u/Straightupaguy

My Father Tobaccos Baez SF Robusto

I'm always on the hunt for a good daily driver budget stick to order in bulk. I was a bit skeptical about tobacos baez because I didn't really recognize the blend and the wrappers in the shop all looked a bit odd to me. I just figured "where's the catch"

I am so glad I listened to my curiosity because this was a super pleasant experience. While the wrapper appeared to be of low quality the flavor was superb. I got the creaminess and flavor I normally get from a nice clean Connecticut with that Nicaraguan spice we all know and love. Into the second third cream gave way to cedar and even more spice.

Unfortunately, the final third is where it fell apart. There were about 3 times the cigar went out. I'm not sure if maybe my puffing was bad, or maybe it's due to the short filler nature of this stick but by the time I got to the final third, all of the relights and the frantic puffing to keep the stick from tunnelling and going out again lead to extreme harshness. I got stale flavors no spice and had an entirely unpleasant experience. I smoked rare pink all the way down earlier today and I wanted to do this with Tobacos Baez.

In an effort to finish my cigar I chopped an inch from the cherry and purged to an extreme degree before relighting. Still very harsh. I don't know if it's the way I was puffing or the cigar itself but it makes me hesitant to order a box

I will absolutely revisit to see if I can get one that's good all the way down

Do you guys ever encounter rampant tunnelling? I was told puffing too often or too fast cause it but it seems to happen to me more when I let a cigar rest, like the wrapper goes out first.

Rare Pink in the short story size

I'll be upfront and honest, I don't think the cigar was worth the price. I love that it goes to a good cause and I absolutely love the branding and styling that goes into it (marketing geek), but the flavor was no grander than a standard hemmingway.

That being said, the blend was fantastic and I adore the way these are rolled. I got a TON of natural sweetness from the wrapper on first light and then as the gauge opened up I got that flavor from the fillers.

This is where the disappointment started with this cigar, as the smoke became more filler forward I found a lot of familiarity with the flavor and I just couldn't place it. The band was so different and that high price commanded a ton of curiosity from me, why was this so... Ordinary. I brought this up to the shop owner and he told me it's hemmingway filler with an Oliva wrapper and honestly that made so much sense considering what my palate was experiencing. Very good smoke I'm happy I got it and I might get it again when my tongue isn't at tender. (I've really gotta lay off but I find myself missing the flavor so much, same goes for my spicy and acidic foods)

The cigar itself gave me a ton of cedar on the retro, when I puff at me usual way too quick pace I was getting coffee but letting it rest gave me a creamy milky taste I never get from a wrapper this dark. As it widened half of it went out but since then it's been smooth sailing

I'd recommend everybody tries this thing once. It's for a good cause and it's a good smoke, but at the price I'd rather buy 2 hemmingway short stories.

Have you guys tried this one? Do the other vitolas offer a different experience?

Really nice but I think my pallet is shot. That or I'm not keeping them well. I didn't get a lot of depth of flavor and I forgot to retro. Back to factory smokes and surplus until they start tasting normal I suppose. The flavor progress ion was super there I could tell but I didn't pick out any notes. As it narrowed it needed 2 relights. I'll buy again

I wanna start out by asking. Do you guys ever buy a cigar from a shop you trust so you can compare it to one from your own setup?

Ive been struggling for weeks to come up with a method for keeping cigars that works for me, given my special living situation. (I work so long I sometimes sleep in my car and I have no control over the climate in my home). The boveda humidor bag as been a lifesaver and I now keep cigars I intend to smoke withing a week in a cooler bag in my car while I work.

When I first came up with my setup I bought an oliva serie V at a local shop with the intention of returning to the same shop later to buy a fresh one to compare to the one I've kept.

SUPER PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS. I preferred the flavor on the one I've been keeping and they both burned about the same. It's not all peaches, you can see in the pictures that mine (on the right) has signs of abuse. Cracked wrapper and a slightly lifted cap. Im chalking that up to my cooler bag having other hard objects in it and the whole setup being in a soft bodied container, maybe I'll invest in something harder for my on the go sticks.

This was also my first Oliva Serie V maduro. Unfortunately I was more focused on picking out differences between the two cigars I smoked, rather than looking at them critically. I burnt my tongue and shot my pallett so I couldn't tell you what the third portion of the cigars were like anyways.

I got a pleasant nuttiness with hints of chocolate and tropical fruit, will revisit.

Arturo Fuente anniversary 858 Candella (I think, I have a hard time identifying Fuentes).

When I saw this at the shop with their warmer lighting I thought this was some sort of, ultra shade Connecticut. It wasn't till I took it to the counter that I realized it was Candella. The worker told me it tasted like hay and he didn't recommend it, but I wanted an oddity for my collection to smoke one day so I got the thing

Well today was the day and honestly it was way different from what I expected. Instead of barnyard bitter green tea. I got a flavor of shredded mini wheats. Super delightful and surprisingly strong. This one made me a bit queasy and I didn't even get the opportunity to finish the whole thing. Because of that I'll have to get another someday.

Noticed that there was a color difference under the wrapper. I wonder if that's a sign of poor aging. I'm still learning and I think I love candellas now. Please drop recs!

I just lit up my first one and it's much mellower than other toscanos or Italian style cigars (that or my pallette is shot from chain smoking) I get such a pleant plummy flavor from them. I cut it in half because the draw is tight but this 5 pack ran me 8 bucks. SUPER WORTH IT

Recently someone here asked for recommendations for a beginning smoker. We all know the standard standby tends to be things like Perdomo Champagne, Ashton Classic, and other popular conneticuts.

When I got back into cigars at the beginning of this year after having quit for an ex in 2018, I didn't expect it to become a hobby. I liked the Tim Robinson show I think you should leave and I noticed an over representation in cigar based humor. Only one brand name came up, Macanudo. As a joke, knowing nothing about cigars, I picked up the cheapest macanudo I could find at a local smoke shop, not even a dedicated cigar shop.

This, The Macanudo Inspirado White, became the first premium cigar of my adult life. I fell in love

Since that experience, I've tried many other macanudos and I've also tried to regularly find inspirado white. Annoyingly I most frequently was met with the cafe, generally priced higher and in my opinion a much less appealing blend. I've heard many old-timers say that macanutto lost their touch. The construction isn't where it used to be and it hasn't been the same since they left Jamaica.

This was my first time smoking the inspirado white while looking at it analytically with my cigar journal. I was smoking it side by side with another one that I've been keeping as a test to see if the way I was keeping cigars was working well. Unfortunately I mixed up which one was the one I bought fresh and which one was from my back stock.

Because of that, the differences I picked out in these two cigars wouldn't be fair to judge the shop. I bought the new one from nor my own cigar keeping from, but there is some differences that I think rest solely on macanudo themselves

As you can see from the latter half of my pictures, one of these had a much lower quality looking rapidly. I don't think improper aging would cause something like this. Yes it looks dry. And yes that could be my fault or the fault of the store I bought it from or the fall of the store. I bought the new one from if this was the new one. Something poor aging would not cause the discoloration on display in this leaf. There's multiple water spots. It seems gray. Luckily the flavor wasn't too far off. The second and third thirds of the cigar were a lot harsher than the better looking wrapper and the draw and burn were perfectly fine on both with mild canoeing that corrected itself.

I think based on the opinions I've collected that a lot of people feel that macanudo is becoming less and less of a worthwhile brand and that really breaks my heart considering that the inspirado white in inspirado black are one of the few cigars that I repeat smoke.

As for my review of the inspirado White, it's a favorite for a reason. I recommend it to any begetting smoker, but the same reasons it made me fall in love with smoking.

For a wrapper so light the flavor is bold and woody with undertones of latte. Not so complex you get lost in the weeds but not boring. Excellent especially for the price, and very flavorful for something so light. Awful sour retro but I can forgive that as the leaf probably isn't aged leading to the cheap price.

83/100 I wish I could rate it more highly

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I was so excited to see a box of nib nuance at a steal of a deal. This was about a month ago now and I still have yet to smoke more than two of my box and I've given sticks away basically any chance I can get

Sure it tastes like coffee and I LOVE coffee but it's a candy artificial Werther's original taste. I tend to puff fast (my abused burnt tongue can tell you that) but I really had to cut it out on this one because EVERY SINGLE DOUBLE-PUFF came with this acrid, chemically taste.

I like the kuba kuba but every one I buy tastes dusty, I chalked it up to old stock from before the flavor ban. I like m by macanido but it's a bit one note I chalked it up to macanudo slipping a bit as I've seen some people say. But Nub?! My beloved nub?! My budget buddy my quick smoke has made the at the time (trader jacks has now taken the spot) WORST cigar experience I've ever had?

I'm heartbroken

Yesterday I had my first Liga Privada in the flying pig vitola and I was blown away. Today I was blessed enough to run across the papas fritas so I thought I'd take it for a spin.

It matched the flavor so perfectly and the burn issues and progression setbacks from it being a short filler were well worth the price cut. Shows me Liga isn't a fluke and these are a must buy.

Funny enough the only two cigars I'd ever spent over 25 on have been drew estate cigars (the other one being the pappy can winkle traditional). This made even funnier by the fact that at the time of buying both, I had basically written off the brand entirely.

Factory smokes were hitting the same spot they did when I was a beginner. Acids lost their allure and so did Deadwood. Swamp thing was a dud and the pappy can winkle taste a diesel sherry which was half the price. I'd seen a lot about liga privada and decided to try the creme de la creme before I wrote drew estate off for good.

The wrapper had a sheeny tip and so many oils it Burst into flame and held up a flame on both the first light and on my touch-ups.

I don't know if this is specific to the flying pig is. It's my first Perfecto and my first leaka bravada but this was an excellent smoke that Ash held on till the final third and it was packed with so much flavor. Espresso dark chocolate black pepper earthiness I have a whole new level of respect for Drew estate and I'm going to be trying the rest of the lineup.

One question, does this look like an especially toothy example or are they all like this?