Kinda Newbie Question/Statement

Joined Apr 2006
1 Posts | 0+
Muskegon, MI
This is my first post on this or any cigar forum. I am a bit new when it comes to cigars. I have been peeking at this forum for the last year but have not committed to comment on anything. I would like to thank all of you for the many hints and suggestions that have been posted here.

I am almost 40 and have prior to last year never even considered smoking cigars. I am in the Army and have been for almost 20 years but never even considered cigars or any tobacco products. I did grow up in California and my father was a true Flower Child so prior to joining the Army the only Tobacco product I ever had experience was whacky tobacky.

A few years ago, while recruiting in CA I was invited to a Cigar Dinner. I thought this was a cool event, mainly because I got to learn swing dancing. Even though I went to this party which I believed was sponsored by Macanudo I didn't even hold a cigar, couldn’t even stand the smell of the things. I think this was mainly just something in my head.

Anyway at the ripe young age of 37 I started was reading a Golf Magazine and there was an advertisement from Thompson for a sample of 12 cigars and a carry case. I don't know what caused me to even pick up the phone, perhaps it was the Cruise I was about to take or even the latest episode of Boston Legal. Regardless of why, I ordered this sample case. Looked on the internet and found this sit which had so much information for newbie’s. I learned how to cut the cigar and light them before I received my first order.

I received my order about 2 weeks before going on my cruise and realized that I had nowhere to store them. I took them to work and decided that I would try these while finishing homework away from home. I saved the few bands of the Cigars that I felt were palatable and when finished with the sample pack realized that I was able to relax quite a bit more when trying to enjoy my cigars.

Never before did I think this could be such an enjoyable past time. I rushed down to my nearest cigar shop and purchased a fist load of sticks for my cruise. Again maybe I was doing this for the esteem? Regardless of that I continued to enjoy this.

Now I feel that I am the luckiest husband of all. My wife was a smoker but about 10 years ago she quit cold turkey. She hates the smell of cigarettes but now she enjoys the smell of cigar smoke. How lucky is this? The best thing is she will even take a few pulls from my cigar. I say the best thing because she likes it enough to take a few draws from mine but not enough to have to but her own.

Long post, dribbling on, so I will get to the end here. I was wondering if I could get some advice for a few different brands. So far I have found a couple that I like and have kept with them. This is the few that I have stuck with.

CAO Brazilia GOL and AMAZON
Romeo y Juliet
Ashton

My favorite is the CAO Brazilia, I was a bit hesitant at first but when I was on the cruise I had to do some homework and stayed up half the first night in the Cigar Bar/Internet Cafe trying to fight through my Statistics work. I happened to have one CAO and held off to the end of the night to light it up. That was a miracle cigar, thick and rich smoke, now this was what I thought a cigar was supposed to be. After that night I would always try to end a night of Cigars with one of these. Of course my first Amazon almost put me on my back, especially since I decided to start with this before I had any thing to eat.

One last note, I do not smoke on a regular basis, perhaps only a fair weather smoker so suffice it to say I could probably make 2 or three boxes last for a year. I did however opt to purchase a humidor that holds up to 150. By the way, thanks for the advise on this because the 50 count humidor I was about to purchase would have deffinetly been too small.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

PS
As for Thompson’s Cigar Shop, my first order was my last order with them, They were a bit too pushy for my own taste, calling me as soon as I ordered my first Cigars trying to set up an account. I was a recruiter and just don't like the pushy sales that I was forced to do myself.
 
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Welcome to the AmBack/Cigar.com forums, and thank you for protecting The American Way. As for "The 'T' Word," maybe you've seen some of our threads? :sm_angel: At any rate, many of us got started with them, but at some point, in many cases early on, left "The 'T' Word." :cryinlaugh: :cryinlaugh:

Keep learning, keep experimenting, and hopefully you'll keep posting here. :thumbsup: :wine:
 
Welcome from another fellow Michigander (Oakland Co). Out of the ones you listed, I like the Ashton Natural the best.
 
Well, there goes the neighborhood. Being active duty Navy, I was enjoying my time in the spotlight. But hey, "WELCOME ABOARD" anyway. You're going to like it here. And I'll make a little interservice bet with you that your two or three boxes a year will, at a minimum, double if you keep hanging out with these guys.

I'm a fairly new cigar smoke as well and some of the brands I have found that I enjoy include just about anything from the 5 Vegas series but most definitely the Series "A". I also like Cu_Avano, which tend to be a bit milder. On the heartier side, I have found that I like Belinda Black Equisito. It literally booms out clouds of smoke. You can find them online at JRs.

For a less expensive everyday smoke, I have also purchased a few bundles of JR alternatives. The Macanudo Hyde Park alternative is mild to medium and a good smoke as well.

My next order will be an assortment of the Cigar.com brands. These guys keep raving about them so I have got to try them.

Again, welcome to the forum.
 
SFC if you like those you will love the Onyx Reserve "Mini Belicoso" trust me

welcome to the forum
 
Welcome Try the Cigar.com label mixed sampler. The cameroon label is awsome. The Onyx mini-belicoso and Rocky Patel Sun Grown are my regular every day cigars.
 
Welcome aboard! Your story is almost identical to mine, except that I sent my first and only Thompson order back unopened. I ordered from Cigar.com next, and have done so ever since. I find cigar smoking to be extremely relaxing and enjoyable.

Now if I could just get my wife to understand why I NEED to spend $750 bucks on a box of Between the Lines. LOL.
 
cutter said:
Now if I could just get my wife to understand why I NEED to spend $750 bucks on a box of Between the Lines.
Good luck with that! :lol:
 
:rotflmao: :cryinlaugh: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :cryinlaugh: :cryinlaugh: :eek:mg: :flush: :flush:
 
Welcoem there SFCWill. You keep on posting, brother, any time we can get an interesting story on here, everybody learns something for sure.

Cutter, let us know how that works out brother - you could always tell her its for a box split!!
 
Bit late but anyways...

Welcome from another Michigander (Kazoo area)

My advice would be to look at C.com's sampler listings, lots of different treats there. Variety is always a good thing.
 
Welcome from yet another Michigan guy. I'm down around the People's Republic of Ann Arbor.

Its a great bunch of guys here and a wealth of info.

All the best,


Joe
 
Ann Arbor. I love that town, especially when there are a bunch of Buckeye fans leaving with their heads hung low. Thats hasn't happened in a while though.

Zingermans is reason enough to visit there :lol:
 
Ahhhhhhhhhhh, Zingerman's....................

Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

All the best,


Joe
 
Hey Will,
That was a great first post ( though I haven't been around long enough to compare)... but I think that your final question ( of brand cigars) is a really good one... I notice on cigar aficianado there are quite a few cigars on the top 25 that are less than 10 bucks a stick... and when I look at the cigar.com selection, my jaw drops at the brands that are heavier on the pocket...
So my question is ...
What is it with the rankings... I see some big numbers being thrown around with the cheaper cigars... and smaller numbers being thrown around with the ritzy cigars. Does price affect the rank?

Oh and can someone suggest me a good box of full bodied cigars that won't hurt my budget ( around $50-80 +/- 20 bucks)

Since I'm a fair weather smoker like Wil, I was curious if it was a better idea to blow the same price on fewer cigars...

Okay that is the last post I'll place about me being a penny pincher...
 
Well, if you're looking for a box of fuller cigars, the CAO Brazilias are nice and they're on sale here for about 80. Less expensive ones to try might be the Flor de Oliva Maduros as well as the Sol Cubano Maduros. 5 Vegas A's might be another to try. But before you buy a box of something you haven't tried, pick up a bunch of singles. Get at least two at a time as you never want to form an opinion based on one cigar.

As for ratings, I never really go by them. But I don't think they're influenced by price. At least not here. Really you should find cigars you like, get the tobacco information and find similar cigars. A lot of the ones on cigar.com give suggestions for similar cigars so that's a place to start.
 
Cusano 18 Maduros are another pretty budget wise buy, think they are around $65 for 18 smokes.