3rd time's the charm? Intro.

[debo08080]

Hey my last 2 introductions didn't go through for some reason so here's my next one, its just a copy/paste but whatever...

Hi my name is Adam and i'm from south New Jersey. I'm 18 years old and I think I'm ready to start smoking some cigars. I have yet to smoke anything but I'm going to try some tonight. I just picked up 2 cigars, and they were free.

Heres the story: I work at a bank and there is a tobacco B&M in the same shopping center/strip mall/whatever as our bank. I know the manager there b/c they bank with us. Anyway, I went in to buy a cutter and a lighter today and I bought decent ones of each, total came to like $60 or something(40 for the cutter 20ish for the lighter +tax). He threw in a full can of butane for me too. After that I was about to leave and he told me to wait a second.

I came back in and he was putting some cigars in a plastic bag that they put all cigar purchases in. Turns out he gave me a CAO Mx2, which looks like its a ...Robusto? its roughly 5" long. and a CAO Gold which was slightly longer, unsure of the size though?

[mrtr33]

Sweet.

Welcome from central Oregon. Let us know what you think of the cigars.

[debo08080]

ok well, since I wrote that roughly 4 days ago I'll give an update too.

So I smoked my first cigar yesterday. It was a CAO Gold. I have to say, i was not impressed with the experience at all. I don't know if i messed it up or something, but it was extremely bitter, to the point where I couldn't even finish it. It left a terrible after taste in my mouth, and I had to spit after every puff. Another thing is i'm not sure if i'm not drawing hard enough or something (I dont want to inhale it b/c i heard its unpleasant) but I didn't get much flavor from the cigar. It didn't really taste like anything.

Is there anything I did wrong with it? I'm also having trouble finding the "cap" what am I supposed to look for when I am looking for where to cut? i was told there should be a distinct color difference where the leave cap is? maybe this is wrong, but could someone tell me?

Overall, I'm just disapointed that the cigar had no flavor and it was just extremely bitter. I probably did something wrong since it was my first time, so could someone enlighten me? I'm going to try the 1 other cigar I have tonight, a CAO Mx2.

I know I'm a noob so I'll accept any criticism also. Just looking to become better at this and enjoying a good cigar. Thanks in advance.

-Adam

[debo08080]

mmk, here is a last update:

so i went by the B&M today, and instead of taking the suggestions here :/ I asked the rep at the B&M what to get. He set me up with a Romeo y Julieta reserva real? I think it was just a Romeo y Julieta, if thats a single cigar?

Anyway, it was good. I noticed a big difference smoking with a drink too, the rootbeer was nice, thanks for whoever made that suggestion.

It took me about an hour and 20 minutes to smoke a toro (6" and 50 i think it was) It took me a little while to get started but after that I was good to go.

I did notice something about the cigar was that after I ashed it, it felt hotter on my palate, not very pleasant. It was nice up until about 1.5" left and I ashed it and it started to get really bitter, but I smoked through it and it became alright again, although not as nice as earlier.

It was also not very pleasant when I inhaled it [accidentally]. Not something I'd like to do again. :P

me smoking the RyJ:


By debo at 2008-06-03


I also got some more cigars today. This guy on another forum sent me some here's a pic of my package:



By debo at 2008-06-03

[bigwhiteash]

Welcome from South Carolina!

You will enjoy both of those smokes, the CAO Gold is going to be the milder of the two. If you are new to cigars, just be sure to have something in your stomach when you go for the MX2, they're not overly powerful, but may get your head spinning, if you smoke in on an empty!

Hang around, read through old threads, use the search, ask questions, (there really aren't any dumb questions, except the one that isn't asked), then hit up the "Newbie Sampler Trade Thread" located in the exchange forum

Most of all, Enjoy Yourself!

Dennis~

[mrtr33]

I second bigwhiteash's comments about the MX2. While it's a nice cigar, I don't know if it's one of those to try out first.

I also highly recommend the Newbie Sampler Thread III. Look for it in the Exchange part of the forum.

I have just started smoking cigars since about Thanksgiving, and while I haven't smoked many, I keep a little journal with the wrappers of each new smoke, just pointing out what I like, and what I don't like about each smoke. I was kind of confused about what the deal was until I smoked a Padron 4000. Now I'm hooked. Inevitably, there will be some that are more pleasing to your palate than others. And don't be upset if a cigar you had high hopes for turns out to be bad. You don't have to spend a lot on a cigar for it to be better, either. Basically, as in cigarnobaka's tag, there really are only two types of cigars: the ones you like, and the ones you don't.

Enjoy! And welcome.

[debo08080]

thanks for all the welcomes guys.

I am heading over to the exchange and the Newbie Sampler thread almost as we speak, hopefully I can get a nice array of cigars that can help me now, as well as when my pallet is more developed and I can taste the notes and how the cigar develops, instead of just enjoying the taste (regardless of being able to decide on the flavors).

I plan on taking notes on the cigars I smoke but at this point I can't pull out the notes of the cigars I don't think. I couldn't say what the RyJ's notes were during the smoke, all I really know is I enjoyed it. It was just relaxing, which is great.

I need to go out and get a humi so I can get some sticks. I plan on getting 150 count humi somewhere online, one question though. As I said, I'm 18 years old. My parents don't really like smoking and they would yell if I got a package with say CigarsInternational.com all over the package. When you purchase online do most companies say "this is cigar paraphernalia"? or is it just plain boxed?

[rball5]

Welcome from another noob

You might not like this one, but: you might want to skip the humi for now & just buy sticks as you smoke them. If you're living with your parents & they don't want you smoking, you should respect their wishes while they're footing the bill for your roof. I know I was PISSED when I found cigarettes in my (step)sons room - they ended up in the garbage... it'd be a shame if you spent some money to pick up some nice stuff just for it to 1)end up in the garbage 2)cause tension between you & your folks.

If you insist on keeping some on-hand, pick up a small cooler (they'll never suspect cigars in a cooler) & some heartfelt beads to keep whatever you've got.

Sorry for being that guy, I know you're of age & can do what you want but I'd hate to see you spend your hard-earned dollars on something that could end up in the garbage/cost you a home.

The cigarsinternational/cbid packages I've received so far were labled 'CI fulfillment' or just '.com', so no worries there.

Robert

[bigwhiteash]

Most vendors that I deal with are very discreet, for instance, Famous Smoke shop, whom I have done a great deal of business with, ships with a return address "FSS".

As for tasting, don't get too caught up trying to detect the "burnt Madagascar Vanilla Bean" type of flavors, Most of my reviews I try to list simply what a particular cigar REMINDS me of without trying too hard to FIND flavors. Writing simple notes on the back of a band is a good way to remind yourself sometime down the line that "hey, I really liked these", or "UGH" I did this for quite a while, and honestly, there have been very few in the latter category.

A cigar will often get bitter after ashing because the ash tends to keep it burning cooler, one thing you might try, if the flavor changes drastically after ashing, try blowing out through the cigar for about ten seconds, (known as "Purging"), then let it cool down for about a minute. this normally helps regain the cigars original flavors.


Dennis~

[Diesel Grinch]

Welcome from North Western New Jersey.

DG

[ashauler]

Welcome from Kansas.

[heftysmokes]

Welcome from MT

[debo08080]

Welcome from another noob

You might not like this one, but: you might want to skip the humi for now & just buy sticks as you smoke them. If you're living with your parents & they don't want you smoking, you should respect their wishes while they're footing the bill for your roof. I know I was PISSED when I found cigarettes in my (step)sons room - they ended up in the garbage... it'd be a shame if you spent some money to pick up some nice stuff just for it to 1)end up in the garbage 2)cause tension between you & your folks.

If you insist on keeping some on-hand, pick up a small cooler (they'll never suspect cigars in a cooler) & some heartfelt beads to keep whatever you've got.

Sorry for being that guy, I know you're of age & can do what you want but I'd hate to see you spend your hard-earned dollars on something that could end up in the garbage/cost you a home.

The cigarsinternational/cbid packages I've received so far were labled 'CI fulfillment' or just '.com', so no worries there.

Robert

yea i know what you are saying. And you're probably right about it. That said, its probably not going to stop me from doing it but whatever.

thats good advice though.

Also, thanks for the info.

[ReV]

When i first started smoking, I kept my humi in my dorm so the folks wouldn't know. But being the sneaky people they are, they figured out I was smoking after going through my check card statements and noticing an inordinate amount of purchases at the Tinderbox. At anyrate, now they both smoke little vanilla cigarillos with me whenever I smoke a cigar. Get some research together on the health risks associated with cigars and give it to them if they ever catch on. There are a lot of misconceptions about smoking cigars and one is that they are less healthy than cigarettes, which simply isn't true.

But to the point; as a young smoker, shopping online is a bitch. A lot of big stores only sell to 21+; just having turned 21 myself, here's the places i relied on before I was 21. All these places sell to anyone 18+ and are quality retailers.
www.famous-smoke.com
www.tampahumidor.com
www.cubancrafters.com
www.heartfeltindustries.com
www.cigarmony.com

[debo08080]

awesome thanks for the info ReV.

[Cabaiguan Juan]

How do they know if you are not 21? Do they ask for a copy of your DL before shipping?

[pub spears]

Welcome from SC.

[ReV]

How do they know if you are not 21? Do they ask for a copy of your DL before shipping?

Somehow they can find out because a guy on the cigarweekly board said once that he use to just lie about his age on Cbid and he ended up banned from purchasing. I've never tried it though, maybe you could get away with it.