The PH Cigar Thread

[Mastodon2]

I had three cigars this evening, I was smoking and putting the world to rights with my mates for about 4.5 hours.

I started with a Diplomaticos no 2, this was a good cigar with a mediocre one stuck on the end. The first half was mildly spicy, but had a poor draw and didn't burn amazingly. Once I got into the second half it pretty much changed completely in between draws, being a good smoker with a reasonable draw, good burn and plenty of smoke. The flavor was a rich tobacco, not really much else so not what I'd call a complex smoke. With so many cigars out there, I wouldn't rush back. Definitely a Cuban that doesn't live up to the hype - albeit a hype that exists mainly in the heads of non-smokers.

I then had a break for about 20 minutes, cleared my palate then went onto a Padron Maduro at the recommendation of my tobacconist. I'd wanted to try one, as they get rave reviews on cigarobsession. This definitely lived up to the hype, I am pleased to report. It didn't look anything special in the humidor, the band is plain, it wasn't particularly large, the colour not especially dark etc. However, a draw before lighting revealed it to be very loose, with practically no resistance. Toasting it and lighting it up, it proved to be as loose as I had thought it would be, yet this seemed to be an element of it's construction, and intended trait rather than a fluke of the rolling process. It burned absolutely perfectly, making a solid white ash that held on well, with a burn line that was so sharp and even it looked like it had been done with a laser. The flavours were big desert tones, cream, mild coffee and rich cocoa, all the way down to the band, where it started to get a bit hot and bitter, as practically any cigar would. The smoke output was voluminous, with the easy draw producing huge, pillowy clouds. Remarkably, it didn't burn quickly, which I had thought it would. This is another £10 stick that blows away the competition.

After another break, I had my last cigar, looking for something cheap, light and easy to smoke. I had a Flor de Oliva, I forgot to check the vitola but it was about a 46 x 6". For £8 it wasn't bad, but it wasn't remarkable either, but maybe it was just never going to blow me away after that Padron. It did fulfill it's required duty though, being a decent burner I could wave around for another hour while I was shooting the st with the guys in the lounge.

In all, a bloody great night.

[Mastodon2]

I smoked this the other night, another Alec Bradley Texas Lancero.



The second I've had, sweet with a chocolate flavour on the pre-draw, once let it's a coffee / chocolate mix, turning into a stronger roast coffee bean flavour in the second half. Despite being a 7"x70 ring, the burn was very clean, ash dropping in solid 1" chunks. This was a legitimate 2.5 hour smoke, no re-lights. The guys at my lounge love them, there are loads of cigars to choose from but it's rare that I go on a busy night and don't see at least one being smoked. Not subtle, not complex, not loaded with transitions, but for a big old stick to burn through a good gas on with mates, it's a great choice.

Next Friday the late night smoke has a special 20% off Montecristo Edmundos, so I may end up having one of those while I'm down.

[Mastodon2]

That sounds fantastic vxr8mate, I'd love to go somewhere like that. Next time I'm on holiday I'll either go somewhere I can buy cigars, or take a travel humidor with enough cigars for at least a stick a day.

I'm smoking at my usual haunt on Friday, I don't know what I'm having, except perhaps a Montecristo Edmundo, which are 20% off for the late night smoke this week. I'm really looking forward to getting the sticks lit up and having a having a crack on with the other regulars.

[Mastodon2]

logoman said:

I havent posted for a long time, but thought you might appreciate my Le Mans 2007 sticker job.

Edited by logoman on Saturday 23 May 12:34

Very cool, gains bonus cool points for only really being identifiable by cigar smokers - IE, the social elite, high society etc

Good show!

I was on the smokes last night, I started with a Gurkha Royal Challenge and followed that with a Montecristo Edmundo. I've seen Gurkha get criticised for being all about the packaging, the admittedly amazing boxes and tubes etc, but this one proved to be a good stick, and a fairly cheap one at the £10 mark. It was a very light colour, almost a mild claro green under the shop lights, but in the lounge with the dim lighting you couldn't really see that. It was mild in flavour, short on finish, with a perfect draw and good smoke production. No real big flavour notes, maybe a little ceder wood hint here and there, but mainly it was just cured tobacco. Would make a great afternoon smoke, if you've got an hour to burn and don't want something too strong or heavy on flavour.

My second cigar of the evening was a Montecristo Edmundo, which was a much richer experience. This was an interesting one as the guys in the shop reckoned it was a real grade A box, and I had to agree, every cigar was absolutely perfect in construction and appearance, mine even had a bit of plume around the cap, which I was quite interested to see - I know plume isn't an indicator of quality, doens't change the flavours etc, but it was at least an interesting note. Flavours were mainly earthy and leather notes, no spice or pepper. Deep, rich and smooth, but easy to smoke as there was no bite on the tongue.

I have been thinking about adding a pipe to the collection, so that when I go to the smokes I can have a single cigar and a bit of pipe tobacco, which is much the same as smoking a cigar but with different flavour profiles. It's also massively cheaper, I could buy enough loose tobacco to have a few bowls for a few quid, or get a tin of good stuff for about £11 which could last me weeks. I had my mate taking me through all of the tubs of loose tobacco, talking me through the manufacturing and curing processes, letting me have a smell of the different types and having a bit of pipe chat. That stuff smells absolutely incredible, as I had noticed when him and some of the other guys in the room are smoking, it's so sweet and creamy. I had initially thought pipes were a bit "old man", but when he said "It's quick, easy to smoke at your own pace, gives you a perfect draw every time and is way cheaper per hour than smoking cigars", I was already half sold on the idea. Basically as it is, I only go along every now and I have no real desire to smoke anywhere but in their lounge, but adding a pipe to the mix will make it even more cost efficient and probably more enjoyable too. Did I mention that it smells amazing? I could have had my head in the cherry and vanilla tub for an hour and not gotten sick of that.

[Mastodon2]

I bought myself a Peterson Flame Grains 80s pipe yesterday, my first pipe and the first time I've smoked anything other than a cigar.

The photo from the website




For my first smoke, I had the tobacconist go through a load of different loose tobaccos with me on Friday, and yesterday I had a shortlist of potential buys. I ended up with 10g of maple and vanilla. My first bowl was rubbish, I got the pinches and the finger tamping right, but over-burned the top and got some wicked tongue bite. After such a scorching on the first light, I couldn't get the white insulating layer of ash after tamping, so I dumped the bowl and started again. The second, third and forth bowls were much, much better. It was a surprisingly more savory smoke than I had expected, but still pleasant and immensely satisfying in the huge plumes of thick, white and pillowy smoke it produces. I still have not mastered getting the second light to last the whole bowl, but each bowl I had needed less re-lights than the last. Naturally I was giving the stem and moisture reservoir a good clean with a pipe cleaner after each bowl, and cleaning the oils and loose ash from the inside of the bowl. I did once get a bit of the saliva and burnt tobacco oil on my tongue, that was absolutely horrendous.

Definitely not as easy to look like a pro while smoking as a cigar, but an enjoyable and satisfying smoke and there is something very cool about smoking a pipe with the guys, not to mention the room aromas are amazing with all the sweet blends burning up. Before I started going to my cigar club, I'd have honestly thought that pipes were for old men, because I never saw younger blokes smoking them - which when I think about it, is not unusual given the smoking ban as you can barely smoke anywhere these days. Turns out that a lot of younger blokes are into it, because the flavours are excellent (but quite different to cigars) and once you've paid for the pipe and got over the learning curve, it's a very cheap way of smoking for pleasure.

[Mastodon2]

PlayersNo6 said:

Give this cleaning ritual a miss for the first smokes of a new pipe (stem excepted) as it helps to build up the cake inside the bowl. The pipe will taste much better once you have a layer of carbon on the wood.

Good choice with Peterson.

The carbon layer is already getting there, but I'll try a few smokes without cleaning it. I love the way you get an absolutely perfect draw from a pipe, loads of super-rich, creamy smoke. Very satisfying. MacBaren plum cake tobacco for me next time I think, I'm not smoking again until a week on Friday. Plenty of time to look forward to it!

[Mastodon2]

The relentless efforts of the legislators to stop people enjoying a smoke really irritate me. I understand that public smoking was an issue and generally our establishments are a lot better for not having foul cigarette smoke stinking the place out, and for not having your daily carcinogen intake increased just by standing in a bus shelter with a cigarette smoker. I also appreciate that people should be allowed to work in a smoke-free environment.

However, I do not see why cigars and pipe smoking should fall under the same remit; of course there are ways to have indoor smoking lounges but it's no doubt a hassle for the businesses that run them to jump through the hoops to have their lounges open to the public.

If there was such a thing as a cigar and pipe-friendly bar where you could take your own cigars and just buy drinks on site, I'm sure they would do an absolutely roaring trade, however this is not possible under UK law, which is a shame.

[Mastodon2]

Yes, lounges are allowed in tobacconist shops but there are stringent rules in place to stop them being free for all smoke easys. I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that they are allowed to be installed on a business premises where >50% of revenue is from the sale of tobacco or tobacco products, with the intention being that the lounge is provided for the sampling of the wares, hence anything being smoked must have been bought from the tobacconist providing the lounge. As far as I'm aware, if they wanted to sell alcohol they'd need the relevant licence, which would probably be difficult to obtain - I expect trying to get a tobacco sampling lounge and an alcohol licence for the same premises would pique the authorities interest in the business being a smoke easy.

What I am wishing for, but will never see again in this country, is a bar with comfortable seating and a selection of drinks and cigars for sale that can be consumed within the building. The provision of comfortable outdoor smoking areas is welcome, but still a massive compromise, albeit the best most hotels, bars etc can provide. If I'm having a couple of cigars I can easily sit for 4 hours. Even on the warmest of summer days, 4 hours in an outdoor smoking area, even a comfortable one, would be tiresome.

[Mastodon2]

hacksaw said:

I have a charity golf match coming up in the next few weeks and I'm wanting to take a few cigars along. Much as I enjoy the odd smoke, my exposure has basically been Romeo y juleitas and cohibas and so forth so I'm certainly no expert!!
I thought I would ask here for some recommendations of what to take along, something easy smoking and inoffensive that, hopefully, everyone will get along with. All the others in my group are similar to me, enjoy a social smoke but beginners.
Thoughts?

My personal recommendation would be the Gurkha Royal Challenge, they're relatively cheap at about £10 a stick, not too fat or long so you won't be standing around or throwing away half smoked cigars. They're a "mild-medium" according to Gurkha, but imo they've closer to mild. Very nice, creamy smoke and plenty of it. There is little point going into too much detail on flavour profile, suffice to say it looks like a cigar (it's big enough - another new smoker on this thread had a friend who wanted cigars of a certain size, likely in order to entertain a masculine appearance), it smells like a cigar and it tastes like a cigar, but the smooth, cool smoke and mild flavours mean it's unlikely you or your friends will struggle with them.

If you want to see the difference a strong, rich cigar can make, give one of the group an Alec Bradley Nica Puro. Photos of these on the net make them look dark brown, but I've had a Nica Puro Rough Cut Diamond (a diamond shape, rather than round cross section) and the wrapper was very dark, more a maduro shade, and they were heavyweights, dark and rich, my fellow smokers agreed they were right up at the full-bodied end of the scale. Maybe we just got a really strong batch! A new smoker would really struggle with one of these I think, so if you want some cruel fun give someone one of these and watch them become pale, clammy and uncomfortable looking, their golf will probably suffer too! But you wouldn't do that, would you?

Seriously though, Gurkha Royal Challenge, can't go wrong.

[Mastodon2]

How full is the humidor? Do you have any cigars in it yet? They might be getting a bit dry if you do.

Is it a new humidor, and have you seasoned / conditioned the inside of it? New humidors can benefit from allowing rubbing distilled water into the ceder liner. It might be the case that your humidor is parched, and the wood is sucking up all the moisture - it should eventually balance out, but if your humidor has been sitting for a year in a warehouse in Guangdong province it could be pretty dry.

However, if you've tried two hygrometers and have taken reasonable steps to ensure they're working properly, I do wonder if your lid is sealing properly. A humidor needs a good seal to prevent moisture loss, when you shut it you should hear a slight whoosh as the lid goes down and makes the seal. If the seal isn't working, it could be the case that the humidor is effectively open to the room and has just acclimated to the relative humidity of the room you're keeping it in.

It seems almost daft to ask, but presumably you're keeping it away from direct sunlight and storing it in a cool location?

[Mastodon2]

It was a packed night at my cigar lounge last night, a lot of cigars going through the till, the cigar of the evening was the Aging Room M356 in Toro Grande (6"x60). A lot of gents in the lounge hadn't tried them but after sampling they were buying up the stocks. Smooth, medium-full body with rich, oily smoke, pepper and earth notes throughout. A few of us found them to be a little underwhelming in the first 10-15 minutes, but after the first 3/4 inch, the flavours and smoke production ramped up considerably, I got about an hour and 20 minutes from my stick. A fairly cost-effective, flavoursome and superbly constructed stick.

I had a bowl or two of Peterson's Connoisseur's Choice in my pipe, which was a lovely sweet, smooth smoke, and helped to reset my palate for the next cigar.

My final cigar of the night was a Paradiso Francisco. These cigars are called San Cristobal, outside of Europe due to a naming rights thing, they're made by Ashton. This was fantastic, a beautiful cigar with excellent construction, great smoke output, I found it to be a rich, sweet coffee stick on the whole. Even the band was really nice. This was a really nice smoke.

I have to say, I love a Cuban but I think I prefer new world cigars on the whole. While there are some Cubans I love, like a Romeo y Julieta no 2, Diplomaticos, Trinidad Reyes etc, I find the bang to buck ratio stronger on new world cigars. I haven't had anything from the coveted Cohiba range yet, but imo the new world can go toe to toe with Cuba and often do so for less money. But cigars are a very personal thing of course, so if I'm ever giving my opinion to people who are new to the hobby (while recognising I'm a newbie myself) is to smoke a load of cigars and just find the ones you like and make your own mind up.

[Mastodon2]

Miguel Alvarez said:

you can all call me a big girls blouse if you like but I've got the ageing room cigars on my do not touch list. There's something about them that ruins me. After one stick I end up passed out on the sofa wondering why the room is spinning. I don't know what it is with them they're super strong.

You'll hear no mocking from me. I've not had a single cigar that has made me feel ill, but I've overdone it once, with a 3 cigar sitting that took me a little too far. The middle cigar was an Alec Bradley Nica Pura in diamond press, which is a fairly large cigar and the one I had was very strong. I was fine, but I should have called it a night. Instead, I decided to finish up with a Trinidad Reyes - just a little one, it won't hurt etc, but by the time I'd finished that the nicotine had worked me over, I felt hot, a little headachey, felt hungry one minute and sick the next. Nothing more than a mild nausea, but it reminded me that when you think you've had enough, you probably have. I've never had that since though.

The Aging Room was noted by my tobacconist as one of their stronger selections in the humidor, and the bloke smoking one next to me did look a bit clammy and said he thought it was pretty strong, but it just felt like a regular cigar to me. I suppose there will be some days when you're more sensitive to it than others, last Friday I felt like an iron man, smoking through the Aging Room, some pipe tobacco and then a Paradiso (San Cristobal) Francisco without batting an eyelid.

I'm looking forward to another smoke on Friday night, not sure what I'll have yet. One of my friends was waxing lyrical about a Rocky Patel the other day, I can't remember the name (not the 1990), but I know the band so I may well have one of those, some pipe tobacco and maybe another stick. I don't know what it is about cigars, but when you've got a few guys sampling in the lounge, shooting the st and enjoying quality tobacco, there really is something magic about that.

[Mastodon2]

Miguel Alvarez said:

Nice one Mitchell.

What are we all smoking this weekend. I'm planning on having a BBQ so will want something peppery to have whilst I burn meat stuff. Any suggestions for a good BBQ cigar?

Sorry for the late reply, you've probably already had the BBQ. If I was looking for a stick to smoke while cooking, I'd probably go for a Gurkha Royal Challenge, mild and light, unlikely to colour the palette too heavily prior to eating. If you're looking for pepper though, the Oliva Serie O to be peppery throughout with a mild spice on the tongue and lips.

This weekend I've been smoking the Alec Bradley Tempus and the Arturo Fuente Epicure, both great smokes. I'm also starting a tupperdor, as I've got 25 Punch Coronations and 3 Cohiba Siglo IIs on their way to me now, they'll make good summer evening smokes.

[Mastodon2]

Good stuff. I've picked up the box that will become my tupperdor, but the cigars are still 6-9 days away. I'll have to pick up a few sticks on Friday, along with some humidification pillows, a hygrometer and some cedar sheets.

I don't know what I'll be smoking on Friday, but you guys can probably help. I've already asked my tobacconist via Facebook (handy having him as a mate!), but I'll throw it open to the room; I want to smoke a cigar with the quintessential "cured tobacco" taste. The humidor is stocked with a wide range of Cubans and new world cigars, so if you recommend something I can probably get it, or get close. I've had cigars where there is not a dominant flavour profile like coffee, cocoa, leather etc, but I'd like to have one that really typifies a full, rich cured tobacco flavour. What could I smoke that will give me this experience? Price is not really an object but I'd rather save the Cohibas for special occasions.

[Mastodon2]

pete a said:

Forgive my ignorance on these matters , but do you chaps ever inhale the cigar smoke as you would a ciggerette or just roll it in the mouth and exhale?

I've got to say reading this thread has put me in the mood to try a good cigar with a nice large strong coffee, but as an ex ciggerette smoker I have concerns with regards to ending up back on the ciggerettes as a result.

Do not ever inhale a cigar. Inhaling into the throat / lungs is something you only do once and never again! I wouldn't worry about getting hooked on cigs again, it's not the same nicotine rush as you'd get from a cigarette (apparently, I've never smoked one). There are some strong cigars, but generally the nicotine levels are low and you're smoking slowly for probably 60-120 minutes per stick depending on how fast you smoke, so the dose is slowly absorbed. Theoretically you could get a nicotine addiction - particularly if you live in the states where warm climate and cheap tobacco tax could make smoking often an easy thing to do, but in practice I don't know anyone who craves cigars for a "fix" like you'd get from a cigarette. It's all about the flavour.

I've just back from an evening smoke, I had a Partagas P2 to start, which was fantastic. My brief was to get the "ultimate cured tobacco flavour" and this delivered perfectly. Definitely not a beginners cigar, it was smooth, never harsh, but very, very full bodied, dark and rich. My second cigar of the night was an Ashton VSG (known as San Cristobal outside of Europe), which was a disappointment. It had a core of very tightly wound tobacco running all the way through it, about the thickness of a biro and slightly off axis to the centre of the stick. This meant the outside burned much quicker than the centre, and it was a total pain in the arse. At about 7", the misery just went on and on. Eventually I burned through it and with about 3" left I had a perfect draw and burn, but I was already worn out from triple-puffing and knocking the core off to really enjoy it. Bah. I did meet fellow PHer Stevedore, he's a good lad. I've seen him in there before, he was enjoying an Alec Bradley Texas Lancero this evening.

At least this lot turned up in the post:



25 Punch Coronations, 3 Cohiba Siglo IIs and a free Ramon Allones Specially Selected 1 which I received as a free gift for naming the gent who referred me to the vendor. The tupperdor is underway, I'll be working through these over the summer and will probably hand out a few Punch sticks at drinks out, as gifts etc.

Edited by Mastodon2 on Friday 19th June 23:16

[Mastodon2]

As a beginner, I'd go for something mild-medium. Something like a Por Larrañaga Petit Corona or Picadores. These are pretty light, not particularly complex and they're not too big, so you're unlikely to be overwhelmed by strong flavour, and they won't last too long, but you'll still get an hour from one. Alternatively, the Gurkha Royal Challenge would make a good first cigar. Your best bet though, is to ask your tobacconist what they'd recommend for beginners, if they're any good they'll point you to a good stick. Avoid the temptation to jump in with the strongest or richest cigar you can - I'm sure this won't be an issue as you seem sensible enough to ask for recommendations, I'm sure more than a few would-be cigar smokers have had bad experiences trying to look like the big man smoking the biggest, richest stick they could get their hands on. Avoid the Dunhill Aged though, this is probably the mildest stick going and while I've not had one, I have seen them being smoked and never heard much praise, they're mild to the point of flavourless, it seems. If you like that, try more cigars and increase in body (depth of flavour) and try ones with more complex flavours. Try different vitolas (sizes), experimenting with different gauges (thickness) and lengths, as they do smoke differently. Most of all, relax, enjoy yourself and appreciate that what you're smoking, a rolled stick of cured tobacco that is a genuine marvel to behold.


For some general advice for getting smoking, forget the hype about Cubans, they're good but they're placed on a plinth by reputation, people - generally those who smoke for the image, not the enjoyment, choose Cuban because they think they're the ultimate cigars. They're good, but the new world offerings are as good, often cheaper and in my experience, have a wider variety of flavours. Go in with an open mind and rate anything you smoke on merit. Price is not everything either, there are some expensive sticks I don't rate, and some cheap ones that are very good. Forget the country of origin or price as being as indicator of quality, though accept that there is generally a minimum price for proper premium cigars, those that are hand-rolled with long filler tobacco. Use a butane lighter, smoke slowly and enjoy the flavour. If the smoke is getting hot or bitter and you're not near the end of the end of the cigar, you're taking too many draws per minute, two or 3 a minute is about right.

[Mastodon2]

Good stuff, did they cut it at the shop?

I've not had a Hoyo de Monterrey, but I know they're a good brand, I hope you enjoy it.

[Mastodon2]

pete a said:

Yes as I'm going to have it tonight he cut it for me and put it in a ziplock plastic bag.

Save me messing around with a knife or scissors as I'm new and don't own a cutter.

Best way to go about it if you're new and don't have a decent cutter, a cheap cutter or a badly performed cut with a good cutter can ruin a cigar before you've even started it.

This was my smoke for the evening, a Ramon Allones Specially Selected 1, a good cigar, typically Cuban with a rich cured tobacco flavour, though not half as strong in flavour as the Partagas P2 I smoked last night. An hour sat in the garden with a smoke, an ice cold can of coke and an old motorcycle magazine was excellent.



It's worth noting, particularly for new cigar smokers like pete a, that smoking in even a gentle breeze will burn your cigar good down as much as 20% quicker. This stick took me about 50 minutes, I think I'd have gotten maybe 70 minutes from it in a lounge. If you're outdoors, it pays to keep the ash out of the breeze, or at least facing away from it if you have no shelter, as the air flowing over it will burn it down quickly. Anything more than a gentle breeze and I wouldn't bother with garden smoking unless you have some sort of shelter like a smoking cabana which can shelter your stick. Not to mention on the exhale, you'll have smoke whooshing all over the place.

[Mastodon2]

I've never had a Cohiba yet, though I've got a few Siglo IIs ready to go. I'll probably have a Behike for my birthday but that's a few months off yet.

First day back at the gym tomorrow, healthy diet is implemented so cigars are really my only unhealthy vice now, well that and the occasional bit of pipe tobacco. If the weather is nice I think I'll have a Punch Coronation after work tomorrow. I've got 24 to burn through before the weather gets too miserable to enjoy them, so I won't be too precious about when I'm having them. The forecast is rotten though, I'm already looking forward to another Friday in the lounge. I think I'll have a Gurkha Royal Challenge or an Arturo Fuente Epicure, followed by a CAO Brazilia. Choices subject to change.

[Mastodon2]

Last night I had a Trinidad Ingenios Edicion Limitada, a great smoke but not a cheap one, but you've got to treat yourself some times. It was quite a mellow stick, long and thin, quite sweet and creamy for the most part, with some good cured tobacco and leather notes in the final third. After that I had a Padron Maduro 2000, another great stick and a regular "go-to" favourite of mine.