Hey everyone! I'm active army in Afghanistan. I've become quite the connoisseur out here, trying to smoke 3 cigars a day but rarely getting the time to. My new obsession is trying to find the best dollar stick I can find (or less, or only slightly more). I've been ordering a bunch of different dollar or less cigars, most of them from Thompson's (won a lot of auctions, too), smoking a few, and giving the rest away.

I've been giving away cigars to a bunch of friends over here to make humidor space for the stuff I've sadly ordered when I should be saving my money for things like the Obamalypse. Also, I'm out of humidor space. A 50 count, a 75 count, and three boxes with humidity sticks just seems like overkill.

Anyway, I was just wondering, does anyone have any suggestions as to what the best dollar stick would be? My favorite so far has been an orange label Roly second that I got a package of from Thompson's on their deal of the day. Most of the cheap cigars I bought all taste the same, from natural to maduro to connecticut, and that just seems weird to me.

Tried so far: Thompson old timer's, PDR VLR connecticut, Corojo Cubano, Swisher Sweets, El Caudillo Maduro (liked them), Roly Seconds with a natural wrapper and an orange label (really liked them).

Best cigars I've smoked out here this deployment, so you have an idea of my tastes: Perdomo Reserve Champagne, Macanudo maduro (with the medal ring for a label), Gurkha Ancient Warrior, Rocky Patel (sungrown and white label ones)
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That's a tough question, brother. I got some Calle Ocho's from Cigars International or Famous Smokes a few years back that were really good. A fancy band would have easily made them an $5.00-$8.00 stick and they were $15 for 24 sticks.
Try cigarbid.com and see what you can pick up. There's a lot to be had for $1.00 a stick, and some aren't bad.
All I can really say is to watch what they're made of. If you can find a cigar that's all nicaraguan or all dominican or part of each, they can't be too bad. Lots of times you'll see a filler and binder from those places with a Mexican or Ecuadorian wrapper. Those are fairly gross, it's a toss-up. Honduran tobacco is sometimes not bad, too. It just depends.
I can't suggest a particular brand, because these kinds of cigars aren't usually brands in themselves, but "house brands" or rebanded overruns, or stuff that the chickens were living in.
All you can do is what you're doing. Keep trying stuff, just add "try to look for tobacco from Dominican and Nicaragua" and you should bump into some stuff you'll enjoy. :-)
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Sounds like a fun pursuit! Just an idea, keep the less expensive sticks separate from your others as the less expensive ones may not have been flash-frozen or fumigated for beetles, making them much more vulnerable to infestation.
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I bought some arganese maduros a little while back for around $1.25 a stick. I Luke them for a yard-gar.
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I bought some John Bull's and Devils Weed from Cbid fo a buck, the John Bulls are not very good IMO. The Devil's Weed isn't too bad, wish the ones I got were maduro, I smoke them when mowing the lawn.
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fixed. damn iphone autocorrect.
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This makes me happy!!!:-)

These can be found on CigarsInternational in Maduro, Connecticut, and Nicaraguan wrappers!:-)
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Devil's weed is quite cheap on CI
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Achilles Hybrids can be had for a buck if you get lucky, stacking coupons and discounts for CI or Stogieboys. They're excellent for that price, I'd pay more for them.
Also Puros Indios Viejos - i got them for 89 cents a stick. Absolutely awful ROTT, good after three months in a humidor. Not sure if that could work there...
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