Which one should I smoke next?

[ashauler]

I voted the same as both of you guys, but I put the Italia in the middle so I could start with a good cigar........then it.......then get the taste out of my mouth with the Brazilia. I just can't get into the Italia at all. I smoked a 5er of them, and never bought another one.

[EGQ]

I voted the same as both of you guys, but I put the Italia in the middle so I could start with a good cigar........then it.......then get the taste out of my mouth with the Brazilia. I just can't get into the Italia at all. I smoked a 5er of them, and never bought another one.

Agreed -- the Italia was a disappointment to me -- the Brazilia was ok, but I enjoy the Criollos and usually keep a few on hand.

[Artyman1200]

I would throw away the Criollo, then smoke the Italia (have a skewer on hand b/c they always seem to have a tight draw), then the Brazilia (nothing to write home about). I'm one of the weirdos that enjoys the Italia, but I only buy the box pressed as it usually provides a good draw. Ultimately, it's CAO, so who really cares? Though it is a step up from your Macacrapo Hampton Court

[LawDog2006]

I would throw away the Criollo, then smoke the Italia (have a skewer on hand b/c they always seem to have a tight draw), then the Brazilia (nothing to write home about). I'm one of the weirdos that enjoys the Italia, but I only buy the box pressed as it usually provides a good draw. Ultimately, it's CAO, so who really cares? Though it is a step up from your Macacrapo Hampton Court

Yeah I was warned about the Macanudo after I said something (it still wasn't bad to my unsophisticated palette).
When you recommend a skewer, are would a BBQ kabob skewer work or do I need something thinner?

[Artyman1200]

IF it has a poor draw you could try a number of things -

Cut more of the head off (could cause wrapper to unravel)

Roll the cigar btw your fingers to loosen tobacco and identify hard spots

Stick it right down the middle (through the head) with any regular BBQ skewer, I bought some stainless steel skewers. Don't worry about the size being too big, it's fine. Just don't poke thru the wrapper, keep a straight line. I've heard that dryboxing for a day or two sometimes helps.

Try the first two suggestions first, sometimes cigars have hard spots they just have to burn through.

[LawDog2006]

[QUOTE=Artyman1200;127966]
Stick it right down the middle (through the head) with any regular BBQ skewer, I bought some stainless steel skewers. Don't worry about the size being too big, it's fine. Just don't poke thru the wrapper, keep a straight line. I've heard that dryboxing for a day or two sometimes helps.
QUOTE]

Ok, what do you mean by "dryboxing it"?

[ashauler]

Ok, what do you mean by "dryboxing it"?

Putting a cigar in an unhumidified container, often an empty box, for a day or two prior to smoking. This becomes less important the lower in rh you keep your humi or cooler.

[mrtr33]

"Dryboxing" is where you take the cigar you plan to soon smoke, and putting it in a non-humidified box (I use a regular cigar box) for a few days. If your humidor is kept at a higher humidity percentage, you may consider doing this. I have found that by doing this, it leads to a more enjoyable experience. To continue on that point, if you live in an extremely humid area (like where I am now in Louisiana), you may need to drybox even longer - I have been averaging about 4 days.

If you notice a particular cigar is still to tight for your preference, you could also cut the cap, then drybox for a few days. It just gives the cigar a little bit of extra "breathing", allowing it to accommodate to your smoking environment.

As far as those choices, I never eat desert first. I would save the Brazilia for last. But then again, I'm not a big CAO fan to begin with. Something you might want to consider doing is keeping notes about each of the cigars you try. When I first started, I literally had a "little black book" that I kept notes in, next to cigar labels carefully taped next to the description. These are more akin to the "tasting notes" my wife uses during wine tastings, but it's the same idea.

[prophetic_joe]

I vote go with the Brazilia, then Criollo, then the Italia, reason being that this is the order of goodness imo and I would hate to see you smoke the Italia and be put off by it and then not feel like smoking the rest. This would suck for you as the Brazilia is a damn fine smoke.