You probably meet a lot of local people in B&M's. I've heard a lot of wild stories there as well. "I went to costa rica and for $5 I could smoke all the cubans I wanted". Or "I got this glass top box of cohibas are they real?".

Just because people smoke nothing but Cuban Cigars doesn't mean they are experts in the cigar world or know more than someone else. They just have a different cigar preference, that's all.

The CA community as a whole is much different. Plenty of people here smoke nothing but CC's, I don't find anyone here to be particularly elitist or having a poor attitude because of it. To think so would be a mistake.

:-)
[Reply]

Damn fine bit of reasoning there. Initially this forum was almost entirely made up of people who would rather have the CCs.
It MIGHT be drifting the other way now, but the CC love and knowledge here is still awfully strong.
[Reply]

Wow! So you basically are saying for an experienced smoker you believe more flavors can be generated from certain CC's that can not be found in NC's?
[Reply]

From what I've watched over the years, lots of brothers do just as you said, ending up and stopping at cc's with seldom a look back.
There's another thing that happens, too...
Generally speaking, they've tried everything along the way. They've learned who makes good, solid nc's that have done it for years without a hitch. They've learned how to smell a "gimmick" or a cigar producer who's just in it for the coin. They've learned that it's not necessary to jump on every limited edition cigar, and know how to find a good value smoke.
I'd even go so far as saying that most all-cc or mostly-cc smokers tend to veer away from cc LE's and RE's, waiting until a buzz develops from seasoned, trusted botl's before they'll even consider jumping on something "new and improved".
That's the polar opposite of what a large (or at least vocal) portion of nc smokers do.
It's really a whole metamorphisis, and it's just plain fun. The whole trip.
Somewhere along the way the cigars teach a respectful tolerance of each other's desires (smoke what you like/live and let live), and that seems to spread out in all facets of their life. It's cool how the love of the leaf turns into a deep love of our brothers. :-)
[Reply]

Different ones that you can only get from cc's. Some really incredible ones, at that. Probably a lot more from cc's than all the nuances of all the nc's together, actually. But completely different.
[Reply]

Nothing. I prefer Nicaraguan tobacco. It's all about personal preference.
[Reply]

Yes. Bear in mind, I'm not saying that CCs necessarily display more flavors than NCs, but that there are particular flavors in many CCs that aren't common in NCs. As some have said earlier in the thread, CCs and NCs simply inhabit different regions of the flavor spectrum and the more subtle levels of flavor you're able to detect, the more prominent this difference can become. Pick your analogy:

Horror movies vs. musicals

Country music vs. classic rock

Mexican food vs. Japanese food

etc.

Some people like country music, but not classic rock. Some people like both. Until you have a firm idea what you do and don't find interesting, why limit yourself? :-)
[Reply]

Let's Put It This Way: I've Never Gotten My Favorite Caramel Flavor From A NC, Although I Smoke & Enjoy Both! :-)
[Reply]

I've gotten caramel from My Father. Delicious graham cracker, caramelly goodness!
[Reply]

This is exactly my take on it too. There are a lot of NC's that I've never tried but most those that I have tend to be very one dimensional. There's no subtlety or nuance, it's like going to a Thai restaurant where they are so intent on making the food hot and spicy that they loose the flavours of the food itself.

Like everyone else said, smoke whatever appeals to your individual tastes but for mine money that's going to be a Cuban 9 or 10 times.... and my "source" is not a 'friend of a friend with family in Cuba' :-)
[Reply]

I consider smoking cigars akin to smoking a pipe - in this regard - you will find flavors in both that are similar, and then flavors in both that are vastly different. The subtleties of Virginia tobaccos are mild, and require more concentration and palate acclimatization to really appreciate than Aromatics, English, or Oriental tobaccos.

The same is true of CCs versus most NCs, especially the Nicaraugan sticks. Most NCs have their flavors boldly present right from the beginning, though some nuances can be noted to ephemerally appear in the background.

On the other hand, while CCs have some bold flavors, they are more subdued. And to get the most out of them, you need to focus on the flavors and aromas that are more subtle.

As someone else said, sometime those flavors are noted more in nose than in the mouth.

I like both, at different times.

Peace of the Lord be with you.
[Reply]

Yes I do!
[Reply]

I'd also like to make the comment that I started smoking cigars with the General Cigar H.Upmann 2000 and the H. Upmann "Churchill"
which was a corona gorda, lol. I smoked them for years, and when they switched away from Cameroon wrappers, then I found Arturo
Fuente, smoked those for a few years, then found Padrons, smoked those for MANY years, and then got into ordering havanas WAY later
than most of my brothers, and after that I never looked back. You could therefore say that I have forgotten more about NCs than
some people know. I was a serious student of all things cigar, reading everything I could get my hands on. I act like a know-it-all
today because I feel like I DO know it all. Of course, I DON'T, far from it. But I FEEL like I do. Certainly enough to know what I like. :-)
And of course, I abandoned the NC so long ago that I have NO IDEA of the things that are going on now, outside of the cursory
knowledge I get by loosely following the forum for those smokes here. So I now know what's hot, I just don't know why, lol.

And Bao, don't tell me what your opinion is, I KNOW, hahahaha.
[Reply]

You know nothing sir! Whatever people say about me is false...Don't listen to Pnoon or the Hog...they love to make up rumors about me. :-)
[Reply]

Who are you???:-)
[Reply]

Tom and Peter both told me that you were an above average looking heterosexual male.
[Reply]

see!!! they lied!!!
[Reply]

Only the cool kids smoke cc's
Posted via Mobile Device
[Reply]

We can hang out anytime as I am almost 100% the same. Save the ABs though.
[Reply]

i will forgive your hasty judgement of me if you let me explain mine.

i was speaking of random people i meet at work ( i work in a restaurant)that claim to know things about cigars. when i begin to ask them about what brands they like they say they "only smoke Cubans"
this phrase was in quotes because it seemed obvious to me that they are saying that because they are are lying to me because they are fore some reason looking to impress me. so when i press further and they cannot name a single line, source, brand, etc i know they are full of it.

of course i do not speak of people that tend to post in forums such as this because the people that post in forums like this tend to know more about cigars than the average guy that enjoys cigars and many of the forum member either know more than the guy that owns the local B&M or they ARE the guy that owns the local B&M.

i am sorry if i inadvertently insulted people that actually know what they are doing. i was not speaking of you. i should watch my wording.

you are not sorry to insult. if you were you would not do so. but i accept your apology none-the-less. you are just defending your community and i respect that. i would do the same if the rolls were reversed.

I do not feel the need to justify how much i do or do not know about cigars. you can feel free to investigate that yourself if you want. or not. whatever. i use the same handle on the cigar.com forum this forum and BOTL.org. if you want you can read my blog that is in my signature line. if not, fine. im not here to impress you. i am not here to insult you either.
[Reply]