From Fuente 8-5-8s to ... "We're Gonna Get'cha".

[Columbo]

This time of year, as many here do, I tend to start smoking an occasional cigar. Particularly in the mornings, as lawn and garden work starts picking up.

It's not so much because I won't smoke cigars indoors (out of kindness to Mrs. C), as much as it cuts the reaction I suffer from everything outdoors this time of year.

Go figure, but I always feel better puffing away on a cigar when the grass and pollen are flying. The stick doesn't taste quite as good as it does lounging on the evening patio. But it does the trick.

And like many here, I tend to like at least a decent cigar, even for lawn and garden duty.

So for many decades, I would happily puff away on a "cheaper cigar", an AF 858, my preferred daily, as I bounced along on the tractor.

Nowadays, I no longer bounce along on a tractor so much.

And looking at the prices of 858s, I don't think I'll be puffing them on lawn and garden days much anymore.

Almost one hundred and ninety dollars a box with some vendors. Almost $8 a stick ... for an 858. Nuts. I don't think I paid much more for Padron '64s not that long ago. This was once a $2 or $3 cigar for me. They should just round the price up to $8.58, and complete the holdup. I can't even imagine what a box of '64 Anniversaries is now selling for.

Thankfully, I still have about 175 858s in the cabinet. I'll still be smoking them, along with hundreds of other better cigars stashed in there over the years. But only on the evening patio, where I can fully enjoy them.

No more $8 "cheap cigars" for my morning battles with cut grass, pollen and tractor dust.

Next lawn and garden day, I'm going to try something I haven't touched in 45 years. A $1 US-made White Owl. I recall them having a brand phrase in the early 70s ...

"We're gonna get'cha". Thanks to the crazy price spikes on decent cigars, they just might.

I'll let you know how that goes.

 

[DogLeg]

It's been a long time, but I don't have fond recollections of White Owls.

I have just been buying one of the cheap bundles when they go on sale for mowing duties. My supply for this year are Factory Smokes I bought on sale last summer.

 

[Columbo]

It's been a long time, but I don't have fond recollections of White Owls.

I have just been buying one of the cheap bundles when they go on sale for mowing duties. My supply for this year are Factory Smokes I bought on sale last summer.

I hear you. But for a dollar, the worst that can happen is I waste a dollar after a few puffs.

It only has to overcome the pollen as I stroll about the estate, and taste tolerable.

We’ll see. The older I get, the cheaper I sometimes get about these things.

 

[Njguy1977]

In my opinion I’d much rather buy a cigar international knock off and enjoy a cheap, reasonably priced smoke then smoke a white owl. If my memory suits me, I’ve smoked white owls once…..once! LOL

Larry

 

[Titleist]

Life's too short to smoke cheap cigars IMO.

Do what makes you happy.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

CI had some wonderful Room 101 sticks for about $3.50 a piece last summer. Breakfast in Portugal, Christmas in Miami may have been another and Muzzleloader.

I ordered a bunch around that price and the three names listed above really hit above their price point.

The different AJ Fernandez samplers have not disappointed me either.

Cigar King has some great deals. Good house sticks. Another place to haunt.... A very well kept source for cigars.

The Privade Cigar Club farm roll grab bags are absolute steals. Especially for yard smokes. They are much more than yard gars. They just don't have labels.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

Just going to CI's homepage, the weekend deal, the deal of the day etc list all kinds of wondeful options for $3.50 a stick.

The Black Pearl Morano (purple label) are one that I am not ashamed to have in my humidor and cigar buddies are not upset if I bring them to share.

 

[Columbo]

Just going to CI's homepage, the weekend deal, the deal of the day etc list all kinds of wondeful options for $3.50 a stick.

The Black Pearl Morano (purple label) are one that I am not ashamed to have in my humidor and cigar buddies are not upset if I bring them to share.

Thank you. All very nice suggestions. And I will look them over. Anything under $4 is a sensible lawn smoke for me.

But I am going to start with a humble $1 stick, if only out of nostalgia. Maybe next week. Maybe it will bring back 50 year old memories of puffing a Phillies in a '73 Ford wagon with all five windows down on the way to Channels.

I don't get ashamed over my cigars. If someone doesn't like it, they can just get off my lawn.

 

[alpster]

You should try the AF Curlyheads. I get them for about $120 for a box of 40. Smoking one as I type. Great daily smoke. No frills, doesn't even have a band. Best $3 you can smoke. IMHO

 

[Columbo]

So this past week I took the big plunge, and came down off my 858 perch. My usual local cigar shop doesn't carry these machine made types, but the vape and tobacco store across from the discount supermarket across town did.

They didn't have singles. But for $5.29, I was able to pick up a sleeve of 5 White Owl New Yorkers. That's five smokes for less than one 858. My cursory reconnoitering revealed that these New Yorkers are among the most natural flavored, and among the better tasting, of the popular machine mades, in a respectable ring size and length.

And here's how it went.

If cigars were coffee, I would say these dollar New Yorkers are like a decent instant coffee. For people used to finer brewed coffees and better hand mades (like me), there is an urge to look down on them as something unpalatable. I resisted that knee-jerk, and pressed on with them. They're not unpalatable, but they're not going to provide delicious long lasting memories, either. There's flavor there, but it's not too complicated, not very rich, and not without some undertones that take getting used to (as in ignored if possible).

I made the mistake of cutting the first two, which exasperated that last flaw.

These are HTL wrappers (tobacco paper), and the first thing I noticed is that they are sweet, almost too sweet. I could not smoke this cigar with a cup of coffee if there were any sugar in it. Did I mention that they are sweet?

But because the fill presents a slight bitter note at the end of a modest nuttiness, the almost over sweet wrapper actually creates a tenuous balance. The sweetness cuts that bitter note, and makes it ok. But cutting the sticks as I did on the first two, pushes them to run heavy on the bitter side.

The third and fourth ones I smoked factory punched, and it was a much easier smoke. And it also ran a lot longer, almost 35 minutes, which is pretty good, as these are not large cigars.

But they were generally smokable and not horrible, and did serve as an effective yard stick. Good in the background, if you don't focus on their flavor too much. I don't think I would use them for other than that purpose (to control the pollen), but they did the job. My allergies were tamed.

If I was sitting on the patio, and had to really pay attention to them, I think it would be a different story.

So are they a good value at $1? Yes, without question. It's a good smoke for just a dollar.
Are they a good value at $2? For these New Yorkers, I would say yes, but with the above caveats. And with some grimaces along the way.

Are they a good value at $3? No.

For $3, I think I could do a lot better. And for a lot of years, I did.

But that's the thing. They are not $3 cigars. They are not $2 cigars. And bought in quantity, I understand this is well under $1 a stick. And for under $1, I really can't complain too much.

They're exactly how they market them: it's a working man's cigar for someone who has a family to feed, car and mortgage payments, wants to save so his kids can go to college, keep his head above water, and can't afford to throw around $8 or $10 for a pleasure smoke at the cigar salon. It's the same guy that treats himself to an occasional lunch at the Wawa and drives on Mastercraft tires. Every dollar matters. And they prefer to spend them elsewhere rather than on themselves.

And I have nothing but respect for those men, and I thought of them as I puffed on these. They're the ones who keep the trains and my electricity running. And they don't have time to sit around and deeply cogitate upon the finer nuances of their cigars. And they weren't that bad in that broader perspective.

So I could live with them, much as I could live with waking up with Nescafe if I had to; it's not luxurious, but it does the job. These did the job.

I am going back a lot of years now. But I think these New Yorkers were a hair better than the Phillies that I mentioned from 50 years ago. Back in the day when I counted dollars like manhole covers and budgeted just enough for gas each week. Yes, I can definitely relate to being tight with a dollar, and with those who do so.

And they come individually vacuum sealed, so they don't even need a humidor. Just rip off the foil, stuff it in your maw, and light 'em up. A working man's stogie if there ever was one.

I may or may not grab another sleeve. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I will look over some of those $3-4 options out there.

Today, I wandered about the lawns with a pipeful of SWR, as the dog romped about. And that was a very nice return to the usual gentility for me.

 

[Columbo]

You should try the AF Curlyheads. I get them for about $120 for a box of 40. Smoking one as I type. Great daily smoke. No frills, doesn't even have a band. Best $3 you can smoke. IMHO

... next up are some Curlyheads. A sibling to what I'm used to, and priced right at what I am willing to pay for a yard stick.

 

[DogLeg]

So this past week I took the big plunge, and came down off my 858 perch. My usual local cigar shop doesn't carry these machine made types, but the vape and tobacco store across from the discount supermarket across town did.

They didn't have singles. But for $5.29, I was able to pick up a sleeve of 5 White Owl New Yorkers. That's five smokes for less than one 858. My cursory reconnoitering revealed that these New Yorkers are among the most natural flavored, and among the better tasting, of the popular machine mades, in a respectable ring size and length.

And here's how it went.

If cigars were coffee, I would say these dollar New Yorkers are like a decent instant coffee. For people used to finer brewed coffees and better hand mades (like me), there is an urge to look down on them as something unpalatable. I resisted that knee-jerk, and pressed on with them. They're not unpalatable, but they're not going to provide delicious long lasting memories, either. There's flavor there, but it's not too complicated, not very rich, and not without some undertones that take getting used to (as in ignored if possible).

I made the mistake of cutting the first two, which exasperated that last flaw.

These are HTL wrappers (tobacco paper), and the first thing I noticed is that they are sweet, almost too sweet. I could not smoke this cigar with a cup of coffee if there were any sugar in it. Did I mention that they are sweet?

But because the fill presents a slight bitter note at the end of a modest nuttiness, the almost over sweet wrapper actually creates a tenuous balance. The sweetness cuts that bitter note, and makes it ok. But cutting the sticks as I did on the first two, pushes them to run heavy on the bitter side.

The third and fourth ones I smoked factory punched, and it was a much easier smoke. And it also ran a lot longer, almost 35 minutes, which is pretty good, as these are not large cigars.

But they were generally smokable and not horrible, and did serve as an effective yard stick. Good in the background, if you don't focus on their flavor too much. I don't think I would use them for other than that purpose (to control the pollen), but they did the job. My allergies were tamed.

If I was sitting on the patio, and had to really pay attention to them, I think it would be a different story.

So are they a good value at $1? Yes, without question. It's a good smoke for just a dollar.
Are they a good value at $2? For these New Yorkers, I would say yes, but with the above caveats. And with some grimaces along the way.

Are they a good value at $3? No.

For $3, I think I could do a lot better. And for a lot of years, I did.

But that's the thing. They are not $3 cigars. They are not $2 cigars. And bought in quantity, I understand this is well under $1 a stick. And for under $1, I really can't complain too much.

They're exactly how they market them: it's a working man's cigar for someone who has a family to feed, car and mortgage payments, wants to save so his kids can go to college, keep his head above water, and can't afford to throw around $8 or $10 for a pleasure smoke at the cigar salon. It's the same guy that treats himself to an occasional lunch at the Wawa and drives on Mastercraft tires. Every dollar matters. And they prefer to spend them elsewhere rather than on themselves.

And I have nothing but respect for those men, and I thought of them as I puffed on these. They're the ones who keep the trains and my electricity running. And they don't have time to sit around and deeply cogitate upon the finer nuances of their cigars. And they weren't that bad in that broader perspective.

So I could live with them, much as I could live with waking up with Nescafe if I had to; it's not luxurious, but it does the job. These did the job.

I am going back a lot of years now. But I think these New Yorkers were a hair better than the Phillies that I mentioned from 50 years ago. Back in the day when I counted dollars like manhole covers and budgeted just enough for gas each week. Yes, I can definitely relate to being tight with a dollar, and with those who do so.

And they come individually vacuum sealed, so they don't even need a humidor. Just rip off the foil, stuff it in your maw, and light 'em up. A working man's stogie if there ever was one.

I may or may not grab another sleeve. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I will look over some of those $3-4 options out there.

Today, I wandered about the lawns with a pipeful of SWR, as the dog romped about. And that was a very nice return to the usual gentility for me.

Very nice review. Thank you.

 

[House Boy]

Back in the day I've smoked a few white owls, not a bad smoke, but than I discovered Anthony & Cleopatras, to me very good smoke and at 17 years old I looked cool smoking them. As I got older my taste in cigars got more refined, 858 are very very good, can't go wrong with anything Fuente.
I've smoked thousands of cigars and never found them habit forming.