[Lamar]

I am in a real dilema and I am looking for some help at this juncture. I have been gifted a lot of smokes recently and I saw it as an opportunity to taste smokes that I normally do not buy and find out what I really like. I am now working through one of Edisonbirds sticks and I am finding that apart from the sickies, I have yet to toast a cigar that I haven't enjoyed.

Does this mean that when I auction off the firstborn male child and get some real heavyweights that I will experience new heights?

Are the super high end, super rare cigars "better" than the rest of the pack? How much better are the Dunhills, Salomons, and Diademas than the rank and file?

 

[dayplanner]

Ahhh Lamar, you are now ready to go down the slippery slope in overdrive, apply for more credit cards now and get yourself a nice big cabinet humidor.lol

 

[sgoselin]

I don't think I can make any blanket statements about super rare or super high end cigars in general. I love great cigars. Some of the best and the worst cigars that I have smoked would be considered rare or vintage. I love the Davidoff #1, it might qualify as my all time favorite cigar. Actually anything by Davidoff (Cuban), most Dunhills, very old Bolivars, Por Laranaga's, RyJ Celestial Finos and many more are all fantastic. IMHO they are incredibly better then the regular ISOM's that I smoke. On the other hand I have paid some high prices for rare or vintage cigars that were mediocre and even incredibly bad. As I have said before, if Havana addiction is the slippery slope then the pursuit of vintage and rare cigars is a deep, dark and bottomless pit. I would not suggest venturing into the abyss unless you are well educated in Havana cigars and have the disposable income. There is nothing more disappointing then dropping $100.00 on an old cigar only to find out that it is way past it's prime. Actually, there is something more disappointing and that is spending $200.00 on a cigar with the same result. Last year I focussed on collecting almost exclusively vintage Havanas. When I looked at my end of year statement I figured out that the amount of money that I spent only accounted for about 2 dozen boxes. Had I purchased only more recent production or even stuff in the 97 - 98 range it would have translated into more like 125 - 150 boxes depending upon size. I am starting this year off laying down a lot more of the recent production for long term aging. A long answer to your question. The bottom line is that in my opinion if you find the right vintage Havana it is an unmatched experience and well worth the cost and effort. Good luck my friend.

 

[mcgoospot]

Lamar old buddy-a great question. I'm finding that I enjoy the custom rolled cigars that some of the vendors sell much more than the regular sticks and even more than some of the vintage sticks that I have purchased. Over the past six months I have purchased Partagas blend salomones, cohiba blend salomones, dunhill blend campanas, punch blend diademas, custom rolled diademas from Jorge Luna and from La China. The taste and quality of these stoicks are phenomenal. I've just ordered a box of custom rolled corona gordos in a Cohiba Robusto blend from Alfredo Martines Amores-can't wait to get my hands on these babies. The problem with these cigars is cost. Generally I am spending $25.00-40.00/cigar and that gets expensive. I have so many cigars, however, that I've pretty much given up ordering the new stuff (although I did just get in a box of the new Cohiba Reserva Seleccions-$800.00 for the box of 30). I only smoke the special stuff on special occasions.

 

[Lamar]

"Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in"

Looks like there is a black hole in the abyss that has accelerated my downward spiral on the slippery slope. I appreciate the comments and now I know that I know nothing about the sacred stick. I do now have however yet another incentive to push me to sell. I hope to sell enough now to actually spark one of those major sticks.

Hopefully when that day comes I'll have enough lung left to enjoy the puppy.