Money and Love

[guenzak]

I am at the point where if I don't find a less expensive, enjoyable smoke, I am going to have to make the horrible choice between love and money. The love of cigars is the love I speak of. When I started enjoying cigars about 6-8 months ago I was smoking about 1 per week. I was spending about $20 per week on cigars priced fron $5 - $15 dollars. My Collection was actually able to grow by 1 or 2 pr week. Well the past few weeks I have been smoking about 5 or 6 a week instead of 1. Well I'm sure you are all able to do the math. I need to find a cigar or two that I can afford to smoke that won't put me in the poor house. I need to find quality I can enjoy at this price or try to restrict myself back to 1 per week (yuk, perish the thought)
I am looking for suggestions from fellow smokers that may have gone through this same dilemma.
I prefer full bodied smokes, maduro type, but must be smooth not sharp. Some smokes I have liked recently are

Trilogy Ovation Maduro
LaAroma DeCuba robusto and figuardo
Padron 6000 maduro

Please HELP!!!!

[grand cru no 2]

Take a look at this thread. Should help you with a few good cheap smokes for your everyday cigar. Try and restrict yourself to one really good one a week.

[Kenyth]

Here's a well kept secret smoke outlet. Go to www.cubancrafters.com site and ignore the hype. I've tried most of their cigars, but only a couple of them are really good.

Get a box of 25 Don Kiki Brown Label Figuardos. It's only $37 and they're really a great smoke. A real bargain!

Another good one is the JL Salazar Y Hermanos. A little more expensive, but really good for the money.

There's a few of their line I haven't tried yet but stay away from the Cuban Crafters Cameroon . The one I had was nothing short of terrible. Construction, and taste included.

The Cuban Crafters Cabinet gets rave reviews, but I was unimpressed by it.

The Don Kiki's Green and Red labels are good for a cheaper cigar, but nothing too special. A nice poker/game party smoke, general handout smoke, baby birth celebratory handout smoke, etc. If you want to buy them, stick with the red label. I liked them better.

Also stay away from the Vegas line of cigars. A dark grey ash and cheap harsh taste show this to be nothing but a cheap cigar with a fancy label.

In short the only one's I've found worth smoking are the Don Kiki line (especially the brown label), and the JL Salazar Y Hermanos. The Don Kiki's are economical, and the Salazars are decently priced. From what I just saw on the site, the Don Kiki Brown Labels are selling out fast!