Newb and his first collection

Hi All,

Newbie here from Oregon, trying to start on this hobby. I have a start up budget of maybe $50 to $60. I smoked my first cigar (first tobacco product) a few weekends ago and I enjoy the smell and the mood I got into when I lit one up. I also like the history of cigars and the personality associated w/ cigars.

That said, I've been trolling this site for a few days and decided to make my first post. I saw this deal from Thompson Cigar and wanted to know if you have any feedback:


http://www.thompsoncigar.com/catalog...ategoryId=8424

How is the humidor? Is this junk? I will only smoke on occasions, so 25 cigars is at most I'll have in there. Secondly, does anyone know if this humi comes w/ those humidity "crystal pellets" that stabilizes the humidity level?

My first cigars were "mild," as I was told, and enjoyed that, so I'm not sure if this batch of 25 are more full bodied?

A lighter is also included, but is that even usable?

Regarding the cut, I've read that the "v" cuts will limit how much tar touches the mouth versus the guillotine straight cut, so the "V" cut experience is more enjoyable. Is that true? If so, I'd like to get a "v" cutter, and any recommendations would be great.

Lastly, I think this forum is great for newbies like me. I even read \someone from this board can assemble and sell a "newbie cigar variety pack." Who was it?

Thank You :smiley20:

Frank

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Originally Posted by cigar547

Hi All,

Newbie here from Oregon, trying to start on this hobby. I have a start up budget of maybe $50 to $60. I smoked my first cigar (first tobacco product) a few weekends ago and I enjoy the smell and the mood I got into when I lit one up. I also like the history of cigars and the personality associated w/ cigars.

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Welcome to the board. What kind of "personality" do you find associated with cigars?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cigar547

That said, I've been trolling this site for a few days and decided to make my first post. I saw this deal from Thompson Cigar and wanted to know if you have any feedback:
http://www.thompsoncigar.com/catalog...ategoryId=8424

How is the humidor? Is this junk?

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If you use the search thingy at the top of the page and type in Thompsons......I think you'll find plenty of opinions. Perhaps not on your specific humidor, but valid opinions you should evaluate regarding this retailer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cigar547

I will only smoke on occasions, so 25 cigars is at most I'll have in there. Secondly, does anyone know if this humi comes w/ those humidity "crystal pellets" that stabilizes the humidity level?

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Yeah, ok, good luck with that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cigar547

My first cigars were "mild," as I was told, and enjoyed that, so I'm not sure if this batch of 25 are more full bodied?

A lighter is also included, but is that even usable?

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They are all Thompson house brand crap......see suggestion for search above. The lighter most likely is a cheaply made piece of crap that won't work very well.

[QUOTE=cigar547;131245]Regarding the cut, I've read that the "v" cuts will limit how much tar touches the mouth versus the guillotine straight cut, so the "V" cut experience is more enjoyable. Is that true? If so, I'd like to get a "v" cutter, and any recommendations would be great.[?QUOTE]
I don't normally use a V-cut unless I'm at the b/m and use theirs. I'm too cheap to buy one, I just bite the cap off.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cigar547

Lastly, I think this forum is great for newbies like me. I even read \someone from this board can assemble and sell a "newbie cigar variety pack." Who was it?

Thank You :smiley20:
Frank

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This forum is great. What you are looking for is here: http://www.cigarsmokers.com/t10150-n...hread-iii.html
and given your stated budget, the newb sampler would most likely be your best bang for the buck, imho.

I have a friend that's waiting on his shipment from Thompson. I think he's in his 6th week now, so that tells you how good they are.

For a decent humidor, Cheap Humidors (www.cheaphumidors.com), JR Cigars (www.jrcigars.com), and Cigar International (www.cigarintl.com) all have medium sized humidors in the $50 USD through $90 USD range. They all sell the crystals and the humidification fluid so you can do one stop shopping.

If you want a mild cigar, I would recommend the 5 Vegas Gold. This is one of my favorite mild smokes for those days that are especially hot but I need to relax.


Kris

It definately pays to do a lot of browsing for humidors. Strangely enough I got a good deal on this humidor from none other than Thompsons. Can't say that about their cigar deals. That's a few years ago and it has been great. You might not want one that big but carefully consider the size before you buy. Saving a few bucks now only to soon run out of room. Personally, I like the coolerdor concept and then using a small humi to semi-drybox them and have them handy before smoking.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cigar547

Regarding the cut, I've read that the "v" cuts will limit how much tar touches the mouth versus the guillotine straight cut, so the "V" cut experience is more enjoyable. Is that true? If so, I'd like to get a "v" cutter, and any recommendations would be great.

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Tar is always one of my biggest concerns when smoking a cigar. Tar can ruin your life! I would rate cutters in terms of quantity of tar as follows -

Full guillotine - too much tar!
Double W guillotine - lots of tar!
W guillotine - a little too much tar...
V guillotine - just the right amount of tar...aaaaaahhh...

...and welcome to the board...

+1 for the newbie sampler that ashauler recommended.

http://www.cigarsmokers.com/t10150-n...hread-iii.html

As a fellow newbie, I can assure you this is much better option than something from Thompson (no offense to Thompson).

Yup - use the search button to find some mild cigars. The newb sampler is a good idea. Regarding the humi, consider using tupperware or similar until you decide on one; don't let the imminent arrival of your first batch of cigars pressure you into spending money on a humi you may not want as badly in a month. Regarding a cutter, I keep a very sharp knife with a 2" blade that makes a better cut than anything I've ever used, and, it doubles as a finger nail cleaner (there are some here who may not believe I clean my fingernails but I do), stripping the odd electrical wire, etc., so it's in my pocket anyway. Welcome from west Texas.

Thanks guys, these are amazing feedbacks! :smiley20: I will certainly take more advantage of the search function.

I noticed the 5 Vegas are on sale with a sampler pack on cigar international. So I'm going to give that a try.

Some more newb questions. If I bought a box of cigars, how long do I have before I need to unpack the stogies and into the humi? I don't want to buy a humi along with a box of cigars and find I have no way to store the cigars while the humi is being conditioned/stabilized. Also, what's the story behind keeping your stogies in the plastic wrappers? I've seen some pics of other member's humi and noticed some cigars ,within the same humi, are still plastic wrapped, and others are not.

ashauler, to answer your question regarding the personality associated with cigars, I find myself being unusually relaxed when I smoked my first cigar. It was odd because my friend who is also usually temperamental and the type "A" personality (like me) became really mellow when puffing away. I think smoking cigars forces one to slow down and just enjoy the moment. An hour you set aside to just relax with a good smoke, and good friends.

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Originally Posted by cigar547

Thanks guys, these are amazing feedbacks! :smiley20: I will certainly take more advantage of the search function.

I noticed the 5 Vegas are on sale with a sampler pack on cigar international. So I'm going to give that a try.

Some more newb questions. (Q1)If I bought a box of cigars, how long do I have before I need to unpack the stogies and into the humi? I don't want to buy a humi along with a box of cigars and find I have no way to store the cigars while the humi is being conditioned/stabilized. (Q2)Also, what's the story behind keeping your stogies in the plastic wrappers? I've seen some pics of other member's humi and noticed some cigars ,within the same humi, are still plastic wrapped, and others are not.

ashauler, to answer your question regarding the personality associated with cigars, I find myself being unusually relaxed when I smoked my first cigar. It was odd because my friend who is also usually temperamental and the type "A" personality (like me) became really mellow when puffing away. I think smoking cigars forces one to slow down and just enjoy the moment. An hour you set aside to just relax with a good smoke, and good friends.

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(A1) ~ The sooner the better. I'd take Basil's advice and setup a temporary tupperdor.
(A2) ~ The cello doesn't matter. I take mine off. Others leave it on. Its a matter of personal preference.

Search is your friend. These and the answers to other age old cigar questions are on these pages...:smiley2:

I agree with your last statement.

Welcome from Bitterville.

Will

Welcome to the boards from northern Louisiana.

Mild smokes? Try Fonseca Vintage, El Rey del Mundo Robusto Suprema or Cuesta Rey Stanford's Cameroon No. 9

You can also give the Por Laranaga's (Honduras), but don't expect it to be fabulous. Just enjoyable and mild.