Boutique vs. Big Brand
- Thread starter btowens
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BrandonP
Cigar King Scottsdale
I can't say I prefer one of the other. I love Tat, Illusione, and Curivari but I also enjoy a good Padron, Fuente, Drew Estate and probably smoke about even between the 2. The nice thing is there is so much out there.
javajunkie
BoM July '12
i prefer good cigars made by people who care, that match my palate and mood.
seriously, most of the big two (altadis and general) leave me flat. then again, they do pull one off now and again: love the vega fina sumum, and still have a few partagas benji majestuosos.
end of the day, i treasure limited's(opi, liga, monsters), but fall in love with good regular productions (magnumR & hemingways, undercrown, 7th and fausto). show your style on the every day, you get my cash when you kick it up.
EDIT: btw, good question! kinda broad, but good. o)
seriously, most of the big two (altadis and general) leave me flat. then again, they do pull one off now and again: love the vega fina sumum, and still have a few partagas benji majestuosos.
end of the day, i treasure limited's(opi, liga, monsters), but fall in love with good regular productions (magnumR & hemingways, undercrown, 7th and fausto). show your style on the every day, you get my cash when you kick it up.
EDIT: btw, good question! kinda broad, but good. o)
Hard to pick with such a broad question. There are a number of highly-produced, big name smokes that I love. Then there are companies like Warped who I root for more than anybody... not only are they relatively unknown and a fantastic product, they represent what I wish the entire industry was.
Seems most of the time I will sway boutique... There are exceptions though.
^^^^^^^^^yes^^^^^^^
As a very general statement, I feel that boutique cigar manufactures have better cigars cause there the "underdogs" with something to prove. You can tell the care. Some major companies have it, but I prefer boutique.
gibbleguts
BoM april 09
Almost 50/50 but altadis has hand in some of the greatest recent production cigars I have smoked so really hard to say there is anything wrong with them. For those that say altadis is crap remember they are massive and you just may be missing the good sticks.
danthebugman
BoM Nov '10
These questions were going through my mind as well. :dunno: I like what I like.
Dan
njstone
BoM January 2010
Couldn't have said it better myself!
I have really gotten into boutique brands recently. I like the close attention they seem to pay to the product. I have even received hand-written thank you notes from the owners of a couple of brands (e.g. 262 Cigars).
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
I let my own "tastes" tell me what is good. In this day and age advertising is what sends the message to others as to what they "should" like instead of letting us tailor our own tastes as to what we like. It's a good idea to expand your experience by trying private labels....as there are some amazing cigars out there that aren't advertised in the mainstream...don't limit yourself to Boutique brands.
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Good question. For my part I like to seek out different cigars that have potential... Some are from big producers, some boutique and some are house brands. Being open minded helps make sure I don't miss something that I might really like.
One caveat though; I've found that the really big producers (general and Altadis) can do very well in the mild to med-full range sometimes (Benji special, VF Sumum) but they can't seem to produce the complex full bodied smokes the small makers do so I tend to avoid their attempts in the "full" category.
One caveat though; I've found that the really big producers (general and Altadis) can do very well in the mild to med-full range sometimes (Benji special, VF Sumum) but they can't seem to produce the complex full bodied smokes the small makers do so I tend to avoid their attempts in the "full" category.
javajunkie
BoM July '12
john, i LOVE that you just pulled the only altadis and general smokes in my stash out of thin air like that! o)
I have to completely agree with this, well said, John.
Wonder where CC's fall into this category? Are they the ultimate "Big Producer", since they are all owned and ran in essence by the country, or are they considered a "boutique" in the states because they are considered harder to get? (Which they aren't.)
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Wonder where CC's fall into this category? Are they the ultimate "Big Producer", since they are all owned and ran in essence by the country, or are they considered a "boutique" in the states because they are considered harder to get? (Which they aren't.)[/QUOTE]
Good question. The ones I've had have been so good I've never thought about it!
Good question. The ones I've had have been so good I've never thought about it!
thebayratt
Satori's Dad "NTA_Shawn"
I smoke more boutique lines than anything. 7-20-4, Curivari, Cromagnon, Paul Stulac, Viaje, 262 etc...
Most Altadis cigars are not worth the price. A few Generals are ok; Hoya Dark Knights, Dark Sumatra, Punch Rare Corojo 10th.
Most Altadis cigars are not worth the price. A few Generals are ok; Hoya Dark Knights, Dark Sumatra, Punch Rare Corojo 10th.
I clearly favor the boutique brands. I'm almost embarassed to admit I've smoked very few big brand cigars. A few RyJ, a few Padrons...thats mostly it. Its honestly harder to find and point point whats good coming from the big brands.