I'm a cheap date!

[megladon8]

I'm realizing that many of the cigars I love enough to purchase boxes of are very much in the "mid-range" 'price category.

I loved my Tatuaje Havana VI and I'd probably buy a box of those at $150. But as much as I loved my LP T52 Toro, would I buy a box of those at $200+? Probably not.

I'd much rather get, say, a box of Diesel Unholy Cocktail for $100, PLUS a box of Oliva's for another $100.


When it comes to the absolute ultra-premiums, they're delicious, great smokes. But to me, $200+ is still a heckuva lot of money.


Is anyone else in this boat? Does anyone else find that these super-premiums are best acquired in samplers and stuff like that, to be smoked on occasion "for a treat"?

Perhaps my feelings will change when I develop a career that pays me well enough to warrant $250 on a box of cigars.

Right now, though, I'm finding the flavour experiences of a Man o' War Virtue or a La Aroma de Cuba E.E. to be wonderful.

The odd LP or Tat is the icing, not the cake :cbig:

 

[SuprHasan]

I'd tend to agree. But here in Australia, we're not getting a premium cigar for $200 or $250 per box. The closest will be a Bolivar Coronas Jr or Dip 5 box of 25 for $250.
I'd consider a premium box as a PSD4, CC MC2 or CC Cohiba Robusto but they cost up to AUD$700+ per box of 25.
So, like you, I tend to buy the sampler or 3 pack and save them for a very special occasion.
As a matter of fact, I have an MC2 that's been ageing for over 2 years and another 10 MC2s for 1 year. That's going to rock my world when it's time light them up! :cbig:

 

[Treinenwj]

I'm with ya. The most I've spent is around $160-170 for a box of El Triunfadors. It was a great price, but still hurt.

 

[iCraig]

Man, I'm the same way. I don't have many if any HTF's or Super Premiums. I bought a box of Perdomo Lot 23 maduros, a box of tabacos baez, and my humi has those and a smattering of other stuff I've picked up along the way. I can't afford all the HTF's, super premiums, though I wish I could. It is what it is, I smoke what I like, and buy a couple super premiums here and there.

If I didn't play hockey, I'd have an extra 2-3k per year I could spend on cigars, but I wouldn't be as happy. I do and smoke what makes me happy and I enjoy life as best I can. I don't need to smoke an Opus X, LP, or any HTF Tat to be happy.

Shit, more than half the smoking experience for me is the people I get to smoke with when I get to smoke with others. I'd gladly smoke a lower quality stick any day of the week and have good company, than smoke a super premium/HTF stick alone.

 

[megladon8]

Yep, I'm having more fun talking with you guys and doing the trading and bombing and seeing what other people get bombed with, than I am with the actual smoking!

And that says a heckuva lot, because cigars are DIVINE.

I just love the camaraderie here.

Like I said, I LOVE me some LP and Tat and illusione...but box purchases of those are just a little outta my league at this point.

 

[tkieck]

At the risk of sound pretentious, I don't want to say its a matter of passion that dictates how much you spend on cigars, aka infer that because you spend less you are less passionate, but i do believe that the more and more immersed you become in the culture and the surrounding community, one does begin to spend more money. I am still in college and the vast majority of my income goes towards cigars, because although I do enjoy inexpensive cigars, this is one of my main hobbies so I allocate my funds accordingly and buy much more expensive cigars. Not to mention it gets to a point where tats, ligas, opus, cubans, ext. are all just everyday smokes anyways and become less and less a "treat".

 

[torin]

I'd say that while i do enjoy my everyday knock around cigars i also have an appreciation for a wonderful smoke. i feel that at times it is the same as anything else, you get what you pay for.

 

[Master Shake]

I find that I would rather smoke less often, and smoke more premium cigars, rather than smoke more often and smoke ones that I find to be just OK. And a box of T52s doesnt have to be 200+ if you can find a good deal online. cigarsatyourprice.com was selling t52 robustos for something like 33 per fiver which would make a box of 24 run something like 158ish, which is a great damn deal at under 7 a stick. So for the most part, I agree with Torin and you get what you pay for. But having said that, I'll be damned if there is something wrong with grabbin a bunch of Virtues at a great price.

 

[SuprHasan]

I just love the camaraderie here.

Me too. My wife looks at me and she's like "what, you just send free cigars to people you don't know?"
I tried to explain it's got nothing to do with the money. We just believe that sharing is caring. But then again, she's not a cigar smoker. She doesn't understand.....

 

[Fourtotheflush]

I look at it this way. If I was going out for a drink and had a Martini or a Scotch, then I would be dropping $10-$14 on one drink. So I dont mind paying that for a treat every now and then. That being said, I do think that many if not all cigars are way overpriced!

 

[Dread]

Id never spend more than $20 on a box of Olivas so I dont really agree:rolling:

Yes I know where youre coming from, but at the same time in my eyes the extra $120 it takes to get a box of T52's over Diesels is money well spent.

 

[SuprHasan]

Here's an example of overpriced:
Nub Habano 460 Box of 24 bought from USA: USD$125.95
Nub Habano 460 Box of 24 bought from AUS: USD$495.00

A good smoke here is $15. That's a Bolivar Coronas Jr or MC4. I don't enjoy smoking anything below that.

 

[BrooksW]

I find that I would rather smoke less often, and smoke more premium cigars, rather than smoke more often and smoke ones that I find to be just OK. And a box of T52s doesnt have to be 200+ if you can find a good deal online. cigarsatyourprice.com was selling t52 robustos for something like 33 per fiver which would make a box of 24 run something like 158ish, which is a great damn deal at under 7 a stick. So for the most part, I agree with Torin and you get what you pay for. But having said that, I'll be damned if there is something wrong with grabbin a bunch of Virtues at a great price.

Yep...Honestly, I just don't have time to smoke more then one a day (if that some weeks), so when I DO smoke, it is going to be a good one...

Having said that, if I was someone who smoked 2-4 a day, it would be a different story

~brooks

 

[strife]

I'm smoking close to 4 a day so yeah, money becomes a huge consideration. I've started to gravitate toward CC's for just that reason, I can find a really good CC that I can smoke everyday without having it bore me for the same price as the Olivas you speak of. I just can't find that with less expensive NCs lately. Maybe I've spoiled myself but I once loved Deisels but after going through a couple boxes of LPs they now taste like ass.

In fact if it's not an Oscuro or at the least a double Maduro I'm finding NCs disappointing. Picked up a couple of boxes of Padilla Habano Toros for $40 a box of 20 this week because I remember really liking them and I need an everyday smoke that won't break me but after lighting one up last night it felt like smoking air, really milder than I remember.

Seriously, next time I see Jonathan I'm making it a point to tell him how his T52 screwed up my preference for anything less hardy.

 

[earful]

Am in constant search for better, cheaper smokes but as strife mentioned, once you've found your ideal cigar, you're spoiled for life until something even better comes along.

An audiophile once told me the same thing. Every time he tweaks/improves his system to get a better sound, it is difficult to go back and listen to the older, inferior sound knowing he can do better. Not only that, once his ear/brain gets used to the higher standard, it triggers an urge to again look for something even better... Sounds familiar, lol!

So how does he differentiate a great sound system from a good budget system? A great sound system will be able to reproduce different types of music accurately- jazz, classical, rock, opera,, etc., yet will still excel in certain types of music over others. What he looks for in a good budget system is the ability to reproduce at least one type of sound or instrument - for example a classical guitar or male vocalist - pretty accurately.

I guess that's how I look at budget cigars. I'm not looking for the depth, complexity,and flavor changes of a great premium smoke but for a flavor component that I can enjoy for the duration of the smoke. Then it's on to find if there's anything cheaper and better out there. The chase and personal discovery of a good, bargain smoke is more than cheap thrills and is really one of the things that make this hobby such great fun.

 

[danthebugman]

Would I buy a box of LP #9 or Dirty Rats...abso-freakin'-loutely, but that's a student loan payment :hanghead:. Great cigars are worth every penny. That said there are certainly cigars that I find very enjoyable and are easier on the budget. Also if you look at what you're paying per cigar when you buy 5ers vs boxes, you'll see that box purchases are cheaper per cigar (which is why I prefer box splits to outright 5er purchases :thumbsup.

Dan

 

[megladon8]

There are some great points being made here.

Yes, it is very much a "get what you pay for" hobby. However, I'm finding more and more that I quite enjoy smoking fairly often. Sometimes one a day.

If I was to smoke all Tat's and LP's and Viaje's, I just couldn't afford that.


So to re-word my first post...

Do I love the super-premium, pricey smokes? Abso-freaking-lutely.

But I'm also always open to trying something cheaper and finding that, hey, I like smoking a T52 once or twice a week, and on the other days, I can smoke an Unholy Cocktail or a Virtue and not hurt my pocket so much.

Hell, even the DPG Blue is pretty reasonably priced.

 

[Docbp87]

Since I started smoking cigars, my spending habit has changed drastically. When I first started, I bought tons and tons of different cigars, singles, samplers, etc. because I basically wanted to try everything I possibly could. Most of these were sticks that fell in the $3-$6 range, but in great quantity (not lots of each one, but rather, lots of different lines). Since I have tried so many cigars, I now know what I look for and like in a smoke, and am at the box buying stage, where I am perfectly comfortable dropping $150-$200 on twenty or so cigars that I know I am going to love. One thing I have never understood is the guys who "blind buy" boxes of cigars!

 

[mwlabel]

At the risk of sound pretentious, I don't want to say its a matter of passion that dictates how much you spend on cigars, aka infer that because you spend less you are less passionate, but i do believe that the more and more immersed you become in the culture and the surrounding community, one does begin to spend more money. I am still in college and the vast majority of my income goes towards cigars, because although I do enjoy inexpensive cigars, this is one of my main hobbies so I allocate my funds accordingly and buy much more expensive cigars. Not to mention it gets to a point where tats, ligas, opus, cubans, ext. are all just everyday smokes anyways and become less and less a "treat".

I tend to agree with this. My greatest passion is firearms. While I love my Glocks, XDs, and M&Ps, and I will always own them. The price of one is about 1/6 of what my Wilson Combat 1911 cost. It was well worth it too. In the end, it's the little differences that make the biggest difference imo. So yes, I could own a handful of Glocks for that price, but I would rather have my one beautiful piece of art.

 

[megladon8]

Since I started smoking cigars, my spending habit has changed drastically. When I first started, I bought tons and tons of different cigars, singles, samplers, etc. because I basically wanted to try everything I possibly could. Most of these were sticks that fell in the $3-$6 range, but in great quantity (not lots of each one, but rather, lots of different lines). Since I have tried so many cigars, I now know what I look for and like in a smoke, and am at the box buying stage, where I am perfectly comfortable dropping $150-$200 on twenty or so cigars that I know I am going to love. One thing I have never understood is the guys who "blind buy" boxes of cigars!

I'm definitely guilty of blind-buying a couple of boxes of cigars, but the most I paid was $65 for one of them.

But yeah, I have been burned by one or two - one of them wasn't a box, but a bundle of 20 cigars. It was only $24.99, but still, it's something I regret.

I'm still at that stage where I'm trying to smoke as many different types of cigars as possible to determine what I'm willing to spend a good chunk of money on for a box.