Tried a cigar out of curiosity

[gwtwdbss]

It's a topic that comes up occasionally here.

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/cigar-smokers
I personally have always disliked cigars until.... you guessed it... a couple of months ago. I had one and I really enjoyed it. Then a couple more, and some more. Started to figure out differences in shapes, tobaccos, wrappers, fillers, etc.. Then on vacation I bought a couple of smaller boxes... now joined the sister site... my wife is (rightfully) worried [:rofl:]
But I do agree that the cigar, mainly due to its cost factor, will most likely remain a more occasional pass-time than the pipe. I am starting to like them though.

This is what happens when you go on vacation Mick. New guy joins with your name, people get admitted to the hospital, some guys forget their Manpax during their monthly cycle while posting(It's permanent guys, unless Kevin drops the hammer). Glad you added the Belgian to your first name though. I was thinking, what happened to mick for a few days before you showed back up in senior member gold.

 

[morton]

I live in Canada and so its legal for me to travel to Cuba which I do occasionally for winter vacations. That said, Cuban cigars are much cheaper at the source and we Canadians are allowed to bring back a certain number of sticks duty and tax free. I have a fair number of my favorite MonteCristo Number 4s and others but I rarely smoke them, I prefer my pipes. When my American hunting buddies come up in the fall however, we give the cigars a good workout.

 

[brewshooter]

Cigars are certainly more expensive than pipe tobacco. I probably enjoy a couple every month at most. I always have the Villiger Export dry/dutch cigars (A box each of the Natural and Maduro) on hand at all times for a quick smoke. I find they work well when washing the car or times when I can't tend to a pipe. I will also buy a cigar from the fairly well stocked local cigarette shop about once a month and enjoy. I don't really want to maintain a humidor. So, I buy them and smoke them within a day or two. I like the Acid Kuba Kuba now and then, for something different, but my favorite so far is the CAO Brazilia.

 

[philobeddoe]

I like a cigar every now and then, but only out of the house, my wife can't stand cigar smoke. Penzance, no problem, Escudo no prob. but cigars eww. Go figure.

 

[PeriqueMyInterest]

Cigars have their place. I enjoy a cigar now and then but can't afford to smoke them as much as I would like. All but a few of my favorites are Cuban and I personally think that they are worth all the hype. If someone has only tried a Cuban cigar in the USA you can never be sure you are smoking a real Cuban. The counterfeit market for Cubans is rather large, even in Canada. Unless your cigar was purchased in Cuba or at a reliable tobacconist in a country that trades with Cuba, I wouldn't pay more than a couple of bucks. But in my opinion, nothing beats a double corona or a churchill from Cuba (I only smoke cigars from a few Cuban companies though I have tried all of them).

 

[sjpipesmoker]

I don't enjoy the taste of cigars? I haven' really dwelled into the hobby, but on occasion that I smoke cigars, i only smoke Drew Estates ACID line, those work for me...

 

[hawk60ce]

Acids are very nice. What I would equate to a top of the line aromatic IMHO

 

[theray]

I love cigars and pipes, smoke atleast 2 a day in addition to 2 bowls. Your first mistake was buying a Cohiba, you're basically just paying for the name. Try a Brickhouse robusto, a good cigar for about $6. One thing I have learned is that the price of a cigar rarely is an indication of how good it is. You're better off spending $6 for a Perdomo, or Brickhouse than $10 for a Cohiba, Macanudo, or Montecristo. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[lazydog]

Former cigar nut here. High maintenance expensive ladies with poorer quality at higher prices every year. Think I'll have a bowl.

 

[voorhees]

I have smoked cigars for years now, but the pipe is becoming more my friend. I think cost is a major factor for me as I currently have about $200-$300 worth of cigars(40 cigars) in my humidor. But have probably $150 worth of pipe tobacco and have enough for quite some time. But, I am getting more later this year.

 

[scurvydog]

Cigar smoker for past 15 years. I have a small stocked humidor. I smoke one a week sometimes more, my favorite is a Punch rothchild. Its short and fat. You must take it slow, maybe slower than a pipe. You cant let them dry out or they are not so good!

 

[seanavan]

I'm pretty evenly split between cigars and pipes. Favorite brands of cigars are Bolivar, El Rey Del Mundo, Special Jamaican, Punch, and Excalibur. Years of experimenting eventually pointed me toward these and a few others as the best fit for my tastes. A lot of guys have commented on cigars being price-restrictive. No disagreement there. Pipe tobacco is far more economical. To help on cigar costs though, there are several online retailers that have decent prices, about half as much as I have to pay locally. JR Cigars (no affiliation) is a good place to get small increments of different varieties without having to pay my states high tobacco tax. They have 5-packs where you get five for the price of three. Shipping is like a flat $5 or something like that. They have pipe tobacco as well but that's something I prefer to buy in person. Nothing like going from jar to jar smelling each and deciding what to try.

 

[uberam3rica]

I kept thinking "This is burning down so fast, its like spending 16 bucks to have one bowl in my favorite pipe.".

Well I'd never spend $16 on one cigar. There are plenty of good cigars for half the price. I wouldn't give up on them. I enjoy a cigar from time to time. In fact just the other day I went on a bit bit of a cigar bender and bought two.

 

[billm67]

I also smoked cigars for years and the cost got rediculous. At the local B&M there are guys there everyday and they must spend $100 a week on cigars. Fifteen years ago I was up to around $40 a week on cigars and that is when I gave the pipe a try. I enjoy the pipe more than cigars but I still like a good Oliva once in a while. The only problem with cigars is that no matter what you do...your mouth tasted aweful the next morning after smoking cigars. I don't get that with a pipe.

 

[cigrmaster]

I was a huge cigar guy for 25 plus years, smoked 95 percent Cuban. I can buy Cuban cigars cheaper than most good domestics. A Don Carlos robusto goes for 9 bucks a stick, a Partagas Serie D 4 delivered to your door is 8. Back when I was buying them they were even cheaper. I was buying Cuban corona gorda's like Punch Punch for 5-6 a stick. They aren't going for much more than that now. I used to smoke 6-8 a day and it was very expensive, but I loved them. Pipes are so much cheaper than cigars it is no comparison. Cigars take a lot of work to keep them at the right temperature and humidity. I used to keep mine at 65 degrees and 62-65 percent humidity. I still have a couple hundred Cubans laying around but hardly ever smoke them. Once in a while one of my cigar buddies comes to town and we will smoke them. If anyone here ever wants some good sources, just pm me.

 

[uberam3rica]

Cubans? How do you get those?

 

[waznyf]

Brutha you aren't the only one!

I save stogies for special occasions. Too expensive of a hobby for me and even if I could afford it I wouldn't because a pipe pleases me much more.

 

[cigrmaster]

Uberam3rica, you get them delivered to your door like pipe tobacco. That simple. Remember, we are the only country in the world that has an embargo with Cuba, the rest of the world buys Cuban cigars freely and without issue.

 

[backdoorhippie]

I went from pipes to cigars after, honestly, getting tired of carrying all the necessary accessories and the tongue bite. I'm much more the cigar smoker, like someone above mentioned, my preference are La Gloria Cubana Serie R. I cringe at the price a bit, but buying by the box saves me on the per cigar rate, and when I factor in the price of the hunk of briar I may have in my mouth, and the number on the shelf, it isn't as large a difference as some would think (though that gets bigger over time, provided you don't buy more pipes - like that will happen!!). My favorites are the No. 6, which work out to about $5.50 per smoke where I get them - a lot better than the $10+ in most stores.
A typical burn time on a 5.9 x 60 is just over an hour if I'm sitting with a drink and chatting. On the golf course it'll last about 6-7 holes.

 

[roudoudou]

$16 for a Cohiba is cheap. It also depends on the size.
My mother-in-law bought me a box (25) of Cohiba Robusto and a box of Siglo IV. Total price: 619 euros, or about 840$ (Duty free shop). That's about $17. At my B&M, they sell them for $44 (Robusto) and $40 (Siglo IV). EACH!!!