My curiosity around this cigar is now beginning to fade away. I guess I had hoped this may be a sleeper cigar that some how stayed out of main stream. But after seeing everyone's posts here and after reading a bit about the cigar it self, I can see there is a bunch of self serving involved here. I first heard of the Atebay via a podcast I was listening to. They were ranting and raving about it and even named it the Cigar of the Year in 2012. I did a search to find out where can I find this beast, and it turned out the guy who runs the podcast, who happens to own 3 cigar stores in NH also happened to be one of the only people who carried the cigar.
So even though he moves millions in product every year, he still must benefit in some way by selling probably the most expensive cigar that he has even if it really isn't that great.
welcome to the great world of hype, sir. they are NEVER worth the hype. none of them.
EVER. find what you like, and enjoy it to the fullest, and f#@k what anyone else says. don't get me wrong, there are cigars worth a chase. worth secondary market pricing, even. but they are never worth as much as someone else says. they are worth what YOU feel they are worth. which is why you see so many of us trying everything, and so many others only going after a select few releases; learn where you are at, and what works for you. that, at it's heart, is the real journey.
and, FWIW, i have had these recommended by a solid dude here. not worth the coin, but a very good cigar, very mellow, and well worth trying if you could find them and justify the tag.