Budget Habanos

[craig]

1. Which one is the best to smoke now?
Jul09-The Por Larrañaga Montecarlo is easily the class of this field; but it also costs about 2x as much as the other cigars, and thus is in a different class. Of the rest, the Por Larrañaga Panatela for mild/medium; Quintero Londres Extra for medium/full.
Feb09-Quintero Brevas. Cold weather means I want something with stronger flavours than the delicate Montecarlo, and, due to the presumed age of these particular cigars, the Brevas are smoking better than the Londres Extra.
Nov08-Por Larrañaga Montecarlo

2. Are JLP's worth buying?
Jul09-Maybe. JLP's are inconsistent - the four different JLP's have three different wrappers. The other brands are more consistent. If you get a good box/bundle, then they're a great value.
Feb09-Yes. Local prices of Quintero's have gone up in '09, but JLP's are still at '08 levels. My favourite JLP (so far), the Conservas, is 2/3rds the price of my favourite Quintero, the Londres Extra.
Nov08-No

3. Por Larrañaga - one Montecarlo or two PL Panatela's?
Jul09-two Panatela's. The Montecarlo is a more refined cigar and smokes longer; but it is almost 2x the price of a Panatela.
Feb09-in winter, two Panatela's. Caramel in the dead of winter doesn't taste great.
Nov08-Montecarlo

Jose L. Piedra
JLP Petit Cetro (5"x38 Oct 07)
1 yr - Nov 08 - Mottled JLP wrapper (sun-grown?). Close to smoking status, but still had a tannic aftertaste. Guess on aging: two years (Oct 09)
20 mos - Jun 09 - Strong tobacco flavour with a bit too much earthiness for me at the moment. A different cigar from the Petit Cazadores. Guess on aging goes to three years (Oct 10).

JLP Petit Cazadore (4 1/8"x43 Jul 08)
5 mos - Nov 08 - Dark and oily JLP wrapper. Much too fresh for me. Guess on aging: two years (Jul 10).
11 mos - Jun 09 - Smokes like a hot and sour firecracker. Can be smoked now, at one year. Two years is probably better.

JLP Cazadore (6"x43 Jul 08)
7 mos - Feb 09 - Same wrapper as the Petit Cazadore. Partial plug. The Quintero Breva seems better.
1 yr - Jul 09 - Similar to the Petit Cazadores, but needs longer to age. Benefits from a lot of purging, especially after the halfway point. Guess two years (Jul 10) plus.

JLP Conserva (5.5"x44 Sep 07)
17 mos - Feb 09 - Has a light-coloured wrapper that looks shade-grown. rough but good. Guess 3 years (Oct 10).
21 mos - Jul 09 - partial plug. Still rough.

Rafael Gonzales
Rafael Gonzales Panatela Extra (5"x36 Oct 07)
1 yr - Nov 08 - Mild, floral, and sweet. Carefully matured for a bit longer is what I'm thinking. Guess three years (Oct 10).
20 mos - Jun 09 - Smokes well, improvement expected.

Por Larrañaga
Por Larrañaga Panatela (5"x36 Jan 08)
10 mos - Nov 08 - Typical Por Larrañaga caramel, but earthier. The earth dissipates as the cigar gets older, and then it may become like a lighter, less complex Montecarlo. These cigars are too tannic right now, but should get better. Guess one year (Jan 09)
13 mos - Feb 09 - Ready to smoke at one year - still earthy.
18 mos - Jul 09 - Continuing to smoke well. A little less earthiness.

Por Larrañaga Montecarlo (6 1/4"x33 Feb 06)
2.8 yr - Nov 08 - This thin smoke rewards only the patient smoker. The PLMC is not complex or in-your-face; it is all about caramel. You may not want a caramel cigar every day, but one sure goes nice with coffee once in a while. Very smokeable.

Quintero
Quintero Panatela (5"x36 Sep 06)
2.5 yr - Jan 09 - Strong tobacco taste, perhaps the strongest of all Quinteros. Tannins come in half-way. Guess three years (Sep 09).
2.8 yr - Jun 09 - These still have a bit too much bite for me ... three years may not be enough.

Quintero Breva (5.5"x40 no date)
Jan 09 - These have a darker wrapper than other Quintero's. Of indeterminate age, they are smoking well right now. I would guess that they have four plus years of age.

Quintero Londres Extra (4 7/8"x40 Jun 07)
1.5 yr - Nov 08 - like a Partagas/RA/Bolivar Fuma. The wrappers even look like a lighter Ramon Allones - definitely the best-looking cigars of this group. However, besides quality of flavour, what you also give up is consistency - from draw to draw. This June 07 box is not ready, but is still enjoyable. Smoked now it is strong, almost like a Lito Gomez. Guess three years (Jun 10)
2 yr - Jun 09 - no change, although this one had a partial plug.