Hi all,

I had a fantastic Ramon Allones Specially Selected a few years back on my honeymoon in the Cayman Islands, and keep thinking back to the flavor profile, particularly the citrus notes.

I know I could try and get the real deal (and might do that also), but I was wondering if anyone has any recommended NC sticks with a similar flavor profile? I'm aging a Tatuaje La Verite 2009, which a buddy suggested fits the traditional cuban profile well, particularly after aging, but wanted to see what other recommendations the CA community has.

thanks in advance!
:-) save a marriage, smoke a stogie :-)
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Welcome Zack!

I don't have too much experience smoking CC's as some of the other guys here, but I don't think you can compare NC's to CC's. If you are shooting for that same flavor profile of the RASSC in a NC, then you will most likely be dissapointed.
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I have no doubt that you can find an NC that wows you enough that you stop looking for that RASS profile, but I doubt that you will ever find the RASS profile in an NC.

But I've been told that I am a cc whore elitist, so what do I know.

However, in the end, I am pretty certain that you will find plenty of sticks to love. And after all, that's the whole point isn't it: love what you smoke and smoke what you love. Doesn't matter what it is, backwoods or ramon allones, as long as you like what you smoke, go for it!

Best wishes on your journey. You will get lots of valuable suggestions at CA. It's just the kind of board. :-)
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Mark said it best. Enjoy each cigar for what it is, so many different profiles and flavors out there to sample.

Oh yeah....and get yourself some more RASS. :-)
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fair enough - i wasn't looking so much for a RASS clone, maybe just a NC with lots of citrus notes. I smoke alot of pepin stuff, and while the pepper/leather flavors are great, i need a few go to 'change of pace' sticks
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I always love to read a thread about the eye-opening smoke and how people want the same thing
except legal...hehe...Its not that easy, lol. But FINDING it is part of the fun, I guess. The basement of the
asylum is SO littered with the corpses of white whales that there is no room for my record collection.
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I myself didn't get the flavor and actually didn't enjoy the stick much but a few friends of mine who smoked the Room101 Namakubi mentioned getting heavy Citrus notes from it. Like I mentioned I myself didn't enjoy this stick but many guys do which is what makes this hobby so great. Unfortunately the few I had I only got hints of licking an ashtray...:-):-)
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I know better than to tell anyone about 'comparable' cigars. Nearly impossible.

However, I will say that to ME, there are a couple NC's that made me think of RASS while smoking them. First was Pelo de Oro from Felipe Gregorio. I haven't seen these in a couple years, but I used to get them pretty cheap from cbid - pleasant surprise. Another is the La Aurora 107. Don't know about anyone else, but I get a little of the RA twang from the LA 107 robs.
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Hey- I don't think you're allowed to actually answer his question:-)
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I am no help to you. Just find some RASS.
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one day cuban cigars will be legal in the US. Until that time, if you want to stay on the good side of the law, then forget about matching cuban cigars with non-cubans. It's like trying to compare harleys with crotch rockets.
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Once that day comes, which I hope it never does, good luck finding real cc's for decent prices. The ones that are authentic will likely be constructed like complete crap.
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sorry....forgot where I was for a minute...won't happen again
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Like Tom said... buy more RASS! :-)

But if you want to stick to NC's, I would highly recommend trying some of the E.P. Carrillo cigars. They are a great medium cigar that isn't the typical in your face NC... they have more subtle flavors that you might enjoy for your "change of pace" cigar.
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+1. If you smoke a lot of DPG like you had stated, I think most of the stuff EPC puts out would be worlds apart from it and a good change of pace for you.
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Only NC that I've had with predominant citrus notes is the Cain Daytona No. 4.
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While they say that some cigars are rolled on the thigh of a virgin, Felipe Gregorio has his rolled on the butt cheek of members of sharters anonymous. Everything I've tried by him has been :-)
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Interesting, dunk. What didn't you like about the Pelo de Oro?
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I don't know about pronounced citrus notes Mac, but last year I smoked a Cain Daytona Torpedo, and I swore I was smoking an illusione phantom! (Very cubanesque profile) I couldn't believe it! When the daytona's first came out, the no. 4's were all that I was smoking. Haven't had one in a while.
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Believe it or not Greg, those Pelo de Oro were very good! (Especially in the corona size) just wish i'd bought more than one fiver!:-)
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