Cigar Suggestions for beginners

[Hair Vise]

Gents,

I'd like some suggestions as to a selection of cigars for a cigar newbie. Here's what I'm thinking for criteria:

1. Cigars that are on the smaller side of the continuum (I seldom have 2 hours to smoke, what with family and all).

2. Cigars that are reasonably priced (under $10?)

3. A good range of cigars that will take my across the mild to spicy spectrum.

So, what do you think? I live in SF and would like to pick up 3-5 cigars as a start. If there are online and brick and mortar vendors that you would recommend for this, I'd also appreciate that as well.

Thanks,

HV

 

[RexHavoc]

Rocky Patel Edge missile lite sounds like what you are looking for. After your palate matures there are lots of Rocky Patels to move into

 

[Geo Dude]

The CAO brand has a wide range of cigars for you to pick from, all the way from smooth and creamy to heavy and spicy. They're also, on average, reasonably priced. You may also want to look into Padron for reasonably priced every day smokes, though whether they're good or not seems to be a controversial subject, depending on whom you ask.

 

[timmy]

Rocky Patel Edge lite - very nice

For milder cigars most with a Connecticut warper will suit. Great starter sample of 20 mild to medium bodied cigars for 50 plus shipping.

 

[brianw]

Punch London Club

 

[badmammajamma]

You probably want to start out more mild and work your way up.

Rocky Patel has a few good ones to start out with, try anything from the Vintage series, as are ones from Fonseca, Macanudo, Cu-vano Connecticut, Perdoma Champagne.

For the price to quality ratio, it is hard to beat either Five Vegas Gold or Five Vegas Classic.

After you try something on the lighter side work you way into something spicier - the other Rocky Patels, Don Pepin, Punch, Cohiba, Padilla, and the other five vegas lines

 

[PetersCreek]

Three recommendations from little old me, that might fit the bill:

Mild: La Flor Dominicana Reserva Especial, El Jocko Perfecto — I'm normally a medium-to-full-bodied kind of guy and I've only had a couple of these but I remember them being quite nice. I'm a fan of the LFD ligeros.

Medium: Arturo Fuente Heminway series — For a short smoke, you can't go wrong with the Short Story, Best Seller, or the Work Of Art.

Full: Don Pepin Garcia Blue "Invictos" Robusto — There isn't much from Don Pepin I don't like.

 

[AceBuckeye]

Olivo is another brand you may want to look into, they make many small sizes in both natural and maduro wrapper and they should fit into your price range.

I have also smoked a few from Nub in recent months that would suit your description as well.

In general I look for Toro or Robusto size cigars when I am looking for a shorter smoke, that is a size cigar that should suit your requirements.

Best of luck and let us know what you decide on and how you liked them !

 

[Hair Vise]

Thanks guys for all of the suggestions. I'm going to walk over to a tobacconist this afternoon and see what I can find--I'll most certainly look for those cigars that you recommended.

HV

 

[PetersCreek]

Just to expand on AceBuckeye's excellent suggestion, the Oliva Series G and Series V lines are very nice. Both have made Cigar Aficionado's 25 Best Cigars of the Year list over the last two or three years. I think the Special G would fit your size preference nicely.

 

[cybrok]

For the size, I like the "perla" 4"x40 gauge.

Thick enough to have a satisfying amount of smoke to pull, short enough so you don't get bored smoking. Perfect size for me.

 

[Megatron]

Stick with a lighter wrapper, Corona Gorda is my base size. I flip flop between those and the slightly thicker Toro's. Habano wrappers I find have a lot of spice but it also has to do with the binder and what the filler is comprized off. I find Nicaraguan puros have a certain zing to them but Dominican puro's are to mild of a ride for me. Brands I often enjoy are as follows:
Padilla Miami
Padilla Dominus
Esencia
5 Vegas Miami
Oliva Series V(super spicy ^_^)
Arturo Fuente Hemming Way line up is really good. Check out the "Short Story"

I just got a box of My Father Le Bijou 1922 Toros because the one I smoked 3 weeks ago knocked my socks off.

 

[boomer56]

The best on the planet, imho, is the Avo No.1. It isn't much more than your desired price range, and is so very worth the extra cash.

For bargain daily use, I'd recommend National Brand. They look like a disaster...again in my experience, they're pretty tasty.

There's lots of other stuff in the middle depending on taste- macanudo, romeo and julieta, aurturo fuente, henry clay...all perfectly decent cigars that will give you a nice mild smoke.

See what you like. And let us know what you decide on. Also, consider the cutter...more important than most realize.

Boomer

 

[hicksdm]

AF 858 maduro
Olivia Series G or maduro

Both of these are tremendous and cost less than $5 a piece.

 

[Mazeman]

Rocky Patel Edge lite - very nice

For milder cigars most with a Connecticut warper will suit. Great starter sample of 20 mild to medium bodied cigars for 50 plus shipping.

I'll second that. Rocky Patels are great bang for the buck.

 

[flabajaba2213]

For a bit more spice, I like the Onyx Reserve, which you can usually find in the 4X44 size.

 

[Megatron]

AF 858 maduro
Olivia Series G or maduro

Both of these are tremendous and cost less than $5 a piece.

He's right, the Oliva O and G line are great starter sticks! Excellent quality and consistency.

 

[Bristlingbeardofodin]

Rocky Patel Edge lite - very nice

For milder cigars most with a Connecticut warper will suit. Great starter sample of 20 mild to medium bodied cigars for 50 plus shipping.

I checked the link and agree it looks like a solid recommendation.

 

[Not A Nice Person]

. . . Corona Gorda is my base size. I flip flop between those and the slightly thicker Toro's. . . . Brands I often enjoy are as follows:
Padilla Miami
Padilla Dominus
Esencia
5 Vegas Miami
Oliva Series V(super spicy ^_^)
Arturo Fuente Hemming Way line up is really good. Check out the "Short Story"

I just got a box of My Father Le Bijou 1922 Toros because the one I smoked 3 weeks ago knocked my socks off.

Add some Illusione and Tatuaje and that's pretty much my humidor, right there. Esencia Corona Gorda is one of my favorite cigars in the world.

NANP™

 

[Argonaut]

Personally I would try a Fuente for your first go round. They're a light medium smoke and really, if you don't like a Fuente, you probably don't like cigars. IMHO.