Cliff,

Whatever cigar you get be sure and read a poem by Kipling called, "The Betrothed."

"And a woman is only a woman, but a good Cigar is a Smoke."

Classic.

:)

I had the good fortune, while living in the Netherlands, to befriend an older gentleman named deGraaff, whose family has been cigar makers and tobacconists for generations. He's still got a place in Den Haag if you're ever there... deGraaff made cigars for Churchill during WWII and was the first european reseller to be certified by Cubatobacco (the Cuban parastatal). Over many hours and many excellent cigars he taught me quite a bit about cigars ... but all of that is going to boil down to what you like. If you know which tobaccos are used as filler/binder/wrapper in the cigar you like, you can try to find others with similar composition.

Everybody's gonna have their favorite brands. On the Cuban front, I like Sancho Panza and El Rey Del Mundo. Cuban R$J are good too. Once, in the Bahamas I got my hands on one (they only sold one to a customer) of the cigars Castro smoked, and I can't remember the name -- I have the cigar band at home -- it was one of the best I'd ever smoked, and it was long, with a much smaller ring gauge than I was used to smoking -- a Gran Corona, I think.

I follow a few guidelines -

First and foremost -- humidity. You should feel every cigar before you buy it, pinching it gently along its length-- it should give and feel tender, w/o the wrapper (meaning the outermost skin of the cigar) cracking. If the wrapper cracks, the inside is probably very dry, and thatsanogood. The "best" cigar in the world will taste like burning donkey fur if it's dry. Many places keep their humidors at ~75% humidity. I've tried to keep mine over 80. More on that in a second.

Second -- as you're feeling the cigar, you don't want to feel any "knots" in the filler. They will impede the draw, and could make the cigar go out. You should feel the veins in the leaves, but not "knots." You can also feel if the cigar has been filled with cuttings, rather than whole leaf. A lot of counterfeit cuban cigars actually have Cuban tobacco in them -- the Ligero and Gran Corona leaves unharvested by the legitimate tobacco makers are "stolen" at night and diced (rather than cured and rolled) and stuffed into "cigars."

So that's for all cigars of all types (except cigarillos and other "small" cigars that are better dry). Now, choosing a cigar itself.

Third -- ring gauge. A "thicker" cigar will burn more slowly, making the smoke more aromatic -- less pungent. Here's where the humidity comes in as well. A "properly" humidified cigar will also burn more slowly and taste better. Keep ash on the end of the cigar, as that impedes oxygen, making the tobacco smoulder rather than burn -- longer, better tasting smoke, whatever the ring gauge.

Fourth -- Aroma. You can get a feel for how you'll like a cigar by smelling it. -- not just the wrapper, but the "open" end too. Give yourself a good few seconds between cigars, tho.

Fifth -- length. This is the duration of the cigar itself, really. But the "smoke" does not become proportionately longer with length (unless you have a bulletproof palette). The upstream part of the cigar acts as a filter for all the smoke you've pulled through. As you burn the cigar down, more "crap" accumulates upstream, so when you pass the halfway point and start smoking tobacco that's been covered in the smoke of consumed "downstream" tobacco the cigar will usually begin to become more and more bitter, acrid and just plain foul in some cases.
So count on getting 60-70% out of a cigar's length for an enjoyable smoke.

The "Bitter Enders" out there will no doubt disagree, but if I've paid $15+ for a cigar, it's to maximize the enjoyment of a cigar, not to maximize its consumption -- b/c at a point, the cigar will "turn on you."

So the same blend of leaf can taste great as a Panatela or Cadete but awful (to you) as a Piramide or Double Corona -- the leaves will burn much differently. Start in the Hermoso/Robusto size and work your way up and down within the label or similar flavor range (your tobacconist should know) to see how these things affect the smoke. But moist -- always moist.

There's a LOT more to this, but this should get you rolling {snicker}.

Now ask me what time it is and I'll tell you about how Big Ben was built. :D

JP

JP, that cigar was called a "Trinidad," the replacement brand for Cohiba, once Cohiba got too popular. The old creep auctions them off in London for $14,000 a box to pay for Cuban medical relief.

That's it -- thanks.

JP

I have been a fan of cigars ever since the Clinton Administration.

Cramer! Were you in Matt's Grill night before last? I am in town for one more night, but was soooo sure it was you; it was too busy to go over and see if it was you.

JP, The cigar is a Trinidad Fundadore. It replaced the Cohiba Lancero as the head commie's cigar of choice. I used to have a hook & got Lanceros for $225 a box. Now it's up to $475-$500. Too rich for me. I've only smoked one & it's not in the same class as the Lancero IMHO. In fact I've bought dome Dominican Fundadores & liked them better than the Cubans.

Mule -

Thanks. Yeah, the guy at the shop explained it in much the same way Cramer did -- it replaced the "too popular" Cohiba.

I've not been such a fan of Cohibas, I'd stick with the Sancho Panzas over the Cohibas any time. It's just that the Sanchos are harder to get b/c they're not "too popular."

I'd written in my disquisition above a para. about the Cubans fleeing Cuba taking their tobacco seed stock with them. So a lot of Dominican and other "non-Cuban" cigar makers are using Cuban tobacco, grown elsewhere. Now, a given leaf grown in a hoyo in Cuba will have different characteristics than the same leaf grown on a slope in the DR (soil, sun, drainage, wind, etc.). But there's nothing to say that such a leaf will necessarily be "better" in Cuba. So there are some damned fine non-Cuban "Cuban" cigars out there, and they can use the brand names they'd been using before they were stolen in the name of the People's Glorious Revolucion.

JP

That's like saying that French or Italian grape vines transplanted to California won't necessarily be "better". They will definitely taste completely different, however.

"Cuban seed" is the biggest marketing scam out there for overpriced Dominican cigars.

Maybe I'm a pussy and I like weak cigars, but I've had a Romeo and Julietta and I didn't like it at all. That was my first and only Cuban, but I found out that they sell Cohibas at Tabacchi stores here. One guy was telling me how they are the best cigars and now you guys... 40 euro for 5-4" (not 100% sure) and I've been meaning to get some. I've smoked Arango Sportsmans and I liked them a lot. I also really like Tatiana cigars. Does it make me even more of a pussy if I like flavored cigars/cigarillos?

Cheers,
Serge

Jon -
I definitely agree on the 2nd point. I'm about 50% on the first point. They won't necessarily taste completely different -- remember that the same tobacco farmers that grew the stuff in Cuba used certain regions, certain terroir, for reasons. These experts can find similar terroir in other areas (though obviously the soil is not going to be a spot-on match). All I meant to say was that a good, hearty leaf, grown under different circumstances can still produce excellent tobacco, and may (may) result in equal or superior cigars -- once curing, blending, rolling, etc. are all factored in to the mix too.

If you don't have good leaf to start with, you're pretty much dead in the water.

Serge -- one of my favorite all-time smokes are cigarillos soaked in Niebaum-Coppola red wine. Unfortunately, AFAIK, they're only available at the vineyard. Mmmmmm I miss those.

So maybe we're equally pussified.

JP

Fking Yuppies...A Real Man will smoke a Partagas Black Label Pymirade...thats a cigar that will knock your head back and spin it around a couple of times

Cuban Cohibas are for Neophyte Pussies or Fools, a better choich would be the Cuban Romeo and Jullietta Churchill....but I stoped spending all that high flautin loot on cigars now I just go up to the Paiute Indiand reservation and buy Domienco Presidentes 9 x 50.. in a bundle for $1.60 each.....it's a good long filler cigar...

NOw if you should happen to be stupid enought to think that I havn't been around the block a least once with regards to cigars..I will flat out tell you the best cigar ever made was the Partagas 150....it had it all...

And OPS....You definately ain't Readers Digest material...

Cliff,
If you still want to look past the machismo and possible/certain dizziness from a potent cigar, try either a Dunhill label cigar or a great mild Dominican called Licenciado (yellow ring).

I don't know who makes them for Dunhill but for the most part they are on the lighter side.

Lately, I haven't been able to find a steady source for Licenciados. Maybe you'll have more luck.

Arturo Fuetes..pbbbt...over rated....

Excalber #1 Maduros...yeah...a mans cigar...

Private Stock... are Davidoff/Avao seconds...nice cigar

Come on Tabs, Partagas 150 were great. Got a box of 'em at JR's on a trip thru N. Carolina. They had 2 floor displays of 'em for $200 a box & boxes of 50 for $400. Thompson was trying to sell individual sticks for $30. Good cigar. Maybe a touch better than a Hemmingway. Maybe! No Lancero. No way. No Montechristo #2 either. Next time you see whoever told you that Fuentes are overrated, slap him. That's ridiculous.

Partagas black label is not that stout of a cigar. Get a Cuban Montechristo A & call me when you wake up. Or try a LaFlor Dominicana double ligero Chisel.

Michael, I was not last evening, nor have I been for the last 36 months, in Matts Grill. But as the joint is frequented by handsome loudmouths I can certainly see how you got that impression. :)

All this furor over Cigars. Did any of you epicurians attend The Big Smoke this year? Tickets were $150, and I picked up enough good cigars to last for a few months. Some excellent stuff, some dog-rockets.

Monte #2 and Hemmingway.... mmmmm.

I was going to rec. Dunhill and Davidoff (esp. the Zino Platinum Chubby Especial!!), but those are personal preferences, not how he should pick one himself.

Tabby, you compliment me the further distance you put between me and RD. :D

JP

The Big Smoke is highly recommended. Great food, great liqour & (if you work it right) over $200 worth of cigars for $150.

Never been to the big smoke, but have done the RTDA twice. Now THAT is a lot of free gars!
BTW, John, "dog rocket" is definitely part of my lingo. Did any of you guys ever frequent and cigar BBS?