Picked up some Antonio y Cleopatra Grenadier Coronas at my local CVS today. I'm still getting the hang of using my lighter and smoking, so I am buying the cheap stuff first. Maybe not the best idea...

I just attempted to finish one, it was so dry it began falling apart on me. I figured I would chalk it up to experience and decided to open it up and check out the inside. The last inch seemed to be made up of chopped up wood chips, possibly cedar. Is this 'normal' for the real cheap cigars? I was quite surprised to see this...:-)
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AyC cigars are made with homogenized tobacco leaf. They do not remove stems before the leaves are fed in a machine that chops them into little pieces. The bits of stem are probably what you saw.

I would recommend you try a local cigar shop and look for some inexpensive cigars. You should be able to find several in the $1-2 range. While they may not taste the greatest they are far better than the AyC or Garcia Vegas you find at drug stores. They are also more likely to be properly humidified. :-)
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Definitely hit up a B&M, theres a whole thread worth of budget smokes on here. Don't sweat the cutting and lighting technique too much, no reason to be smoking CVS cigars just so you can get your practice in...

Don't chop the thing in half, just clip the end so you can get a draw, tons of videos on lighting out there if you want to be super cool and use cedar spills or something. I personally just slowly make my way around the end with a torch. I remember watching those videos on cutting and lighting when I started out "The only proper way to light a cigar is with a cedar spill taking a full minute to toast and light the foot blah blah blah" Too much is made of it IMO.
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Maybe it Mesquite
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I went back and checked the box these came in and there is a disclaimer that says they also contain non tobacco products. I guess these will be going in the trash can..
Lesson learned..
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Check Hulu or youtube for the Discovery Channel show on the making of cigarettes. Basically the same way they make AyC's and other cheap machine made "cigars". They just dont add as many chemicals.
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dryness was probably from not being humidified properly.

How else would you get that cedar taste, if it wsnt for cedar in the cigar??
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Ugh, sounds gross...good call on the trash can for those bad boys. Do a little research on the forum here for some good budget smokes and make a list. Head to your B&M and see what you can find :-)
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Mmmmm twigs!! I do prefer hickory.
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you know you can get 2nds. These are cigars that big brands think are "messed up". These are good cigars for cheap. Just a thought
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Buy yourself some flor de oliva/fdo maduro or maybe some quorum.

Don Pepin Garcia also do a pretty good cheap lineup IMO the cuban classic is well worth a try (but its nothing like a cuban)
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:-)

Flor de Oliva
A. Fuente Curly Head
Quorum
Padilla Fuma

These are all cheap cigars that cost about $1 give or take. Try finding a Tobacco Outlet or something similar rather than a Gas Station.
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The 'problem' I have heard about the Curly Heads is that the filler is different from each batch because they use the leftovers from the other lines they produce- these leftovers are not consistent, so each cigar can taste different.
I have no idea if that is true, just what I've heard...

I've only smoked one so far and liked it..


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You may very well be right, but I PROMISE you, whatever batch of leftovers they use, they will be MANY times better than anything AyC or any other gas station cigar can produce.
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Curly Head Deluxe Maduros are a great option! They're short filler and may be inconsistent, but you can't tell. Much better than AyC.

A lot of the time a couple of the non-tobacco ingredients are glycerin and propylene glycol, used to keep the cigar (or cigarette) humidified.
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Most B&M shops will let you smoke there... Get them to clip a quality stick for ya, sit back and relax for an hour or two. Take a friend, meet a friend... Make an event out of it.

Stay away from those machine made things, ugh.
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Make sure to hit up the cigar asylum newbie sampler trade as well. That'll help you practice!

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=46087
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:-)

If you're worried about what goes into Curly Heads, don't ask what are in the Gas Station cigars. LOL
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recycled cardboard.......
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Try some J. Fuego originals. Not bad for $2!
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