a rant, and a plea..,

[javajunkie]

take a look at the oliva v featured above. provided is a tat 7th for scale, and a palio. this smoke was recently, and generously, given to me. having just nabbed a(nother) box of #4, and considering the lancero as well, this beautiful smoke seemed to me to be a god send. a corona gorda! hell, a 5.75x46 perfecto, rivaling my first wow cigar, the AF hemmingway. an absolutely perfect find for me!

then i did some digging, read and surfed a little (thanks brooksie&co at halfwheel for the list of diadems). this is NOT a regular production smoke, but rather something that they made for a sampler. actually got a chance to talk to a really nice guy, ian, from oliva, who said they would likely never make this smoke again. "they don't sell". so i find a blend i love in a size that is perfect for me, just to know i will never be able to make this a go to in any sense, despite the fact that the serie v is usually super affordable for what it is. so, i say to myself, "well f#@k me."

i really do hate it, but i can understand it. you walk in to any shop, the hog leg smokes WILL have more space. more companies will make over 60 than under 50. and more shops will chose to carry a robusto over a corona, a gordo over a lonsdale. because THEY SELL.

i realize that i smoke more than the average smoker. i sample more brands than average. by and large, we are the farthest edge of the consumer bell curve: once a year on one end, cigar trading LE chasing net nerds on the other, and the median point is a guy who smokes one brand, or three, on a regular basis, hell or high water. and it IS a business. manufacturers, distributors, b&m owners all eat on the cash they generate off this. the craft and the art inspire and drive, but bills got to get paid. and, in my bell curve scenario, the most purchasing power is always going to be in the middle.

still, there is some response. there are more smaller companies, and smaller lines within bigger companies, including the more restrained sizes in their set, and doing them well. hell, with oliva's #4, it was a limited, but it was an open release, and you can still hunt some if you need to. single store and single region releases also offer venues to do something more niche, rather than for joe stogie at the median point.

in the end, if you like a smaller size, support it. buy it in the b&m, buy it on the net, TELL PEOPLE about it (your friends at guys night, or random dude you are chatting with in a lounge), tell INDUSTRY people about it, but back it up with your bucks. all the people in the industry make money off our happiness, an hour or two at a time, and if they can see themselves making money by making more traditional sizes, they will.

but then again, it could just be me. thoughts?

 

[ATL]

Let me guess, make more of these? If so, I agree.

 

[thejavaman]

Good rant....totally agree on all points.

 

[Hoshneer]

Is that the one that was made for the European market? I was thinking I heard that somewhere.

 

[Reelman]

I agree with the premise. As is typically the case in most businesses, the producers go with what pushes the volume and margins. I understand it, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. I would think that the producers/distributors would look at a one-off as an opportunity to expand the market in general, and the fans in particular.

I am also on the outside of that bell curve. I like the smaller RG. I like more of a medium smoke. Don't really like the pepper. Like you, I am a huge Hemmingway fan. I don't find a lot of NC that I like, plus the market is moving to 60 RG; who has that size mouth?

This is also becoming an issue with the ISOM. They are cutting vitolas from many of the marcas. Soon it will be a one-size-fits-all Cuaba, whether you like it or not!

You can call it "old school", but its never a good idea to drop sizes, vitolas and tastes just to appeal to a newer market; you end up losing the market that made you famous in the first place.

 

[fourkicksfan]

Truth I loved the no. 4 and bought out my b&m possibly never to be seen again...sad face.

 

[javajunkie]

Is that the one that was made for the European market? I was thinking I heard that somewhere.

actually, that is a big somonabich, more of a salamone, IIRC. the good kids at halfwheel did a write up. included is a list of all the oliva diadems, including this guy.

 

[StogieNinja]

I've got a couple of those in my humi. I too was quite sad to learn that they're not available by the box!

And Ian over there at Oliva is one heck of a great BOTL!

 

[Tobacco Giant]

I'm a big fan of standard robusto 5x50, but that being said it is a little frustrating, particularly with the Oliva V as all of the regular releases are 54+, excluding the lancero (a size I'm not a huge fan of).

Nice Rant.

 

[Rock]

I am right there with you JJ and Reeman!

 

[CigarGavin]

As a lover of the lancero I understand where your coming from; we represent a weird area of smokers. Usual smokers will pay based on size, which is why the larger smokes sell; small price tag larger/longer smoke. As web lookers/event chasers/LE seeking smokers we are willing to pay for flavor/size/brand/etc. I found a lancero I love that was a LE a few years ago and just found more at almost double the price the other day, and I bought them without hesitation. We are always going to have a hard time finding certain sizes and blends that we love even though companies have many, many, many yearly releases (viaje, tatuaje) to keep us interested and cater almost exclusively to us; and then when we find one we love we find a few boxes, run out and are forced to move on.

I was close to finding a "regular release" that suited me in the Cuenca y Blanco (CyB) "lonsdale"; being the closest thing to a lancero just a bit shorter I lead towards it when a new cigar comes out to try the blend. I was looking forward to it until I saw the actual size... 6 1/2x 44... basically a lonsdale but instead of a 42 RG a 44 RG. while that isnt a bad thing in terms of the convo, to me that was just another way the companies are catering to the average smoker, if it was a 40-42 RG not enough people would buy it, which is sad because im sure a lot of us would have, including me.

Sorry about the additional rant, not a huge deal with the CyB, just agree that more smaller ring gauge cigars would be nice :awholelot

 

[CasualStogie]

I second the rant and no worries on the additional one CigarGavin. It's a shame that not everyone who tries smoking a cigar will understand how to enjoy it fully. I know of a few people off hand- friends- who have had one or two smokes, probably inferior ones, probably sucked them to death with a cherry blazing like an inferno throughout the entire thing, who now claim they don't like cigars. :hammersmaNo one likes that! Who has taste buds that esteem charcoal? But, nevertheless, those cigar patrons who, like my sad, uneducated friends here, still mosy on over to the B&M every month to grab a few 60RG sticks that they saw puff daddy smoking in his latest video in hopes that they can, one day, be as cool as him haven't really understood what smoking a cigar is about. Let's reiterate this=:hammersma. Therefore, we who have taken extra measures to reap all possible enjoyment and beauty from this wonderful gift of fermented leaves are left in the dust scrapping for the gems amongst the rock. If it were not for the bell curve, every B&M might be a jewelry store. But, alas, my hope remains that Heaven's B&M stocks the good stuff. :innocent:

 

[dtbach]

There is strength in numbers. Perhaps if 15 or 20 of you would promise to buy 3-4 boxes, Oliva might be willing to roll some sticks of your size choice. An instant sale for them and you get what you want.

Just a thought.

 

[StogieNinja]

There is strength in numbers. Perhaps if 15 or 20 of you would promise to buy 3-4 boxes, Oliva might be willing to roll some sticks of your size choice. An instant sale for them and you get what you want.

Just a thought.

That would actually be awesome, but I think it would have to be a lot more than the max of 80 boxes for it to make a difference to Oliva's bottom line, or to even make it worth it for them to do.

 

[dtbach]

Never hurts to ask? Doesn't seem like it would be a large cost for them to have a roller take a day to roll the size you want. Especially if no band or special box was required. If they want to please some very dedicated cigar buyers, get a nice boost in word of mouth advertising, who knows.

Never hurts to ask.

 

[mdwest]

I'm a big fan of standard robusto 5x50

me too... robusto (or other vitolas that are very close in length & RG) probably represents a full 50% of the sticks I currently have on hand..

I like a couple of big RG things.. been a big fan of NUB lately for instance.. but this is the exception for me.. not the rule..

next to robusto.. Ive probably got more petit corona and corona (and similar vitolas) than anything else..

Im definitely a fan of shorter, thinner, sticks..

 

[Skitalets]

I'm with you all on this.

I think people should smoke what they like, but I don't even understand how someone gets through a 6x60 cigar on a regular basis. For me, it's like the "A" size cigars I smoke--I buy them occasionally, knowing I will smoke one, at most two, per year. A 6x60 would take me a similar 2-3 hours to get through. Are the adherents of this cigar throwing half the stick away, or puffing every ten seconds?? I know the average cigar smoker does not puff slowly like a cigar snob, but damn!

 

[javajunkie]

and, just to clarify, i am not opposed to 6x60, or whatever it may be next. i have had a few i like. they are great yard gars, or golf, as they require no maintenance. and you gotta start somewhere: more people start with a big a$$ cup of dunkin that a demi of espresso.

and, if any of the oliva crew troll here, single store release? canhaz, plz? o) had to ask!

 

[Simian504]

Check yer pm's bruv. Thinks I found you a link.