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Sampler worth it?

CBoukal

Impeached Staff Member
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Dec 9, 2011
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So I have been getting further into trying different cigars and I wanted to take a leap further into the ISOM's. I found a well known site that has a sampler that includes the below cigars for $80. Is this a good place a start to see what I like or would someone else venture differently if they were me??

1 x Bolivar Coronas Junior
1 x H.Upmann No.2
1 x Hoyo Petit Robusto
1 x Jose La Piedra Cazadores
1 x Montecristo No.2
1 x Montecristo No.4
1 x Partagas Serie D No.4
1 x Romeo y Julieta Mille Fleurs
1 x Romeo y Julieta Short Churchills
1 x San Cristobal La Fuerza
 
IMO, you can't go wrong with that sampler. Of course there are other cigars that some will say you MUST try, but with that sampler you get a nice assortment to get your feet wet.

The only negative I see is if you get a bad stick since it's hard to really make a fair judgment on a cigar by only smoking one. However, if it's the vendor is who I think it is, he does a great job of picking and supplying quality cigars.
 
Its not a bad sampler but you have to decide if its worth it to you. Are they sticks you want to try? Are you willing to pass judgement on them based solely off one cigar as Brett has mention? I'd probably look for a sampler with 3 of each cigar or a few people to do a couple box splits with or find a few folks who were willing to sell me a few fivers instead of going the route of the sampler.
 
That's a pretty good price on the sampler that you're getting. Buy 3 sets ( the equivalent of a box in terms of price) and work your way through them at different intervals. Maybe start the second set 3 months after the first, and the third set a year after. This way you can taste the nuances of them being in your humi over time. I'm going to go against what the above members have said and say that if you're looking to try different ISOMs at a greater level, this is the PERFECT way to do it. You're getting 10 quality cigars (except for 1 IMO), why go the route of buying fivers or getting into box splits if you've never tried one of those particular cigars first? You may have the same reaction through 5 cigars as you do 1. If the first one you smoke is shit, then I tend to go into the second cigar with the same mindset and so on.

Great Price.
Great Cigars.
Buy a couple samplers of them and you'll be happy!
 
When I buy samplers I'm usually looking for minimum 3 of each I prefer 5 of each. But to your question, it looks like a nice selection of stogies.
 
Thanks for the information I appreciate it. I think the answer is buy 3 of these and keep my eyes peeled for box splits or people selling stuff. I really appreciate the help.
 
Buy it, there are some classics in there....

1 x Bolivar Coronas Junior...Great example of what the 'Bolivar taste' is all about, albeit with training wheels
1 x H.Upmann No.2...nice contrast to the Monti #2, a little more bite in the same size
1 x Hoyo Petit Robusto...the quintessential quick smoke with the Hoyo nuttiness. Great w/cup of coffee
1 x Jose La Piedra Cazadores...the epitome of a budget smoke, the best 'yardgar' on the planet
1 x Montecristo No.2.....When these are on, Heaven on Earth! This is what cigar smoking is all about
1 x Montecristo No.4...in this size, it's the Gold Standard when running on all cylinders
1 x Partagas Serie D No.4...If you look at the bulk of CC as medium smokes, this one is a little heavier hitter
1 x Romeo y Julieta Mille Fleurs...one of my favorite morning smokes, milder with lots of flavor. Boxes are hit or miss though.
1 x Romeo y Julieta Short Churchills...RyJ's little jewel. A spicier Hoyo Epy #2
1 x San Cristobal La Fuerza...I love this brand. Their earthy, pure tobacco, milder flavors are just the perfect match with a beer

Seriously, this is a great sampler as a starting point...I'd buy two so you can zone in on the flavors of each. Worth every nickel.
 
Wow Gary thank you so much for the detail and time you put into your post. That's is exactly the info I was looking for. As luck my have it, if you buy 3 sets its $220 minus a $5 coupon I got when I signed up for the newsletter. $240 shipped for 3 sets and you guys are right I needed 2-3 to gauge for sure.

I really really appreciate your insight.
 
Agree with the other posts, and as others have mentioned, consider buying two or three of those samplers, so you can home in on the sticks.

I've got quite a few of those in the cabinet, it's a really nice sampling. As Gary said, there are some real classics in there.
 
Wow Gary thank you so much for the detail and time you put into your post. That's is exactly the info I was looking for. As luck my have it, if you buy 3 sets its $220 minus a $5 coupon I got when I signed up for the newsletter. $240 shipped for 3 sets and you guys are right I needed 2-3 to gauge for sure.

I really really appreciate your insight.
Perfect solution...you'll be glad you did! I'd really like to read your quick impressions of each cigar as a relative newcomer to some of these brands.

It's very cool to read what others think...and it's fascinating how different each person's pallet is. That's why as you travel around and meet fellow cigar smokers and talk about the different brands, you occasionally find a person that shares the same results to cigars you both smoke. Once you find those people, together you become each other's sounding board when you look for recommendations for new cigars. I have met a few in my travels and more times than not, when we recommend cigars to each other, it turns out to be right on the money.

Isy (Uptown Isy) is like that here for me. When he recommends a cigar to me, I'd say 95% of the time I like it too...yet we still occasionally disagree with certain smokes. Tom (BBS) and I share a relatively close taste in cigars, but he was indoctrinated into cigar smoking with the stronger Nicaraguan smokes and that still is his passion. But as BsOTL, I turn him on to different smokes (mostly broad spectrum taste profiles) and he sends me some cigars to try that I normally wouldn't think of smoking because he's confident that I will enjoy them. And then there are times we send cigars to each other that disappoint and we are looking for a validation of our impressions. Very cool stuff!!

How many times we read about how great a cigar is by one of the hundreds of online reviewers (most of which are self anointed "cigar tasting experts' with many months of cigar smoking experience) only to smoke a few and find it doesn't suit your tastes? That's why the social aspect of discussing cigars is so cool versus lighting up in our backyards alone on a consistent basis. And that's why a good & trusted online cigar forum is so important as well, finding 'like people' that share your taste point-of-view. That's why going to a herf is so cool, roaming around talking to dozens of cigar smokers in search of a 'taste brother'...there's nothing more fun within this passion of ours!

The flip side to this is when you have a close cigar smoking buddy who's tastes are completely different than yours. When I see that Jesus (MOBIG) really likes a cigar, good chance I won't buy it because I know he consistently likes very powerful cigars more than I do. His recommendations cause my stomach to twitch and my mouth to fill up with volumes of saliva. No bueno! Yet we still hang out and talk cigars like we're brothers because each of us has that different perspective on the same thing. It's through this communal interaction we get to know each other better and that's what cigar smoking is all about! Be social and making friends.

Good luck on your journey and get back to the group and tell us what your impressions are. :cool:
 
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