Cigar Bargains?!

September 7, 2008 2:20 PM

Any cigar afficianados out there want to share some recommendations? Looking for inexpensive quality cigars (roughly $2 a stick). Hand rolled, please.

My new roommate orders bulk from smokeinn, and I'm getting hooked off of some of his freebies. However, that supply will soon dwindle, and these cigars aren't something I'd want to order in bulk. That site has little in the way of searches, and honestly, I wouldn't have a the faintest clue where to start.

To give some bearing, I've enjoyed nubs, which are roughly $5 a stick. That's roughly his average, so his recs are somewhat limited. Wondering if anyone has experience with inexpensive smokes. The best recommendations would be something I could conceivably order in small packs, say 5 or 6, as this would give me the ability to sample without committing to one cigar for a month or two.

Any help appreciated! Previous post wasn't incredibly helpful: too limited given the $1 tag. Generally, looking for relatively inexpensive hand rolled cigars that might be available in small quantities. If that's too limiting, any recs are welcome, I can talk with shops about getting small samplers, etc. if there's a good recommendation.

Any explanation as to why you're recommending a particular cigar would also be greatly appreciated!

posted by quanta and qualia to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

Martinez Cigars is right next to my office in Manhattan. It's a tiny Dominican owned shop, and they roll them in house (right up front where you can watch). I go in every month or so to pick up a few small vanilla cigars for my boyfriend ($2 each), which he claims are some of the best he's ever had. Heh, it's a complete boys club with guys hanging around smoking and girlie calendars up on the wall. They always act a little shell-shocked when I come in.

Anyway, the website is a little crude, and it appears they don't sell singles online, but there is a sampler, and some of the cigars are in your price range. If you ever come into the city, it's just a couple of blocks from Penn Station.
posted by kimdog at 2:48 PM on September 7, 2008

Meharis. Panters. Both readily available in my burg. Vancouver, Canada. They're small, closer to cigarette size.
posted by philip-random at 3:46 PM on September 7, 2008

Meharis. Panters.

Both are Dutch, 'dry cigars' and definately not handrolled but made in large factories by machines. A friend's father owns one of those so I know.
posted by maremare at 7:07 PM on September 7, 2008

I'll sit down and write you a longer answer later tonight, but off the top of my head goto:

Mr. Bundles

And browse around in the bundles section.

I have heard good things about the "Flor De Oliva" lines and they are exactly the price range you want.

You can check reviews at Top25Cigar before buying.
posted by petethered at 7:57 PM on September 7, 2008

A little more pricey, but the F2 from Oak Brook Tobacco is tremendous. Although their website appears to be down right now. I hope they didn't close. Anyway, they were about $4 a piece last time I bought.
posted by gjc at 8:19 PM on September 7, 2008

You don't mention what KIND of cigars you want. Mild, medium, full body? The Nub line has three different wrappers and as such doesn't quite give enough information.

The one problem with your request is the 2$ price range. Your actually just below what I consider a sweet spot in hand rolled cigar pricing. There are a number of good selections in the 2$ to 3$ price range and if you can break down and spend that extra dollar per stick your options expand greatly.

As I mentioned before, Mr. Bundles has a number of bundle based cigars, some of which are decent ( Flor de Oliva ) and available in smaller sub packs.

Flor De Oliva Corojo Toro is good and at 10.25 for a 5 pack, exactly the price you want. I personally thought it was a nice medium body cigar , but no so special that anything other then not being dissapointed with the purchase sticks in my mind.

If your patient, the deal a day sites for cigars can come up with some amazing smokes at excellent prices:

Cigar Monster features more boxes and I haven't actually ever ordered anything, though I have been tempted.

My bread and butter for cigar aquisitions is Joecigar.com . Normally I can find something worth buying at least once a week and pay close to three dollars a piece for some amazing smokes ( I just finished of a 10 pack of Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic Robustos that I paid maybe 32.00 for ten of. Joecigar has free shipping and makes your entire order free shipping so I have a tendancy to buy some extra stuff at the same time.

Another excellent place to find cigars in the 2-3$ price range is Cigar Bid. It's an auction site for cigars run by CI. They have a whole section dedicated to 5 packs.

Running down the list of 5 packs on auction, here are some I've tried ( though, to be honest I've had over 50% listed, these are just some in your price range ):

5 Vegas Gold Torpedo - nice, mild - $7 for 5 ATM

Acid Blodie - Flavored cigar, I don't smoke them , but I keep a few Acids on hand for poker night to give to people who don't smoke cigars normally... the acids are interesting botanical infusion cigars. $9

Alec Bradley Harvest Selection '97 Robusto - I had one of these last weekend and was surprised at how mello a smoke it was even though it had some umph. Nothing really special, but worth the current price of $9 for a 5 pack

CAO Italia Novella (5-Pack) $11 - Love , love, love the CAO Italia novellas... creamy smoke with a great finish.

Macanudo Robust Hyde Park (5-Pack) - $9 - Macanudo is said to be the best selling cigar out there. The Robust line is a medium body smoke that was the one that actually drew me back into cigars after a multi year break.

Indian Tabac Cameroon Legend Gorilla (5-Pack) - $9 - I havent had these, but the indian tabac cigars are all in the 2-3$ price range and not bad...


Perdomo Habano Gordo Maduro - $11 - I don't like the maduro wrapper for these as much as the Corojo, but still a great smoke at a very good price.

Torano Signature Toro - $11 - The Signature series are all good, and the toro is a excellent choice. I remember a full body and a smooth flavor that was very rich.

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I do most of my shopping at CI, mainly as a function of the free shipping with purchase of the Joes deal. ( Shipping to Hawaii is deadly )

JR Cigars has a search engine that lets you choose the price range and features that could get you some decent smokes.

Top25cigar review database will let you look up reviews before you buy anything

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Some general tips:

Stay away from Fumas / Mixed filler cigars - These are made with trimmings from other cigars and have NEVER been worth what I paid for them.

The "2nds" sold by some companies are very hit or miss. I picked up some rocky patel sungrown seconds that were close to the originals, but then got some La Aurora seconds that were such garbage I wouldn't even give them away, unelss you count the trash can as a valid recipient.

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As a side note: Don Lino Africa 10 pack for $20 is a great deal and I am on my third one. The africas have nice body, are well made, and smoke like a dream

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Peter Azuolas
posted by petethered at 9:19 PM on September 7, 2008 [1 favorite]