a smoking n00b

[shub]

hello everybody, i am new here to the forum. i just wanted to say hi to everyone first of all.

as of recently, i've began testing different, more expensive brands of cigars. i browsed the forums here briefly, and i can see that the "gas station" cigars are quite looked down upon. well, about a couple of months ago, i would have scauffed at you guys for being foolish.. however, i can say that since having smoked some more expensive brands for the past month, i will NEVER smoke a white owl again! i tried a white owl peach corona (a previous favorite of mine) yesteday.. i hadn't had one for a month, WOW, it was HORRIBLE. i would have been perfectly satisfied with them however, if i hadnt moved up the chain. they used to be quite enjoyable, but they taste like nothing more than air and a camp fire now ;-).

now, my problem is, there are SO MANY to choose from. i get lost, and frankly, i am dropping toooo much cash just to try things. i turned 18 very recently, i don't make much at my job, but i have enough money to buy a decent cigar id say, if i knew which brands to consistently pick out.

instead i find myself going into the local humidor, and coming out with an armload of different cigars. one week, i spent about $100 on cigars. now, i know that may not seem a lot to you guys, if you smoke the say, $6 romeo y julietas, but to me it was... i was used to spending 65 cents on those white owls!

i thought maybe you guys could give me some direction. i don't smoke all that often, it's more of a social activity for me that i share with my brothers, and some close friends. we all pitch in to try different stuff, and get a range of things.

my palate probably isn't the most advanced, but there are cigars are like more than others.. you may laugh at some of my selections, which i will list, but i could use some constructive criticism so to speak!

i will say, that i am not a fan of the larger cigars at this time. i've had a couple, and i find that they last too long for my patience, plus they tend to be rather expensive. i prefer to spend less, smoke more... perhaps that mentality will change as i learn. dunno. for the moent i like, the medium sized cigars that come in tins (what do they call this size?), typically 10-packs, and the more petite ones, like cigarettes. i typically budget myself to paying, if you do the math, about $1.25 max on the medium cigars in the tins, and about 75 cents each for petites in tins. i don't like to smoke one cigar for more than 20 minutes.

okay, i'll make a list of everything i can remember trying.. for the hell of it, i'll list my gas station favorites :D... well, once favorites. some, or many, i don't know the exact names, so i will describe case, and cost to help.

gas station:

+ white owl minatures
-sweet
-dark
-vanilla
-chocolate
-strawberry

+ white owl coronias
-peach, blueberry, grape, strawberry, apple

+ backwoods (i tried two varities)
+ swisher sweets
-mini cherries
-cinnamons

+ dutch masters (don't remember the name, large cigar, was about $3.00 for a 4-pack. probably the worst cigar i can say i've ever tried. however, it has one earned one thing, it's common for my brothers and friends to jest about it. ex. when trying a new more exp. cigar, we may comment as such... "wow, this pretty good. but it's no dutch master!")

+garcia vega
-another very large cigar, cost about $1.50. came in a tube.


the smoke shop humidor:

+ danneman imperiales - 20-pack, black tin
+ swisher sweet cherries - 10 pack-tin
+ al-capone rum
+ partagas miniatures
+ panter (long, narrow, white tin.. forget the name)
+ kahlua - white russian flavor
+ acid
- blue connecticut (10-pacl)
- blondie
+ artuero fuente- 10 pack, black tin front, red back, don't know the name..spanish..
+ partagas minatures - 10 pack
+ partagas - 10 pack - yellow tin - don't the name either
+ ashton - petite cigars, white case, 20-pack, was about $9


that's everything, i think i've smoked. i probably missed a couple here or there, though likely not a memoroable smoke if i didn't list it.

so far my favorites are:

artuero fuente, partagas in yellow tin (what are these called btw, anyone know?), and the danneman imperiales, and the al capones, they are repeat buys for me.

i hope i didn't offend everyone because i don't typically smoke the larger cigars. i will splurge and buy one, if someone can suggest a good one, but i haven't invested any time in really trying them, because they are so expensive, that i'd only want to buy one at a time, which makes it difficult to contrast them with other cigars. the tins are nice, because i get a bunch of chances to decide if they are good.

so what do you guys think? do i have stupid palate? anything i've smoked considered a good pick? what would you guys suggest i try, that i haven't listed.

one cigar i plan on buying tomorrow is the macundo 10-pack tin, worth it?


WOW, i know i wrote a lot guys. i sort of unleashed the floodgates, i do apologize if its too much info to handle, i just didn't want to forget while i got it all up in the front of mind. thanks in advance for any responses!


-bill