The PH Cigar Thread

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Dicky Knee said:

Thanks for the cigar suggestions.

The Guantanamera is described a short filler. What difference does this make over a long filler to the smoking experience? Apologies upfront in case it is a dumb question.

In short, it means it's cheap rubbish and you shouldn't bother with it. They're a decent size but won't leave you feeling sick after smoking it.

See if you can find some Gurkha Royal Challenge, they're superb for a mild, easy smoke.

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I had one of these Camacho Barrel-Aged smokes last weekend, but I'd had a few months off since my last stick so I think I need to dial my pallate back in to really appreciate the flavours. Any excuse to have another one this weekend!

Edited by Mastodon2 on Tuesday 13th November 22:00

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DanielSan said:

Some help needed if you don't mind gents, this is well outside of any area of knowledge I have. I don't know if any of you the tried these, I'm assuming someone will (see pic)


But I'm trying to find similar easily available over here for someone, for those that haven't tried them I'm told they're not overly strong and have fruit flavoured aftertaste, I've tried all the Google searches I can think of to find these actual cigars but I'm getting no luck past a massive box of 50 in the UK. Budget isnt massive as the idea at the moment is a bit of stocking fillers present and to try one or two different flavours, I'm not even sure if flavour is the right word

Any alternatives/suggestions are more than welcome and I can pass the ideas on.

Thanks

Edited by DanielSan on Thursday 13th December 01:08

I don't know where you'd find anything like that in the UK, though most tobacconists will have some "flavoured" cigars, usually rum or whisky, normally only a few quid a pop and quite probably bloody awful. That I've never seen a proper cigar smoking having one speaks volumes.

If you don't have a lot to spend, you'd be a lot better off just getting one or two proper cigars in tubes. You can get a really nice smoke for £15 or so these days. Proper long filler, good wrappers and none of this "dipped in whiskey" rubbish.

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I doubt I'll be having anything tomorrow but hopefully I get out later in the week for an Undercrown robusto or two.

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I just use a tupperdore and change the Boveda pack every six months or so. As its completely sealed and plastic it loses virtually no moisture at all. I reckon it would stay in the right humidity range for over a year on one set of packs if need be.

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craigjm said:

I have just googled tuppadore and those packs. Not very elegant but sounds like the best solution!

Nope, it's not something you'd put on display but it's a good overflow solution if you have a lot of sticks, or if you just want to keep cigars at home without the hassle of looking after a humidor.

Humidors aren't that hard to set up and maintain but a tupperdore is a total piece of piss and you can't really get it wrong.

Did anyone get any cigars to add to their collection today? I got a pair of Drew Estate Larutans from some relatives, they are one of my favourite smokes. It's almost like they knew exactly what to get me - I actually found out they visited the lounge I frequent and asked the staff there what I smoke when I'm there. Good folks!

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paulguitar said:

I got an excise bill for the second order in succession today. I wonder if something has changed or whether I have just been unlucky?

£80 for the cigars, £130 for the duty. Unbelievable.

Ouch. It's always been a gamble but it's a while since I bought my last bulk batch. Thankfully I bought enough Punch and Cohibas to last a whole, to say nothing of the collection of non-Cuban stuff that I generally prefer.

Good luck next time!

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I'm over in Switzerland this week on business. Plenty of cheap cigars here, I saw what appeared to the Davidoff HQ too, I'm not a big fan of their cigars, however.

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jinkster said:

Fox’s is brilliant. Buy a cigar from the room and go smoke it (sample) upstairs. It’s like having your own private little club for the cost of a cigar in a superb location. Living up North I just wish it was more convenient.

There is at least one particularly nice cigar sampling lounge in the North of England, but looking at your profile it looks like you're geographically closer to the middle of the country so it wouldn't be a particularly convenient haunt for you either.

I haven't had many cigars this year, I need to get a few decent smokes in next year. I hear CAO's 2012 Throwback special edition is supposed to be particularly good. I'll have to get my hands on one.

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Fatlad1973 said:

Not entirely sure; probably every 30 seconds or so, as I was conscious of not wanting it to go out.

More likely the cigar was too damp. I find a cigar that is too dry will burn down quickly and too damp and it will burn unevenly or want to go out. If you have to puff it every thirty seconds just to stop it going out and still need to red-light then I'd suggest it was indeed not stored properly prior to smoking.

Barring construction flaws like knots, plugs or just being rolled too tight, a cigar with the right amount of moisture should easily be able to go 60 seconds plus without a draw and not have any risk of going out. I find a smooth, slow draw every thirty to 45 seconds to be optimum for flavour. If you're having to draw hard and often to keep the ember burning, you'll overheat the smoke and it will just taste bad.

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number2 said:

Rather like my 'good' wines and whiskies, I'm always saving certain boxes of cigars for special occasions when I should just damn well smoke them and enjoy them.

Quite, the danger being that you save them too long and age the flavour right out of them.

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Edit: Accidental double post

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TCS1 said:

There’s been a couple of occasions where I’ve been unable to finish a cigar - is there a ‘proper’ way of leaving it until you can come back to it later in the day or not? Obviously don’t want to waste it.

Nope. Even if you cut the burnt bits away and re-light later from "fresh" leaf, the stale smoke and tar that has been drawn down through the stick will make it taste awful on a second light.

Get some smaller sticks in your humidor if you're worried about finishing big smokes.

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paulguitar said:

Looks very pleasant.


I've had to downgrade to non-Cuban cigars since the cruise industry died. Lately, I have been having Oliva and Alec Bradley cigars, really good but not up there with my favourite Cubans.

Still, that's the way it is right now.

If you look around, you'll find some non-Cubans that smoke the Cubans on the flavour front, if you'll excuse the pun.