ISOM suggestions

I'm going to Aruba in about a month and found out the LCDH store is only about 2 miles from my hotel. So, I'll be getting my wife situated on the beach each morning and taking a little trip.
I've been through the Review section looking for stuff that sounds good, but a little more advise would be appreciated. I would like to try at least one Cohiba.
I'm looking for medium to full body, probably close to Corona in size.
On another note, does anyone know smoking policies in the casinos down there. I'm pretty sure my wife will be in one every night. I don't gamble, so I'd like to at least be able to smoke cigars while she gambles without having to sit outside(actually, I'd love to sit outside and smoke while she gambles, but, you know, it's vacation with her...:smiley2:).
Thanks for all suggestions.

Be prepared for sticker shock...

It very much depends on how much money you want to spend.

Cohiba - highly recommend the Magicos or Secretos. Also - Behike. I believe the size of the regular Cohiba you're probably looking for would be the Siglo III or IV

Montecristo #4

A very nice cigar - reasonably priced and not too big - the Por Larranaga Petit Corona.

Also Ramon Allones Specially Selected or Small Club Corona

Sancho Panza Non Plus

my absolute faves - the Partagas Serie D No. 4 and the Vegas Robaina Famosos. (Both are Robustos)

Cheap (machine made) but good - Quinteros Brevas or Londres Extra


And they still allow smoking in the casinos. At least last I knew....

Aside from the ones George mentioned above (all excellent choices), I also really enjoy the following:

- Romeo y Julietta Churchill
- Bolivar Royal Corona

If you can find them, you definitely want to try the Partagas Series D No.4

Have a great time!

Hmm-mmm...maybe I should stay longer. Thank God for Amex.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CptnBlues63

Aside from the ones George mentioned above (all excellent choices), I also really enjoy the following:

- Romeo y Julietta Churchill
- Bolivar Royal Corona

If you can find them, you definitely want to try the Partagas Series D No.4

Have a great time!

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Bolivar Royal Corona! Yessir! There' a nice cigar. Great recommendation
N!

And if they have 'em - try a Bolivar Gold Medal!

Should I take my travel humi to keep them in while I'm there? Or should a zip-lock-type bag that I assume LCdH probably will have take care of them for the short time they last?

Ziplock

Ziplock it is. One less thing to keep track of.

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Originally Posted by ash13brook

Ziplock it is. One less thing to keep track of.

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Bring a box of gallon size ziplocks. They're great for storing all sorts of things on your vacation. I won't travel without them. :smiley2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ggiese

Bring a box of gallon size ziplocks. They're great for storing all sorts of things on your vacation. I won't travel without them. :smiley2:

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This is fabulous advice!

My wife, organizational nut that she is, brought a bunch of those size in ziplocks and we used a bunch while in Savannah last week (returned yesterday....to snow *sigh*) There's a couple candy stores in the historical district and we bought a bunch of caramel corn at one and some peanut brittle at the other which ended up in ziplock bags. I bought several cigars on the day after we arrived and put them in a ziplock. More to keep humidity out than in....it was 95+% RH there every day.......LOL.

Now that I've seen this in action, I won't ever travel without them again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CptnBlues63

This is fabulous advice!

My wife, organizational nut that she is, brought a bunch of those size in ziplocks and we used a bunch while in Savannah last week (returned yesterday....to snow *sigh*) There's a couple candy stores in the historical district and we bought a bunch of caramel corn at one and some peanut brittle at the other which ended up in ziplock bags. I bought several cigars on the day after we arrived and put them in a ziplock. More to keep humidity out than in....it was 95+% RH there every day.......LOL.

Now that I've seen this in action, I won't ever travel without them again.

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....it has saved me from disaster more times than I care to count. It does a fantastic job of containing leaking shampoo, sunscreen and other liquids and prevents wet bathing suits from soaking the rest of the clothes. Momma even used them to organize snacks for the plane (those little 100 calorie packs were perfect!)

I went to LCDH in Orangestad the first day we were there and picked out a few. I realized that wouldn't be enough and went back the third day to make sure I had enough. The selection was not huge, but they were all ISOMs.
Here's what I smoked:

Bolivar Coronas Juniors (2)
Trinidad Robusto
Cohiba Siglo IV
Montecristo #4
Punch Coronations
Partagas Serie D #4
Vegas Robaina Famoso
Sancho Panza Belicoso

That's a great week for me.
I did notice a distinct difference in the flavor of these as opposed to everything else I've smoked to date. Very nice.
I did a lousy job of picking the Cohiba. After I lit it, I realized it had a plug near the cap and it was tough to smoke. The Monte had a very tight draw as well, but didn't seem to be plugged. I reserve judgement on them until I can try them again.
The Partagas D 4 and the Vegas Robaina were my favorites. But, I really liked all of them.
Thanks to all for the guidance.

Anyone know anything about taking your own torch on a plane? They have shitty lighters down there!

No torch on a plane, checked or carry-on - although they keep changing the rules.

Even though you are not supposed to I have always tucked one in a corner of my checked baggage. Never had an issue

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sailor71

Even though you are not supposed to I have always tucked one in a corner of my checked baggage. Never had an issue

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Yep -that's my experience as well. But - as a measure of safety, I always take my cheapest torch lighter in case it is confiscated. It won't hurt nearly as bad as losing my more expensive lighters.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ash13brook

I went to LCDH in Orangestad the first day we were there and picked out a few. I realized that wouldn't be enough and went back the third day to make sure I had enough. The selection was not huge, but they were all ISOMs.
Here's what I smoked:

Bolivar Coronas Juniors (2)
Trinidad Robusto
Cohiba Siglo IV
Montecristo #4
Punch Coronations
Partagas Serie D #4
Vegas Robaina Famoso
Sancho Panza Belicoso

That's a great week for me.
I did notice a distinct difference in the flavor of these as opposed to everything else I've smoked to date. Very nice.
I did a lousy job of picking the Cohiba. After I lit it, I realized it had a plug near the cap and it was tough to smoke. The Monte had a very tight draw as well, but didn't seem to be plugged. I reserve judgement on them until I can try them again.
The Partagas D 4 and the Vegas Robaina were my favorites. But, I really liked all of them.
Thanks to all for the guidance.

Anyone know anything about taking your own torch on a plane? They have shitty lighters down there!

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Very nice list of cigars! Great choices (outside of what you'd been recommended to try).

Now - you've picked out the VR Famosos and PSD#4 as two of your favorites. Both are great cigars, no doubt. Too bad you were not able to find the Sancho Panza Non-Plus, or smoke a Trini Fundadores. Many of the smaller ring gauge cigars are incredible. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Bolicar Coronas Juniors and the Punch Coronations - both of which are very nice...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ash13brook

I went to LCDH in Orangestad the first day we were there and picked out a few. I realized that wouldn't be enough and went back the third day to make sure I had enough. The selection was not huge, but they were all ISOMs.
Here's what I smoked:

Bolivar Coronas Juniors (2)
Trinidad Robusto
Cohiba Siglo IV
Montecristo #4
Punch Coronations
Partagas Serie D #4
Vegas Robaina Famoso
Sancho Panza Belicoso

That's a great week for me.
I did notice a distinct difference in the flavor of these as opposed to everything else I've smoked to date. Very nice.
I did a lousy job of picking the Cohiba. After I lit it, I realized it had a plug near the cap and it was tough to smoke. The Monte had a very tight draw as well, but didn't seem to be plugged. I reserve judgement on them until I can try them again.
The Partagas D 4 and the Vegas Robaina were my favorites. But, I really liked all of them.
Thanks to all for the guidance.

Anyone know anything about taking your own torch on a plane? They have shitty lighters down there!

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That's a nice list. You have a bunch on there I've yet to try myself. Now I'm going to definitely have to try a Vegas Robaina Famoso

My wife took a couple Bic lighters along (she smokes cig's right) on our trip to Savannah so I just borrowed on of hers. While I prefer my torch lighters, in a pinch those work......lol.

George-
The first one I smoked was the Bolivar Coronas Junior. It was the perfect size for the length of time it took my wife to lose a hundred bucks in the casino in our hotel. That's the reason I bought another when I went back. I really liked it. Plenty of strength without mimicking the "tin size" cigars. Great draw. Burned great to the nub. Plenty of volume of smoke. I love big clouds of smoke.
I bought the Punch because my son said he would like to try a Cuban Punch and I figured if I ran out of time and was going to sneak one back, it could be that one. I didn't run out of time, though, and I liked it as well. It smoked about the same length of time as the Bolivar, but was milder. Not flavorless milder - just milder. It also burned real nicely, which is nice when you're using a crappy lighter. It also had big clouds of smoke. For some reason,though, I have this weird perception that a tubed cigar is inferior. Probably from smoking some cheap tubos when I was a kid. I should know better since I have some Ashton VSGs in tubes, which are very good.
I would put both on my list of cigars to buy again. I agree about the smaller ring gauge cigars being so good. I'm finding that I'm leaning, in general, more toward cigars in the 44 rg class and away from so many 50 and up.

Cap'n, you will not be disappointed in the Vegas Robaina Famoso.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ash13brook

George-
The first one I smoked was the Bolivar Coronas Junior. It was the perfect size for the length of time it took my wife to lose a hundred bucks in the casino in our hotel. That's the reason I bought another when I went back. I really liked it. Plenty of strength without mimicking the "tin size" cigars. Great draw. Burned great to the nub. Plenty of volume of smoke. I love big clouds of smoke.
I bought the Punch because my son said he would like to try a Cuban Punch and I figured if I ran out of time and was going to sneak one back, it could be that one. I didn't run out of time, though, and I liked it as well. It smoked about the same length of time as the Bolivar, but was milder. Not flavorless milder - just milder. It also burned real nicely, which is nice when you're using a crappy lighter. It also had big clouds of smoke. For some reason,though, I have this weird perception that a tubed cigar is inferior. Probably from smoking some cheap tubos when I was a kid. I should know better since I have some Ashton VSGs in tubes, which are very good.
I would put both on my list of cigars to buy again. I agree about the smaller ring gauge cigars being so good. I'm finding that I'm leaning, in general, more toward cigars in the 44 rg class and away from so many 50 and up.

Cap'n, you will not be disappointed in the Vegas Robaina Famoso.

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I suspect you're right so I'm going to order 5 today..........right now even! :smiley36: