I purchased the Famous 20 under 20 sampler to see if I could find any lower cost smokes to suppliment the costlier ones on weekends when I tend to smoke more and noticed that several had a very grassy and almost hay like flavor. With some, the flavor was somewhat subtle, while others it was almost like chewing on a fresh cow patty and I had to put it down.

I can only surmise this has something to do with the age of the tobacco? Do cigars with fresh tobacco have this flavor, or am I really smoking cow dung because they sweep the scraps off the floor of the processing area and stuff it into a $1 cigar?

I'm just curious if it's an age thing that would get better if I let them rest for a while? It's a case of you pretty much get what you pay for in life and I'm wondering if it's even worth bothering with anymore. I am wondering if the ones with more subtle grassy flavor will improve over time because I have had 2 different experiences with the same cigar where one wasn't bad, but the other was terrible. I have found some in the $2.50 range that I enjoyed and may have to just settle with those for my knock arounds.
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Those will probably not get much better, but there are plenty of good cheap smokes out there; do a search and you'll get lots of suggestions. Some of my favorites are Tampa Sweethearts and Sancho Panza Dbl Mad and XF. You can get some pretty decent Padillas for about $2 a smoke shipped at Cigars International when on sale; also, lots of good deals if you watch CigarMonster.com/JoeCigar.com. Just do a little research before you buy.
:-)
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I'm with Mark, there are lot's of very nice Padillas that can be had for a couple bucks also Alec Bradley makes a lot of fine cheaper smokes.
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I've smoked some costly cigars and got that flavor. One that comes to mind is the Panacea green label.
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They sound a bit young/unpolished(what you'd expect for the price point). Might as well let em sit for awhile and see if they get any better. That said, I've had quite a few milder sticks give me that grassy flavor, but they were good to go, just the blend produced the flavor.
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Zino Davidoff said "Smoke less, but better and longer". I always believed that if you smoke so many cigars that
you need to go outside (and below) your preferred cigar then either your budget is too small or your cigar diet is
too flabby. There is always something to be said for experimentation, but as a few have hinted to here on this subject,
there is FAR too much already written at the asylum to make an error on cheap cigars. The hard work is already done for you.
Read what you have to here, search and be bestowed upon. There's probably even a sticky on the subject.

My PERSONAL advice is to smoke less, but you have to do what is best for you. I have had 8 smoke days, dozens of them.
But they are now the rare exception. But specifically to your original point, there is such a thing as cheap, weak tobacco.
Generally it grows fairly low on the plant, in bad soil, and is sometimes harvested and cured by people who only think they
know what they are doing. But in the best cigars, there is low-grade tobacco used, often to enhance burn quality. I am
guessing your cheapies are all cheap, sand leaves. And lastly there is a difference between low primings on a plant and
low quality tobacco, thought it best to add that.
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All good points, thank you. I definitely think the quality over quantity argument makes sense.

I was mainly just curious about the grassy flavor, where it comes from and if it will always be present regardless of how long the cigar had been aged. The fact that I had a couple with varying degrees of grassyness made me wonder.
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The Panacea Green gets the flavor from the PA Broadleaf wrapper. I like the Green, using it in wine pairings with acidic whites like Sauvignon Blancs, Chenin Blancs and unoaked Chardonnays as well as hoppy ales, IPA's are a great pairing. These sharp, acidic cigars make great pairings with white wines, something that you don't see every day. R
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I haven't had anything that had a grass flavor, but I have smelled hay and hints of barnyard manure....which threw me off, but smoked great.

So some great cheap sticks click the link in my signature.
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I must be weird; I look for a "grassy" flavor in a stick.
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in my opinion, there's a difference between grass (which can be extremely pleasant) and hay (which is indicative of lower quality tobacco). I could be wrong, but i've rarely noticed a 'hay' or barnyard taste in a cigar i know to be made of higher quality tobacco / factory. grassy, on the other hand, can come with quite the price tag for certain cigars. the old saying "age a crap cigar and all you have is old crap" comes to mind. quality instead of compromise. just one fool's opinion

stearns
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...must resist...
...too easy...
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Oh, go ahead Adam; I know what you're thinking. :-)
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Very good advice as it can be rather costly if you buy a lot of cheap cigars and do don't enjoy them. That makes no sense.

Do some research first and only buy a small quantity until you find exactly what you like at the price you consider reasonable.

WARNING: Smokers taste can vary greatly under pressure. LOL:-)

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