Cigar Discussion: Good Low-Priced Smokes for Connoisseurs

Free Republic ^ | 10/1/02 | self

[MoralSense]

My wife looked up from the bank statements the other day and said, "We spent $300 on cigars last month. Any way to cut down on that?"

A perfectly reasonable question, and a dilemma, as all you stogey lovers know. I smoke 3-5 cigars a day, and have been trying, via mail order, to keep the average price to less than $2 apiece.

So you know where my tastes are coming from, if I could smoke without worrying about the cost, I'd trade off between Romeo & Julieta, La Gianna Habana, La Gloria Cubana, Excalibur 1066, and Don Juan Platinum. But except for the Don Juan, all those cigars cost at least $4 apiece.

Anybody out there have a line on really good bundled smokes, house brands, seconds, etc.? I'll contribute my bit: Sinatras, sold in bundles by Cigars International (www.cigarsinternational.com), are $39 per 25, and were excellent for a long time. Lately, however, I think CI's storage facilities have been having problems. The Sinatra bundles are stale, sometimes outright moldy. (Tip: Sinatras are best in cameroon wrappers.) Thompson sells Sinatras in boxes for about $60.

CI's so-called "Real Cubans" are a good plain tobacco smoke, at about $32 a bundle.

JR Cigars (www.jrcigars.com) seems to be the lowest-priced source for La Unica bundles, at $42 for 20 of the #400 (4.5 x 50).

Two Guys Smoke Shops in Salem, New Hampshire has a number of house brands under the Dos Hombres label. One of them is a Mexican in a Connecticut shade wrapper being sold for about $20 per 25 bundle. I'll be trying those shortly.

Any tips or great discoveries? Thanks.

[husky ed]

Try out the Fuji Cigar Group web site at . They have quite a few shops listed that can help you out.

Also a good smoke is La Goria Cubana Wavell Maduro's. These are baxed pressed and dark. Very nice.

Another good cheap one if still available is Havana Sunrise. Should be in the $40 to $50 range if not lower.

Some other nice Maduro's are Nat Sherman Telegraphs. Around $100.

Lastly, for some big smokes try Don Tomas 100. 7.5x50 Last about and hour or so.

Hope this helps.

[husky ed]

That web site should be:

http://showcase.netins.net/web/fujicig/