What Cigar Are You Smoking? 2025

[danimalia]

An acquaintance on another forum works at a cigar shop and he was told by the Padron rep that Padron is not making their classic line in 46 RG or smaller anymore, so no more Churchills, Panetelas, Ambassadors, etc, which effectively ends my purchase of Padron Classic. By gravy, I hope they change their minds, but at least we've got $40 Padron Blacks, $60 Padron 60ths, and $175 Padron/Fuente collaborations to choose from.

That's a damn shame. I was a big fan of the Panatelas, Palmas and Londreses. I might occasionally buy a 4000 or whatever the Belicoso size is, but it'll be rare. About as rare as when I spring for a 1926, which might be once a year.

I miss the days when Padron was a budget-friendly cigar company with a couple of special, expensive lines (the 1964 and then 1926). In a way, it's a success story, but I wish they had someone there speaking up for the more traditional sizes.

 

[Brendan]

In a way, you'd like to hope that the recent price hikes* from Habanos SA would open the door for Padrons smaller RG portfolio on the international market, they could fill that niche based on price and consistency very well.

But I guess getting long term Cuban cigar smokers to jump ship must be harder than I thought.


(*price hikes is putting it far too nicely).

 

[Speak Easy]

Espinosa 601 Maduro for Thursday morning.

 

[cshubhra]

Caldwell Cigars Eastern Standard Midnight Express

 

[pantsBoots]

That's a damn shame. I was a big fan of the Panatelas, Palmas and Londreses. I might occasionally buy a 4000 or whatever the Belicoso size is, but it'll be rare. About as rare as when I spring for a 1926, which might be once a year.

I miss the days when Padron was a budget-friendly cigar company with a couple of special, expensive lines (the 1964 and then 1926). In a way, it's a success story, but I wish they had someone there speaking up for the more traditional sizes.

Yeah, they seem to be following the Fuente's footsteps. More and more double-banded-dollar-gobblers that don't taste all that different from the more widely-available stuff, coupled with the widely-available stuff becoming less widely available. C'est la vie - while the pipe tobacco industry is busy shitting the bed, the non-cuban cigar market is getting better and growing by leaps and bounds.

 

[pantsBoots]

Hey, with all the recent Aladino love here, I wanted to post a deal that runs until 2/7/25 at 11:59pm PST: @ Small Batch Cigar. They're running a special on all JRE with few exceptions. 25% off with code JPR and 35% off with code JPR150 if you're spending more than $150.

I'm not affiliated at all, but it's a helluva deal - I put a box of the Santi in the cooler last time they ran this in November and a box of the lanceros several months before that.

Enjoy!

 

[BenMN]

Hey, with all the recent Aladino love here, I wanted to post a deal that runs until 2/7/25 at 11:59pm PST: @ Small Batch Cigar. They're running a special on all JRE with few exceptions. 25% off with code JPR and 35% off with code JPR150 if you're spending more than $150.

I'm not affiliated at all, but it's a helluva deal - I put a box of the Santi in the cooler last time they ran this in November and a box of the lanceros several months before that.

Enjoy!

Yep, been waiting for this one!

Thanks for advice re: chiselitos, you too @Speak Easy

Surrogates Cracker Crumb for the ride home today

 

[pantsBoots]

La Riqueza SE 2022. When the dried fruit notes come out, this is a magnificent cigar.

 

[pantsBoots]

In a way, you'd like to hope that the recent price hikes* from Habanos SA would open the door for Padrons smaller RG portfolio on the international market, they could fill that niche based on price and consistency very well.

But I guess getting long term Cuban cigar smokers to jump ship must be harder than I thought.


(*price hikes is putting it far too nicely).

Casdagli, for one, is holding the line on that, although they're fairly pricey. Other manufacturers are throwing their hat in the ring, too, although I don't think they're selling well enough to justify a skinny RG Renaissance. The fatties still sell the best, but maybe not as much as when they were popular 10-15 years ago. Around that time, I also remember when everyone was making lanceros and they were quite popular as a flash in the pan.

Nothing beats a robusto, Corona Gorda, or Churchill, however. Unfortunately, nothing beats the Cuban terroir, either.

As for the long term Cuban smokers, I was one for over 10 years, and it seems a lot of acquaintances from the forums over the years are migrating into the NC world, as am I. Many, many of my Havana favorites have been discontinued over the years and supply is still screwy, and many NC boutique blenders have popped up, showing that there are still novel blends to put together.

I park my coin on boxes that age well, just like I was doing with Cubans.

 

[Speak Easy]

Short Story for Fuente Friday.

 

[cshubhra]

Oliva Serie V Melanio

 

[dottlejockey]

Had a Crowned Heads Mil Dias while organizing tools in the shop.

 

[BenMN]

Mini G


I know it's Fuente Friday. Got a Don Carlos ready for after work

 

[Pooh-Bah]

Decided to buy a cigar while I was getting more tea at the lounge.
The color (relatively dark and a big shiny green band) and price (~$15) appealed to me, so I went with this thing here. Rocky Patel Emerald.

A couple puffs in, I'm a fan so far. Kinda earthy.

 

[BenMN]

No. 4

I like this size

 

[wyfbane]

I will be the first to admit my woeful ignorance of cigars, but I just tried one that was pretty awesome.

It was an Our Father - The Judge. I found it to have a very pleasant flavor with no harshness at all and it didn't have a very strong Nic hit. I liked it a lot.

 

[Bbailey324]

Hemingway Signature is tasting nice this evening.

 

[BenMN]

I will be the first to admit my woeful ignorance of cigars, but I just tried one that was pretty awesome.

It was an Our Father - The Judge. I found it to have a very pleasant flavor with no harshness at all and it didn't have a very strong Nic hit. I liked it a lot.

My favorite reviewer is Katman, in large part because he says stuff like this:

"... smokers think reviewers are a joke because of the flavor wheel adjectives often used to describe a cigar. Rank and file says I like it or I don’t. Me too."

Quote from today's review of an expensive Davidoff

Glad you had a pretty awesome smoke!

 

[danimalia]

In a way, you'd like to hope that the recent price hikes* from Habanos SA would open the door for Padrons smaller RG portfolio on the international market, they could fill that niche based on price and consistency very well.

But I guess getting long term Cuban cigar smokers to jump ship must be harder than I thought.


(*price hikes is putting it far too nicely).

Not just the price hikes, but Habanos SA's also been deleting more and more traditional sizes from their portfolio, so it seems like there'd be even more opportunity to capture disaffected Cuban smokers. But I guess most of the traditional sizes have become more of a niche thing in general, for Cubans and non-Cubans alike.

Hey, with all the recent Aladino love here, I wanted to post a deal that runs until 2/7/25 at 11:59pm PST: @ Small Batch Cigar. They're running a special on all JRE with few exceptions. 25% off with code JPR and 35% off with code JPR150 if you're spending more than $150.

I'm not affiliated at all, but it's a helluva deal - I put a box of the Santi in the cooler last time they ran this in November and a box of the lanceros several months before that.

Enjoy!

Nice. JRE is making some excellent cigars. I really wish I could use Small Batch, but since my mailing address is in California, I get hit with California tobacco taxes if I try to order from them since they're in Los Angeles. And my physical address is in Tijuana, so I risk customs issues if they would even ship them here.

 

[danimalia]

Smoking an Emilio Audiophile. I've never been the biggest fan of the stuff made by Black Label, though I had a Rorschach Sumatra earlier which was pretty solid. Haven't made up my mind yet on this one.