Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

With a lot of magazines and websites releasing their “Top # of Cigars of 2018” recently, I’ve seen some folks around the interwebs express discontent about some cigars being completely overlooked. I have found that by and large, most lists I’ve seen so in fact recommend some nice cigars, but I also *absolutely* agree that there are many hidden gems out there. Honestly many of the tastier cigars I’ve had were either from word of mouth or by sheer luck.
Due to that, I thought it might be nice to start a thread dedicated to sharing some of the less appreciated cigars out there. So feel free to list some of the cigars that you think would fall in to that category, and more importantly, why they belong! I’ll start wiiiiiiith......

CAO La Traviata Habano - I’ve read that this one has been rated highly in past lists but by and large, I don’t hear much about it. I’ve noticed that CAO does very little, if anything, in the way of promoting this cigar. Maybe because it’s so good, they know it doesn’t need to be promoted?
As far as how it smokes - solid medium body, full on flavor. Lots of reviews attribute the “Cubanesque” moniker to the Traviata, but all I know is that it is delicious...esque. Tons of woodsy, caramel & cocoa notes without being too, if at all sweet, which I appreciate.
These often go for about 3-4 bucks a stick but at times, even less if you are patient. This is the other reason I love this cigar so much, the price/quality dynamic, and I often try to buy boxes at a time when on sale.

So what about you? I look forward to seeing some of your recommendations! -(P

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

For me I smoke a lot of full heavy cigars. Every so often I pick up an Ashton White and wonder why I don't keep a few of these in my Humidor.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Most Diesels.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Flatbed Cigars comes immediately to mind. A small brand based in southeast Pennsylvania that's been around for at least 10 years, with retail store distribution as far west as Texas. But I don't think they spend any advertising dollars, so they go unheard of unless someone recommends them to you. I'm particularly fond of the green, the red and the white label blends, but there is something for everybody here. I burned my fingers nubbing a green label last night!

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Great stuff amigos!
Mark i assume you are referring to Ashton Classic when you say white? I’ve had the Symmetry and I absolutely love it, but generally don’t smoke a lot of Ashton due to financial contstrainsts haha..
And right on James with Diesel, I’ve enjoyed just about everything by AJ, particularly the New worlds, just ordered a 5er of the Connecticuts (I greatly appreciate a powerful Connecticut)
Flatbed looks like they have some excellent stuff Bruce, really glad I started this thread because otherwise I would probably never have come across them. Will be ordering a sampler in the future!

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Been a while since I started this thread, but another excellent sleeper recently came to mind! And by all means everyone feel free to add to this any time you think of, or come across a great, yet generally overlooked stogie! -(P

https://i.postimg.cc/gjZGhkXJ/E361-C...2-C22-ED41.jpg

Aganorsa Leaf by Casa Fernandez - these can only be found at Famous Smoke. I can't remember where I heard (it could have been Terence from Aganorsa Leaf) that these are basically the same as the Casa Fernandez Habano, but at a much better price! Really a spectacular smoke, has everything I love in a good Nicaraguan! Every time I smoke one I think "wow, why aren't more people smoking this cigar?" Seems to age well too, I have some that are 1+ years old and are only getting better. :2

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

This is a good topic to discuss, wish I'd seen it sooner. Here's my contribution: The LegendArio by Camacho.
Seems like they've rebanded and reblended most every other line they make. And not for the better, it seems to a small bunch of us locally.
But best we can tell, Camacho hasn't changed the LegendArio since Eiroa first blended it years ago. Don't think it ever came in more than three sizes, now maybe there's only two(?) Haven't looked that up.

Trouble is, the company doesn't seem to give it much love as far as promoting it. Camacho has two or so events through Party Source each year, the LegendArio never gets brought to the dance and the rep only mentions it when we force him to. :D

Maybe instead of an "underdog", I should call it the Cinderella cigar.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Wow excellent post Brian, that is precisely the kind of cigar I'm referring to! As go figure - I love the Camacho brand - and I've tried all of their lineup (or so I thought?) because I've never even heard of the LegendArio! :noon
Definitely adding this cigar to my list of cigars to check out in the very near future! :D

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Tatuaje Fausto. It’s a bit silly of me to put anything Tatuaje up but I would say the Avion size I prefer over a brown label and they are cheaper due to being over looked or not marketed or just out of the general flavor profile most enjoy.

My two cents.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Plpc and Partagas Shorts

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Just for the record there are strict requirements for cigars to be reviewed for those lists, more than just advertising dollars spend on whatever rag it is, they have requirements about how many "cigar lounges" each cigar are actually sold in, things like that.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Ya know, I've really been enjoying Baccarat The Game Bonitas. A quick tasty little smoke; I was really kinda surprised at how good they are at their price point.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Yeah I've also heard people speculate about the advertising dollars too, however I'm not personally inclined to believe that either - if for no other reason than that I've found a lot of amazing cigars thanks to the "best of ..." lists!
It's more that I have noticed that there are a lot of list worthy cigars that definitely don't get the same amount of attention, for whatever reason. :)
Btw great additions everyone, I'll be checking out a lot of these cigar....when I have more expendable income, that is...haha!

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Aganorsa is available at many places. Has been for a decade now, give or take. You appear to possibly be smoking an exclusive vitola (size).

And, yes, it's a nice cigar.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Ahh yeah, I admit I've been a bit confused as far as this cigar is concerned lol. I did a little more research myself and according to this article it was released in 2016, so yeah it's definitely been around for a while. There also appears to be 4 vitolas, all of which I plan to smoke except the Gordo :)

https://halfwheel.com/aganorsa-leaf-...on-no-2/142452

But yeah at the end of the day, it is an excellent (and affordable!) cigar l! :D

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

I still enjoy the odd Macanudo every now and again, the Inspirado Orange was a decent smoke. :2

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

NC: AVO Heritage great flavor, great construction never disappoints
CC: QdO Corona IceHog mentioned these as an Under the radar gem on a thread years ago and I’ve been smoking them ever since!!!

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

La palina red label is under rated stick imo

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

United Cigar Toro Maduro is a great cigar thats pretty inexpensive for NC

Diplomatico no2 CC

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

What were those .50-$2 cigars we used to go crazy for back on the CS forum? I'm pretty sure I have 3 or 4 still in my humidor

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

One of my faves is the Fallen Angel by AJ Fernandez. It’s probably a CI house blend. It’s got a bit more finesse than some of AJ’s stuff and can usually be had for ~$3. Don’t bid against me!

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Famous Nic 3000s?

La Vieja Habana Silencios?

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

That's a Tabasa made by Aganorsa Leaf. Tabacalera Casa Fernandez recently changed their name to "Aganorsa Leaf". 10 years ago or so Casa Fernandez released a cigar called "Aganorsa Leaf".

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/rati...ecall/Y/page/1

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Na, wasnt any of those but I do remember the famous nice 3ks. This is gonna bug me now. They were unbranded and you could only get them from the manufacturer. I wanna say they were down in FL. Everyone bought them in wheels of 50 cause they were so cheap.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

The name CFO (Cigar Factory Outlet) comes to mind, although I can't find anything about them online so I could be wrong. I 100% remember the same thing as you, but it's been 8-10 years since ever seeing any of those around

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

I forgot all about them.... Yeah, CFO was the direct sale place I remember too for bundles of Quroums for like 50-cents a cigar and other cigars for about a buck.

What I don't remember was if the cigars were that good, or we were just young and stupid looking for decent cigars at a bargain price.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Me too!! I love the Fallen Angels, I noticed them being really well reviewed, just not reviewed very often. Certainly not nearly as often as AJs other stuff anyway. To date I've only smoked the perfectos, thanks to some jerk that recently outbid me on Cigarbid. :D

And T.G./ The other Adam - thanks for the info, that clears it up much more. They've seemed to have switched a lot up at Casa Fernandez in the last 10 years or so, which can make their stuff a bit convoluted at times!

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

I distinctively remember their busted old 90's website and their "CFO #3 tastes like Tatuaje, CFO #5 takes like X" and enjoying pretty much everything I got. But I also used to be pretty dumb, some would argue I still am, so who knows :2-(P

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

AAYYYEEE that's the one!!! I remember being blown away for the value of them. Were they as good as a $15-$20? No. But I'd put them in the $5-$8 dollar category all day long... and for only .50!?

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Yes, that website was a mess. :r I remember Dougie and Knugget always saying "just call Barb forget the website...."

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Yeah, that's the NC cigar industry for you. Padron and Fuente seem to be the only stable independent ones. Everyone else is always dicking around with something it seems.


Actually, Perdomo is pretty even keeled too now that I think about it.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Glad you guys figured it out, my next thought was the Tampa Sweethearts.

Re: Under appreciated & overlooked...underdogs?
 

Back with another recommendation!

https://i.postimg.cc/NjZQdkk6/B871-A...DE272341-D.jpg

Ramon Bueso Genesis Habano - this one *has* to be included in the list, full bodied and full flavor, but I don't see lots of people reaching for these, probably because their price falls more in the budget category? If you've smoked one though, you know what time it is.
Beautiful, and I mean really - beautiful oily shiny wrapper that is definitely indicative of the flavor within. If you are a fan of full bodied smokes, do yourself a favor and check this one out. :tu