The Lot 23 is one of my current "go to" sticks
Perdomo - Habano vs. Lot 23
- Thread starter megladon8
- Start date
+1. I liked the Lot 23 Maduro, and the Habano Maduro. Their Habano or Corojo wrapped smokes just don't do it for me.
Maduro Mardigan
Self-Admitted Noob!
Since this is my first post on this forum, I felt it good to begin with a disclaimer....I'm a cigar and pipe noob (I've only been smoking cigars since Feb 3rd of this year...my 31st birthday... and pipe for even less time than that...maybe a month) so at no time should my comments imply the knowledge or experience of a seasoned smoker (I have no experience whatsoever with cigarrettes or chew, and I never intend to have any.) In my time smoking cigar, I've smoked probably 20-25 distinct varieties of cigar, and anywhere between 30 to, say, 45 sticks total (counting duplicates), and that includes the garbage psuedo-cigars like Swisher Stink and Black and Crap that I didn't know better than not to smoke, and most of the "real" sticks I've smoked have been from maybe only three or four brands. So, that's not a very robust experience. To give context and a better idea of where I'm coming from in terms of limited experience and budding preferences, in a separate post, I'll list the sticks I've tried.
However, all that said, I do have some experience concerning the matter at hand, and so, thought I'd weigh in. This will probably be one of the rare times at this stage that I can contribute something meaningful.
I have tried the Lot 23 natural, Lot 23 maduro (both robusto). I have tried the Habano Maduro in the Habanito size.
I didn't really like the taste of the Lot 23s. They had a certain "spiciness" that I just didn't enjoy. Plus, I've suffered cigar sickness 3 times, and two of those times featured a Lot 23 (so, that means I'm 0-2 for smoking a Lot 23 and not getting sick.) The other time I got sick was on a CAO MX2 Robusto, but that was because I put it out, and didn't re-light it for several hours. I have since smoked MX2s and have been fine. Indeed, they are either my first or second favorite cigar I've had to date. So I can't blame the MX2 itself for making me sick. I do, however, think there really is something about the Lot 23s that disagree with me. I'm going to adopt a "three strikes, you're out" policy with the Lot though, and give it one last try (another Maduro), I'm going to make sure I have a bite to eat first, have a drink with it, have sugar and water on hand in case I get cigar sickness again, and I'm going to make sure I smoke it -real- slow. If I still get sick, then I'll conclude Lot 23's the devil, and stay a million miles away.
My experience with the Habano Habanito, on the other hand was a magic moment. The cigar was -wonderful!- It was chocolaty, it was rich, but still smooth and mellow, not spicy. It was deep, it was...how else do I say it? Tasty! I had eluded earlier how the MX2 was either my favorite or my second favorite stick to date...well, the Habanito is the other one. Great time with the Habanito!
Habanos, of course, come in connecticut, corojo, and maduro, so I bought one of each (all Robusto), and I bought another MX2 (also robusto), and those will be my cigar compliment for this coming week. I will be smoking them in that order. I hope by then to have been able to declare a winner, and decide which one(s) will be regulars for me.
I have had enough experience to conclude that in general, I'm a maduro guy (hence the name....which is also an off-hand reference to a certain late 80's high fantasy movie...20pts to whoever can figure it out!
) but I'm wanting to branch out, and discover one or two non-maduro sticks that I can put in regular rotation just to keep things mixed up a bit. Reading the reviews of the non-maduro habanos, hopefully I might have the winners on hand. I tried a CAO Gold in the Karat size, and thought very highly of that, and I plan to try the non-maduro Perdomo Nick's Sticks (since the Maduro version was pretty decent.)...I'm sure I'll find a few. I actually don't want to find too many, because then I'll just go broke trying to have them all.
In any case, as it concerns Lot 23 vs Habano....no question...Habano. Although, I almost wish it were Lot, because they're less expensive. To have the quality of the Habano at the price of the Lot would be...well....awesome!
Anyway, thanks for listening to my noobie ramble, and I'll get my "cigar travelogue" posted shortly.
God Bless!
However, all that said, I do have some experience concerning the matter at hand, and so, thought I'd weigh in. This will probably be one of the rare times at this stage that I can contribute something meaningful.
I have tried the Lot 23 natural, Lot 23 maduro (both robusto). I have tried the Habano Maduro in the Habanito size.
I didn't really like the taste of the Lot 23s. They had a certain "spiciness" that I just didn't enjoy. Plus, I've suffered cigar sickness 3 times, and two of those times featured a Lot 23 (so, that means I'm 0-2 for smoking a Lot 23 and not getting sick.) The other time I got sick was on a CAO MX2 Robusto, but that was because I put it out, and didn't re-light it for several hours. I have since smoked MX2s and have been fine. Indeed, they are either my first or second favorite cigar I've had to date. So I can't blame the MX2 itself for making me sick. I do, however, think there really is something about the Lot 23s that disagree with me. I'm going to adopt a "three strikes, you're out" policy with the Lot though, and give it one last try (another Maduro), I'm going to make sure I have a bite to eat first, have a drink with it, have sugar and water on hand in case I get cigar sickness again, and I'm going to make sure I smoke it -real- slow. If I still get sick, then I'll conclude Lot 23's the devil, and stay a million miles away.
My experience with the Habano Habanito, on the other hand was a magic moment. The cigar was -wonderful!- It was chocolaty, it was rich, but still smooth and mellow, not spicy. It was deep, it was...how else do I say it? Tasty! I had eluded earlier how the MX2 was either my favorite or my second favorite stick to date...well, the Habanito is the other one. Great time with the Habanito!
Habanos, of course, come in connecticut, corojo, and maduro, so I bought one of each (all Robusto), and I bought another MX2 (also robusto), and those will be my cigar compliment for this coming week. I will be smoking them in that order. I hope by then to have been able to declare a winner, and decide which one(s) will be regulars for me.
I have had enough experience to conclude that in general, I'm a maduro guy (hence the name....which is also an off-hand reference to a certain late 80's high fantasy movie...20pts to whoever can figure it out!
) but I'm wanting to branch out, and discover one or two non-maduro sticks that I can put in regular rotation just to keep things mixed up a bit. Reading the reviews of the non-maduro habanos, hopefully I might have the winners on hand. I tried a CAO Gold in the Karat size, and thought very highly of that, and I plan to try the non-maduro Perdomo Nick's Sticks (since the Maduro version was pretty decent.)...I'm sure I'll find a few. I actually don't want to find too many, because then I'll just go broke trying to have them all. In any case, as it concerns Lot 23 vs Habano....no question...Habano. Although, I almost wish it were Lot, because they're less expensive. To have the quality of the Habano at the price of the Lot would be...well....awesome!
Anyway, thanks for listening to my noobie ramble, and I'll get my "cigar travelogue" posted shortly.
God Bless!
Maduro Mardigan
Self-Admitted Noob!
Okay, as promised, my newbie "travelogue"
I'll list the cigars, and indicate how I liked them (1=strongly disliked, 2=wasn't crazy about, 3=kinda blah about, 4=generally enjoyed, 5=loved) I'll also mark the ones that are becoming "regulars" with an asterisk.
*****************
Full-Sized Cigars (Robusto size unless otherwise noted)
National Cuban Seed Natural (3)
National Cuban Seed Maduro (5) *
Perdomo Lot 23 Natural (1)
Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro (1)
Perdomo Cuban Bullet Toro (3)
Quorum ??? (2)
Perdomo Fresco Maduro (3)
Berger & Argenti Classico (Natural?) (4)
Punch Pita Maduro Toro (2)
CAO MX2 (5) *
Perdomo Nick's Stick Maduro (4) *?
Macanudo Natural (4)
Smaller Cigars (karat size)
Perdomo Habano Maduro (5) *?
CAO Brazilia (1)
CAO Gold (4)
Small Cigars (Cigarillo size)
Macanudo Ascot Natural (3)
Macanudo Ascot Maduro (4) *
CAO Flavours Bella Vanilla (5) *
CAO Flavours Moontrance (5)
CAO Flavours Golden Honey (3)
CAO Flavours Cherry Bomb (3)
Crap Cigars
Swisher Sweet Blunts (1) ... the first cigar I ever tried.
Black and Mild Standard (2)
Black and Mild Wine Flavored (2)
Swisher Blackstone Vanilla (2)
Phillies Grape Flavored (2)
Phillies Wine Flavored (1)
Backwoods (??? Flavor...plain, I think) (3)
So, that's where I'm at right now. By the end of the week, Lord Willing, I'll be able to add the full size Habano Maduro to that list, as well as the Corojo and Connecticut. In the following weeks, I'll plan to add a full size CAO Gold to that, as well as the non-maduro Nick's Sticks (I plan to grab another N.S. Maduro as well and pit it head to head against the National Cuban Seed Maduro to see which "cheapie" I like best, kinda like how I'm pitting the Habano Maduro up against the CAO MX2 to see which one of the slightly more upmarket sticks I prefer. I will report back on this in a few weeks once I have a winner.
I'll list the cigars, and indicate how I liked them (1=strongly disliked, 2=wasn't crazy about, 3=kinda blah about, 4=generally enjoyed, 5=loved) I'll also mark the ones that are becoming "regulars" with an asterisk.
*****************
Full-Sized Cigars (Robusto size unless otherwise noted)
National Cuban Seed Natural (3)
National Cuban Seed Maduro (5) *
Perdomo Lot 23 Natural (1)
Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro (1)
Perdomo Cuban Bullet Toro (3)
Quorum ??? (2)
Perdomo Fresco Maduro (3)
Berger & Argenti Classico (Natural?) (4)
Punch Pita Maduro Toro (2)
CAO MX2 (5) *
Perdomo Nick's Stick Maduro (4) *?
Macanudo Natural (4)
Smaller Cigars (karat size)
Perdomo Habano Maduro (5) *?
CAO Brazilia (1)
CAO Gold (4)
Small Cigars (Cigarillo size)
Macanudo Ascot Natural (3)
Macanudo Ascot Maduro (4) *
CAO Flavours Bella Vanilla (5) *
CAO Flavours Moontrance (5)
CAO Flavours Golden Honey (3)
CAO Flavours Cherry Bomb (3)
Crap Cigars
Swisher Sweet Blunts (1) ... the first cigar I ever tried.
Black and Mild Standard (2)
Black and Mild Wine Flavored (2)
Swisher Blackstone Vanilla (2)
Phillies Grape Flavored (2)
Phillies Wine Flavored (1)
Backwoods (??? Flavor...plain, I think) (3)
So, that's where I'm at right now. By the end of the week, Lord Willing, I'll be able to add the full size Habano Maduro to that list, as well as the Corojo and Connecticut. In the following weeks, I'll plan to add a full size CAO Gold to that, as well as the non-maduro Nick's Sticks (I plan to grab another N.S. Maduro as well and pit it head to head against the National Cuban Seed Maduro to see which "cheapie" I like best, kinda like how I'm pitting the Habano Maduro up against the CAO MX2 to see which one of the slightly more upmarket sticks I prefer. I will report back on this in a few weeks once I have a winner.
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I have both the Lot 23 Maduro and the Corojo Toro in my humi regularly and both are very good and consistent sticks. But they are different with the Corojo being a little bit richer. Both I will always keep both in the humi as they are priced reasonably and darn good.
What he said.