Originally Posted by OLS (Post 1688246)

... Puros Indios Chief ...

Originally Posted by lenguamor (Post 1688210)

As a smoker, all you want is to know that the cigars you love, that those you value and enjoy, will be available when you want them.

If you like the smaller gauges and the cigar-making world as a whole is moving toward larger gauges, that's worrisome; when that happens to the exclusion of the vitolas you hold dear, you react like a dog who's just had his tail stepped on: you yelp and maybe try to bite something.

My first cigar, and the only size I smoked for decades, was a corona. Since I discovered ninfas, that became my favorite vitola. I will always prefer a corona, petit corona, ninfa and lancero to any other size. Over the last decade I've seen the cigars I hold dearest discontinued in favor of larger gauges.

That does tend to piss one off.

I couldn't care less what anyone else smokes; as long as it's not a Kuba-Kuba anywhere near where I'm smoking one of my cigars.

But when a pattern of larger rings displacing those I love and enjoy becomes institutionalized to the point where I can't even find my preferences anymore, then yeah—there's gonna be resentment.

That's not to say that all 55+RG are bad; certain cigars like the FFP stand out as prime examples that a larger stick can still be a good one. But fact is, cigar shops only have space for so many cigars, and my preferences are getting pushed out in favor of the large stuff.

When I was at Casa Fernandez earlier in the year, they showed a prototype 7x70 they were working on. Now, CF's blends are all ass-kickers, across the board...put that in a 7x70 and what you have amounts to a prank, a novelty.

It leaves me wondering when this cigar passion of ours became a testosterone-fueled endurance contest.

Beer bong and a clown cigar, anyone?

Originally Posted by lenguamor (Post 1688210)

It leaves me wondering when this cigar passion of ours became a testosterone-fueled endurance contest.

Originally Posted by mithrilG60 (Post 1688805)

When did The Sopranos start airing?

Originally Posted by Mr. Ed (Post 1689020)

Really? You think The Sopranos has something to do with this trend? That's interesting. It definitely was a fairly large pop culture phenomenon, but I don't know how wide its influence went. I think it also has to do with advertisers trying to play up our male "machismo".

Originally Posted by Brooks W (Post 1689142)

I am willing to bet that 90% or more of cigar smokers:

~have never been on a cigar forum
~have never read an online review
~have no idea what "Capa" or "Viso" are
~have no idea that the wrapper is (almost always) the most flavorful part of a cigar

etc etc..

We as the online cigar smoker community may FEEL like we are a big part of the cigar world, but I assure you, nothing is further from the truth.

Originally Posted by Brooks W (Post 1689142)

I am willing to bet that 90% or more of cigar smokers:

~have never been on a cigar forum
~have never read an online review
~have no idea what "Capa" or "Viso" are
~have no idea that the wrapper is (almost always) the most flavorful part of a cigar

etc etc..

We as the online cigar smoker community may FEEL like we are a big part of the cigar world, but I assure you, nothing is further from the truth.

Originally Posted by CRIMPS (Post 1689145)

We are merely just pawns in this sick, twisted game... :gary

Originally Posted by markem (Post 1689147)

Originally Posted by markem (Post 1689147)

Originally Posted by mithrilG60 (Post 1689140)

Male "machismo" pretty much sums up the Sopranos image in a nutshell. My comment was a tongue in cheek reference to that.

Vendors make what people will buy, that's what it boils down to. It doesn't really bother me one way or the other if some random cigar maker wants to make a 150rg cigar that requires a step-down funnel just so you can wrap your lips around it to take a puff. I'm never going to buy them, frankly I'm never going to buy cigars made by 95% of the makers mentioned in this thread, so it really doesn't matter to me.

If all of a sudden Cuba decided that it was going to discontinue all it's classic lines and sizes in favour of 55+ RG power bombs will no real flavour or dimension I might have an opinion, but I really don't see that happening. Consider me a disinterested spectator on the the sidelines of the "large ring gauge wars" going on amongst the non-Cuban rollers.

Originally Posted by mithrilG60 (Post 1689529)

I see a change in the vitolas that would be considered outside the core range, but that section of the product line is always in flux in response to trends. The core range has stayed mostly the same, and that's really what matters. Cuba doesn't jump on trends quite like the non-Cuban makes do, not as much competition or guys trying to make their name and stand out. Like anything, this trend towards monster cigars will end and it will move back towards smaller gauges.