in a few years) the mall ninja brand of cigars. It always gave me a chuckle with their marketing, on the bid/volume sites you'd see something like:

Gurkha Ultimate G7 Penthouse Dragon-Soul. MSRP $300. Our price $9.99.

....and there would be cats crowing on the message boards like they landed a God Of Fire release. If the folks selling extended warranties and ballon down-payment lending didn't cross-mine the Gurkha audience, they missed a lucrative market.

...
 

eugenepark

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 13, 2018
140
273
Oklahoma
Earlier this year (pre rona) I was in Jamaica and picked up some real cuban Cohibas for $18USD ea (had a resort credit to spend.. wouldn't have bought with my own money).

Did they smoke well? Yes
Were they any different than most other cigars? Nope

Since then I've pretty much been going with Drew Estate Acid or Drew Estate Java sticks. I figure they at least have to spend some money to apply that flavor and sweetener to these, so it's not just buying another plain cigar with a proprietary band design.
 

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danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,385
26,440
41
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Gurkha... ugh too many bad memories of their sticks. I should have known there was something wrong when it seemed like Thompson Cigars was practically giving away bundles of them lol.

Plus they go way over the top with branding and designs... sort of a red flag.
The Rolls Royce of cigars! When they're not playing up the tacky rich people shit, they're trying to rub up against the military, or at least some 14 year old boys idea of the military with their Black Ops lines and whatnot. Really, the retailers also deserve a shit ton of scorn for some of this too. I remember Gurkha Beauty being sold for $500 a box on CI while at the same time, on the same site, you could get them as part of a sampler for $3 a piece. Caveat emptor, a fool and his money, etc., etc., but seriously.... Consider the thought of someone new into cigars who reads the copy and believes what Gurkha and CI are selling... That he's buying a prestigious, top-of-the-market cigar at 5 bills a box... And the next day he sees them available for $3 a stick. Just awful business, IMO.
 
1. Padron (More specifically 1926)
2. Oliva specially Serie V Melanio and Master Blends 3
3. La Aroma De Cuba
4. Caldwell - all offerings have been good so far
5. Sometimes Rocky Patel can be a miss but most of the time is a hit. I like the various vintage series
6. 601
7. I personally like light offerings from Monte Christo and Romeo y Julietta
8. Little experience with My Father but generally like what I have tasted so far. I have been unlucky as most had bad construction



Avoid Gurkha
 

highwaycobbery

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 14, 2015
532
1,209
North cacallaky
yeah the worst cigar I've had otherwise then that one Cuban (it was a gift from Castro that got regifted to me, my bosses wife was a congressman and loved that I have dirty tats and smoked cigars) has been enjoyable. Then again that's how I feel about the worst pipe tobacco I've smoked that wasn't Captain Black so maybe get out your salt pincher.
Oooo, dirty tats? I’m interested. I have plenty. Maybe a upcoming thread? Challenge.
 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
I founds Thompson greedy bastards and never made a return purchase.

In general any cigar less than $5.00 is likely a loser.

I read a lot of reviews, concentrating on independents. The retailers tell you anything to get you to buy.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,675
29,393
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
Oooo, dirty tats? I’m interested. I have plenty. Maybe a upcoming thread? Challenge.
well on my right forearm I got a kama sutra pose called the hanging position. A Betty Page on my calf as well as another "cheesecake" lady on the other side. And of course the Fox which isn't dirty but is still awesome. Didn't have the Austin Osman Spare art work on the ribs yet if I remember correctly.
 
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odobenus

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 15, 2018
728
2,567
Vermont
Totally subjective of course, but I avoid most anything by Drew Estate (except independent entities that they distribute, like Joya de Nicaragua), non-CC Punch, Camacho, Curivari, EP Carrillo, and Perdomo. And lately, I've been developing a stronger antipathy toward La Aurora, which I used to love.

That said, I'm a picky, mercurial bastard and have tried and rejected more My Fathers, Tatuajes, AJFs and Olivas than any of the following combined -- it's just that they also produce a few cigars I love.
 

jewman22

Lifer
Apr 2, 2021
1,110
10,950
Ontario Canada
I avoid Davidoff, they are good cigars, but they are not worth what they are charging for them. At that price point I will always reach for a MonteCristo No.2 or a Romeo y Julieta Churchill. Yes the real ones from Cuba and not those fakes bearing the same name from the Dominican.
 
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username

Lifer
Dec 24, 2014
2,084
14,236
Tucson Az
Acid so far has been the only cigar that I just straight up tossed as I didn’t like it at all felt like I was smoking a tea bag. I agree in Gurkhas to got a few in a sample pack and they were mediocre pretty sure it was cheap so I didn’t think much of it at the time.
 
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musicman

Lifer
Nov 12, 2019
1,119
6,052
Cincinnati, OH
Acid so far has been the only cigar that I just straight up tossed as I didn’t like it at all felt like I was smoking a tea bag. I agree in Gurkhas to got a few in a sample pack and they were mediocre pretty sure it was cheap so I didn’t think much of it at the time.
Acid has a bunch of different lines/flavors, but their most popular, the Kuba Kuba, is a little like smoking a Lakeland, only in a cigar. I've had one. That was enough. FWIW I love Lakelands in a pipe, but I've had very few infused cigars that I enjoyed. Right on about Gurkhas though. Overpriced, hype driven dog rockets.

Other brands I tend to avoid are:
Pretty much every brand from General Cigar Company, except for a couple of the Hoyo de Monterrey vitolas. They're generally solid smokes.
Rocky Patel
Alec Bradley
Victor Sinclair
Carillo

Brands (non-Cuban) I've thoroughly enjoyed:
Ashton, especially the VSG
Fuente
My Father, especially the "Don Pepin" lines
Tatuaje
Illusione
Padron
Diamond Crown
 
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DanWil84

Lifer
Mar 8, 2021
1,689
12,586
39
The Netherlands (Europe)
All tough this topic is a very nice resurrection, my €0.02 I would like to add Oliva and Joya de Nicaragua to the list, I think two of the most consistent brands in construction. They also make some cigars for brands that only blend the cigar. Also the cigars from AJ Fernandez in the General cigar catalogue (diesel, man o war) I think are great for their pricepoint. Being from Europe cuban cigars are easily accessable but left these out of the list for obvious reasons.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Most of my cigar smoking was done on business trips after I'd quit smoking my pipes in solidarity with my late wife's quitting cigarettes. I haven't smoked cigars in quite a while. So if I were choosing one, I'd probably just go with good experiences of the past with Dominican Republic sticks. They tend toward mild, but they have rich flavor and quality leaf.
 
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