CC's or NC's?

[Mugen910]

Originally Posted by kuzi16

in my experience the people that "only smoke Cubans" are full of it. after about 30 seconds of cigar discussion they show that they know virtually ZERO about cigars, let alone Cuban cigars.



...and their source is almost always "a friend of a friend who has family in Cuba"

I totally agree!!


hehe

[pektel]

If you don't like CC's, that's awesome. More for me.

My palate prefers the subtleties, the nutmeggy cinnamon from an 04 HdM DC, the tea like flavors from my box of 00 LGC MdO 3's, and oh, the sweet caramel from a 2005 PLPC.

A lot of the mainstream NC's I've smoked seem to concentrate more on pepper and strength, not to mention large ring guage. I really feel it takes a very skilled torcedor to roll a smaller, longer cigar, and the blend has to be more precise, given the lesser amount of leaves in the filler. Something about a lancero/palmas/and other long skinny CC's that just strike me as a work of art.

And of course, the obligatory "smoke what you like, like what you smoke."

[OLS]

Originally Posted by kuzi16

in my experience the people that "only smoke Cubans" are full of it.

I only smoke Cubans.

Of course, YES, I AM full of it, ask anyone. But I only smoke cubans, nonetheless.


Now YES, I DO have a blog where I have smoked some NC cigars, but people gave them to me and I felt like
there was no better way to thank them and to prove it got smoked than to blog about it. But I do not buy
them, I do not encourage people to give them to me, and a lot of times when they force me to take them
anyway, they end up in Iraq of Afghanistan. It was said somewhere above this that the modern day NC seems
to be in a struggle to be the strongest or pepperiest. Neither of these are enjoyable to me. And unless you
are Fuente or Padron, you seem to have trouble making an interesting cigar that is also mild to medium. So
when it comes down to it, I do not smoke NCs because they do not taste good to me.

[akumushi]

It's the French wine Vs. Californian wine debate all over again, so really, smoke what you like. There are good and bad examples of both.
I for one gravitate toward the milder CCs, but I enjoy an occasional Padron or Pepin. I would point out that they're blended to completely different palletes, with NCs mostly marketed toward mouth-smokers that want big, bold & chewy flavors with a rich mouthfeel, and with CCs mostly marketed toward nose-smokers that want complex and subtle aromas that don't rip into your sinus.
If there is any truth to the idea that people gravitate toward CCs in the long run (I certainly have) it's because it generally takes people a while to switch to the retroexhale and to learn how to pick up the more subtle flavors other than "burning tobacco smoke." IMO, if you've just smoked a few CCs and you didn't retroexhale, you've completely missed out on 90% of what is good about them, and should revisit them later, in that context.

[pektel]

Originally Posted by akumushi

would point out that they're blended to completely different palletes, with NCs mostly marketed toward mouth-smokers that want big, bold & chewy flavors with a rich mouthfeel, and with CCs mostly marketed toward nose-smokers that want complex and subtle aromas that don't rip into your sinus.
If there is any truth to the idea that people gravitate toward CCs in the long run (I certainly have) it's because it generally takes people a while to switch to the retroexhale and to learn how to pick up the more subtle flavors other than "burning tobacco smoke." IMO, if you've just smoked a few CCs and you didn't retroexhale, you've completely missed out on 90% of what is good about them, and should revisit them later, in that context.

VERY good point.

[dwoodward]

My tastes are definitely NC for now... I haven't had enough CC's to make a good judgement of yet. The CC's I had were all great sticks in their own right, just not to my prefered tastes.

[OLS]

Originally Posted by Mugen910

I totally agree!!

No you don't.

[lilninjabuddy]

Originally Posted by kuzi16

in my experience the people that "only smoke Cubans" are full of it. after about 30 seconds of cigar discussion they show that they know virtually ZERO about cigars, let alone Cuban cigars.

...and their source is almost always "a friend of a friend who has family in Cuba"

Knowing a lot about cigars hardly precludes one's subjective taste preferences from being perfectly legitimate. After several years in the hobby, I still consider myself a noob when it comes to knowing about cigars, both in terms of the industry and the science, but I'm pretty confident in my ability to determine a good cigar from a bad one.

Your personal experience with people who only smoke Cubans is vastly different than mine. Nearly every BOTL I know who exclusively smokes Cubans has smoked a ton of cigars over the years and has decided on their preference after a lot of experience, and at that point, they've been around long enough to have established good connections and reliable vendors.

I'm going to assume your interactions must be with snobby, rich people who smoke to look cool, not people who smoke because they actually enjoy the experience, and I don't see how they could smoke Cubans regularly without a reliable vendor. Most BOTLS I know who exclusively smoke Cubans can only do so because they have a reliable network of vendors.

[lilninjabuddy]

Originally Posted by akumushi

If there is any truth to the idea that people gravitate toward CCs in the long run (I certainly have) it's because it generally takes people a while to switch to the retroexhale and to learn how to pick up the more subtle flavors other than "burning tobacco smoke." IMO, if you've just smoked a few CCs and you didn't retroexhale, you've completely missed out on 90% of what is good about them, and should revisit them later, in that context.

I'm wondering if over time that may happen to me as well. I retrohale with nearly all my cigars now. My initial thought about CCs was that they were nice, but generally for warm summer days only. Over the past year, I've gotten to the point where I want a Liga Privada about 50% of the time, and the other 50% of the time I'm wishing I had a Partegas or a Bolivar, or a Monte to smoke.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by kuzi16

in my experience the people that "only smoke Cubans" are full of it. after about 30 seconds of cigar discussion they show that they know virtually ZERO about cigars, let alone Cuban cigars.



...and their source is almost always "a friend of a friend who has family in Cuba"

Funny how here at Cigar Asylum, the people who only (or mostly) smoke Cubans tell everyone to "smoke what you like" and don't judge, but this apparently NC only smoker comes in and insults the Cuban smokers for their tastes, basically calling them liars, stupid, and idiots.

If that's the way things are in the circles you run in, so be it. Here at CA, you're barking up the wrong tree. Without knowing you, I am willing to bet that many of my Cuban smoking friends here have forgotten more about cigars than you'll ever know. Sorry to be insulting, but you have insulted my friends.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by lilninjabuddy

Knowing a lot about cigars hardly precludes one's subjective taste preferences from being perfectly legitimate. After several years in the hobby, I still consider myself a noob when it comes to knowing about cigars, both in terms of the industry and the science, but I'm pretty confident in my ability to determine a good cigar from a bad one.

Your personal experience with people who only smoke Cubans is vastly different than mine. Nearly every BOTL I know who exclusively smokes Cubans has smoked a ton of cigars over the years and has decided on their preference after a lot of experience, and at that point, they've been around long enough to have established good connections and reliable vendors.

I'm going to assume your interactions must be with snobby, rich people who smoke to look cool, not people who smoke because they actually enjoy the experience, and I don't see how they could smoke Cubans regularly without a reliable vendor. Most BOTLS I know who exclusively smoke Cubans can only do so because they have a reliable network of vendors.

Leave it to a newer BOTL here to say it more eloquently than I did.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by kuzi16

in my experience the people that "only smoke Cubans" are full of it. after about 30 seconds of cigar discussion they show that they know virtually ZERO about cigars, let alone Cuban cigars.



...and their source is almost always "a friend of a friend who has family in Cuba"

So sorry to hear about your experience.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by kuzi16

in my experience the people that "only smoke Cubans" are full of it. after about 30 seconds of cigar discussion they show that they know virtually ZERO about cigars, let alone Cuban cigars.



...and their source is almost always "a friend of a friend who has family in Cuba"

Pretty broad generalization, IMO. I have quite the opposite experience.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Lear31MX]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Funny how here at Cigar Asylum, the people who only (or mostly) smoke Cubans tell everyone to "smoke what you like" and don't judge, but this apparently NC only smoker comes in and insults the Cuban smokers for their tastes, basically calling them liars, stupid, and idiots.

If that's the way things are in the circles you run in, so be it. Here at CA, you're barking up the wrong tree. Without knowing you, I am willing to bet that many of my Cuban smoking friends here have forgotten more about cigars than you'll ever know. Sorry to be insulting, but you have insulted my friends.

well said sir

[RichieBklyn]

Originally Posted by markem

smoke what you like, like what you smoke. Doesn't matter what the others say, matters what you like.

Im very impressed by the amount of replys to all posts on this site, great job guys!

Ofcourse I will only smoke what I like. The point I am making is in my experiences talking to many life long smokers it seems like when people start smoking CC's thier is often a point of no return to NC's. They just stick with CC's ans almost rate NC's as second hand smokes. Although it doesn't seem that way by this group's responses.

[SDmate]

Originally Posted by kuzi16

in my experience the people that "only smoke Cubans" are full of it. after about 30 seconds of cigar discussion they show that they know virtually ZERO about cigars, let alone Cuban cigars.



...and their source is almost always "a friend of a friend who has family in Cuba"

A very broad statement... it's pretty obvious you have never met anyone from this board
go to a herf you may learn a thing or two....

[RichieBklyn]

Originally Posted by shilala

Smoke what you like, like what you smoke.
Realize that our tastes change as we go through life, and variety is the spice.
I'm smoking LOTS of cc's right now and vastly enjoying them. So much so that I've excluded everything else, but I'm also not smoking much. I have plenty of nc's on hand that I truly love, and when I'm ready for them, they'll be ready for me.
You're not missing a thing.
I do tell guys that when they're new to cc's, it's important to ease up on the strong, heavy nic puros, etc. before giving them a shot. It allows the palette to recover and enjoy the milder cc's. That's not to say that cc's aren't strong, but on average, they're not as brutal as nic puros and dominican puros strength-wise.
If you've been smoking lots of real strong nc's as I've guessed you have, I've found that in my experience it's best to taper down that strength or take a break before launching a fair cc trial. I found that out via a bad head/chest cold that lasted forever and didn't allow me to smoke. When I was ready to pick up a cigar, I had a very nice fiver someone had shared with me and I wanted to give cc's another shot.
That threw a hook in me. Still, I didn't really get involved with cc's for a couple more years, at least.

Thanks for sharing your experience and advice!

As i live in England i smoke mostly cubans but i also have a few dozen NCs i keep in rotation (DPG black label,padron ambassador maduro,A Fuente sun grown robusto) that i like and tbh the flavour between the two is so different they shouldn't be compared to each other.

Just smoke what you like because both CC and NC can come up with some dire crap sometimes COUGH MONTIE OPENS COUGH

[lilninjabuddy]

Originally Posted by Reaver2145

...the flavour between the two is so different they shouldn't be compared to each other.

It's like comparing chocolate milk to raw milk. I enjoy both, but they're really two entirely different things.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by RichieBklyn

The point I am making is in my experiences talking to many life long smokers it seems like when people start smoking CC's thier is often a point of no return to NC's. They just stick with CC's ans almost rate NC's as second hand smokes.

I think this is probably a product of the development of the palate- specifically, the ability to pick up some of the more understated flavors in a cigar. There are some subtle flavors available in many CCs that are much less common in NCs. If one 'tunes in' to these flavors, there's an additional 'language' of flavors going on that, in my experience, is close to 'unspoken' in non-ISOM products. If the art of this particular language means anything to you (ie. if you care about those particular flavors and the interplay between them), there's really only one place you can go. For many smokers, it takes a fair amount of experience to begin noticing these flavors, so that may explain the tendency for smokers to lean toward Cuba as their experience expands.