Cigars Cigars Cigars

[Throttle]

i havent been to that part of Germany.

 

yes 10% extra for PPS. good price. but may i remind you, it's illegal to bring in. if only a few sticks, they wont really bother but if a box, better declare.

 

The best buys that i know of at duty free singapore is the Selection series - robustos or piramides. only about $160, i think.

 

The best selection and prices for duty free are in Dubai and Spain.

[shiokman]

Hi Throttle,

 

Ya I know it is illegal to bring into S'pore. I will buy them to consume while I am traveling.

 

I just got in from HK today and got a look at the duty free there. For the smaller packs (3s, 5s), they kept only the Cohibas in the locked cabinet. Others like the Partagas series D No 4 and Hoyo Epicure No 2 are kept on open shelves. The packaging were not in good shape as I guess too many people handled them. Guess they do not know how precious and delicate these things are.

 

I will check out the selection at the airport during my next trip... now that I have some recommendations and knowledge that I gathered from this forum.

[Throttle]

i got into HK on 29th night. Was staying at the four seasons hotel.

Just returned to Sg, 2 hours ago.

 

This time round decided to buy the Nee Min Ron Cigar Encyclopedia after giving it a miss so many times due to the weight. Cost HKD780

[entity]

Ha! You finally bought THE cigar encyclopedia. Excellent! It'd make a great coffee table book, especially at your place. Good price too..

[Throttle]

Yes!

 

The Hoyo Epi2s which we split the last round are good to smoke now.

Just did one and i can say that i was satisfied enough.

[Guest TheSquid]

anyone keen on splitin p2 or reyes give me a shout pls

[Sev]

going Bangkok for business trip on Monday, will take a look at the Selection series, nowadays too busy with works, no time to smoke also...

[shiokman]

Hi Sev,

 

I am going to Bangkok this weekend but is not familiar there, having only been there once.

 

Where do you go to check out cigars? Are accessories and humidors there cheaper? I am staying at the Novotel in Siam Square. Any place near there than I can check these out? Thanks.

[Sev]

normally i but small amount from CHangi airport.

Smoke at bangkok, if got few left over then will bring back to Sin.

they wont bother if you onyl bring back few sticks.

[Throttle]

A few places to check out cigars in Bangkok.

White Chamber (P&L club) is one of them.

[Guest TheSquid]

i've had enuff with O*ks (Great World)

 

last weekend - went to them, told them i wanna get 2 hygrometers. the usual white colours ones they sell which i have bot like 3 times before.

 

"eh no stock now. i'll get some from other branches. why dun u try us again on monday"

 

monday afternoon: specially made a trip down durin lunch time, and they said the driver is on the way. cant even tell me a estimated time of arrival and the sales person won't even call to check... fine, left again.

 

tuesday afternoon: a friend went to them to check for me since i was busy... was being told that the hygrometers HAS NOT ARRIVED! wtf? was simply informed, "salesman off day today".

 

wednesday evening: friend called me to say that he happened to be at Great world again.. went in, ahhh the salesman i told him about was there. asked for the hygrometers, yes they have arrived! but theres only stock for one... ok fine! just as he was about to pay for them, he was quoted $40 for the meter. WTF? i paid $35 each 2 weeks ago at Taka! when my friend asked further, he said the salesman was unsure and had to make a few phone calls to check. Appears that O*ks JUST raised the cost. zzzzzzzz...

 

very very disappointed with them...

[Throttle]

no point going to Great World branch, the women there dont know a thing. visit the one at tanglin mall or orchard hotel, staff are friendlier.

If possible talk to Dani, the malay guy, he is more helpful.

 

Oaks Taka, also quite lame. Staff have noses in the air. Different target market i guess.

 

Singaporean attitude still very lousy to their own countrymen. when a "gwailo" walks in, they will be very helpful. To hell with that i say.

[Nightstalker]

by the way, with the new anti-smokin ban in all eateries, i guess el sheikh and samar is affected rite? any idea guys?

 

damn... i wonder wat it'll be like for us when the ban is fully implemented. i'd better start doin up my balcony. make it more 'cigar friendly'. haha...

[Sev]

Squid,

 

Please write a formal complain email to [email protected]

I had talked to my fren, she will pass the letter to Oaks management.

hope this will improve their service.

 

and she wants to appologise to your for Oaks' bad service.

[Throttle]

heh heh, luckily my "Cigar Corner" already fully operational since 2003.

I need to start cover charge including 1 drink.

[Guest TheSquid]

Originally posted by Sev@Jul 6 2006, 10:45 AM

Squid,

 

Please write a formal complain email to [email protected]

I had talked to my fren, she will pass the letter to Oaks management.

hope this will improve their service.

 

and she wants to appologise to your for Oaks' bad service.

bro,

 

its ok la. no point to get them into sh*t.

just wanna vent my fustrations a bit.

 

thanks

[ckunjie]

Hi all, i just come back from hong kong. Brought a Partagas P no.2, partagas 8-9-8, monte cristo no.2, monte cristo edmundo and punch punch from there. The cigars and accessories there seems to be more cheaper than here, maybe due to the lower taxes in there.

 

Went to havana express, red chamber, and cigarros as mentioned by bro throttle. Havana express offer mostly siglo accessories, red chamber is under renovation but business as usual.

 

Find a lot of limited edition cigar at hong kong, regret now that i didn't get the monte cristo robusto LE 2006, partagas series d no.3 LE 2006 and Upmann LE 50 sigh.

 

Cigarros is cool, i saw the davidoff cuban there and some aged cigar. Wah really tempted to get one davidoff cuban but budget too high for me, range from SGD$100 to $1000.

 

Bro throttle, is havana express good? I notice some of their cigar are cracking or peeling off at the foot. Is it too dry or what? Saw some white spot on the cigar as well.

 

Is cigarillo for small smoke? Does it consider as cigar as well. Brought a pack of cohiba club at airport. What other cigarillo is strong?

Can't wait to try my cigar. hahaha cheers

[Throttle]

In Hong Kong it is popular to keep cigars at humidity around 60% or even below. I guess it's the difference is smoking culture. Havana and Red Chamber are operated by P&L Club (Pacific Cigars), same as our Con Divan. Siglo accessories are very well made and quality controlled although made in China. They are very popular indeed.

 

Foot that is crack may mean a few things. Mishandling is one. Rapid change in humidity and over dryness is another.

 

Not sure what you really mean by the white spots but if you mean mouldy white spots, they (bloom)are a sign that the cigars are breathing or have been exposed to higher humidity. Not a problem unless the white spots cant be brushed off easily.

 

If you mean white round spots on the cigar, then it could be water marks left during the curing or it could be the bane of all cigar smokers.

BUGS! it could be bug holes which are being attacked. If you smoke such a cigar, the white spot may start burning a round hole before the wrapper reaches it becos of the air flowing through as you draw.

 

Cigarillos are cigarillos not cigars as the name suggests. But i guess we can "qualify" them as mini cigars. The enjoyment is totally different. Cigarillos does give a quick fix to the tobacco based aromas and taste of a cigars but the similarity stops there. Cohiba Clubs are nice.

 

Enjoy

[Guest TheSquid]

care with siglo cutters though.

 

was given one for my birthday and i wanted to send it for sharpening but they (con div) cant do it. pity.... i liked it a lot.

[ckunjie]

Siglo accessories seems really nice. Tempted to get the lighter and case, reasonable price for me also.

 

I think should be the dryness seems they like to keep in low humidity. The white spot i saw is like white round pimple on the cigar.

 

I also brought a RYJ churchill in tubos. Is it ok for me to keep my tubos in the humidor or i need to take them out of the tubes to place in humidor?

 

Thanks a lot! Cheers

[Throttle]

tubos are designed to maintain the freshness of the cigar inside and for simple protection for the purpose of people on the move.

You can unscrew the cap and put the tubo inside to allow air to circulate.

 

I would choose to take the cigar out and put it in the humidor until such time i want to take it along with me, then i put it in the tubo for protection against knocks and bumps. (eg. in my suit pocket)

However, I mostly use my cigar cases for that purpose anyway.

[ckunjie]

Just finish a Partagas Series D No.4 watching world cup final(First half), wah this is really a very well constructed cigar. Even burn and smooth draw. Strong and heavy body but not harsh, full of character. Woody, nutty, creamy. Great to go with cafe mocha. Smoke to the very end almost get my finger burn hahaha.

 

Wonderful great robusto, great 55 minutes of smoke, although i not very used to the robusto ring size to my finger. Waiting to try cohiba robusto to compare with.

 

Great world cup final! Great Partagas!

 

Cheers!

[Throttle]

As cigars are new to you, the taste of tobacco may seem quite pronounced when it hits you. The more you smoke, the more you will form expectations of each vitola. And expectations will only go up from there.

 

The Serie D number is quite OK to smoke when young compared to many other cigars as it has good body and fair strength. Aging it for another 6 months or 1 year will deepen the flavors.

 

I would however urge you to keep the Cohiba robusto much longer (a year or 2) if possible. Otherwise you may be disappointed with the lack of body, or the imbalance between the grassiness and the beany flavors.

 

In my opinion, it is good to smoke both young cigars and older cigars of the same vitola so that one experiences and understands how the aging process changes each particular cigar.

[ckunjie]

I notice that new cigar often seems very pronounced when i smoke the first time, i being smoking mareva all the while, the more i smoke the more i expect from it. I start from RYJ petit coronas and now i prefer cohiba siglo II for mareva.

 

I have 3 series D no.4 and 3 cohiba robusto in my humidor, i intend to get a stick of cohiba robusto and smoke it young, while i age the rest to experience and compare the difference.

 

Normally how long do you guys age your cigar? Are all cigar suitable for aging? Are cigar like wine? some are suitable for aging, some are meant to consume young. If so which are those suitable for aging and which are not.

 

Thanks a lot for the info!

Cheers

[Throttle]

Yes cigars are like wine.

 

Aging cigars takes away the ammoniac flavors and allows further fermentation of the leaves which usually rounds and smoothen the texture and occasionally deepens the flavors depending on the cigar.

 

One thing for sure, young cigars tend to "bite" more than aged cigars.

In wine talk, it's called sharpness, I believe.

 

A cigar is "officially" considered aged if it is 6 years old and beyond.

I am no guru in aging cigars becos I do smoke many of them quite young. However, I make it a point to smoke one of of every new box I buy to sample if the box is indeed "smokable". If the one i sample is not up to mark , I will lay the others to rest for about 6 months before trying again.

 

A large part of my regular smokes are 1 to 2 year olds.

The edicion limitadas are about 2 - 6 yrs old and some are up to 8 yrs old.