Negative Brand Bias?
 

Does anyone have a mainstream brand that no matter what the next new blend is, you want nothing to do with it? I try to keep an open mind with trying new things, but there is one that I make exception to and I don't really have a good reason.

For me, it's CAO. I have had a few and they don't do it for me. I see the shiny boxes and the marketing but I just have no interest in even trying them.

Discuss...

P.S. My intentions are not to start a Gurhka bashing. :)

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

We'll see how long that lasts. :r:hn



For what it's worth I've acutally liked almost all of the CAO's I've had.

I'll try just about any cigar once. It's a big world and I would hate to miss out on something just because. :2

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

RP for me. I enjoyed them years ago, but since my tastes have evolved, I can’t stomach the idea of smoking one. I tried a few years back and quickly tossed the cigar.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Victor Sinclair - I've tried several in the past and have yet to make it through a single stick.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Rocky Patel for me. I also had CAO on that list but for some odd reason, I tried the LX2 and I love the thing. However, I still haven't ventured into their other stuff.

I think the marketing of 100 different types of cigars is the real turn off.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

rp. there are still a few that i have that i wanna try (ex. edge sumatra, heard so much good about them), but i wont smoke another vintage or owr, just dont do it for me

stearns

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I'd have to go with RP and Gurkha. I used to like them both too, but similar to what ucla said, i really kind of get a sick feeling thinking of them, I don't really know why. I do still love the Edge though, so not all RP's...but all of them but the OWR's and Edge.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

A friend gave me an Eileen's Dream and I thought it was pretty decent (I don't mind that kind of thing) but the first thing that came to mind was CAO. There's just somethig about their label that makes me think it's an inferior product. I haven't actually heard anything bad about them I just have no attraction to the brand at all.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Gurkha, Rolando Reyes, Victor Sinclair, Perdomo, Macanudo, Drew Estates....

I'm sure I could compile a large list if I went down a list of manufacturers.

But with the exception of Macanudo, RR, and Gurkha, I would try something from the others again if I though it had promise.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Drew Estates for me.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I personally like all of the RPs that I have had the pleasure of smoking. I have to admit that I like some more than others, but I haven't had one yet that would turn me off of the brand entirely. As for the CAOs, I have smoke a couple different ones, and they all seem to smell, smoke, and taste the same. Snkbyt just tossed me a CAO Soprano tonite, hopefully it will change my decreasing opinion of this brand after I smoke it down. One stoge i recently tried was the new and suppsedly up coming MR. B. After smoking it down a little half way I threw it away. I have no further use for them at all.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Gurkah is the only one so far... every one I've had has burned horribly, or popped, cracked, etc..

Not a single good experience with at least a dozen different ones.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

For me it is any and all Rolando Reyes and Victor Sinclair.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I forgot about Felipe Gregorio.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

For me it's Macanudo. Even their new line doesn't interest me. Boring Brand.:sleep:

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I've never thought much of cigars made by Nestor Plasencia. This is a personal bias going back to the mid nineties, when I bought a number of his cigars and came to the conclusion they were both tasteless and poorly constructed. Granted, back then a vast number of the boutique cigars put out fell into this category, but I thought his were among the worse.

Whatever he's making today may or may not be better, but I have no desire to find out.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Ditto for me... except I never liked RP... and I swore after I smoked the last 1992 that I would never smoke another one... So I donated most of the RP I had to the troops and sold the last few stragglers... my humi is now a RP free zone. :ss

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Forget boring, more like vomit inducing.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

CAO, Fuente, Gurkha



I will TRY just about any cigar from any cigar maker. But there are certain brands I just won't shell out money for.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

No bias for me. I am willing to try just about any premium makers new blends. I may not buy smokes from George Rico, RP or K Hansotia, but I am always willing to give one a shot if recommended by a friend.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Marcas I always assume are 'not for me'...

CAO, Ghurka, Macanudo (although I broke my rule and smoked a 1968), DR Cohiba, DR RyJ, Playboy (heck, most Altadis stuff)...

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I'm with Bob. If I tossed a whole brand every time I got a cigar I didn't like I wouldn't smoke anything, probably. Especially most CCs. So unpredictable. Same goes the other way. If I find a really good cigar I don't attribute it to the whole brand. Or for that type, year after year. No brand loyalty here.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I have not been to impressed with Rocky Patel either but I got to tell you, do not pass up the RP decade, probably his best smoke in my opinion.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Not exactly the question, but I hate companies copying the Cuban brands/bands. Like LGC, aren't you well known enough know that you don't have to copy the Cuban labels? I don't buy many NC's nowadays, but I really don't buy these. :2

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Gurkhas suck. ;)

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Rocky Patel I'll still give it a fair shot when a new one comes into the shop (or at least try to). I just don't like it.
I used to be this way with CAO and it was really hard for me to get over I thought they were all flash and no go for a few years. But this new LX2 blew me away. I got about halfway through the stick grabbed my staff pick of the month thing from the cubao and put it right onto it. I just tried the America reverse wrapped perfecto from the sampler pack yesterday and it was phenomenal. But I used to just see CAO and refuse to even try it.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Cigars to change you mind.(Or at least open you to the possibilities)

CAO-Extreme, Waiting to try the LX2
RP-Edge Sumatra
Macanudo-1968
Gurkha-Shaggy

Neither the 1968 nor the Shaggy are great smokes, but they are different enough from the regular line to merit a try if the humi is empty. :al

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Perdomo, they dry my mouth out and leave a soapy taste. It didn't help when the Perdomo rep gave me a hard time about not liking them during an event at the local B&M awhile back. I'm still trying to find a RP to like, so they are on the list.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

NO: Sinclair, Reyes, Gurkha

All other I'm game for.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

CAO.

I try to be fair with them, Gurkha is the same way.

While I normally will try a CAO and be let down trying to be fair, I don't even touch Gurkhas.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I tend to avoid Toranos like the plague. Absolutely horrible, every one of them. I can count the number of Gurkahs I have had on one hand and did not care for them at all, so I really cant slag them that badly. but please can we toss Torano under the bus?

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

:tpd::tpd: RP Decade is tasty. Philip Gregorio and Drew Estates are probably 2 I stay away from.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I'm the same way. I don't care what the reviews say, what other people say, or how well they sell. When I found out that those companies weren't actually extensions fo the cuban brands it just seemed like such a cheap move to me. I stayed away from them for a long long time (relative to how long I've been smoking that is).

Then I was gifted an HdM Excalibur Legend and the stogie really knocked my socks off. I love it and wish I could smoke full-bodied cigars more often cuz they'd be a staple for me then. I'm now more open to trying things from those brands but I still don't feel like it's a classy move to copy a brand image.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Macanudo
Victor Sinclair
Cohibas from DR

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

x2

that and R&J's...:pu

I'm surprised to see so many CAO's but it's understandable, I've never been a huge fan but have only had a few.

I honestly thought this was going to be a Drew Estate bash fest...

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Perdomo
Avalon
Nub

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Victor Sinclair
Cu-Avana
Don Diego

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I can't stand CAO's futuristic bands/logos and as a result I'm negatively biased towards everything they put out.

lets see, what else..

this guy just looks like he's saying "my cigars are really shitty"

http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/1...fv0806nfn1.jpg

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Anything Rolando Reyes makes (Puros Indios, Aliados, Cienfuego, etc) is pure :pu

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

oh jesus, I smoked a puros indios once and it was so bad I still remember the taste; like grass or hay. yuck

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I'd rather smoke grass :r

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I'll second that!

Can't wait to try another one!

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

But my hand rolled other stuff is grand!
:D

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I'll throw in another Nub. Every stick I tried smoking from them was terrible and none ever made it past the 1 inch mark before being tossed. I could have struggled and stuck with them until the end but life is too short. This really baffles me because they are made by Oliva which I have yet to ever smoke any other Oliva that I thought was even remotely bad. I have been gifted a few Victor Sinclairs and I honestly am afraid to smoke them from the constant negative reviews I see about them. Every time I see them in the humi I keep thinking Cremosa.:D One day I will try them. I do agree that Rocky has some issues. I wish he would keep his stuff consistent. I have said it time and time again, focus on keeping your main and top lines consistent and quit concentrating on introducing a new blend every two weeks. ( Gasp! I am afraid that Pepin may be headed down this road:( )
CAO also suffers from changing their blends unexpectedly and yes they are a marketing machine but they do have a handful of enjoyable lines like the Brazilia and Italia that are hits with a good percentage of cigar smokers although I would rather see them focus more on the product instead of the crazy ways to market them and also concentrate on keeping things a little more consistent. Perfect example, the original release MX2 compared to the current blend. Two different animals.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Drew Estates and CAO for me. I don't know why, either. I always think I'd like to at least explore these brands a little, but I can't bring myself to buy anything with their names on them. I also have an aversion to Rocky Patel. I haven't bought one, let alone smoked one, in a long, long time.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

For me, RyJ, Drew Estates and Macanudo.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Drew Estate!!! I don't like any of their so-called cigars or their hip-hop marketing strategy.

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

^^^^^ I'm with him, STAY AWAY^^^^^^^

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

I agree with you on that one for sure. There is a guy here in Vegas who owns a b&M and he says his Acids fly off the shelf. he has a bunch of people who come in and taht is all they buy. wierd...

Re: Negative Brand Bias?
 

Guantanamera
https://www.cigarsclub.com/images/gu..._cristales.jpg
http://www.bagophily.com/images/barfsmiley.gif