First off, greetings everyone...found the site a little while ago after spending all day research cigars online and looking for recommendations and sampler packs I'm interested in trying, still have a long way to go. But, I figure actually sitting down and talking with people about it, rather than just looking at 5 year old articles would be a better option.

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I've been smoking cigars off and on for the past few years (my mother actually got me into it, but she's not really that 'hardcore' and doesn't have much info for me either...actually, I've recently told her she's doing it wrong...oops ).

I'm getting medically discharged from the Air Force next month, and will be getting a decent sum of money, and I'd like to use some of it to kick start this amazing habit I'm beginning to get. I'm thinking somewhere in the range of $1000-$2000 to get a decent start for a useable smoking stash, as well as a collection going. And while I've been planning this, I've thought of a few questions.

First off, a humidor. I'm looking at Geneve Standing Humidor to start with, simply because it's about $300 for the humidor, some RH beads, and 2 hygrometers. I plan on growing the collection, so I figured starting with something a decent size would be a good idea rather than having lots of little ones laying around. If I don't get enough in the initial purchase to fill it up, would filling the extra space with jars or solid blocks/etc be a workable solution to all the extra space?

Another question I'm curious about is if I intend to drop around $1000 on the cigars to start me off with, should I focus on a few types, or just get a huge variety to test?

So far, I'm a pretty big fan of Drew Estates cigars, mainly Jucy Lucy (I bum those from the mother when she visits), Dirts, and some of the Acids. Other than that I haven't really tried many other cigars...so I'm interested in finding out what else is out there so I can actually figure out what my true tastes are and what fits me.

Any recommendations for good starter cigars, as I still consider myself a starter? I've got a short list of ones I'm aiming for, they are all highly rated cheap cigars, so a few more premium (but not super expensive) cigars would be welcome recommendations. (currently only my 'to try' list is Saint Luis Rey Rothchilde, Private Stock #2, Gispert Corona, Helix Blue Tubular, Flor de Oliva Gold Toro, and Mr B. Longdate Maduro).

I'm far from knowledgeable on cigars, so personal opinion/information/suggestions is more than welcome.