The PH Cigar Thread
Discussion
Baryonyx said:
minerva said:
This has convinced me to go and have a cigar. I have had a fair few but none for a year or so... I visited Cuba after my last tour of Afghan and it was brilliant, lots of very established brands for very reasonable prices. I did a tour of the factory and bought some 'Cohiba' without the label on them, on the sly, from one of the workers. They were terrible! They must have been ancient and smoked really poorly. Given we were in the factory that made cohibas, he must have really gone to a significant effort to make them that bad!
Can anyone recommend me a brand that is very light? I am not appreciative of the heavier smoking cigars (like, for instance, Cohiba).
I very much doubt the cigar you bought was anything like a Cohiba without the label on them. More than likely they were some right old dog rockets, improperly stored, and kept handy to flog to unsuspecting tourists. The Cohiba is a fine, handcrafted product with a considerable value attached. I doubt the production is so poorly regulated as to allow them 'out the back door'. Can anyone recommend me a brand that is very light? I am not appreciative of the heavier smoking cigars (like, for instance, Cohiba).
Regarding a starter cigar, it depends where you're buying from. You're best off going to a proper cigar shop/lounge and getting set up there. Take a recommendation from the staff on a mild, easy cigar and let them choose one for you. You'll also need it cut and lit properly, so get a lighter and see if the staff will cut it for you (or fork out for a decent cigar cutter if you intend on smoking a lot at home).
In terms of brands, don't get hung up on the location of origin for the cigar as Cuba is not the be-all, end-all of good cigars (though I have found them to be consistently good, but that may be luck). You can often get better value on non-Cuban brands which are just as good. Punch are a good place to start, and were recommended to me when I was seeking my first cigar. I had a silver tubed Petit Coronas, which was fantastic.
The production of the cigars in Hvana may be regulated but good grief, I have no idea how. It was the most haphazard looking operation I have ever seen. No rhyme or reason to the way the people making them appeared to be gathered at all. The cigars they were making were all, obviously, unbranded initially. How on earth they kept tabs on them all, I have no idea. They were all smoking cigars, too. Can you just imagine the fire risk of a room so crowded they were practically sitting on top of each other, sitting on wooden chairs, at wooden benches and manipulating dried tobacco leaves, whilst all smoking themselves.... There are times I see sense in the Healy and safety at work act!
ShayneJ said:
where can i go to sell some cigars?
i no longer smoke and i have 16 Cohiba Esplendidos sitting on the box
here.
the usual auction sites seem not to allow tobacco for sale
and i would rather they went to someone who can truly appreciate them
but i dont want to get bent over they were not cheap!
Sautters of Mayfair buy Cigars. I'm not sure on prices but have seen them advertise in the paper.i no longer smoke and i have 16 Cohiba Esplendidos sitting on the box
here.
the usual auction sites seem not to allow tobacco for sale
and i would rather they went to someone who can truly appreciate them
but i dont want to get bent over they were not cheap!
marksx said:
Would you describe the Punch as a 'peppery' cigar?
I ask as several years, while drinking in a bar in York, we bought several tubed cigars that were very peppery but very nice.
Due to the effects of alcohol and time, I can't remember what they were, other than the tube being a blue/grey colour.
They will have been a petit corona sized cigar I think. <£10
The Punch typically is not what I would consider a peppery cigar. That's why they seem to come up as a recommendation as a great cigar to start with. They are smooth and the smoke is quite thick, cool and creamy. If it's really peppery, you could have been smoking too fast or indeed, it could have been improperly stored at the bar. Bars don't shift many cigars, especially since the smoking ban. They need to be stored in a humidor, which most bars skip. Avoid cigars coming (even tubed) out of a jar on the back of the bar. Dry cigars will typically taste more acidic or peppery than they should. A properly stored Punch should be smooth and mild.I ask as several years, while drinking in a bar in York, we bought several tubed cigars that were very peppery but very nice.
Due to the effects of alcohol and time, I can't remember what they were, other than the tube being a blue/grey colour.
They will have been a petit corona sized cigar I think. <£10
Damn, I could murder a decent cigar tonight.
Mastodon2 said:
Miguel Alvarez said:
I had a plugged Romeo Y Julietta last night. A few pokes with a kebab skewer made it bearable but it wasn't the greatest of smokes.
Tomorrow I'll head into Reading and see what Shave and Coster have in their humidor.
What a wounder. I had an Oliva Serie O a while back that had a pretty tight draw, I couldn't feel a knot but it was pretty stiff. I doubt using a draw poker would have helped much, it was just tight over all, it was a really heavy cigar so I think it was just over-packed. So dissatisfying.Tomorrow I'll head into Reading and see what Shave and Coster have in their humidor.
minerva said:
Can anyone recommend me a brand that is very light? I am not appreciative of the heavier smoking cigars (like, for instance, Cohiba).
I've never been that impressed with Cohiba's. A bit like Monte Christo they're either really good or blah. My favourite Cuban has to be the Partagas D4. A wonderful tasting cigar which leads onto my next comment......marksx said:
Would you describe the Punch as a 'peppery' cigar?
It's got a little something to it but the tube is a khaki green. If it used to be blue then that's before my time. If I wanted a "savoury" tasting smoke I'd go for a Partagas Short or a Dunhill 1907 Robusto. Which reminds me I should order some in for the BBQ season.
Miguel Alvarez said:
As the weather has been nioe I've had a few this weekend. A spot of gardening has been a great excuse. In between my usual Charatan Robusto I got to try one of the Trinidad Vigia. It was a great smoke. No complaints. Paired with a nice coffee it was a nice sweet midday cigar.
I'd love to try a Trinidad in a larger gauge, the two Reyes I've smoked were excellent, but they are very small and short. My local tobacconist / lounge stocks Trinidads in a few vitolas, but they're all pretty thin. I know purists tend to say that smaller gauges give a more favourable wrapper:binder:filler ratio and have better flavour, but I prefer the draw and feel of 56s and 60s. I actually find the Reyes to be quite a dry, woody flavour, medium in body but an easy smoke. My last one just plum went out on me - I wasn't smoking slowly, probably about 2 draws a minute which is as fast as I'd ever really smoke, and it just completely died halfway down. Luckily a blast from the lighter and a purge got it going again, then I just gave it a few minutes for the cherry too cool down again and it was good as it was before it went out.I'm heading down the lounge on Friday evening for the late night lock-in smoke after closing, going with a friend who isn't a cigar smoker but wants to have a try, I'm not sure what I'll end up having. I imagine we'll be in there for a decent while, so a couple of big, cool-smoking medium body cigars will do me. A CAO Brazilia seems inevitable, even though they're more medium-full, they're a cigar I can swear by.
Mastodon2 said:
I'd love to try a Trinidad in a larger gauge, the two Reyes I've smoked were excellent, but they are very small and short. My local tobacconist / lounge stocks Trinidads in a few vitolas, but they're all pretty thin. I know purists tend to say that smaller gauges give a more favourable wrapper:binder:filler ratio and have better flavour, but I prefer the draw and feel of 56s and 60s. I actually find the Reyes to be quite a dry, woody flavour, medium in body but an easy smoke. My last one just plum went out on me - I wasn't smoking slowly, probably about 2 draws a minute which is as fast as I'd ever really smoke, and it just completely died halfway down. Luckily a blast from the lighter and a purge got it going again, then I just gave it a few minutes for the cherry too cool down again and it was good as it was before it went out.
I'm heading down the lounge on Friday evening for the late night lock-in smoke after closing, going with a friend who isn't a cigar smoker but wants to have a try, I'm not sure what I'll end up having. I imagine we'll be in there for a decent while, so a couple of big, cool-smoking medium body cigars will do me. A CAO Brazilia seems inevitable, even though they're more medium-full, they're a cigar I can swear by.
I get what you're saying with regards to the smaller guages. If I'm smoking a cigar then it should look and feel like a cigar as silly as that sounds. Coronas and Robustos are my personal choice. Although I have tried others. The Chinchalero Novillio is a nice 4 x 60 cigar. I tried an Oliva Toro once but that was too big. Took bloody ages to smoke as well. I'm heading down the lounge on Friday evening for the late night lock-in smoke after closing, going with a friend who isn't a cigar smoker but wants to have a try, I'm not sure what I'll end up having. I imagine we'll be in there for a decent while, so a couple of big, cool-smoking medium body cigars will do me. A CAO Brazilia seems inevitable, even though they're more medium-full, they're a cigar I can swear by.
I'm going to have to try a CAO at some point. I keep reading good things about them. They also do a "Soprano" range.
Back to the Trini's I have a roof price in my head on how much I'm willing to spend on a cigar. Under £20. As I'm usually alone with the thoughts when I'm having one occassionally it dawns on me that I'm sat in the garden burning £20+
. It is nice to treat yourself once in a while though. If you like the Reyes then I think you'd like the Vigia.
RichUK said:
Would anyone be interested in a cigar meet at some point? We could arrange something at Sautter, or Dunhill at 1A St James.
I could arrange for a whisky / rum cigar tasting evening if people fancied it?
I would be up for that. There have been a couple of PH cigar meets so far and both have been thoroughly enjoyable.I could arrange for a whisky / rum cigar tasting evening if people fancied it?
marksx said:
Wow. The aroma when you open that must be incredible!
Its not bad
. Sadly, here in Canada there is no public space in which to smoke..even private smoking clubs are banned. In the Southern US there are lot of places to smoke but Cuban cigars are banned!..it enough to drive you bonkers.RDMcG said:
Its not bad . Sadly, here in Canada there is no public space in which to smoke..even private smoking clubs are banned. In the Southern US there are lot of places to smoke but Cuban cigars are banned!..it enough to drive you bonkers.
I'm not sure of the UK laws exactly, some of the fancier hotels around here have smoking shacks, which are a bit like beach huts with no fixed doors that you can smoke in. My local tobacconist has a lounge which is an incredible place to have a smoke, I believe there is an exemption to have a sampling lounge on a business premises if the business makes more than 50% of it's income from tobacco products, or something like that. What a god send. I wouldn't be a cigar smoker other than one or two a year around the BBQ if it were not for my local lounge. On top of that, it is filled with regulars who are all top blokes. I'm back again this Friday, I can't bloody wait. . Sadly, here in Canada there is no public space in which to smoke..even private smoking clubs are banned. In the Southern US there are lot of places to smoke but Cuban cigars are banned!..it enough to drive you bonkers.Mastodon2 said:
I'm not sure of the UK laws exactly, some of the fancier hotels around here have smoking shacks, which are a bit like beach huts with no fixed doors that you can smoke in. My local tobacconist has a lounge which is an incredible place to have a smoke, I believe there is an exemption to have a sampling lounge on a business premises if the business makes more than 50% of it's income from tobacco products, or something like that. What a god send. I wouldn't be a cigar smoker other than one or two a year around the BBQ if it were not for my local lounge. On top of that, it is filled with regulars who are all top blokes. I'm back again this Friday, I can't bloody wait.
I'll have to pay another visit to the UK!Mastodon2 said:
This is my smoke tomorrow night.
.
The Oliva Serie V Melanio, supposed to be a very good smoke. I wasn't massively impressed by the Serie O I tried, but I think it was overpacked and hopefully a dud, I'm not giving up on Oliva yet as they tend to get good reviews.
I think you will enjoy it, I have 5 in the humidor at the moment (used to be 10) and each one has been faultless.
The Oliva Serie V Melanio, supposed to be a very good smoke. I wasn't massively impressed by the Serie O I tried, but I think it was overpacked and hopefully a dud, I'm not giving up on Oliva yet as they tend to get good reviews.
.
TheHoof said:
RichUK said:
Would anyone be interested in a cigar meet at some point? We could arrange something at Sautter, or Dunhill at 1A St James.
I could arrange for a whisky / rum cigar tasting evening if people fancied it?
I'd be interested!I could arrange for a whisky / rum cigar tasting evening if people fancied it?
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