Cigar.com house brands

6clicks

I recently received my CC brand samplers and I'm anxious to start the tasting. How long do you recommend letting them rest before I start? I want to give them the best chance I can, purely for my own selfish reasons, of course.

George

ashmaster

I like to let my smokes rest for a minimum of 30 days before digging in....but curiosity does get the better of me from time-to-time, not often, but it does happen.

pilot711

If I get more than one stick of a particular cigar I like to smoke one now then the rest after they age to compare. More fun that way plus instant gratification :>

kaspera79

Hey George, With the quality of cigars out there now most are good right away. In the mid 90's during the cigar boom there was such a huge demand, cigars were rushed to market often times of poor quality and very green. Now the cigar makers know they need a good product. When they are shipped to you quickly and packaged properly they are fine to smoke and aging a good cigar can make it better. Build up a reserve stock so you can age them and try for youself. One week one month one year if you can hold out that long. Regardless you will still enjoy most products when they reach your hand. I usually buy at least two of everything, one for now one to age at least a few months. Sometimes I can taste the difference, some times there is little notable difference on the everyday type cigars. Super premiums will almost always improve with aging.

LarryD

6clicks

Great information guys. I only got 7 sticks, one of each so I want to make sure I give them the best chance. I've got to go back to the site and see which labels are which so I know better what to expect. I can't smoke that many sticks per week due to health concerns but I will get to each and every one. I think I'll try the Brazil label first. That's the one I've heard about most. I'll let you know what my caveman palette thinks about it. "Mongo like white smoke from black stick!" is usually what I say after lightup.

George

kuzi16

i think the purple label is the mildest. you may want to start with that one. age could fizzle the taste.

rdnstn

If you are just starting out, you might want to take Kuzi's advice. The brazilian label is great but it is also one of the strongest of the house blends. So far though my favorites are the Red Label and the Brazilian.

Smoke=Fire

ashmaster

With my last order Tim @ ccom recommended the Corojo label to try, so what the heck. Although I prefer something with more kick (can't wait to try the Brazilian) this was a nice tasting medium bodied smoke. I am glad I have another resting.

rdnstn

Smoke=Fire

LOL...nah, just that I live in Montana, and that cutie looks like she'd fit right in. Even likes cigars, which is a bonus

kaspera79

Hey Larry, I have experienced the same dry and crumbly cigar you mentioned. What I do is seperate that one from the rest and place it in a zip lock bag along with a water pillow for as long as it takes to bring it to the way you enjoy. I have brought some back in a week and others take a month or longer. I like my cigars sort of firmly spongy, so dry and hard are not my style.

LarryD

6clicks

Glad I read the thread again. A neighbor gave me a R&J tubo belicoso and 2 H Upmans. They felt a little dry. I just put them into ICU in my humi. I got a nice ziploc envelope with a water pillow from a recent shipment and now they're resting comfortable in their moist environment.  BTW, as far as the CI house brands go, my favorite smokes to date are the Gurkha legend and the Onyx reserve, which was my first box purchase. I do enjoy a fuller bodied smoke, especially a sweet madero.

George

6clicks

I'm back again having smoked a Cigar.com Brazillian label. It's a very nice smoke I have to say. It doesn't have the sweetness of the Onyx Reserve but certainly a smoke I'd enjoy again. It lasted me 45 minutes and had  perfect draw, burn and construction. As usual I hardly ever let it sit in the tray and oversmoked it but it never got harsh, hot or bitter. I have taken to use my punch cutter and I think it's a great improvement as I no longer have strips of the head cap sticking to my lips or falling off. It's especially useful with a short filler smoke as it doesn't allow the filler to find its way into my mouth. Now I'm looking foward to trying the rest of my sampler.

George

madurofan

6, I too have just ordered a ccom sampler and I'm looking forward to her arrival. I'm not a big believer in "resting" cigars. If they are stored improperly and you have to "bring them back" as some have stated they aren't going to be right anyways. They will be better than smoking them dry but they'll never be as good as they should have been as they've already lost many of their essential oils. I only sit on certain cigars that I've been told are green and are definetly better with a little age. I have a CAO America that has been chilling in my humidor since just before Christmas that I'll break out on the 4th of July. I also have a couple of RP Sungrowns that are going to chill for a while as I've smoked a bunch of these and ant to see the difference after they've sat for a few months.