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I love the Padron Anniversary Seriers, but I wouldn't call them mild. It's a great smoke so you should still try them. :ss

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I am TOTALLY new to this as well. Cigars I have enjoyed and continue to go back to. Padron '64's, Alex Bradley Tempus, Rockey Patel Decade have been favorites.

Bought a box of the AB's because it seemed cost effective to stop paying $10 for what I could pay $6.... They will become by go to until I decide I like something better that is so cost effective.

I have also enjoyed Casa Magna Robusto, Punch Rare Corojo(my neighbors go to) and Ashton Aged Maduro....all of which I would buy again and put in the humidor.

I am buying and smoking....trying to get an idea as to what I REALLY like. God this is fun & enjoyable stuff.....:tu

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I seen here under Scott's WTS link ( http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showpo...20&postcount=1 )

I noticed he said that his beads absorb any free ammonia what is given off of the cigars during aging. Do all beads absorb ammonia?

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No, scott's are a special type of bead. They work astoundingly well! I cannot explain how it does what it does, but maybe Scott can chime in?

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Not sure if Scott reads this thread, might be better to search some of his threads. :)

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Box code help:

SU SS1

Is this a 1998 box (SU)?

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1998 = SU.

See Link

http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/inf..._(1985_to_1998)

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Yeah. Should be another letter before the SU for the month. _-SU-SS1 = Month - 1998 - Sancti Spiritus 1

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Do I need to have the humidification puck attached to the top of my humidor as I see is almost always the case with the different devices?

As you can see in the pic I posted on 09-29-2009, 07:54 PM it sticks down quite a bit. Think I can get a few more cigars in if I set it down somewhere, as opposed to leaving it on the top.....

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It does not need to be attached to the top, E.J., I never kept mine there.

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Thanks for the info!

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I did for a while. Until I discovered it leaking on my cigars for the first time. Then I discovered humidity beads. Then I discovered coolers. Then I discovered closets and industrial humidifiers. I'm kind of afraid of what I'll discover next. Hoping it's more money, though. I really need to buy some more cigars :r

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Ok so this might be a total beginner question. I'm just starting to try to enjoy them and not just be completely trashed when i break one out. Ive only tried a Fuente 8-5-8, which i dont know why but i really just got tired of. and a Padron 1964 which i really enjoyed, but i think i could have enjoyed it if i knew what i was doing.

Whats the best way to get the flavor out of the cigar and not just taste tobacco. I hear talk of nuts, pine, spices, cocoa, etc.... So can someone explain the proper way i should be taking the smoke in? Big puff, little puff, let it sit in my mouth till i have to breath, move my tongue around. Ive tried out the nose which is kinda hard because i dont smoke anything else so its all new and i dont want to inhale. Gimmie some pointers guys.

Thank yall

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Welcome to CA :we

check this thread out and practice practice practice
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...light=snorking

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It's something that comes with experience. Some folks will retrohale (exhaling through the nose) which does give you more flavors, but can be murder on the sinuses.

It took me a few months to actually pick up anything other than "pepper" and "tobacco".

Read some reviews, buy different strength, wrapper, filler combos and the flavors will begin to show up. Don't focus on it too much, the idea is to enjoy the cigar, not try to find that hint of 7 year old Madagascar Vanilla.:D

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Wow... that is a hard one to answer in a post...

First of all just keep smoking. You will discover the sticks the YOU like and don't like.

As far as developing your palette to the point of tasting different things... it just takes time as well. Just as with fine wine or food it is a process that takes time to develop the skill. Some are more talented at it and will be better... and then some like me are always destined to have the palette of a goat!!!

I used to roll the smoke around in my mouth much more than I do now. Now I pretty much take a puff to get the smoke going, and then take a mouthful of smoke. I exhale some and then snork (nose smoke) some. The I exhale through my mouth and then the nose. That is just what I do and I am not saying it is THE way or anything.

When you start to snork just take little bits at a time... you will get used to it and you will truly begin to taste a lot more in the cigar.

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Let Me Know When You Find That "Extra Money"!:):tu

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Ok ill try to snork..... i always end up coughing though but now that ive read the step by step it might help. I just feel like im wasting sticks when all i taste is the tobacco, but i understand that i need to let my sense develop more.

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I don't think it's so much the way you smoke (this can have an effect by fast or slow puffing can make it burn hotter/cooler) but the "mental links" one has is that which create the "flavors". I did an experiment on the old board which I can link you to ( I don't like to link puff on CA). In this experiment I gathered people who felt they too could not describe or gain flavors from smoking a cigar. The results were that people COULD get the flavors from the cigars but they needed the mental links by which to do so. Smokin Gator has it right in a sense. The professional tasters have in the past and continue to strengthen these mental links in order to pull out more flavors.

There is no right or wrong way as each person's experience is their own. But there are things which you can do to make sure you are getting the most out of every cigar. Lastly, I want to add that even in doing so, you can still find cigars that are not going to be what you like tasting.

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Please pm me the link if you dont mind..... Theres already tons of reading for me to do, but whats a little more! I like learning something im actually interested in. I really appreciate it.

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I had an Olivia Serie G tonight and I noticed the first inch or so was pretty harsh and not that great. After that though (1/2 the way through) it was wonderful. So why was the beginning not-so-good? Is it the cigar or something I was doing? I was taking it pretty slow so I don't think I was smoking it too fast and making it burn hot either.

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IME a lot of cigars are more powerful in the beginning for about an inch. It sometimes has to do with the way you light it though. Try to make sure you don't let the flame touch the cigar when lighting. Let only the heat from the flame light the cigar. It takes more patience, but I feel that I get better flavors that way.

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I have a good quality (expensive) cigar that I had clipped at the store but ever ended up smoking. How long can I reasonably expect it to stay decent kept in my 65% humidor?
Would it help it's longevity if it put it in a cellophane wrapper off another stick?

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I would think that as long as it's kept in stable RH like your other smokes, it should be fine for an indefinite period of time.

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Excellent -- thank you.

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Absolutely. Have smoked cigars 50 years old and still had legs for more age - it all depends on the cigar.

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I think you misunderstood the answer N2A. The original question was if the cigar would still be okay after clipping for long term storage. I agree with Peter.

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I was agreeing with Peter as well :tu

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oh. your additional comment made it sound like you were saying that cigars in general are fine to store for long periods of time. I thought maybe you didnt see the part about it already being cut. lol oops

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Hi guys for a person who owns no cutter what are my options? I know my bud would usually just smoke Backwoods..not cap cutting required but I wanted my first Cigar to be really...authentic, so I of course bought myself some Cigars...that need cap cutting..but I can't get a cigar cutter cuz I'm not very well off...(even if you guys think its cheap) and I really don't want to wait on the cutter either..I don't know how long I can keep the cigars just sitting around, and they wheren't very expensive either :p but anyways..guys got tips for a noob to cut his Cigar cap without one of them fancy things? I heard I can just poke a hole...is this true!?

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I would say your options are to take a sharp knife or just bite it off. I also heard of using a smaller brass case from a rifle round to "punch" a hole in the cigar.

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Go back to the cigar shop and ask them for one of theor chep cutters. Every B&M I've been to carries some sort of $3 or less cutter that works well for a while. Biting the cap off SUCKS! If you don't want to do that, then maybe shove a pen into the cap.

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X2

In dire situations I have also used a sharp pocket knife to cut the stick, but you may not wanna try this until you know what you're doing. It is not really a substitute for a cutter but works if you don't have one

aj

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If you have a pocket knife, score the cap in a circle and then remove that piece. If you do it right, it will look like a punch cut.

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Hi and thanks for the advice guys. I don't know what a B&M is, perhaps someone could enlighten me? I didn't get my Garcia Y Vega's from a Cigar shop..just the local Mobile shop. I don't think they sell cutters.

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B&M is a Brick and Mortar or regular cigar shop. Like the others said a sharp knife will work just fine.

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ahh thanks guys...but yeah we don't have a Cigar shop around here..not even a Tobacconist..we just have Gas stations.

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Cigarbid.com is your friend. Also watch cigarmonster.com and joecigar.com for some good deals.

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Some drug stores will carry cheap cutters... FYI

aj

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None of the stores I go to in my area sell these to my knowledge but I will make sure to take a look around. I have watched video's and read up on the whole cap cutting thing so if I had a sharp knife I don't feel TOO nervous about screwing it up, but anyone have or know of a simple step by step instructions to punch a hole in the cap? preferably from a "no cap puncher available" perspective.

If you don't have a punch, you can just use a toothpick to punch a bunch of holes in the cap until you can remove a small piece of it.
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A golf tee works small wonders for this application too.

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Thanks guys :D How big should this hole I form be? and also how deep should this hole go? or am I just doing it to get that leaf thing off (cap)

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For A "Punch", All You Need Is an 1/8" deep if you use a golf tee. You simply want an opening to get the smoke out of the stick. If The Draw is too difficult, simply enlarge the size & Depth of the punch a little at a time until the draw is satisfactory to your tastes.:tu

The size of the punch depends on the RG of your cigar. Start small and if the draw's too tight, you can always widen it.
And yes, you just want to remove the cap.
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Thank you much guys.

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New question..more of a question about forum terminology, hope you guys don't mind I put it here. What does NC mean? and also CC (I think its called CC)

NC = Non-Cuban
CC = Cuban cigar
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Many acronyms we use are here: http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2190

Gotta love sticky's! :tu

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woops..my bad, thanks.