OK I'll bite.

[daverave999]

MisterB's thread about his terrible experiences with Cubans has made me wonder if I'm missing out on the vast world of NCs. I just have no idea what to try as the selection is so immense.

So, those NC aficionados out there, in the style of ChrisMClark, I'm going to ask you to recommend me five top class affordable NCs. If they are easily available in the UK, so much the better.

What am I missing out on folks?

[MaledettoToscano]

Great idea Dave! I'm all ears too :ear:.

[kingcohiba]

set a price for us that is within reason to being affordable would ya? this could get pretty interesting.

[TJCoro]

:nerd: I already mentioned a few of my favorite non-Cuban stogies on the other thread and an earlier thread on this forum, so I won't repeat myself here, but if you like the milder smokes, you can't go wrong with a Davidoff, IMO. :thumb:

:shocked: BJ, BJCoro

[daverave999]

set a price for us that is within reason to being affordable would ya? this could get pretty interesting.
Considering how often I smoke, I'll set the bar at £5 or $8, near enough.

[EDIT] Though I'd be ecstatic to pay far less if they are still good! Persuade me it's not just about Cubans.

[kingcohiba]

what ccs can you get for that price? think of the top 5 of the cc in that price range. i am going on a quick road trip to go check out some property, be back in about an hour with a short list! well 5 i guess!

[daverave999]

Bare in mind I have no idea of the difference in price between NCs and CCs. Can I get decent NCs for half that? I have no idea. There is an awfully large range of nice Cubans that can be bought for under $200 a box. I'm just trying to find the really good ones without spending stupid money. If there are really good ones for $50 a box, I'm all ears.

I noted down your ones from MisterB's thread 'BJ'. I'll have a look for the other thread in a bit. Thanks. :thumb:

[Jimmeh]

Just have a look on cigar.com or cigars international and compare it to reviews out on the internet. I like a lot of the CAO cigars and i have recently tried a Rocky Patel i loved!

[kingcohiba]

since we are talking $8.00 per stick, five of my favorites would be these-

1. padron 6000 maduro
2. la flor dominicana double ligero
3. oliva serie o maduro
4. trinidad (dominican not the honduran)
5. h upmann vintage cameroon

these are sticks that are about 5-6 usd. these are also just some cigars that i like and i am sure some of the others from around these parts could name some better smokes. i have not had any of these pepin cigars or this tat that lots of you guys talk about. cant wait to try them though. but if you want to talk $50.00 a box, i can certainly suggest a cigar that really sirprised me the other day. that was a punch elite. i bought it at a hotel in miami over the summer and was going to smoke it but didnt (long story) and just had it the other night. bought two boxes half way into it. $100.00 and they were on my doorstep yesterday. gonna let them mingle with eachother and they are a decent little smoke. what can you recommend for $50.00 from Cuba that you would call a decent little smoke?

[kingcohiba]

i hit send and forgot about another $200.00 a box favorite of mine. the padron 1964 anniversary principe maduro. fantastic little cigar for about $195.00 a box. little less than 8 bucks a stick.

[daverave999]

Thanks for suggestions so far. I'll get my arse in gear and hunt some down in the next week.
what can you recommend for $50.00 from Cuba that you would call a decent little smoke?
If that's a serious question, very little, but the La Flor de Cano Selectos are my go to when I'm out boozing as they are pleasant enough. I bought 50 Selectos and 50 Preferidos a few months back for $84 in total! Way better than the usual shit you buy in the pub over here, for about the same price.

[kingcohiba]

ive got some flor de canos of that size and i hate them very much! id rather have a swisher sweet. im serious though about that punch elite. blew me away it was such a pleasure to smoke. and i started out on cigars like this. never would have thought in my wildest dreams id be buying boxes of punch elites. i took the cellophane off of them....i kind of like that now. seems like they may age better that way? that punch down in miami i took the cellophane off and it has been that way since july. which is why i say that. maybe not though.

[ACMCC]

Partagas serie D No. 4 are rated 92 by CA - RASS are also highly rated. Probably a good couple of smoke's to compare!

[kingcohiba]

hate the d4, think ive only ever had 1 of them i cared for. love the rass but to me each is different in a box. some burn perfect some canoe. some very full bodied, some very mild. although very much a favorite of mine. i am very new to them too. mowed through quite a few of them though. had one the other morning that almost made me hurl! couldnt believe it. to me its the perfect first cigar in the morning. too bad they are in a locker and not on this desk! might have had one before bed tonight have some reading to do....

[Big J]

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Alec Bradley Tempus Monarca Maduro (robusto)
2. Padilla 1932 Robusto
3. Camacho Corojo Maduro $115.00 box
4. Padron #3000 Maduro
5. Oliva O Maduro Robusto

Hope this helps.

[SeanP]

I will second kingcohiba's choices of:

padron 6000 maduro
oliva serie o maduro
h upmann vintage cameroon

Actually burnt an H. Upmann vintage cammy tonight and it was great as usual. I will also add these to the try list:

Rocky Patel Edge Maduro
Rocky Patel Ocean Club
Partagas Black
Oliva V
Hoyo Excalibur 1066 Dark Knight
Hoyo de Monterrey Dark Sumatra
Onyx Reserve
White Owl Strawberry
Don Pepin Garcia My Father
Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic (black label)
5 Vegas Miami
Man O War
Carlos Torano Exodus 1959
Carlos Torano 1916 Cameroon
La Aurora 1495

Some of these you might have to get a smaller vitola to get under $200 but most are well under and in the low $100's for a box if not less then $100.

This is not a personal dig on anyone, I just can't see someone turning their nose up at a cigar since it didn't come from a specific island. That's like saying I only drink Australian wine and all other wine sucks...missing out on sooooo much if you ask me. Check them out, give them a chance.

[kingcohiba]

lots of those are under 100 usd! thats another plus to them. i really need to try those don pepins man.... ha intentado alguna vez usted un profesor universitario pepin puro Sr. coro? ¡guerrero de puro ah fuerte!

[G-man]

IMHO ! One should sample a wide aray of NC so as to get a taste of what they find to suite them. Variety is the spice of life so I say try as many as U can and there are alot of great cigars for 6 and under Perdomo,RPs, Bahia,Padron 2000 maddy. the list is long and the value is their! Just my .02:smoke:

[SeanP]

lots of those are under 100 usd! thats another plus to them. i really need to try those don pepins man.... ha intentado alguna vez usted un profesor universitario pepin puro Sr. coro? ¡guerrero de puro ah fuerte!

Some are sub $100...if you know where to look! And if you haven't had a Pepin, you need a Pepin.

[kingcohiba]

yeah gss but that list is so long and full of duds. ive seen some pretty low grade ncs on here and smoking those kind of ncs really could steer people away from trying them ya know. i bet the number of nc brands outweigh the cc brands 100 to 1. like the georges reserve! i have never heard of them before rokkitsci sent me a couple of them. i thought it was just a joke! because his name is george! im going to give these a try tomorrow. been saving them. to be honest i thought he might have had these bands made and put them on just for fun. im not one to try too many new things. i kinda stick to what i know i like. i will try some new things though if i hear good things about them.

[kingcohiba]

Some are sub $100...if you know where to look! And if you haven't had a Pepin, you need a Pepin.

i know where to look! my favorite size of upmann vintage cameroon is 69 bucks a box of 25! pretty damn good cigar if ya ask me. ive got to try a pepin.....or one of those 5 packs ole jdawg is selling.

[whisky77]

I tried a couple of Rocky Patels which were given by one of the BOTL and they seemed like a decent smoke, although I have no idea how much it would be for a box.

[moosekelly]

I've had a few nice Rocky Patel's :- a 1990 Vintage Toro and an Autumn Collection Robusto.

[Lee Nub]

The few i brought back from the states are ageing well, and with the info here im already copiling a list of boxes to buy when imt there next August

[ChrisMClark]

Hey Dave, you nicked my next thread :lol: Will be reading this thread at great length when I have more time...and money! lmao

[daverave999]

At least I gave you credit. ;)

[ChrisMClark]

And very kind it was :)

[Oscar Madison]

I'm a robusto smoker and here are some examples that you may enjoy trying:

Camacho Corojo

RyJ Reserva Real

Montecristo Platinum

Carlos Toraño Signature

AVO Domaine #10

All 5 should fit your pricing criteria too. The AVO are @ $8 each and the rest are in the neighborhood of $5 (give or take).

[mb55317]

Check out Stogie Review for regular video reviews on NC - www.stogiereview.com

Also check out this post on Stogie Review which lists their best cigars of 2008; if you check out Walts list each entry has a link to the particular video review.

http://www.stogiereview.com/2009/11/06/ask-the-readers-what-would-you-include-on-your-top-10-cigars-of-2009-list/

Not all, but most of these cigars are available on either cigar.com or cigarplace.biz

[tupacboy]

:biggrin1: dave got a box a coming!

[daverave999]

Nice one C!