I thought about this when I first started, but I usually just look at the reviews of what people are smoking here and pick up 5 of them to try if people rave about them. And I also pick up a few random sticks at the B&M a couple times a month to try something different.
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You'd probably be better off reading reviews on this site of what guys like to smoke and cross reference those with your personal tastes.
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But CI has a tendency to make dog rockets seem like the best kept secret in the cigar biz. If you read their descriptions, you'd think every cigar from them should be a $10 stick.
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February's sticks
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1. Excalibur Legend (x2)
2. DPG Blue Generosos (x2)
3. La Aurora 107 Robusto (x2)
4. PDR Reserva Limitada Toro (x2)

And then these two house blends they say RH5554 on them :-) might call Ci and ask what they are, they look nice and oily.
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Oh c'mon...5 Vegas Gold is a diamond in the rough!








REALLY rough

:-)
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In defense of 5 Vegas, it was being able to buy bundles of their classic series for $20-$30 back in the day of yahoo auctions that really got me into the hobby. It's a great value in the $1-2/stick value, but each of these "finds" is more of the exception to the rule on CI.

When I was "reborn" in the hobby and filling up my humi about 5 years ago, I bought a lot of stuff from CI/Cbid. Never again.
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Haha....The group that I herf with are all med-full smokers and the 5 Vegas Gold is the pinnacle of the anti cigar for us.

They are a great way to fill your humi quickly and cheaply that's for sure.
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That looks like a nice selection to me. I just got a couple of the 107's today too.
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I seen that and I was going to comment that I have another one coming from Cbid....hopefully tomm.
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I do keep a little journal of the cigars I smoke, and the ones I like.

Also, my local B&M's suck. Two are Smoker Friendly stores, Two are head shops. They have a very limited selection, Their prices are almost double what the online stores charge for singles, and they let their walk in humidor RH fluctuate all over the board.

Two of the stores keep their cigars in cabinets, they don't even have Humidors:-)

And the head shop across the street has hi humidor at 30% RH:-)
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Sounds like you're hard up for local sources, for sure! Thank goodness for the internet!!! You definitely should give Cigarbid a look. But.... There is a reason it's called the devil site! Once it gets hold of you with the "fever", it's hard to shake it loose!!! :-) But, it can be an excellent source for smokes at very good prices! Just set a budget, and try to stick with it! Good Luck!!
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The bad part is, I live near Steamboat Springs. You would think there are some Cigar smokers in the Boat, so as to have a descent B&M
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