Help with picking cigars...

[Darth_Malt]

I'm looking for some input about what cigars people keep around to enjoy with their homebrew. I've been doing some searching around, and haven't really found much of anything outside of blogs about one person's favorite few cigars. So I figured I'd bring this to the HBT folks and see what you all have to say.

I've been brewing and drinking a lot of Belgians and Wheats this summer, and that's what led me to wanting to get myself a stash of cigars around. Sitting out in the driveway brewing on a nice day, a stogie just sounds amazing.

So here's what I'm looking for. I want to find a half dozen or so good cigars to keep around for brew days, or to enjoy with a cold brew on a nice day off. I've always got an IPA around, so cigars that pair well with hoppy beers are going to top the list.

Thanks in advance for any input

 

[tmendick]

Do you have any cigars that you've had that you like/dont like?

 

[Teromous]

Somebody posted their own article a couple of days back.

 

[groundchuck]

Cigar preferences are like wine and beer preferences. There are a million to choose from. Personally I don't like cigars you can taste for three days after you've had one. I like the lighter cigars. My personal favorites are from Ashton. Most good cigar shops have them. An Ashton Magnum is about $9.

I would go to your local cigar shop and tell them you want a hand full of cigars to try and start narrowing down your preferences. Have fun

 

[cheezydemon3]

Cigar preferences are like wine and beer preferences. There are a million to choose from. Personally I don't like cigars you can taste for three days after you've had one. I like the lighter cigars. My personal favorites are from Ashton. Most good cigar shops have them. An Ashton Magnum is about $9.

I would go to your local cigar shop and tell them you want a hand full of cigars to try and start narrowing down your preferences. Have fun

Awesome post.

Good, practical advice, personal anecdotes, and an awesome pic.......

Where you been?????

 

[DUNKELMONK]

Somebody posted their own article a couple of days back.

That's a great article. The author has a lot of great suggestions for pairing beer styles with cigars.

If you're unsure about what the flavor profiles are on some of the brands he mentions, there are a bunch of cigar sales websites that can steer you in the right direction. One in particular that i use occasionally is http://www.famous-smoke.com/

You can buy a 6-cigar sample pack based on strength or style, or you can build your own sample pack as well

 

[SlickTX]

You will have to try a bunch and narrow it down. Tough work but someone has to do it.

My advice would be to go to a cigar store and ask for a selection from various regions, maybe a half dozen sticks. Most will be made from Dominican (yum) or Nicaraguan (yuck) filler tobacco. The editorials are entirely based on my taste buds, YMMV. After you find which filler you prefer, you can explore that variety further until you find the cigar that you can't put down.

One caveat, even though I generally despise Nicaraguan filler, I find the Nub brand to be the exception.

 

[firerat]

Groundchuck said it best.

It really boils down to your own preferences.

Go get a sampler with a bunch of different brands and styles and see what you like.

Places like Cigars International and Thompsons cigars have some killer deals.

 

[buildingmotive]

If you're learning what profiles you like you can rarely go wrong with Fuente Chateaus or 858s (these are sizes). I would get a Cameroon, maduro, and sungrown wrapper and see what you like about each. I love a nice cameroon with a hefe. This will give you a good baseline to go off of. Once you get the idea of each wrapper profile you can start expanding out from there.

 

[Garybeer]

Cigar preferences are like wine and beer preferences. There are a million to choose from. Personally I don't like cigars you can taste for three days after you've had one. I like the lighter cigars. My personal favorites are from Ashton. Most good cigar shops have them. An Ashton Magnum is about $9.

Hard to beat an Ashton, that has got to be my favorite cigar of all time

 

[Eugenio]

My favorite cigars are Padron's, but those are quite expensive. For easy and regular smokes, ive come to really enjoy Murcielago's and tatuajes. Both are cheaper than the padron, and imo (and cigar uneducated) experience, quite good.

Murcielago in particular is an easy smoke. And im a sucker for pressed cigars.

 

[vNmd]

I am another Ashton fan. The Magnum has already been mentioned. The Majesty is along the same line only bigger and is my ATF outside of Cubans (Trinidads).

 

[Cyclman]

New Brew Thursday has some cigar and beer pairing episodes. I think generally, it takes a substantial beer not to be overwhelmed by anything but the lightest flavored cigars.

I really like the obvious- Stouts, Porters, RIS, DIPAs, but think sweeter strong beers- Dubbels, Quads, Bocks, are very nice with cigars as well. And, cigars pair very well with homemade red wines.

As stated, it's a *****, but someone has to work hard to determine the best pairings, I always volunteer myself! Enjoy

 

[UWDawg13]

Just subscribed. I'm also looking into cigars. Very limited experience. Only thing I can recommend to OP is macanudo (sp?)

 

[50quidsoundboy]

Partagas D4 all the way. only with a seriously robust beer that can hold up against it though.

 

[Darth_Malt]

I hit the local cigar shop today before I stopped at the LHBS for brew day supplies. I picked up a CAO La Traviata (went very well with a New Belgium Snapshot I had), a Romeo y Julieta 1875 Reserve (matched perfectly with a Black Hatter, a Black IPA version of New Holland's Mad Hatter), and a Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Robusto (haven't smoked it yet, saving it for my next day off and my sample of a new Belgian Wit). So far I'm happy with the sticks the guy at the shop suggested for me. I just told him I was looking for some mellow, mild-medium cigars that would pair well with a good ipa or wheat beer.

Next time I go in I'll take some of the suggestions from this thread and pick out some specific sticks to start figuring out what I'm after. Thanks to everyone who has given their two cents, it's all very helpful and I'm looking forward to what should be an exciting adventure.

 

[UWDawg13]

This thread helped me decide to start smoking a nice cigar every now and then. Enjoying an Acid Blondie right now. Started with an IPA and paired nicely. Sweet wrapper and mellow smoke. Now just about done with the cigar and drinking a hoppy American red. Really good combos and would recommend the Acid again. Going to pick up another tomorrow and will probly grab a Romeo & Juliet too

 

[Komocabo]

My favorites have been Rocky Patel... easy to smoke and readily available. Not too pricy either.

 

[UWDawg13]

My favorites have been Rocky Patel... easy to smoke and readily available. Not too pricy either.

Will have to look for that tomorrow. Not sure if my local hole in the wall carries them but most likely going out to the reservation for fireworks tomorrow and there's a big smoke shop with a walk in humidor that I know I can find almost anything in most likely.

Any other suggestions for us new guys?

 

[GuldTuborg]

Any other suggestions for us new guys?

Yes! Search for the HBT Stogie thread. I'm on my idiot phone now, or I'd provide a link. Pop in there, tell the guys what you like and what you're looking for, and we'll help you out.

We're a friendly bunch. Tell them I sent you, and you'll be treated right. :beer:

 

[podz]

Macanudo Maduro Diplomat - that has got to be my favorite cigar of all time.

 

[Darth_Malt]

Today is a good day...I'm "patiently" waiting for the UPS truck to get here with my 10 Cigar Sampler (with free 40 count Humidor ) and a 5 pack of Romeo y Julieta Reserves from Cigar.com. Looking forward to a great weekend of sampling!!!

 

[scottyb710]

I love anything made by drew estate

 

[UWDawg13]

Today is a good day...I'm "patiently" waiting for the UPS truck to get here with my 10 Cigar Sampler (with free 40 count Humidor ) and a 5 pack of Romeo y Julieta Reserves from Cigar.com. Looking forward to a great weekend of sampling!!!

Do you have a quick link to that deal?

Edit: never mind. Google was my friend....
http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=1010

Double edit:
It's showing at $113 now, is that what you paid? A quick search showed it was selling for around $35 a few years ago.

 

[Darth_Malt]

I paid something like $25 for it. It was actually a banner I caugh here on HBT.

 

[UWDawg13]

Thanks darth. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

 

[Darth_Malt]

I've seen one from Cigarsinternational too. A similar 10 stick sampler with a free humidor. Theirs runs $30, but still worth looking into.

 

[Darth_Malt]

Got home from work and this was waiting for me Looking forward to trying some great new sticks this weekend!!


And yes, for those counting, there is one Romeo y Julietta missing from the 5 pack I ordered...I sat and smoked one before coming in to post this.

 

[Darth_Malt]

http://www.cigarsinternational.com/samplers/64856/top-shelf-glass-top-humidor-sampler-2/

Not sure if this link will work, but I caught the banner for the CI Humidor combo deal and wanted to share

 

[abarker8541]

I prefer kristoff....im sure most good cigar shops have them.

 

[Darth_Malt]

So after trying out at least a dozen different cigars, 3 brands have really stood out above the rest. Romeo y Julieta, 5 Vegas and CAO. I tried my first 5 Vegas Gold Maduro last night, AMAZING smoke! I followed that with a CAO Brazilia Gol, not quite as good as the Vegas, but still a real nice smoke. I think Maduro is my favorite wrapper so far, so much flavor and nice thick smoke. Looking forward to trying a Montecristo Classic today, although I kind of wish it was a Media Noche after the smokes I had last night.

 

[podz]

If you want to keep cigars on hand, the first thing you'll need is a humidor. I mean, if you buy 6 cigars for around 60-100 bucks and they get dried out before you smoke them then you'll be pissed.

I've had this humidor for almost 10 years now and it works great. It's Italian made and called "Adorini Firenze Deluxe".

http://www.humidordiscount.com/Humidors_Adorini/Firenze__Deluxe.html

After you get a humidor, go buy some cigars.

Macanudo Maduro Diplomat
Cuesta Rey 8-5-8
Fuente
Ashton
Upmann
Cohiba
Montecristo

etc...

 

[scottyb710]

Try cigarbid .com it's a cigar international sister company

 

[Toga]

My favorite cigars to keep on hand are any of the Rocky Patel cigars. The 1992 being my favorite. I have a half dozen in my humidor I also love a nice Cohiba either dominican or cuban.

 

[raysmithtx]

If you want to keep cigars on hand, the first thing you'll need is a humidor.

I agree. I probably have around 200 cigars on hand at any time. I ended up using a VinoTemp wine frig. as a humidor. Adjust the temp to 60 degrees and add some Heartfelt Industries humidity beads and you are good to go.

As to which cigars to smoke, that's tough. I would suggest that a beginner cigar smoker buy mild cigars that are as highly rated (by actual customers) as you can afford. Another tip is to NOT be fooled by the 'great deals' on off brand/no name cigars. Instead I suggest you buy some name brand sampler packs to see what you really like.

I usually compare prices at Thompson Cigar, Cigar International and Famous Smokes. There's always a special running somewhere.

 

[boatcapt]

My passion for beer is only exceded by my passion for cigars! Nothing better than taking a long satisfying swig off of the IPA you personally crafted to hit your exact ideal mark for what an IPA should taste like (BJCP Style Guidelines be dammed!!)...and then taking a long slow draw off a high quality 'gar of your own choosing. Provides the perfect reset to a long hard day by forcing you to remember how simple life can be OR as the accent to a good day that that makes you think, man it just doesn't get any better than this.

 

[SudsyPaul]

I'll sub, here.

I've only had like a couple dozen cigars in my life (over the last decade), and most were Cuban cigars. Just the easiest thing to get around here, it seems.

Looking to learn more. I'll probably build my own humidor from some spare red cedar I have laying around.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

The cigars I like to have with a beer are the ones I enjoy smoking in general.

There's two things in particular I look for in a cigar ... and if I try a cigar and it has one or both, there is a better chance I'll go and buy more ...

The first is "tooth". Tooth is the formation of tiny pin-head sized oil globules up by the burning end near, and on, the ash of the cigar as it is smoked. This tends to be a richer, fuller smoking tobacco with better mouthfeel (in the smoke) ... though not necessarily stronger tasting.

Another is a distinct "finish". This is where when you get somewhere between 60% and 75% of the way through smoking a cigar, there is a distinct change in the tobacco giving a specifically different taste for the remainder of the smoke. This is from a change in the tobacco at that point in the cigar. A cigar with a distinct finish is rolled that way.

A cigar that is well rolled and burns evenly is also a plus.

I tend to like a shorter cigar such as a Rothschild size, so that I might enjoy a second one with a number of pints in between.

One of my long time favorites is the Punch Rothschild ... I like all versions of the Punch Rothschild but in particular the English Market Selection which is a lighter Colorado Claro ... but I like the darker Maduro and Oscuro in the Punch Rothschild too. Had some Punch Rothschild Oscuros a while back with great tooth. I think the Oscuros are a bit more oily. Great mouthfeel in the smoke.

 

[Darth_Malt]

Toga/Malto, Rocky Patel and Media Noche are high on my 'To Smoke' list, I just need to order some when I have the funds.

Jacob, thanks for the great post! I was actually wondering what people were talking about when they said 'Toothy' when talking about different smokes. I've recently started to notice a distinct 'Finish' when smoking certain sticks, it's kind of funny you brought that up.

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback! Keep it coming, I know there are plenty more smokes to talk about!

 

[Dan]

I recommend Bolivar Fuertes Confradia. It's good! A fullbodied and full flavor cigar. The entire cigar is very soothing to me. The last few inches are like the last days of summer when you're a kid - gone too soon and full of goodness.