I know some of you enjoy cigars - share!

[anmut]

For any of you who enjoy Nubs, this is a stellar deal if you aren't hung up on mazos or unbanded smokes.

ALL NUDE FOR YOUR REVIEW…. you'll be Nubbin' this deal: no band = less buck

$1.99 Nub Nudes? Here's a sweet deal on a special allotment of Oliva's Nub series that strips pricing down to the, uh…. nub. How on earth did do we do it,

www.cigarpage.com

One of my very favorite smokes is the Nub Cameroon, but they don't play well with any of my humidors, so I usually pick one up at a B&M to smoke instantly. At that price, I ordered 2 bundles, and I'm going to be testing out a few different Boveda %'s to see if I can figure out if the right humidity will make a difference.

The Connecticuts are great breakfast or coffee smokes, and they go over well with newer smokers as well if we're hanging out and they want to try a cigar.

I had my first CAO Flathead this weekend. Found them on "sale" last week at IC. What a great cigar, robust but smooth and easy - and I got nearly three hours out of it too.

 

[drewkaree]

I got this from my son, he enjoys picking out smokes for me on some trips he takes, plus he gets to smoke his cigarettes at some of the cigar shops. He finds it stupid with some states, such as WI, where he could smoke a cigar, but isn't allowed to have a cig in the shop. I don't get that either, but that's our government for ya

Today is his pick - a Fratello Oro corona. I'm not a fan of the corona size, but free cigars are always appreciated, just like free drinks! This is a nice morning smoke, and quick, so if you have less time, this'll let you fit in a smoke.

I don't know if he picked this up in Vegas, but he got me the case from Casa Fuente, and it's my favorite. It's like the typical Herf-a-dor, but it's got a hinged top tray over the smokes to hold your cutter, lighter, and other miscellaneous stuff. The hinges feel 100% better than a Herf-a-dor, more free in their operations, and the glue holding the vinyl or plastic emblem has far outlasted any of the similar cases I have.

As for the cigar, it's a decent smoke, VERY flavorful for a Connecticut, and slower burning than a typical corona, to me. I'd really like to try a Toro or the Gordo, but I haven't found a 5-pack in stock, and it's not something I'd buy a box of to test out, at $200. I wouldn't have a problem with dropping that, if I could try them first, and found it box-worthy, but I need to get my son up to speed on what sizes I prefer, so I take what he brings, and go from there. He's had some winners before, and this one has the hallmarks of yet one more.

 

[haknslash]

Fired this Tatiana up after the Bama vs Tennessee game. Smooth and nice flavor. Roll Tide!

 

[drewkaree]

Fired this Tatiana up after the Bama vs Tennessee game. Smooth and nice flavor. Roll Tide!

If you liked that Tatiana, I recommend you seek out a Drew Estate Java. If you have a Total Wine in your area that sells cigars, I have always seen them on display, for reasonable prices. The Tatiana is a nice treat, and the Java will be an eye-opening treat for you to compare the difference in assembly, flavor & burn quality.

I like your choice, it's good to see people enjoy a cigar, no matter your preference, and your photo is awesome as well, that's quality photography!

 

[drewkaree]

Speaking of the Java's...

https://www.cigarbid.com/a/java-maduro-by-drew-estate-robusto/4789207/

Set up an account, and set your minimum bid, and make your max bid $5 more, and you should have no problem snagging a 10-pack for $5.70/per stick, after shipping. Typical price in my area is $7-9/ea in a B&M, so a "dessert" smoke of this quality, at that price, is a great deal.

Tonight, I fired up a Ramon Bueso Oscuro that was just delivered today. Not sure if it would benefit from some humidor time, but I have a baseline to judge future samples against. Tomorrow, I plan to smoke a Ramon Bueso Olancho, and see what that's like.



This was a new experience for me. About 2" in, and I got a light hit of mint, of all things. Like a Tic Tac, not overpowering, but it never came back. It wasn't expected, but it didn't throw off the experience.

All in all, it wasn't near as good as the Genesis I had previously, but for the price, it was a decent smoke. The nicotine isn't anywhere near as much as the Genesis, either, so that was a plus for me with the Oscuro. I will be putting the rest of them away for a rest in the humidor, and will revisit them later, and try to remember to report back.

The Genesis continue to be dynamite smokes, and they aren't really getting much time to see if they'll mellow out, but I also picked up some of the Super Gordo size, and it's starting to turn to pipe season for me, so that humidor time will be coming.

Speaking of pipes, I also had a winning bid for 4 tins of Cult Blood Red Moon. If you're a fan of flavors, and cherry is your jam, try this. It's not the maraschino fake cough syrup type of flavoring, more of a chocolate covered cherry smell, and it has drawn raves from everyone when I light it up. It may need a bit of time, and it's definitely on the wetter side, but it smokes cool and easy if you spread some out to dry for about half an hour. It's gawdawful expensive in any B&M that carries it around me, but again, CigarBid.com comes through for me when they have it, running $7-9/tin. To me, it's worth it

Lastly, I picked up a smaller ashtray, shown above. NOT a fan. It looked nice, but it's lighter than expected, and not as stable as I'd prefer. I may try some hot glue in a few spots around the base to help the stability, but that thing may be gifted away sooner rather than later.

If I can find some wood at a reasonable price, I may be trying my hand at making an ashtray to my liking. I'm considering a walnut version with a paduak accent, but that's a project for down the road. If any of you have tried "wood" in a 3D printer, I'd be interested in your experience with it as well. That could be a good beginner project for me to get started, barring any suggestions otherwise.

 

[TimW451]

@drewkaree I am looking for what I should do for cigars when I go to the Dominican Republic at the end of this month. I’ll be at an all inclusive resort, and am not likely to leave it. Should I bring cigars or buy there? Do you have any suggestions for what brands to look for there or any items on cigarbid.com right now to buy. Thanks!

 

[drewkaree]

I had a buddy do a similar vacation, but they did a little off-Resort sightseeing, actually went to a cigar factory, and got to try their hand at rolling some!

He brought me back a box of cohiba's and another box of the factory house brand, so I'm not sure if they sold any on property. I'll see if I can find out from him.

The Cohiba's checked out - they do make counterfeits, if you can believe it! My take on that would be, if you enjoy the smokes, fake or not, then that's all that matters.

Regarding customs, there may be weird customs issues, so I'd look into it before you consider it. When I went to the Bahamas many moons ago, cigars were one of the things I was asked about if I brought them in. They may not allow it. Cigar beetles are a thing, and I'm guessing it may be similar to the invasive species thing for lakes in the US. If it's not allowed, you're stuck with what's on property if you aren't sightseeing, but it's likely to be a decent selection.

Macanudo, Cohiba, Arturo Fuente, and one of my favorites, La Flor Dominicana, all come from that area, so my suggestion is to check if there's any from the many brands from the area that you want to try, and see if you can find them in their native land. The double ligero from LFD is awesome to me, for instance, but I would use the opportunity to try any of the other LFD offerings, if available.

If you are going to travel with your own smokes after checking the regs, take several Boveda packs with you, and use something like a Herf-a-dor or Herf adventure pod. The adventure pod has a built-in Boveda 60 gram pack holder, the Herf-a-dor has nothing, so you'll need to skip a few sticks to fit a humidification pack in

Lighters - go to Walmart or Walgreens and see if they have any Ronson lighters for travel, or buy a lighter when you get there. Dunno how TSA is with lighters in checked luggage, but having one on you is a 50/50 proposition at best, and you don't want to be tossing your nice spendy lighter just to be able to board the plane.

My buddy who did the cigar factory tour doesn't even smoke, and his wife & 2 adult sons were all talking about the experience - you might want to look into a tour. They WERE told not to bother buying "Cubans" while they were there, as the odds are they're fakes, but you're gonna be in the Dominican, enjoy what they have to offer.

Sounds like a great vacation, hope you have a great trip

 

[drewkaree]

Some links if you're traveling with smokes

Current Boveda auction link

The 65% is for the DR trip, otherwise I go with 69%. Below 70% is recommended for less potential beetle problems, but it's better, to me, for fewer relights and less issues with splitting. It's been my experience that Java's and flavored or super moist pipe tobacco really benefit from the 65%, as well.

Non-auction link for the HERF Adventure Pod

I just recently won another one of these for $13.50, and my first was $19, so I can't recommend the full retail of $35, but it's a far better 10-stick case than the Herf-a-dor, IMO, simply for the humidification pack holder. The Herf-a-dor is perfect in the 5-stick size, but that's the only size from them that's worthwhile. Larger than 10, get a Pelican or other waterproof storage container and a 60 or 320 gram Boveda, and you'll be set.

The Ronson is the absolute best cheap lighter I've ever come across, but it's only a single flame. For less than $10 though, it runs any fuel I've thrown at it, and better fuel makes it practically bulletproof to operate. They used to be $5-7, and $10 may be a supply chain casualty by this point, but they're worth it

 

[TimW451]

Thanks for the info @drewkaree ! I’ll check into potential factory tours. It looks like I can bring 25 cigars into DR. The US let’s you bring 100 cigars back under tobacco rules. Lots of asterisks on the US rules. Even looks like you can bring Cuban cigars back directly from Cuba.