Pick new sticks based on the band? I know this is just plain stupid, but sometimes I will try something new because of an elegent or cool looking band. Some sticks are just plain tacky and I feel myself edging away from them lol

aj
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Hi AJ, and welcome to the asylum.

Actually, that is one of the purposes of the band! lol Believe it or not. I have had some dog rockets that had a great looking band! Take the Acid cigars for instance. I bought one not knowing that it was a flavor infused cigar and nearly jumped out of my skin when I put it into my mouth!

I have also had some killer smokes with some of the most conservative bands on the market!

But to answer your question, yes I have. Guilty. But no longer. I look at the whole cigar now. The wrapper and construction are more indications of whether I will buy it or not.
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:-) not that long ago...:-):-)
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i used to use the band in my cigar making decisions early on. If I hadnt been given a Tatuaje I NEVER would have picked one up myself. Tatuaje's have a crummy, simple, faded looking bands, but a helluva cigar underneath.
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:-)
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Just to clarify... I don't do this regularly, or I wouldn't be smoking alot of the good stuff out there cause I wouldn't know! But sometimes its fun to pick a new stick based on logo, name, etc. The other factors like wrapper, feel, smell, cap, color, etc are obviously what you SHOULD base a decision on.

aj
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This may interest you:

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15683
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2 humorous bits of advice I remember somewhere.

Never buy a cigar with a picture of a boat on the band. (I think at one time, 4 of the Thompson dog rocket house blends had pirate-ship style boats on the bands.)

Never buy a cigar that is named solely after a number. (Example 1876) The joke explanation was that the number represented how many attempts they had made to get the blend right.
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Ummm... no. :-)
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:-) Never have.
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While I appreciate a nice looking cigar band, it never influenced me to buy or not buy. I have to say that the San Cristobal band was very attractive and made me want to try it. :-)
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:-)
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u didnt know it was flavor infused ? lol could u not smell the thing form 50 paces ?
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I can't say that I ever have. Early on, I would ask someone what type of stick I could get and always trusted their opinion more than anything else.
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Never have.
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It's true. like it or not, the band is sort of the first impression you get from a cigar you haven't smoked before. It may even have a subconscious impact on our enjoyment of a cigar. However, bands are a really bad criteria to base your buying decisions on. There are tons of great cigars with hideous bands. This has been discussed in detail here. Taboo for example. If I had never heard of them, I can say almost certainly I would skip over these in the store based on the name and bands alone. I hate to admit it, but it's true!
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I have done this a few times; I remember being at the Sosa store in Disney World and the clerk was recommending that I try their Macabi cigar and thinking "What an ugly band!" (They have since improved it). I did try the cigar and it was just OK.

I ended up trying their main (Sosa) brand -- which has a cool looking band, and found a cigar that I liked.

Sometimes I think that when a (premium) manufacturer has a cigar that they are really proud of that they put more effort into the design of the band. This is probably all in my mind, but it really seems to be that way.
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Funny you should ask. My last order from Famous I was looking for one more cheapie to try to put me over $200. I really liked the band on the La Fontana, so I got a fiver and discovered a very nice rotation $2 stick. :-)
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Only when someone suggests it to me.So I guess that's not really because of the band.
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Never have. So many good cigars have simple bands. Many have elaborate multiple bands. Dog rockets are the same.
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