Top 5 Sticks of All Time

[JJG]

hmm my NC list would include, in no particular order:

AVO XO
Tatuaje brown label
Casa Fuente or Opus X
La Riqueza
Bobalu vintage Dominican

That's just what I've been enjoying lately. My top 5 is constantly changing, as I suspect most people's are.

I've only been smoking seriously for about 6 years but it's dramatic how much my tastes have changed. I started out enjoying sweet, full bodied maduros. My favorite cigar was the ERdM robusto larga maduro. I didn't like Fuente, AVO, or Tatuaje (now my top 3) and most cigars I purchased were at least 50+ ring gauge.

The most dramatic revelation for me was buying a box of CCs for the first time. My expectations were high, but that first box of Boli PCs exceeded them 10 times over. I went through a period where I only smoked Cubans and nothing else even came close.

I still prefer the flavor profile I get from most full bodied Cubans, but for the past few years I've been buying a lot of NC singles too. My intent was to try and find cigars that came close to the flavors I like so much in CCs.

What I found was very surprising. The NCs that appeal to me now are the exact opposite of what I started out enjoying. I've decided that mild is not a bad thing. Hell, compared to many of the popular NC brands out there, I think Cubans are very mild. Connecticut wrappers taste good to me now. Fuente and AVO are some of my favorite cigars, and I used to think they were overpriced and bland. In fact, there are more Dominicans on my top 5 than Nicaraguans. Occasionally I'll pick up a robusto, but I rarely smoke anything over 46 RG.

I have no idea what my preferences will be 6 months from now, or 2 years down the road, but always having something fresh and new to smoke is part of the fun of this hobby.

cheers!