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Now THAT is the perfect reason to smoke a cigar. I'm still kind of a loner out here in the woods. I have yet to sit on the porch or on my deck and have a cigar with a friend. Nobody I know smokes. I'm in California so statistically the odds of knowing a smoker are pretty slim.
Regarding cheap cigars: On one hand, yeah, the cheap ones can be disgusting. However, there are places where you can get decent cigars for less than $5 a stick. Check out Cuban Crafters at
http://www.cubancrafters.com and try some of their 5 cigar samplers. In particular I like the Don Kiki Red Label, the Don Kiki Brown Label, the Cuban Crafters Cameroons, and the Cuban Crafters Cabinet Selection. Each of their 5 cigar samplers ends up being between $3 and $4 per stick.
I hesitate to mention the devil site because it becomes addictive so quickly. But
www.cigarbid.com is a wonderful and dangerous place to hang out. You can find 5 packs in the $2 to $4 per stick range that are really good.