What makes a good cigar to you?
Salem
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 717
Just wondering, in your own personal opinion, what makes a good cigar? What flavor, the way it smokes, the tastes, etc.? And if you have one, what IS your favorite cigar?
Comments
depth of flavor
a good roundness
something different than "most" cigars
solid construction
most importantly: the people that i smoke that cigar with.
Flavor: I like pepper, cream, leather, earthy, cocoa, chocolate, etc. I prefer smokes with high complexity, and perfect balance. I don't smoke often enough that I just burn through a cigar without thinking about it, so I really like to smoke cigars that I can challenge my palate, or at least appeal to the whole range of flavors I enjoy.
Aroma: It needs to smell good before and during the smoke. I've had some that were too sweet, or two "cigarette-ish" and I couldn't stand it.
Construction:
1) Wrapper needs to be in tact and well made. I don't want to see any pealing before I even smoke.
2) While I am smoking, I don't want to see any unraveling either
3) I want an even burn... it doesn't have to be a razor, but I don't want to have to keep touching it up.
4) Needs to stay lit - this is one of the biggest buzz kills for me
5) Cannot get too hot near the end - I like to smoke cigars till they are too small to hold.
6) The draw needs to be effortless and produce a lot of thick, luscious smoke.
Favorite cigar of all time:
Padron 1926 Maduro Torpedo or #1
Other Favorites:
Arturo Fuente Hemmingway
La Aurora Preferido Maduro
Good full flavor that makes my mouth water
Changing flavors that I can pick up on
Good solid construction and a straight burn
And this:
In that order
Let's see, not smelling or tasting like gasoline is always good. Not having the wrapper come off while I'm enjoying it is always good. Being able to get some smoke out of it without having to turn into a human vacuum cleaner is always a plus. I like to be able to at least taste SOMETHING, except the gasoline thing; some cigars are so weak and bland that it's like re-cycling air through a tobacco filter. I would avoid these whenever possible.
A good cigar should not burn as fast as a speeding bullet. I swear, I've had some cigars that burned up so quick that it seemed like two minutes after I fired the head it was already at the halfway mark. This is not a good thing.
If you're with me and I'm smoking a good cigar, I'm liable to say something like "Jaysus that's really fookin good", right out of the blue, and then I might not say anything else for a half hour, but I'll have a little sly grin and a sparkle in my left eye (my right eye will be dead-eye serious). If I'm smoking a realy great cigar, I might not shut up about how great it is until I'm finished, or until whoever I'm with tells me to shut up already, whichever comes first.
but even a crap cigar can be Ok if smoked with the right company.
Med-Full Body
Intoxicating Aroma
Lots of smoke
It has to perform: Burn, Draw, etc.
Cutting & Lighting it well.
A nice long finish (that I don't want to go away)
It has to look awesome too. (I love figurados / Perfectos)
A.F. Anejo #50 (I know its not a Figurado).
I can put up with re-lighting such a cigar because it's just that good. One that comes to mind as being that good but might need a re-light is the Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios (and the Cohiba Sublimes). They do go out sometimes, but they are some of the best tasting cigars I've ever smoked.
When I smoked with Rick (RCYcigar) in Germany, he gave me an LP9 to try and it was the best damn cigar I'd ever had. He gave me two more to carry with me (among the 50-60 others). When I got a chance to smoke one of the ones he'd bestowed upon me it just wasn't the same when I smoked it by myself. Smoked my last one with a good friend and there was the awesomeness all over again.
so in my eyes its the company, then the flavor profile, then size (due to my short attention span).