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Brands that can be enjoyed right off the B&M shelf

1K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  Divinedark 
#1 ·
I've been doing a ton of reading on here, and something that seems to be a common theme is resting cigars. I'm just getting started, and don't have my humi sorted out quite yet. Maybe by the end of this week, but until then I'm basically resigned to my little 10 stick travel humi.

That leads me to ask, what brands/specific cigars are good right off the store shelf? I'll have at least another month before I can enjoy anything that's had ample resting time in my own humidor, so I need something to look at until then.

The cigars I was looking at picking up for this weeks enjoyment were the CAO Brazilia and Oliva V.
 
#6 ·
padrons are well known to be good right away as well.
Certain brands are known to need some time, and the reality is with every new line that comes out one has to wonder if they will get better. Truth of the matter is most can be enjoyed right off the shelf, even Opuses, although the (near) universal consensus is they get better with age.

When I read this thread, the only thing that comes to mind is Padrón, as it's really the only brand where things get worse the longer they sit. They do a phenomenal job of timing the cigars perfectly so they are released right as they are peaking.

My apologies to those of you with boxes of Milleniums thinking that they haven't lost anything.
 
#7 ·
I've got a couple 5000's sitting in my travel humi. I've really been drawn to the brand, truth be told. Not sure what it is, but I have a big preference to chocolate/cream/coffee flavors in my cigars, and some say that Padron offers that in spades.
 
#8 ·
I've had great luck with Padron, Illusione, and Tatuaje. A few months for everything will always help. You never know how long anything has been sitting at your B&M, could be a brand new box they just got in that day for all you know. The best Padron I had was an Executive maduro with about 2 years on it. Much smoother than the new ones I have smoked. Maybe it is just a better cigar, but my guess is they will do better with some rest but not with the long term aging that some others may because they come with about 2 years of age on them already.

Saying a Padron only gets worse is like saying they peak after 2 years of age. That's an interesting statement to make and one I think many would disagree with.
 
#9 ·
I'm going to maybe muddy the waters here.

Most of what we buy here in the US is ready to smoke when we buy it. They will taste just fine if the storage has been good. Some may improve with time and some may not.

The problem comes with that little phrase, "if the storage has been good". Most of the B&M places storage is anything but good. Some try hard than others. When I hear someone complain about a burn and construction issue I think poor storage. A lot of B&M are bad and then there is shipping.

Many of the companies that ship over humidify the sticks before shipping. They don't want them to dry out while sitting on trucks and planes. This means you're going to have burn issues and flavor issues right off the truck. Another little issue pops up and that is often that over humidification cause another minor round of fermentation. Now you have cigars that are building up ammonia levels. All of us have bought that fiver or box where the first smoke tasted great but the next one we smoked a few weeks later was nasty. Second fermentation and ammonia build up was the cause. You'll read about the 'sick period'. Sometimes it takes months for that process to stop and the ammonia to dissipate. sometimes a fresh shipment at your local B&M will also have this issue.

All of this means smoke them right of the truck or from the B&M and deal with maybe some burn issues during the first week or so. If you’re lucky and find that rare place where they do a good job with storage buy and buy often. You want that B&M to healthy.

The other option is to rest those sticks and use your nose looking of hints of ammonia. My youngest daughter (now 30) says that cigars in the sick period smell like a dirty hamster cage and she isn't talking about in a good barnyard smell sort of way.

I'm to the point where what I buy today I plan on smoking next year.

One last hint...there are some smaller online dealers that do a much better job of storing and shipping. The big heavy hitters we so often hear about here ain't on my short go to list.

So how was that to muddy the waters...as always the right answer comes down to "it depends".
 
#11 ·
I second the Padron's without reservation. When I am on the road and visit a B&M, I buy a cigar or 2. Always reach for a padron and will light it up right there. I have not had many of the 26s, but the x000 series and the 64's are super right away or at most after a week in a stable humi. You may want to dry box one for a day before lighting up as well.
 
#14 ·
I'm to the point where what I buy today I plan on smoking next year.
+1 for that! Most of the good stuff I buy today I won't smoke for 6 months minimum. However I do buy a bunch of stuff that I only rest for a few weeks.

When you smoke 4-5 cigars a day it is hard to build up an aged stock without being pretty well healed. I smoke too much and am too poor to "put up" too many smokes for the future (I'm also too damn old to worry too much about the future!!!).

Smoke 'em if you got 'em...words to live by...:ss
 
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