new user, some questions - help appreciated!

[bennyblanco]

Hi all,

I've been collecting/smoking cigars for the past 15 years or so - just got back from Costa Rica with another box of Cuban's and decided it's time to give my smokes a little more attention.

Speaking of my last purchase - I picked up a box of Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto's for $24.95 USD. The girl at the cash in the hotel gift shop didn't believe they were $24.95 each so she rang up the entire thing! I felt bad for her.. tried explaining that I thought she was wrong, but she insisted. Nice box from 2005 - never been so lucky.

Anyway, here are some questions that I hope you all can help with:

1) Is there a fairly standard Excel spreadsheet or program that you all use to database your cigars? I have about 250 cigars from various places, etc - I never smoke an entire box.. always keep 1 or 2 for the hell of it. I'd like to be able to track what I have easily.

2) I'm currently holding all my cigars in a 2 level box running a Diamond Crown humidifier. I have a few concerns with my current setup;

a) the box is pretty full so I have to mix some good cigars with some less desirable cigars. I've read some people believe this causes some changes in flavour, etc with certain cigars over time. Other say not to worry about it. Should I consider a new box? If so, any recommendations?

b) another issue I have is maintaining the humidity levels mainly because of my lack of commitment to regularaly checking on my box. The Diamond Crown unit does a good job, but I'm considering getting something that would allow more automation. Do you guys have any recommendations?


3) Is the Cigar Lounge a good place to sell/trade cigars or do you guys have any recommendations? I have about 20 Bolivar Belicosos which are just too strong for my liking. I'm thinking of unloading them to someone who would appreciate the smoke more.

That's all for now.. hope to chat with some of you soon!

 

[Kingantz]

Howdy and welcome to CP! How about post an intro and fill out your profile. Would be a good idea to give a thorough reading of the New Member Guide as well.

I don't keep up with what cigars I have, I just smoke 'em. Mixing cigars is a personal preference. I throw all mine together, however if you have flavored cigars, I wouldn't mix those in with regular. A number of different ways to handle humidity issues out there. Best thing would be is to search out all the information you're looking for as it's all been answered previously. Again, I would highly recommend reading the new member guide as well as the rules of the forum, which would have answered the selling question.

 

[Yeahthatsme]

Hi all,

I've been collecting/smoking cigars for the past 15 years or so - just got back from Costa Rica with another box of Cuban's and decided it's time to give my smokes a little more attention.

Speaking of my last purchase - I picked up a box of Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto's for $24.95 USD. The girl at the cash in the hotel gift shop didn't believe they were $24.95 each so she rang up the entire thing! I felt bad for her.. tried explaining that I thought she was wrong, but she insisted. Nice box from 2005 - never been so lucky.

Anyway, here are some questions that I hope you all can help with:

1) Is there a fairly standard Excel spreadsheet or program that you all use to database your cigars? I have about 250 cigars from various places, etc - I never smoke an entire box.. always keep 1 or 2 for the hell of it. I'd like to be able to track what I have easily.

2) I'm currently holding all my cigars in a 2 level box running a Diamond Crown humidifier. I have a few concerns with my current setup;

a) the box is pretty full so I have to mix some good cigars with some less desirable cigars. I've read some people believe this causes some changes in flavour, etc with certain cigars over time. Other say not to worry about it. Should I consider a new box? If so, any recommendations?

b) another issue I have is maintaining the humidity levels mainly because of my lack of commitment to regularaly checking on my box. The Diamond Crown unit does a good job, but I'm considering getting something that would allow more automation. Do you guys have any recommendations?


3) Is the Cigar Lounge a good place to sell/trade cigars or do you guys have any recommendations? I have about 20 Bolivar Belicosos which are just too strong for my liking. I'm thinking of unloading them to someone who would appreciate the smoke more.

That's all for now.. hope to chat with some of you soon!

1. There are a few random excel sheets, if you do a few searches there have been some recent threads on the subject.

2. A. Only time this would matter if you have flavored cigars in with unflavored ones. B. An electronic humidifier would take up a good amount of space, and I haven't seen very good reviews of any of the smaller ones.

3. Definitely not. There is a subforum specifically for sales and trades, but you must be active here for 4 months in order to post such a deal.


Take some time to read through the "newbie" threads, the rules, and do some reading, there's a wealth of information here, you just have to dig a little for it.

 

[bennyblanco]

I smoke semi-often, usually when the weather is nice here which is about 6 months of the year. I have some Siglo IV's, and a variety of other fairly nice Cuban's that are close to 15 years old. I don't really want to smoke them - only on very special occassions.

Profile - done
new member post - done
guide read - done

I've been searching around for a day or so on and off.. not really much concrete info out there - just a jumble of stuff. Hoping to find more concrete answers and helfull recommendations.

thanks for your reply - appreciated!

Howdy and welcome to CP! How about post an intro and fill out your profile. Would be a good idea to give a thorough reading of the New Member Guide as well.

I don't keep up with what cigars I have, I just smoke 'em. Mixing cigars is a personal preference. I throw all mine together, however if you have flavored cigars, I wouldn't mix those in with regular. A number of different ways to handle humidity issues out there. Best thing would be is to search out all the information you're looking for as it's all been answered previously. Again, I would highly recommend reading the new member guide as well as the rules of the forum, which would have answered the selling question.

 

[MilesMingusMonk]

I've been collecting/smoking cigars for the past 15 years or so - just got back from Costa Rica with another box of Cuban's and decided it's time to give my smokes a little more attention.

Speaking of my last purchase - I picked up a box of Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto's for $24.95 USD. The girl at the cash in the hotel gift shop didn't believe they were $24.95 each so she rang up the entire thing! I felt bad for her.. tried explaining that I thought she was wrong, but she insisted. Nice box from 2005 - never been so lucky.

Costa Rica sourced Cubans? ??? Buyer beware.

 

[bluue13]

Profile - done
new member post - done
guide read - done

You're off to a good start but make sure that you really spend some time searching and reading. A lot of the questions you have may have already been answered if you just do a little research for a little longer than one day. One of the most common phrases you will hear is "Search is your friend" and it is the truth!

Welcome and enjoy your time here!

 

[bennyblanco]

Purchased at a legit hotel with a full room humidor, etc. All the other pricing was correct.. this box was meant to be sold as individual cigars - the price tag even said so. She just didnt understand. I''ve opened the box and the labels look legit.. I've compared them to other Hoyo's I bought at factory in Cuba and they match.

I've been collecting/smoking cigars for the past 15 years or so - just got back from Costa Rica with another box of Cuban's and decided it's time to give my smokes a little more attention.

Speaking of my last purchase - I picked up a box of Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto's for $24.95 USD. The girl at the cash in the hotel gift shop didn't believe they were $24.95 each so she rang up the entire thing! I felt bad for her.. tried explaining that I thought she was wrong, but she insisted. Nice box from 2005 - never been so lucky.

Costa Rica sourced Cubans? ??? Buyer beware.

 

[Smokyballs]

Purchased at a legit hotel with a full room humidor, etc. All the other pricing was correct.. this box was meant to be sold as individual cigars - the price tag even said so. She just didnt understand. I''ve opened the box and the labels look legit.. I've compared them to other Hoyo's I bought at factory in Cuba and they match.

I didn't know you could buy cigars directly at a factory in Cuba? What factory? Are you an American citizen? How did you travel to Cuba?

 

[bennyblanco]

Purchased at a legit hotel with a full room humidor, etc. All the other pricing was correct.. this box was meant to be sold as individual cigars - the price tag even said so. She just didnt understand. I''ve opened the box and the labels look legit.. I've compared them to other Hoyo's I bought at factory in Cuba and they match.

I didn't know you could buy cigars directly at a factory in Cuba? What factory? Are you an American citizen? How did you travel to Cuba?

I'm Canadian.. When I went about 6-7 years ago, we did a tour of a factory in Havana.. we were able to buy whatever we wanted in the shop in the basement. Is this abnormal??

 

[grateful1]

Purchased at a legit hotel with a full room humidor, etc. All the other pricing was correct.. this box was meant to be sold as individual cigars - the price tag even said so. She just didnt understand. I''ve opened the box and the labels look legit.. I've compared them to other Hoyo's I bought at factory in Cuba and they match.

I didn't know you could buy cigars directly at a factory in Cuba? What factory? Are you an American citizen? How did you travel to Cuba?

I'm Canadian.. When I went about 6-7 years ago, we did a tour of a factory in Havana.. we were able to buy whatever we wanted in the shop in the basement. Is this abnormal??

Mr Balls or buying cigars at the factory?

One is and one isn't!

:laugh:

 

[tmoney2007]

I didn't know you could buy cigars directly at a factory in Cuba? What factory? Are you an American citizen? How did you travel to Cuba?

From what I gather, there is a store at or near at least some of the factories.

As an american citizen, you can travel there with a foreign aid group. I know someone that did it recently. They spent the first day or so handing out medical supplies, then they got to do what they wanted for the remainder of their stay.

 

[Smokyballs]

I didn't know you could buy cigars directly at a factory in Cuba? What factory? Are you an American citizen? How did you travel to Cuba?

From what I gather, there is a store at or near at least some of the factories.

As an american citizen, you can travel there with a foreign aid group. I know someone that did it recently. They spent the first day or so handing out medical supplies, then they got to do what they wanted for the remainder of their stay.

Yes, but you can't buy cigars. It's still a crime. You aren't allowed to buy any luxury items.

Purchased at a legit hotel with a full room humidor, etc. All the other pricing was correct.. this box was meant to be sold as individual cigars - the price tag even said so. She just didnt understand. I''ve opened the box and the labels look legit.. I've compared them to other Hoyo's I bought at factory in Cuba and they match.

I didn't know you could buy cigars directly at a factory in Cuba? What factory? Are you an American citizen? How did you travel to Cuba?

I'm Canadian.. When I went about 6-7 years ago, we did a tour of a factory in Havana.. we were able to buy whatever we wanted in the shop in the basement. Is this abnormal??

Mr Balls or buying cigars at the factory?

One is and one isn't!

:laugh:

Gary, you know I'm abnormal, we can smell our own kind!

 

[redraider]

His location states he is from Canada..Should be no problem going to Cuba.

 

[Smokyballs]

His location states he is from Canada..Should be no problem going to Cuba.

Right, or buying cigars. I learned that factories have shops. I was unaware of this. I responded to this thread initially from the mobile app and didn't check his location.

 

[Tiger]

If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch there's a handy app called PuroExpress you should look into.