Cheap Ass Cigar Inquiry

[dino]

I've been smoking Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 8-5-8s for more than 40 years. It's a great smoke for under $6.
I recently had a "bundle" cigar, HC Series Red Corojo that was quite a good smoke. They are about $3.50 each (when bought in a bundle).

 

[wyfbane]

I am woefully ignorant of all things cigars. That said, in the military, the Arturo Fuente Curly Heads were always a tasty cheap smoke when we were having bbq's etc.

 

[lawdawg]

I've been smoking Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 8-5-8s for more than 40 years. It's a great smoke for under $6.
I recently had a "bundle" cigar, HC Series Red Corojo that was quite a good smoke. They are about $3.50 each (when bought in a bundle).

I love those Fuente 8-5-8s. I've probably got 15 or 20 of them in my humidor. They are my go-to cigar, and I've enjoyed them as much or more than some cigars that cost two or three times the price. They only possible criticism, which is more a matter of personal taste, is that they are pretty mild in flavor.

 

[lawdawg]

I'm no snobby elitist, but most of the time I wouldn't even smoke a sub-$5 cigar if it was free. There are two exceptions:

J. Fuego Origen Originals - these come in little paper packets of 5 cigars. They are kind of a "torpedo" type shape small cigar and come without a ring label or any other frills. They are not pretty cigars, but are very solid little smokes. The back story is that the guy who owns the company would roll these ugly little sticks to test new combinations / tobacco batches, and one of his buddies liked them so much that he advised the Fuego owner to sell them publicly, and he did.

Villiger cigars - These are dry-cured cigars so they should not be stored in a humidor. They are box-pressed and used a chopped / short filler, so these aren't really "real" cigars in the sense of a long filler cigar that needs to be stored in 70% relative humidity. That said, I like them, and so do a lot of others who have tried them. They are basically the European equivalent of a black and mild / gas station cigar. I always take a few with me if I spend a day kayaking or canoeing. They aren't finnicky, they don't need relights or touch ups as a "real" cigar sometimes will, and if I drop it in the water or splash it in a rapid, no big deal.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Man, how times have changed. I wouldn’t consider a Fuente 858 a cheap ass cigar under any circumstances. A year or so ago, I got a couple of 5 packs of Punch Rothschilds as a throw in to a larger order. A friend saw me smoking one and called it a yardgar. To me, they taste as good as they did when I first smoked them in the late 1970’s. They basically sold for 50cents a stick. Royal Cigar in Atlanta sold seconds for a quarter a stick. The occasionally would get a shipment that contained some Maduro Maduro wrappers, which they only sold as singles and which would sell out in a day or two. Now, those were cheap ass cigars.

 

[aguineapig]

I like the Don Rafael Connecticuts. You can get them for well under 2 bucks a piece, and as far as mild inoffensive cigars go, I'd take these over a comparable macanudo and pocket the difference.

 

[burleybreath]

I like either very expensive cigars or cheap, cheap cigars, i.e. homogenized binders, cheroot head, the works. The ones in-between seem to me always a disappointment, neither fish nor fowl. My favorite cheapos for driving to work, hiking, or whatever are Principe coronas from Famous, less than a buck each. Very little "burning paper" acridity, Dominican wrappers, and a pretty decent cigar scent to enjoy and inflict on others. They blow drugstore brands and house cheapos out of the water. My only regret may be that I've mentioned them here.

 

[mityahicks]

Drew Estate Undercrown Maduro was quite good.

 

[jaytex1969]

My cheap ass cigars arrived today.

 

[crawdad]

My cheap ass cigars arrived today.

View attachment 36754


View attachment 36753

let us know what you think about them.

 

[jaytex1969]

Let us know what you think about them.

Keep in mind, I'm a real neophyte with cigars. I had a RP Cargo last night and a Don Rafael an hour ago.

Both are very mild, many would say boring. But that's what I was shooting for, so that's OK for me.

The Cargo was monotone all the way, no real 1st, 2nd, 3rd segment flavor transitions. The flavor was nice, but the burn quality took a nose dive during the second half. I had to babysit a run in the side that detracted from the already minimalist characteristics. I'll finish these at times when I won't mind discarding half and will not seek more.

The Don Rafael, on the other hand, was a well behaved stick from start to finish. It had an almost "fruity" pre-light hit, though it didn't really translate into the post-light flavor. After the light, it went into light cedar and white pepper, with a whisper of tartness in the back that soon faded.

Halfway in, some woodiness with a light spice joined it. I never got any leather or espresso notes that others have mentioned. I enjoyed that cigar down to almost singeing facial hair... ?

At $1.60 each (RP) and $2.20 each (Don Rafael), I feel I got exactly what I paid for. One I'd enjoy again and one that qualifies as yet another "first world problem".

 

[crawdad]

Saw a bundled deal on JR cigars called the 3 Buck Betty Sampler or close to it, 22 cigs for 34.95. Has anyone bought this? Is it worth it? This is what's included...

2 Nicaraguan Seconds Robusto CT
2 Cusano Fresh Pack 1 Cigar M1 Robusto
2 La Finca Ammo
2 Casa de Garcia Connecticut Churchill
2 Alternative to Ashton Magnum
2 Mr. B Lonsdale
2 El Camino Natural Robusto Gordo
2 El Galan Campestre Double Corona
2 Quorum Shade Double Gordo
2 Nicaragua Overruns Habano Robusto
2 Rosa Cuba Governors

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

The La Finca Ammos are the only ones I have had. First ones were pretty rank, but I put the rest of a 10 pack in the Tupperador for a few months, tasted OK then.

 

[jaytex1969]

The Cargo was monotone all the way, no real 1st, 2nd, 3rd segment flavor transitions. The flavor was nice, but the burn quality took a nose dive during the second half. I had to babysit a run in the side that detracted from the already minimalist characteristics. I'll finish these at times when I won't mind discarding half and will not seek more.

Just a follow up. I'm finishing my 2nd Cargo and this one has been much better behaved. Even burn all the way down and just a bit more dimension in the second half. Now I feel much better about the buck and a half I just burned! ?

 

[jaytex1969]

I was killing time while having a vehicle maintenance matter handled today and wandered into a Specs liquor store.

They have a nice humidor, so I ended up poking my head in. I remembered the name "curleyhead" from this thread (@wyfbane ) so I grabbed an Aurturo Fuente Curlyhead Deluxe Lonsdale Natural.

Smoking it now and it's a nice, mild smoke. A little creamy, but not too much. A little sweet, but not too much. I like the slightly smaller ring gauge more, also, 43 vs. 50.

About 3.5 bucks out the door.

 

[lawdawg]

I've found that the best combination for me in consumables, whether it be beer, bourbon, scotch, or cigars, is to have some of the good stuff and some of the cheap stuff. For example, a dram of fine single malt scotch is to reward myself on a Friday evening after a productive week at work. An inexpensive bourbon is for any time I feel like just kicking back with something strong, or want to have a few drinks in row.

 

[ChuckMijo]

Just remember good cigars aren’t cheap, and cheap cigars aren’t good.

 

[dochowl]

El Rey del Mundo - Robusto Larga... less than $6 each for a helluva good Honduran. I've been buying them from JR for probably 20 years now, and still as good as ever.

 

[saltedplug]

I'm sure that as powerful as advertising is, my opinions were manipulated by it. But nonetheless I feel that learning the cigar fact lingo I was able to pick the winners, or at least get cigars that seemed to me very flavorful and well-constructed. My favorite brands were Padron Signatures (their lower-priced maduros were cheesy), Tatuaje, etc.

So lower-priced brands were not for me. I could taste the difference, and when I smoked a cigar I only wanted the best. But best hit my budget so hard that instead of smoking a cigar a day I cut back to every few weeks.

 

[lawdawg]

I'm sure that as powerful as advertising is, my opinions were manipulated by it. But nonetheless I feel that learning the cigar fact lingo I was able to pick the winners, or at least get cigars that seemed to me very flavorful and well-constructed. My favorite brands were Padron Signatures (their lower-priced maduros were cheesy), Tatuaje, etc.

So lower-priced brands were not for me. I could taste the difference, and when I smoked a cigar I only wanted the best. But best hit my budget so hard that instead of smoking a cigar a day I cut back to every few weeks.

Where did you find the starting price point to be for a good cigar? I'd put it at about $7.00 per cigar.