Cigars

[koehn,jim]

Jr tobacco has a brand called Consuegra that is factory seconds, of Punch and several others for about 1.50 a stick or Thompson has Roly seconds that are are made by Rolando sever the guy that makes La Gloria Cubano. they are seconds of that line and are not always available. There are many great cigars by fuente and several others it depends on how much you want to spend. I second a liquid to cleanse the palate but prefer Jamisions or Bushmills, a good glass of port wine also works.

[Kraschenbirn]

+1 on the Victor Sinclairs for a reasonably priced 'everyday' smoke. I get mine from Cigars International and, last time I purchased, caught VS 'Series 55s' for under $40/box of 20 on one of their 'specials'. For a 'better' smoke, though, a prefer either Rocky Patels or Bauza...but, these days, both are considered lower-end 'premiums' and have become (IMO) somewhat overpriced.

Bill

[FISH4BUGS]

I am not a regular cigar smoker (former cigarette smoker however but not for 20 years). I enjoy one while doing yard or garden work, fishing or at the range. I choose to buy factory seconds. They are made of good tobacco but come with some blemishes. Experiment with different brands until you find one you like. Good value and good cigars. Most of mine run a buck or so per cigar when you buy a box.

[kenyerian]

I used to smoke Marsh Wheelings stogies but I had to quit. They were made in Wheeling West Virginia. At year end 2001, M. Marsh and Son closed their plant in Wheeling, West Virginia and National Cigar Corporation purchased all the Marsh Wheeling brands from M. Marsh & Son. All Marsh Wheeling stogies and cigars are now manufactured and sold from Frankfort, Indiana.
They were very popular . The marsh family started makeing them in 1840. I can rember their salesman driving around to small stores up and down the Ohio River and selling them out of the trunk of their cars.
http://www.marshwheeling.com/wheeling.htm Nothing like enjoying a good Marsh Wheeling stogie and some good sipping whiskey with some friends.

[archmaker]

Agree on the variety to see what you like. Lately I have really liked some of the cigars made by AJ Fernandez (San Lantano, Pinalero, Diesel, and Man o' War). Also have tried some of Alec Bradley and just picked up a box of Mundial, and Nica Puro.

The key is to buy a box at a time once, you find what you like. I get my sticks from Serious Cigars, actually go to the store, but they ship worldwide and are good people to deal with (Heard a story by one of the guys that smoke there, and Serious had storm damage, years ago, and had to throw away 1,000s of sticks, so this guy along with the owner went through the Cigars, salvaged what they could as being smokable - but not saleable, and put them all in a big box and shipped them at his cost, overseas to the troops)

He has a store brand called LaCima you might try.

And getting seconds is a good option on cost. I tend to have nice cigars for the scotch and sitting on the porch enjoying the day, and seconds and cheaper cigars for mowing or working around the house.

Will tell you, that you can go to cigarbid.com but watch out, most cigar smokers call that the 'evil cigar place' not because of the quality, (Part of Cigar International, I THINK) but because you can quickly wind up spending way to much money. It is like ebay for cigars.

I have ordered from cigarbid.com and been happy, also the same for Cigarinternational.com, but now get my sticks form Serious, as I spend time in the store, and I like supporting my local business.

I also tend to do mail order during the cooler months, as I worry about cigars that are shipped in the middle of summer, as they could be exposed to excessive heat (heat is worse than cold).

For cheap cigar storage look up on Ebay a 'coolidor' mine holds about 200-250 Cigars, smaller option is a 'tuperdor' yeah the name says it all (Igloo cooler or a small tuperware like storage), salvage some of the cedar from the box to put in the plastic containers.

[Monttexan]

For an adult beverage to accompany your tobacco of choice I would also suggest Bulleit Bourbon. Pretty tasty in my opinion and the name is pretty cool!

[TreeKiller]

If you liked Cubans check out the offerings from Nicaragua. Different soil which does affect things but it's the same genetics that were rescued by Cubans fleeing Cuba as Fidel took power.
Here is the castboolits equivalent of the tobacco world, www.fairtradetobacco.com

+1 has my vote

[uncle joe]

Hampton court macanudo is my choice, they are around 6$