Went a little crazt at the B&M cigar shop yesterday...

[bm11]

Made the drive up to Bangor to visit the states largest walk in humidor, and the place was pretty cool. The front area is a cigar lounge with plush leather recliners and ash trays set up in front of a big screen as a smoking lounge. The owner was cool as hell, and there were a number of guys there smoking cigars.

One thing lead to another and I ended up buying the relative "mother load" of cigars:

Off the top of my head (typing this from work) I picked up the following:
Padron 1964 Anniversary Maduro Exclusivo, full box of 25 (nice "daily smoke")
Padron Serie 1926 80 Year Maduro Perfecto, full box of 8
Padron Serie 1926 40th Anniversary Torpedo, natural. Only bought two because he didn't have maduro and I wasn't sure on the natural wrapper.
La Flor Dominicana Double Ligera
La Flor Dominicana Airbender
Kristoff Maduro x2
Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto x2 (still love these)
Rocky Patel Edge
Oliva V Melanio
Oliva V, Torpedo
Don Pepin My Father
Some Punch cigar, forget which one.
And a handful of others, I can't recall. All told, I think I walked away with 54 cigars.

While there, I ended up smoking a Padron Serie 1926 #9, and it was fantastic. He ended up giving me a decent "volume discount," and threw in a munch of extras. All in all I had a great time and am glad I bought the "250-300 cigar" humidor (thanks for the advice, Switchblade!)

Having fun with all this. Ended up smoking one of the Padron 1964 Exclusivo last night, and it was a fantastic smoke, very nice size and full flavor. I followed it up with a RP 1990, and that was a great "2nd cigar of the night." Thanks again to all those who offered advice!

-Bob

 

[ZLBubba]

The Padrons will serve you very well. I'm a big fan of the Melanios too. Next time, check out Drew Estate's Liga Privada line. Smoke up!

 

[bm11]

The Padrons will serve you very well. I'm a big fan of the Melanios too. Next time, check out Drew Estate's Liga Privada line. Smoke up!

I'll check my humidor when I get home, I may have grabbed one of those too.

 

[Bruiser_Joe]

YES! Padrons for the mutha fucking WIN!!!! just saying, they are my favorite smoke

 

[bm11]

YES! Padrons for the mutha fucking WIN!!!! just saying, they are my favorite smoke

Mine too! I know where there is a box of 1964 Maduro Torpedos, if I can figure out where to stuff them in my humidor, I'll probably pick them up too!

 

[XTR]

Padrons are nice, but far from "the mother load"

Smoking a Sig IV off of the table at La Corona (before they closed it) that's pretty close, hanging out on the veranda of the Nacional with a mohito and something you had custom rolled while the band plays Chan Chan in the background, that's pretty close to heaven.

Wade

 

[bm11]

Padrons are nice, but far from "the mother load"

I was referring more to the sheer quantity of quality cigars I picked up, not trying to say that the smokes I bought were necessarily the be all, end all.

On the other hand, in the opinion of quite a few cigar snobs I have talked to, Padron is, in fact, making a better cigar now than Cohiba. Fact in the case being the opinion of the person making the statement, of course. I have smoked Cohibas but my pallet was just starting to appreciate a cigar at the time and I can't honestly say how the compared. I will say this- next time I have an opportunity to smoke a Siglo or a Behike, I'll post up an unbiased and unqualified opinion, which will be worth slightly less than the price you'll pay to read it!

 

[Rainier42]

Lol, where there goes all your firearm $$s!

 

[XTR]

Taste is subjective, the best cigar in the world is the one you like, and don't let anyone tell you different. Just because something comes out of Cuba doesn't make it good. There are a lot of farm cigars that taste like dirt, or have almost no flavor, and they often end up with genuine labels on them and sold in resorts in the Caribbean. I've looked at a lot of cigars that people brought back from vacation, never seen a real one yet.

That said, anyone who tells you that a Padron is as good or better than a Cohiba either is accustomed to Padrons and just likes them, and/or has never had a real Cohiba.

Long ago I discovered that I could get Havanas (except for Cohibas) cheaper than most of the domestically available stuff, and actually Cohibas run par with FFOX and Padron Anni's. I haven't bought anything in a B&M in longer than I can remember, probably 10 yrs or more. Personally I think Padrons are good but not great and the Annis are overpriced for Nic tobacco. Then again, that link I sent you in the other thread was to onlinehumidor.com, it's my little hobby, I've been running it since 2000. I'm about to unload about 1/2 my stash and try to get down to a single cabinet. I've been keeping stuff for decades.

 

[rjacobs]

Careful with those LFD Double Ligero and Air Bender. They will light you up. Have a good meal before hand and some type of sugary drink handy.

 

[bm11]

Careful with those LFD Double Ligero and Air Bender. They will light you up. Have a good meal before hand and some type of sugary drink handy.

Good to know! I am sensitive to nicotine, generally I have to be careful as is, so perhaps I need to let these rest a bit while my tolerance builds. Its getting better, I smoked a Padron 1926 in the afternoon, a 1964 and a Rocky Patel 1990 after, with no issues.

 

[Iamironman]

Padrons are nice, but far from "the mother load"

Smoking a Sig IV off of the table at La Corona (before they closed it) that's pretty close, hanging out on the veranda of the Nacional with a mohito and something you had custom rolled while the band plays Chan Chan in the background, that's pretty close to heaven.

Wade

Like this

Op good score, I don't care for the 26's myself, but I love the anniversarios

 

[EventHorizon]

I was a Cuban snob for a long time. Recently I smoked a Padron '26 #9 natural - best smoke ever for me. I've just finished a '26 #2 maduro - a fantastic smoke although harsher in the last third with heavy nicotine. Admittedly, this was fresh out of the box with no aging - I couldn't wait...

in either case, as far as the robusto size goes, I'm never going to be having a Cohiba again if I can have a '26.

Flavour aside, the construction of the Padrons is flawless. The draw is immaculate whereas the Cohiba I had the same day as the #9 felt stilted and harsh. It's always a matter of personal choice and mine now is Padron. I'm going to wait a couple months before I have another maduro from my stash and see if they mellow out in the last third. If they do then to me, it's the perfect smoke - lasted a full 70 mins of leisurely smoking and listening to Philip Glass and a decent Pinot Noir. Not a bad way to end the week and welcome the weekend.

 

[Toast]

GOOD FOR YOU!! I gotta smoke one soon. Its been over a year since I smoked one. You motivated me. THANKS! Keith

 

[XTR]

Quality of construction has been a problems with Havanas for as long as I can remember. I've had a few SLR Churchills that were great, but I've never had a box that had more than half that would draw decent. (SLR series A on the other hand are candy). If I'm planning to smoke something I never carry just one, and I won't sit there trying to suck air through a tent peg. If it's tight I pitch them and get another.

Domestics my favorites are mid sized Diamond Crowns and FFOX (xXx, FF, or PerfX).

 

[Switchblade]

I cannot stand Cohiba's. To me, they suck. A nice Monte Cristo, or a dark wrapped Bolivar define Cuban Cigar to me. For a daily, if my habit could afford that luxery, I would choose the Gurkha Shaggy Maduro. It is just the best 'go to' cigar for me. For a quiet evening over a bourbon glass with a good friend, the Padron 1926 40th Anni is indeed superb. Th eonly one better than that is the maduro 80 years.
The definitive smoke while in Afghanistan was the La Flor Dominicana DL660. I have never seen more guys behind wooden buildings going,"I'm good!" Then there was the Drew Estes Medusa I shared with two of my Soldiers after shift one evening...the look in my eyes in that one still tells me what a totally fucked day that was(36 children, mortared by the Taliban, and yours truly was on the receiving end, solo, doing triage as a CLS for 25 minutes before the Docs arrived)
The Kristoff Maduro has been the standard for a bottle and a few good friends, as has the Gurkha Black Dragon in what we can only refer to as 'horsecock' size...something like a
10 x 56 or some wild assed measurement, just huge.

My favorite La FLor Dominicana are the El Jocko, the DL Maduro Chisel/Chiselito, the Factory press, and the Limitado's. The Airbender isn't all that great compared to the others, just strong as balls and very full bodied, but nowhere near the amount of great flavors and highlights of the others.
Diamond Crown are a nice enjoyment once in a while, as are the Gurkha Royal Salute and a few others. The Vintage Maduro Shaggy though, t is just the best cigar for it's price range. It has tons of flavor, nice even medium body, burns well, and I have yet to have one turn mid smoke or stop burning or have any construction issues. Just lots of cocoa, toast, a slight sweet, notes of raisin and spice here and there, good stuff.
The Camacho SLR is my go to heavy hitter, I need full bodied with richness, along with the 601 Maduro or Oscuro. They are pretty darn close in everything. The Camacho TYriple Maduro is the only cigar that exhibits the sameness of scent as the Monte Cristo, a truly great cigar.
The Joya de Nicaragua Anteno 1970, Dark Anteno is one of my 'top 10 listed cigars'. It's on the short list with the others above. It is only rivaled, when looking for spice, slight sweetness, good notes, by the Essencia which defines spice, raisin, and good dark notes and highlights.

Drinks are usually from a selection of bourbons, a bottle of Sauza Tres Generacions Anejo here and there on ice, or maybe a bottle of Patron Pyrate rum depending on the smoke and the mood. During the really hot evenings when a cooler becerage is required, nothing beats a Kentucky Lemonade, Wild Turkey and Lemonade, or Bulleit and Lemonade over a tall glass of ice