Thanks for posting and especially the tip about having something to drink. As a friend o Bill's I'll have to go with a Coke. This has been a very useful tutorial.
Also important to note: the larger the ring size, typically the more complex the cigar is. The complexity will come from discrepancies in the different filler leaves
Great video... I've ruined some pricey cigars with some of the "cutlery" involved. I prefer the simple"pinch" method on any medium gauge cigar and haven't looked back (just my preference)
I use a simple blade to cut mine but I know what I doing. Never thought of using a punch, that's a good idea. Cigars a quite expensive in Australia and smaller than what I see on TV in the US.
Everyone always says choose a mild cigar if you're new to smoking cigars, but my first two cigars were a Bolivar Royal Corona and a Partagás Short and I loved them so much. If anything just don't go straight for something enormous or some grubby tasting, nose-burning Nicaraguan type.
Jeff, would you kindly recommend a Ghurka which is on the milder side. They have so many to choose from with little real description. I was going to order their Park Avenue, but figured I'd ask first. FYI, I generally go for Connecticut wrappers such as Rocky vintage 1999, if that helps. Thanks in advance.
no or mild strength, and medium to full body is best for new smokers I think. I made two mistakes starting out, one was I bought a strong strength one for one of my first and it didn't end well lol. and I've also bought mild bodied cigars and got nothing from them. As a well known RU-vid reviewer said in one of his videos if you start with mild bodied cigars you might wonder what the point is if you can't taste anything. its better to get a medium to full bodied cigar to start, you,,'ll be able to pick up flavours easier. if you prepare it right beforehand of course.I wish I had bought stronger bodied cigars to begin with as I almost lost interest with milder bodied cigars. Also I store mine in a boveda acrylic humidor with two 69rh boveda humidipaks, thinking of going down to 65rh packs though. I'm not sure about the 70/70 rule.
good stuff, I love the CAO Brazilia but haven't had much luck finding something as tasty without it being to strong, I'll try the Arturo Fuentes and My Father brand, I hear good things, but wasn't sure on the strength of these
The wrapper leaf costs about 7 times what filler costs, according to Manuel Quesada. Obviously, he thinks it's very important. Most reputable sources quote from 30% to 70%. You are quite right that a Mild Connecticut shade wrapper doesn't guarantee a mild cigar, but the probabilities are much higher than with any other except Candela perhaps. That was my only point.. Not that they are ALL one way or the other.
Some friends come to me saying they wanna try cigars but they've never smoked before and ask for my input in what to have. I've always suggested starting off with something light but consistent. One of the things he said was not to judge the cigar by appearance. Normally I'd agree, however I've heard statements from other experts that contradict what he said. So I'm not sure what to make of that. Advice? What else should I tell my friends to make their first time smoking a cigar go well? Thank you
Ian Quyck I know it's been quite sometime since you posted this but since no one answered... What I do is keep a few mild to medium smokes in a box that I like and just offer one. Then offer some suggestions according to their experience.
Is made in Cuba or made in Dominican Republic or boliva or Hong Kong matter when buying cigars? Ok maybe there is difference between South American and Chinese cigars but all South American cigars will have same taste and flavours .
I have a little herf-a-dor (a small pelican case) that holds 10 cigars and some humidification. I usually take it in my carry-on baggage so the temperature is better controlled. Never a problem on this continent. I didn't take cigars with me to Europe; they had Cubans to try in Germany!
I'm not sure I'd tell a new smoker to go pick up a My Father cigar as his or her first cigar just based on price alone. I think newbies would be turned off by the price point. That reminds of Montecristo and Macanudo cigars. A lot of them are mild, but they are way overpriced for what you get. Also, you never mentioned what you do when you pick up a cigar in the shop. You want to lightly squeeze it to see if it is hard or a slight spongy feel. You want the slight spongy feel as the cigar seems to be fresh and humidified correctly. I'd even ask if the newbie likes coffee because some cigars have coffee like flavors that are very pleasant and can come off as mild in the cigar if it's not a dark roasted coffee. Other than that, good video.
+ThomasMetal75 Thanks, good insight. I have found that a lot of new smokers WANT to spend a lot of money. It's a badge of success. But I am with you, good cigars aren't necessarily expensive and I refuse to spend the money for a Macanudo. I do like Monte's tho, one of my all time favs is a Cuban Monte I got in Germany. Good point about squeezing. Although I have yet to find a cigar improperly humidified in a good Cigar shop, you never know where you might be trying to buy a cigar! I know of a Liquor Store that was notorious for showcasing excellent but dry cigars.
Zach Stewart Nope thats just getting light headed. and btw by a bad feeling he probably meant a mild nicotine poisoning. If i smoke 0.8mg nic cigs i get a bad feeling halfway the cig and i dont want to smoke anymore. when i buy malboro gold 0.6mg (favourite cuz mild smell) i only get light headed.
That's usually caused by smoking a stronger cigar than you're used to. I've found that if you keep some sugar cubes handy it'll help make you feel a little better by dissolving one in your mouth.
picking out your 1st cigar is easy if you follow these few rules. 1. NO GHURKAS quality control is NON exsistant and they ALL unravel, they tunnel, they canoe and split open and just explode in your face. 2. NO DIESEL they just taste like shyte and fall apart see GHURKA above. 3. look at the foot, make sure there are no bugs heads sticking out. 4. the darker the cigar, the more bitter and nasty for a 1st time smoker. 5. make sure you have a cold pepsi or something to keep you from puking. enjoy your dirt stix.
Sorry I missed your comment. Don Thomas is an old-time standard. I would go with at least a corona size. See some of the other comments for similar comments/responses. Thanks!
+Max Jackson since cigars are not ment to be inhaled, the chances of long cancer are as great as nonsmokers. Same goes for heart disease. Your vains and skin will be fine to. A cigar like that, however, will be 10 times as bad for you as a cigarette since there is a big chance of mouth and throat cancer when smoked to often.
Max it depends on how you smoke the cigar and how often. There is way more nicotine in a cigar than a cigarette. To me it’s all about the risk to pleasure ratio, all of us make these types of decisions everyday, when we eat a juicy hamburger, or drink whisky, or even jog. To me it’s totally worth the minimal risk.
That's why this video is valuable. Not everyone is close to a cigar shop let alone a well-trained cigar staff. Not too long ago, I was at a cigar shop and the employee was smoking cigarettes in the smoking area!
I presume it is nicotine absorbed through the soft tissue in your mouth. Anybody have a more eloquent explanation? I googled it and found many discussions, but no explanations.
Leaan there are a few different reasons that get you all at once. 1. the nicotine in a cigar can be much more powerful than in cigarettes. it delivers much more smoke that a cigarette so u get a bigger dose, and since the cigar smoke is to be tasted and rolled in the mouth, the smoke is absorbed and exposed to the mouth for a long time(especially compared to cigarretes, since people don't smoke cigarettes for the flavor) 2.since the mouth has long exposure periods to smoke, the saliva produced absorbs nicotine and is swallowed. that is another nicotine punch on its own. 3. many cigar smokers retro-hale. nicotine and other chemicals are then absorbed directly into the nose. i have noticed that retrohaling causes longer lasting affects of nicotine exposure, as the smoke sets into the nasal passage and is difficult to clean/recover compared to the mouth that can be washed. there might be more but just off the top these are reasons people can get sick or dizzy..
Schrecken des Südens They are now used to protect against people's finger oils. A huge amount of cigars are sold individually and 9 out of ten people pick up and squeeze cigars before purchase
I would look for an Arturo Fuente Opus X or perhaps a Davidoff. There are tons of really excellent expensive cigars, but finding one you like is a bit of a challenge. The chances of getting a bad cigar decrease with the increase in price though. You could get one that is pretty heady or very strong, but tasty. Most experienced cigar smokers go for the bolder stuff.
Arturo Fuente 8-5-8 is a good place to start. Cost about $6 each. The Fuente Opus X are excellent cigars but will range between $20 - $30 per cigar. And I'm not really sure a beginner will be able to tell much difference between an 8-5-8 and an Opus X.
Sorry, I missed your comment somehow. See my response to "Jeffrey Ricketts" below. For just a bit more, an Arturo Fuente 8-5-8 in Claro or Natural are reasonably priced very good cigars.
Ralf Nuggs use grabba leaf you can find them at smoke shops and it is your best bet for rolling a good blunt. It has natural tobacco with no additives and you can get a nice cigar smell when you light it!
i cut open black and mild sometimes. I did cuz my gf at the time didn't like the pungent smell of weed. Its good option if u don't wanna spend alot of money
Thanks so much for this tutorial. I'm a fairly new smoker of cigars and I learned many new aspects of cigars. I see a guitar case in the corner, if you're a musician you may be interested in the drum cover videos on my channel.
Dylan Carroll no you can’t. If you travel to Cuba you are allowed to bring them back in your suitcase. Stores in the U.S cannot sell them. If you can get me some let me know I will send via PayPal.
Mine was a Tampa Nugget when I was a kid, then ~ 13 - 15 i got on the Swisher Sweets. Smoked cigarettes for 30 years , now I'm trying every cigar I can... Punch (my favs) , JFR's Hoyo's, Fuente's, My father, few Mac's, la Flor Dominica's etc... I just watch YT vids!!! Oh... JC NEUMANS # 59's and 49's Natural are GREAT for the $
Why not? In fact, I have been to a couple of beer/ cigar pairing events. One caveat. Taste the flavor of the cigar for a bit before you wash your palate with beer. Enjoy!!
Jeff Kahn Hey i noticed you are the only one who answered on this comment and i'd like to ask if you know why when i started smoking cigars and cigarettes maybe 4 puffs in i started losing feeling from my body but now it doesn't happen anymore
Oakleyworld Nah i know whats in my smokeables and i have tried weed once and it was nothing like that. I heard a guy got the same thing with snuss but much worse.
Yes, and a deal on a swamp! Truthfully, cheap cigars are not usually good cigars. HOWEVER, one of my favorites is cheap. The Arturo Fuente Curly Heads are quite a bargain. They taste great; the construction sucks! Smoke carefully though, and it's a great value! They are made by apprentice rollers using the scraps from other Fuente first-line cigars. So the filler could be scraps from an Opus X, Gran Reserva or anything else. Try them and let me know what you think.
I was pissed Cigar shop owner recommended me a mild Ashton..... I said I want it strong! Next visit, told him how unsatisfied I was with his "mild" recommendation when I wanted strong... Told him straight up! I want the one that makes average cigar smoker puke due to nicotine.... Showed me an intensio, fell in love. On that note, your recommendations wouldn't be so hot for me when I started. My nicotine tolerance is much higher than most cigar smokers, I vaped 12-24mg nicotine for 5+ years. Never felt sick off any cigar and I go for the stronger ones. Then I totally dislike any grass/hay tasting cigar, I want to taste tobacco. Cubans are so overrated....
Hi Keith R, I would guess that you realize that you are atypical. Most new users are not tolerant of nicotine. But I am glad you found something that satisfied you!
I’m not a know all but have been researching a lot about cigars. One thing that the true professionals all tell you and I’m talking about the guys who own and run factories producing top quality cigars. That is that the shade or color of the cigars have zero to do with the true taste and flavor of the cigars, in fact the same blend of tobacco has many different shades based on the wrapper. So now your telling everyone the lighter wrapped shades determine the mildness of the cigars.........
Try this simple test. Pick up your favorite cigar catalogue with strength ratings. Check the mild rated cigars and note if they are Connecticut wrappers or not. Then try them.
+djentleman57 Although a bad first smoke is more likely the fault of an over-anxious smoker, there are bad cigars out there, for several reasons. Sorry you got a bad one, but they are usually pretty good. What did you choose to smoke next and how did you like it?
I wonder how many people came away from this thinking you cut the cigar with the cellophane wrapper still on. Hint: If you're going to make a how-to video, don't be cheap. Unwrap the cigar.
I had a gurkhas Ninja, shit embalmed my mouth so bad... Even mouth wash wouldn't remove the flavor. Then Im not a fan of hay/grass tasting cigars. I want to taste tobacco.
+Jackson Reed I'm sorry but pleas explain how a wrapper imparts flavor? it is true that darker wrappers are put on medium and bold cigars but the flavor comes from the center leaves that are 90% of the cigar please explain to me how the wrapper is the source and how you can find mild cigars with dark wrappers and bold cigars with light wrappers?
+Jackson Reed I'm sorry but I've been to a cigar factory and herd first hand from a master roller that the wrapper does little to effect the flavor the darker colored wrappers are selected for bolder cigars because it makes sense.
The wrapper does not add more than 10% of the flavors in cigars. Even 10% is a lot, it simply can't. The flavors come from the filler, volado, seco and lehero. I am sorry to say, but your video is not informative at all. Plus, Kentucky tobacco, or whatever you mentioned, is not a 1st class tobacco... stop mentioning it like it's the only thing people should smoke. On the other side, it's hard for you guys in USA to smoke good stuff, since cubans can't be imported. I smoke everything, but top 10 cigars, are all cubans by my choice.
+Miralem Alic Actually, the wrapper does add more of the flavour than you believe. It all depends on the ring gauge. A panatela or a lancero has smaller ring gauge thus it has a higher wrapper to binder/filler ratio, so it adds more flavour to the cigar. The larger ring gauges have more filler so most of the flavour comes from there. As far as cigar smokers in the USA not being able to smoke the good stuff since Cubans can't be imported, that is false. We here in the US don't limit ourselves to one-dimensional Cuban cigars. (and yes I have smoked alot of Cuban cigars in about 25 years of cigar smoking.) US smokers have a much wider variety of cigars to choose from, more than Cuba can produce and this may disappoint you but they are on par with and sometimes ever better than Cubans. Cubans cigars have always been over-hyped by individuals who live outside the US. They're simply no better and no worse than any other cigar on the market today.
+Miralem Alic I like some Cubans, but to say that they are the best is overstating it to the max....Me, I prefer Nicaraguans. Just remember many Cuban growers and makers of cigars left Cuba for other countries.
I am sorry, but this video must be completely confussing to a beginner picking out his first cigarr... it includes everything and nothing and talkes about lighters and other stuff that is completely irrelevant when picking out a cigar. At the start of the video it is clearly stated that you cant pick out a cigar from its looks... then suddenly the Viewers is being told to look for Connecticut wrappers? A first timer might not even know what a wrapper is.... and especially from a certain region of a the World? How difficult can it get? If you need 13 min to explain to a first timer what to buy I the audience moved on a long time ago. Why not just say: "I recommend that you start off with a mild cigar and here as some suggestion and a guide on how to identify them?"
