Caldwell & Other Newcomers, why?

[RevSmoke]

OK, I am a little behind the times. My disposable income is not what it could be, so I do not jump on a lot of new stuff that comes out.

I have seen a few people mention this in the MAW/PIF thread and was wondering about them.

What makes this newcomer so much better and sought after than so many other newcomers on the block?

And trust me, I have seen lots of them come and go... and some that still just linger on like a bad fart hanging in the air (Don Melo, Baccarat, Dark Shark, Don Poopee, Victor Sinclair, etc...)

For that matter, there are a couple new names that I have seen around that are demanding some serious coin.

So, tell me what new brands out there are worth the time and $$ - AND - why you think so?

I am not trying to disparage any of these, but it is doggone difficult to keep up with all the new stuff when I do not think cigars 24/7. So help a brother out, OK?

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[WhiteMamba]

I haven't had a Caldwell yet but I want to pretty much based on curiosity.

[TJtorpedo]

I don't know about Caldwell's premium lines, but I had one of their Junior Varsity lines and thought it was OK. It was so unmemorable I can't even remember the exact one.

Now the one newcomer (new to me anyway) I like are the Curivari lines. I haven't had one yet I didn't thoroughly enjoy, and they are at a much more palatable price point (all are under $8). To me, they're all around a medium body, but the complex flavors are amazing. I'm not usually good at descriptions, but lots of fruit and nuts and cocoa. I highly recommend them.

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by TJtorpedo

I don't know about Caldwell's premium lines, but I had one of their Junior Varsity lines and thought it was OK. It was so unmemorable I can't even remember the exact one.

Now the one newcomer (new to me anyway) I like are the Curivari lines. I haven't had one yet I didn't thoroughly enjoy, and they are at a much more palatable price point (all are under $8). To me, they're all around a medium body, but the complex flavors are amazing. I'm not usually good at descriptions, but lots of fruit and nuts and cocoa. I highly recommend them.

I have had a number of the Curivari lines, all have been excellent.

[smokin5]

In my opinion?
Nothing but slick marketing & the overwhelming need
of many to jump on the newest, latest, greatest thing.
Too many great established cigar lines out there already
for me to seek the next holy grail.
And let's face it - if you're gonna spend double digits for
a cigar, you might as well just go for a Padron Anniversary
or a Fuente Anejo. Many can (and will) argue otherwise.

[tsolomon]

Much like trying a new wine or food I haven't tried before, I like trying new cigars.

[kelmac07]

I've had a few sticks from their line. The Pepper Creme Soda was very flavorful (albeit, way milder than I normally smoke) and the Stout Corona was a wonderful stick (more in my wheelhouse).

[Remo]

Just a new smoke to try, if I can get one in a MAW all the better, try them and see if I need to get more. Doesn't make them better, just something new to try.

[Porch Dweller]

Originally Posted by Remo

Just a new smoke to try, if I can get one in a MAW all the better, try them and see if I need to get more. Doesn't make them better, just something new to try.

[irratebass]

You bring up an interesting thread idea Rev. I have had the Long Live The King, and I thought it was very boring and one dimensional.....the Sevianlli or whatever it's called is a very nice milder creamy smoke, and boxes can be had for about $40

When I was at Shack last year I brought a lot of newer stuff with me (including the Pepper Creme Soda Mac mentioned) and hardly anyone cared, they were all like "who? What? never heard of that" and I spoke to Zane about it and he was also surprised, but no one cared about the new stuff......it was kind of a reality check not to chase them anymore, and I kinda have stopped chasing them......I would still like to try the Eastern Standard just for curiosity sake, but for the most part this year will dedicated to Tats I believe......they just rarely disappoint.

[DaBear]

Haven't had anything from Caldwell's Lost & Found(as they call it now) series, but I've enjoyed most of the stuff from the regular lines I've tried. The King is Dead and Sevillana being quite good sticks to me. Supposedly the story with the Lost & Founds is they're cigars that were rolled years ago at various factories and never used/lost and Caldwell and his 2 partners are buying them up and releasing them under the Lost & Found tag line.

Here's a Halfwheel writeup on the Lost & Found series:

http://halfwheel.com/bcs-formerly-im...ostfound/80310

[hotreds]

why not?

[Wharf Rat]

They're hardly the first cigar distributor to claim they've found these cigars in the back of the warehouse that were meant to sell for $$$ but, now, they're only...

Don't these people have any inventory control?

This reminds me- we're about due for someone to find a mother-lode of pre embargo tobacco in rollable condition.

[icehog3]

I just can't believe I never heard of Don Poopees.

[DaBear]

Originally Posted by Wharf Rat

They're hardly the first cigar distributor to claim they've found these cigars in the back of the warehouse that were meant to sell for $$$ but, now, they're only...

Don't these people have any inventory control?

This reminds me- we're about due for someone to find a mother-lode of pre embargo tobacco in rollable condition.

Camacho bought all that up about 5 or 6 years ago with their "pre-embargo" cigar.

As far as inventory control, some of these may not exactly be cigars that were intended for release. They could be tester blends that partway through moving production to a full production there was a change on(think what Pete did with the Avions in 2013, changed his mind to a broadleaf wrapper and released what had already been made with the other wrapper as one of his side-projects, a la the Mexican Experiment). On the other hand, you can still lose some stuff, just like Altadis did last year when they found some RyJ ELs(released and sold out a few years ago, the ones with the red tubes) hidden away in their warehouse so they offered them for sale for about half off to retailers.

[JohnnyFlake]

IMHO, cigars in general are just way, way, too expensive, once again. What is going on now days, reminds me of the, so called, Cigar Boom, of the late 90s and early 00s. When the profits on cigars become as astronomical as they are now days, everyone, wants to get in the game. Always remember, there is just so much, truly good, high quality tobacco available. Every thing else in basic or S--t. Believe it or not, IMHO, we are in a Fantasy Cigar Boom, that started a few years ago. Like in the past, it will peak and then half on the brands out there now, mostly the new ones, will simply be no more!

For a dam good cigar, we should not have to pay over $5/$6, for truly good cigars $8/$10. Premium Cigars will always be in the $12/$15 range but that is understandable, because there is very little, truly premium quality, aged tobaccos available.

Take a test and then let me know what you think. Smoke a $12++ cigar from one of the new boutique brands, that you think is really great and then smoke a Paul Garmirian Symphony 20 Connoisseur ($15). Tell what you think afterwards!

[shilala]

Same story that's been played out a gazillion times.
Break in with a decent stick at a crazy price point.
Pray that it catches on and people will pay $250 a box.
Continue to pray that LOTS of people continue to pay that price point until the stick becomes a "mainstay".
Sell the line to CI or Swedish Match so they can make a half price, fully crappy version of the old cigar and everybody wins. Except cigar smokers.

I tired of the millworks and just completely stopped buying NC's, except anejo's, PAM's, and maybe a couple others. You could say I stopped buying those because I have plenty and seldom smoke them.
Oliva is still a standout line, I'm super happy they dropped the hype road they were headed down. They can stand on their product like Fuente and Padron. They don't need to make a lot of noise, and certainly don't need to give away motorcycles and canoes to get folks to look at them.

I sometimes wish the whole hype game was missing from our hobby, but for most guys it's a lot of fun. For awhile. I know it was fun for me, for a time.

[Sadden]

Facebooks exploded with guys chasing the newest overpriced "boutique" cigar. Pigs , Rats , Creamscicles , Pepper Cream Soda... Sometimes they are legitimately good sticks. Mostly though i stick with my mainstays nowadays. Some of that stuff is hard and expensive to get ahold of. And often is not worth it.

I will say I like the looks of Caldwells lineup. Much more modestly sized cigars than we were seeing a year ago. Im not a fan of jawbreakers. Its nice to see more stuff coming out in the 40-50 range.

Maybe by this time next year Lanceros will be all the rage.

Fads come and go. Just like anything else.

[Krish the Fish]

I have had a couple Caldwells and the like. My local B&M got them in, so I bought two of each blend so my buddy and I could try them.

I thought they were okay but not worth the price they're sold at. Between the HE lanceros, L'Atelier special selection blend, the Padron bundle I bought years ago and the Don Pepin Garcia blue label lanceros, I'm pretty much set on NCs. Which is nice, because save for the Hererra Estelis I don't have to worry about exorbitant pricing.

[Sweet_Leaf_PDX]

Lots of new cigars coming out all time…some stick around some don’t. Caldwell is not new to the cigar game, he was part of the Wynwood team for a while and then created Caldwell after the Wynwood team split up.

I think the 3 core lines that Caldwell offers are respectable cigars, some people will like them, some won’t. I do think the frenzy created by some of the stuff like “Yellow Cake” is pretty crazy. Robert as admitted that these cigars were created specially to be given away at events to people who buy boxes (like how my Father gives away packs of the “S” cigars at their events to box purchasers). I don’t think he intended for people to be going crazy over the stuff like they are.

The other cigars are actually part of a side project that Caldwell is involved with, and this halfwheel article explains that: http://halfwheel.com/bcs-formerly-im...ostfound/80310 - just in case anyone is curious.

I think this is a neat idea, but I think the frenzy around it is proving how much the current cigar market is susceptible to hype, and the search for the latest and greatest thing.