Hey guys, Over the last year or so, I've taken up cigar smoking as something I like to do during the holidays, once in a while, etc. I first started off with the Montecristos (both the yellow and white label varieties), and continued to do so until yesterday. For a while now, I've been wanting to pay a visit to a local cigar shop/lounge to get some recommendations. My preferences are a mild-medium cigar, sweet flavored (a la cinnamon) and has a consistent flavor and strength output (mellow I guess). Last night, I got a chance to visit a local place and asked for their suggestions. They showed me the Tabak Especial Dulce Connecticut Toro. The owner said that it would be the best one to go with because it would taste just like a caramel macchiato. So I took it home, lit it up, and really started enjoying it - that is until after reaching the halfway point, when the flavor profile started changing dramatically. The cigar went from being a very mellow and sweet one to being a very bitter and harsh one. All of the sweetness was gone by then. I couldn’t finish it at that point, so I finished my session early. So this leads me to ask the question - what's a similar tasting (or even better tasting) cigar out there that has more consistency in its flavor output and strength? Thanks!
Not uncommon for a cigar to "bottom out" half way through. http://www.cigarsinternational.com/cigar-101/ http://www.cigaraficionado.com/home/channel/name/cigar101
I've noticed that the quicker you smoke a cigar, the more likely you can ruin it. It's not a cigarette, so draw slow, with maybe one draw per minute. If you can resist, go even slower. The faster you go, the more it will taste like an ashtray. Don't go so slow that it goes out. When I smoke a nice cigar, I relax, drink some coffee, read or talk with friends, and enjoy myself, for about an hour or more, without it going out.
Another +1 for Cigar International, good prices and good recommendations. Fast shipping. A minus a billion for Thompson Cigars (which you may see samplers advertised in magazines or on line)... they repeatedly call to harass you to buy more. As for a recommendation, much like with blades, YMMV, so sampler packs are the way to go until you find something you like. Don't let darker wrappers scare you off either, tho "maduro" wrappers might be too much for a relative novice.
For a lower end cigar (I'm guessing) Tatiana Classic Vanilla was very nice, the ones I tried a few years back. Haven't seen them out here in N.C. but I haven't really looked either.
I'm not much of a cigar smoker but I have smoked a few jammed into my pipe and cut off. Its been too long ago to remember what they were.
Im a novice so take this with a grain of salt. My friend like you really used to like sweet and flavored cigars. He settled on one called don Guillermo. Theyre pretty good but not alot of places carry them so theyre tough to find sometimes
You should try different producers, from what I tasted until now, each one has a different flavor signature. I found out I love Dominican- based tobacco and hate Nicaraguan cigars. You should try for yourself and see what you like and what you don't, just like with shaving YMMV Cigars International - what's the point of adding "International" in your name if you don't ship cigars outside US ?!?