It's been one of those nights......

[gibbleguts]

Before I post this I will say that I enjoy quite a few Dominicans and Nicaraguans almost as much as most fresh Cubans. That said when you start to include vintage Cubans nothing else has ever come close for me. Personally I don't like the CGR but most other humidor releases have been fantastic for me. Jar releases as well. Now I prefer to spread my smoking around as cannot afford to smoke only those cigars so this is where NC's come in for me. I do know lots of people that tend to focus on CC's almost entirely as outside of the US they are by far the most dominant player and in most cases are often the better value. One of the big reasons I find that many don't leave the realm of Habanos is that on it's own it is a large and varied market with more history then all other growing regions. It is also the best documented and researchable portion of smoking cigars as many vitola's have been around for longer then most people's smoking histories. I know many Americans will say that it is because it is illegal but that does not give any credit to the fact that outside of the US market where CC's are legal they are still the most highly sought after cigars of any cigar producing nation. The last time I heard the #'s habanos made up 70% of the worlds premium cigar market if the US was taken out of the equation. Habanos are not the end all be all of cigars but they still are the benchmark that all others are judged against. With everything tho there is a huge amount of personal preferance to which you will prefer. CC vs NC might as well be Bourbon vs Scotch where there will never be a right answer as to which is better as there will always people who prefer each and right now Scotch is generally what I would consider the bench mark on the world stage. Comparing a Dunhill mojito to an opus x might as well be Bowmore Black vs George T Stagg. Smoke and drink what you like and just accept that we are all wrong.
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[javajunkie]

... and I conditionally agree with you, but consider the converse. most of the US posters here start with a firmer grounding in the NC's. eventually, you can find CC's once you are invested enough to move outside the realm of casual smoking (like most of the brothers here). BUT the framework of perception is already laid with a bias toward Nicaraguan, Dominican, Honduran, what have you. it takes longer to readjust that framework than to found new unbiased knowledge.

you become accustomed to, say, French fusion cuisine, then move on to other modern food scenes, and consider yourself a foodie or whatever, but feel lost or let down when you actually try more traditional fare represented by that country. just as an example.

I love NC's and have gotten much joy out of smoking them. I am looking forward to learning about CC's, and am just starting that road. and I hope we ALL eat may eat what we want, smoke what we want, and enjoy fellowship, because it's Christmas, dammit!

 

[cartisdm]

Before I post this I will say that I enjoy quite a few Dominicans and Nicaraguans almost as much as most fresh Cubans. That said when you start to include vintage Cubans nothing else has ever come close for me. Personally I don't like the CGR but most other humidor releases have been fantastic for me. Jar releases as well. Now I prefer to spread my smoking around as cannot afford to smoke only those cigars so this is where NC's come in for me. I do know lots of people that tend to focus on CC's almost entirely as outside of the US they are by far the most dominant player and in most cases are often the better value. One of the big reasons I find that many don't leave the realm of Habanos is that on it's own it is a large and varied market with more history then all other growing regions. It is also the best documented and researchable portion of smoking cigars as many vitola's have been around for longer then most people's smoking histories. I know many Americans will say that it is because it is illegal but that does not give any credit to the fact that outside of the US market where CC's are legal they are still the most highly sought after cigars of any cigar producing nation. The last time I heard the #'s habanos made up 70% of the worlds premium cigar market if the US was taken out of the equation. Habanos are not the end all be all of cigars but they still are the benchmark that all others are judged against. With everything tho there is a huge amount of personal preferance to which you will prefer. CC vs NC might as well be Bourbon vs Scotch where there will never be a right answer as to which is better as there will always people who prefer each and right now Scotch is generally what I would consider the bench mark on the world stage. Comparing a Dunhill mojito to an opus x might as well be Bowmore Black vs George T Stagg. Smoke and drink what you like and just accept that we are all wrong.
Posted via Mobile Device

...how on earth do you type all that on your phone? :scratchhe

 

[gibbleguts]

Blackberry is still good for a few things and one is typing with a Keyboard. Makes me cringe to think of not having a keyboard on my phone.
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[JVB]

Blackberry is still good for a few things and one is typing with a Keyboard. Makes me cringe to think of not having a keyboard on my phone.
Posted via Mobile Device

Amen Brother.

 

[Ishtar]

This is hilarious... I've been thinking it for a long time & u said it! LOVE it! No1 likes a cigar snob... 1 of the greatest things about the cigar world is that it breaks every barrier: race, age, gender, religion, social class! So being snooty doesn't make you better - only less tolerable!
And FYI, not only are most CCs single note but a lot of the families & brands that made CCs famous left Cuba during the exodus & took their seeds, talent & craftsmanship with them to DR or NIC or wherever. I honestly think it has more to do with the "status" associated with being able to get ahold of something you're not supposed to have.
When the embargo lifts, they're gona boom & once the novelty wears off ppl will go back to other stuff. But that's just my 2 cents.

 

[vivalanation734]

I love me some CC and NC. I generally like similar flavor profiles... So I like Bolivar and RA, Tatuaje and Illusione and whatnot. I'm not generally partial to Dominican tobacco as I generally find it to taste very floral.

To each his own, unless you like Ghurka and RP... That's just silly

 

[Jfire]

From a guy who was obsessed with small batch NCs it's getting harder and harder for me to enjoy them as much as Vintage or rested CCs. Aged NC's still love. But the power and after taste of the new NC'c rub me the wrong way. It's why I seem to be switching.

 

[L8A]

You need to send me the name of your patience instructor Justin.

 

[ilikefishes]

Blackberry is still good for a few things and one is typing with a Keyboard. Makes me cringe to think of not having a keyboard on my phone.
Posted via Mobile Device

That is why you get yourself an Android and install Swype.

 

[smokinghole]

I never thought this would make it to 30 posts.

I'm with Justin in a way that NCs can be overpowering. Since that is the case I tend to smoke medium cigars anymore that are more in line with typical CC strength. With my pinky up of course.

 

[MU Mike]

I'm an equal opportunity smoker. Too many good ones to limit yourself to a certain country.

 

[ciggy]

I was going to stay out of this because MY cc experience is limited to smokes produced in that last 4yrs at most. With that said I hear "older" cc's are better than todays cc's.
In my honest opinion I still feel the nc market taste better than the current cc market. I have yet to smoke a cc that outdoes the Tatuaje Cojonu 03 which is my No.1 regular production cigar and some of the nc LE's that came out this year beat out any LE cc I was able to get.

 

[hdlr]

I smoke both Cuban and NC but my collection is primarily Cuban. It's not that I think CC's are superior, I just prefer the profile better. Mind you, there quite a few different profiles in both CC and NC cigars, but I prefer a more earthy, less spicy profile which I find more common in CC's. Although I smoke NC's I generally don't like the strong, peppery profile that is common with Tats, LFD's and many other popular NC's nowadays. Another big reason is price. The price on some NC's like Tats are ridiculous IMO, especially with state taxes. I find I can usually get 2 boxes of CC's for the price of 1 box of good NC's.

Bottom line is everyone has a preference. Smoke what you like.