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So I'm a relatively new guy here. My experience with cigars spans 20 years, but those were not regular smokes. They were limited to a spring fishing trip and a fall hunting trip. Add in my eternal "rookie ignorance", I dont think I smoked many good cigars over 20 years, or if I did, I didnt know any better.

Fast forward to this summer... I planned my second trip to Canada for waterfowling, and I decided to get serious about figuring out cigars. Trips to the B&Ms yield a variety of singles that I work through while mowing the acreage or relaxing in the few moments the wife and kids didnt demand attention. I narrow the choices down to a dozen or so...

Canada gives great hunts, good company, and a daily pour of bourbon paired with a cigar. Now I'm really interested...

After Canada, my trips to the B&Ms are still buying singles, admittedly somewhat randomly, due to the selection I'm not familiar with. Add in the online cigar sites that have everything made, my head is spinning... I assume we were all in this position at some point.

That brings us to the present... I find this awesome site with so many experienced cigar guys, but I still dont know my ass from a hole in the ground. I look through the Todays Cigars and COTY 2018 threads, and I recognize 1 in 1000 sticks mentioned. I've read many of the threads documenting brands, but they read like an encyclopedia- great info for those who understand it.

I'm looking for input to help wade through the endless variety of cigars available, both locally and online. I'm learning what I like, but that's irrelevant for the intent of this thread. I'm looking for opinions of the various brands, and their specific offerings. The wealth of knowledge here, understanding the variation in preferences, could really help navigate the confusing selection that confronts the inexperienced...

SOOO... Anyone willing to take a brand, or, in the case of the Majors, a line of cigars, and share your experiences? I see stuff like Tatuaje thrown around, but when you go looking, there are 100 options. Or, even worse, a brand like Fuente, with 1000 options when you explore the various related brands.

This thread may be a blip on the BOTL radar, or, if participation is good, a future reference for others in my position. I'd really appreciate input to shorten my learning curve... I just hate to look at a list of cigars and just have no clue.
 
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First I’d like to say that this is a very well thought out post, excellent job. Secondly, I myself am in the same boat as you. I’ve basically been stopping in every couple days and grabbing a stick or 3 that someone has mentioned or that seems to be a fan favorite of the brothers. I can’t say what’s good and why it’s good, just know what I like and what I don’t. Don’t have a fancy palate, well not yet anyway if ever. I think the beauty of the smoke is that what one guy may love, another may not. Just go into it with an open mind.
 
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So I'm a relatively new guy here. My experience with cigars spans 20 years, but those were not regular smokes. They were limited to a spring fishing trip and a fall hunting trip. Add in my eternal "rookie ignorance", I dont think I smoked many good cigars over 20 years, or if I did, I didnt know any better.

Fast forward to this summer... I'm planning my second trip to Canada for waterfowling, and I decide to get serious about figuring out cigars. Trips to the B&Ms yield a variety of singles that I work through while mowing the acreage or relaxing in the few moments the wife and kids didnt demand attention. I narrow the choices down to a dozen or so...

Canada gives great hunts, good company, and a daily pour of bourbon paired with a cigar. Now I'm really interested...

After Canada, my trips to the B&Ms are still buying singles, admittedly somewhat randomly, due to the selection I'm not familiar with. Add in the online cigar sites that have everything made, my head is spinning... I assume we were all in this position at some point.

That brings us to the present... I find this awesome site with so many experienced cigar guys, but I still dont know my ass from a hole in the ground. I look through the Todays Cigars and COTY 2018 threads, and I recognize 1 in 1000 sticks mentioned. I've read many of the threads documenting brands, but they read like an encyclopedia- great info for those who understand it.

I'm looking for input to help wade through the endless variety of cigars available, both locally and online. I'm learning what I like, but that's irrelevant for the intent of this thread. I'm looking for opinions of the various brands, and their specific offerings. The wealth of knowledge here, understanding the variation in preferences, could really help navigate the confusing selection that confronts the inexperienced...

SOOO... Anyone willing to take a brand, or, in the case of the Majors, a line of cigars, and share your experiences? I see stuff like Tatuaje thrown around, but when you go looking, there are 100 options. Or, even worse, a brand like Fuente, with 1000 options when you explore the various related brands.

This thread may be a blip on the BOTL radar, or, if participation is good, a future reference for others in my position. I'd really appreciate input to shorten my learning curve... I just hate to look at a list of cigars and just have no clue.
It's been mentioned in other threads, and it's worth mentioning again...try everything you can, it's the only way to figure out what you like. What tastes great for me may not be the same for you.
Check out reviews of different cigars, read thru the today's smoke thread to see what others are smoking.
When you're at your B&M ask for advice, a good shop should ask you what flavors you like and make recommendations.
When you smoke a cigar, try to concentrate on the cigar, take notes of what you like and don't like.
Try to avoid the bid site's, it's too easy to get in to trouble.
I'm sure more experienced brothers can add more information

I'd recommend Crowned Heads la Careme or Jericho Hill.
Oliva serie v Melino
My Father
CAO Brazilia
Larranaga Reserve
Cornelius and Anthony
Caldwell
Florez y Rodriguez are a great budget stick usually under $2 each
 
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I am not a veteran here, but welcome and enjoy the journey.
Taking notes on country of origin and wrapper will help you to find what fits your own pallette.
My first reccomendation is Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust (DTT), Steve Saka blends some very good cigars.
Some can be quite pricey, so start with the least expensive and work your way up from there.
Crowned Heads has a lot of different blends to try also.
Just my 2 cents for today.
 
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There are no short cuts, you have to smoke a lot of cigars. When I started getting serious about cigars I kept a small journal where I took a few notes on each cigar and glued the band to the page. But I’m a dork. I read a lot of reviews, watched a lot of video reviews of the cigar I was smoking, and read this forum everyday. After a few years I figured out what I liked and what I didn’t like.

Look for brand samplers from online vendors. Small Batch is a site sponsor with a good variety of samplers to wet your beak with.
 
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Also, personally, I like most cigars blended by Don Pepin Garcia and AJ Fernandez. They produce their own lines and blend for a lot of other sellers.

If you’re just looking for a list of brands to try, these are some you’ll find at a popular around here and samplers are readily available:

Crowned Heads
Warped
Black Label Trading Co
Curivari
Espinosa, especially Laranga
Illusione (my personal favorite)
My Father
Padron
Tatuaje
Roma Craft
Cornelius & Anthony
Foundation Cigars
 
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I am not a veteran here, but welcome and enjoy the journey.
Taking notes on country of origin and wrapper will help you to find what fits your own pallette.
My first reccomendation is Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust (DTT), Steve Saka blends some very good cigars.
Some can be quite pricey, so start with the least expensive and work your way up from there.
Crowned Heads has a lot of different blends to try also.
Just my 2 cents for today.
Thanks. That's good info. Is there one in particular from those brands that typifies their style? A particularly good one? I get that tastes differ, but if I try one you like, I can compare my tastes to yours and better decide which to try going forward...
It's been mentioned in other threads, and it's worth mentioning again...try everything you can, it's the only way to figure out what you like. What tastes great for me may not be the same for you.
Check out reviews of different cigars, read thru the today's smoke thread to see what others are smoking.
When you're at your B&M ask for advice, a good shop should ask you what flavors you like and make recommendations.
When you smoke a cigar, try to concentrate on the cigar, take notes of what you like and don't like.
Try to avoid the bid site's, it's too easy to get in to trouble.
I'm sure more experienced brothers can add more information
Thanks for the response. I get that everyone's tastes vary, but, by seeing preferences from others, then trying them, I can figure out whose tastes are similar.

I guess what I'm looking for is someone to take a brand, say CAO, and discuss the ones they've tried, which they liked, and which they would suggest as a gateway cigar for the brand. I know CAO fairly well, and would suggest Brasilia as a good entry into the brand. I also liked Colombia, Flathead 660. Wasn't big on the MX2. I've got a sampler from them I'll continue to explore, including a Amazon series.

Given that info, and any further input by others on CAO, newbies can see a easy direction to go for CAO, based on my experience. Compared to single pics in the Today's Cigar thread (which I don't know 75% of the cigars), it's a much more confident leap into the brand. If it doesnt fit, then make note and move on...

Again, thanks for the response.
 

kit_luce

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Thanks. That's good info. Is there one in particular from those brands that typifies their style? A particularly good one? I get that tastes differ, but if I try one you like, I can compare my tastes to yours and better decide which to try going forward...
Thanks for the response. I get that everyone's tastes vary, but, by seeing preferences from others, then trying them, I can figure out whose tastes are similar.

I guess what I'm looking for is someone to take a brand, say CAO, and discuss the ones they've tried, which they liked, and which they would suggest as a gateway cigar for the brand. I know CAO fairly well, and would suggest Brasilia as a good entry into the brand. I also liked Colombia, Flathead 660. Wasn't big on the MX2. I've got a sampler from them I'll continue to explore, including a Amazon series.

Given that info, and any further input by others on CAO, newbies can see a easy direction to go for CAO, based on my experience. Compared to single pics in the Today's Cigar thread (which I don't know 75% of the cigars), it's a much more confident leap into the brand. If it doesnt fit, then make note and move on...

Again, thanks for the response.
I was/am in the same boat from you, the issue I find is that with the smaller brands like my father, black label, tatuaje, etc, they are all good lol. If you want to know what is maybe the flagship or iconic smoke from brands you are going to have to ask veterans lol. One I can recommend is the chateau series from fuente, it is supposed to be the entry point of the fuente line.
 
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Thanks. That's good info. Is there one in particular from those brands that typifies their style? A particularly good one? I get that tastes differ, but if I try one you like, I can compare my tastes to yours and better decide which to try going forward...
Thanks for the response. I get that everyone's tastes vary, but, by seeing preferences from others, then trying them, I can figure out whose tastes are similar.

I guess what I'm looking for is someone to take a brand, say CAO, and discuss the ones they've tried, which they liked, and which they would suggest as a gateway cigar for the brand. I know CAO fairly well, and would suggest Brasilia as a good entry into the brand. I also liked Colombia, Flathead 660. Wasn't big on the MX2. I've got a sampler from them I'll continue to explore, including a Amazon series.

Given that info, and any further input by others on CAO, newbies can see a easy direction to go for CAO, based on my experience. Compared to single pics in the Today's Cigar thread (which I don't know 75% of the cigars), it's a much more confident leap into the brand. If it doesnt fit, then make note and move on...

Again, thanks for the response.
Crowned HHeads. la Careme and Jericho Hill
Curivari. Gloria de Leon
Olivia serie v Melino
Cornelius and Anthony. Meridian
Espinosa Laranja Reserve
Florez y Rodriguez Maduro or Habano
My Father la gran offers
La Barba Purple
Those would be my recommendations
 
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As others have said, you really should find you're own path, so to speak. But on the other hand, part of me thinks this thread is calling out for someone like @Glassman or @irratebass . :)

To help them out, @gurgalunas , name a few you have you tried/liked?
The ones I've enjoyed have been varied. I like the DE Undercrown series, some CAO (Brasilia, Colombia), Fuente Work of Art was good, my favorite was MF The Judge.

I guess what I'm going for is that some threads seemed geared towards those that already know all the brands. Its intimidating to those of us that dont. A pic doesn't tell us much, especially when every post is different.

I want to try a lot of cigars, just hoped that a good gateway cigar for each brand could be offered to shorten the chase.

I'm a big bourbon fan, and could easily list bottles from each distillery to push a novice down the path of discovery, or at least save them from wasting money on the dogs...
 

Glassman

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It's been mentioned in other threads, and it's worth mentioning again...try everything you can, it's the only way to figure out what you like. What tastes great for me may not be the same for you.
Check out reviews of different cigars, read thru the today's smoke thread to see what others are smoking.
When you're at your B&M ask for advice, a good shop should ask you what flavors you like and make recommendations.
When you smoke a cigar, try to concentrate on the cigar, take notes of what you like and don't like.
Try to avoid the bid site's, it's too easy to get in to trouble.
I'm sure more experienced brothers can add more information

I'd recommend Crowned Heads la Careme or Jericho Hill.
Oliva serie v Melino
My Father
CAO Brazilia
Larranaga Reserve
Cornelius and Anthony
Caldwell
Florez y Rodriguez are a great budget stick usually under $2 each
Great advice. Good recommendations.
I am not a veteran here, but welcome and enjoy the journey.
Taking notes on country of origin and wrapper will help you to find what fits your own pallette.
My first reccomendation is Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust (DTT), Steve Saka blends some very good cigars.
Some can be quite pricey, so start with the least expensive and work your way up from there.
Crowned Heads has a lot of different blends to try also.
Just my 2 cents for today.
Great advice. SSobremesa is excellent to me, as is MI Querida. The various blends will just find their fans among different palates.
There are no short cuts, you have to smoke a lot of cigars. When I started getting serious about cigars I kept a small journal where I took a few notes on each cigar and glued the band to the page. But I’m a dork. I read a lot of reviews, watched a lot of video reviews of the cigar I was smoking, and read this forum everyday. After a few years I figured out what I liked and what I didn’t like.

Look for brand samplers from online vendors. Small Batch is a site sponsor with a good variety of samplers to wet your beak with.
Great Advice.
As others have said, you really should find you're own path, so to speak. But on the other hand, part of me thinks this thread is calling out for someone like @Glassman or @irratebass . :)
Terrible advice. ;)
Also, personally, I like most cigars blended by Don Pepin Garcia and AJ Fernandez. They produce their own lines and blend for a lot of other sellers.

If you’re just looking for a list of brands to try, these are some you’ll find at a popular around here and samplers are readily available:

Crowned Heads
Warped
Black Label Trading Co
Curivari
Espinosa, especially Laranga
Illusione (my personal favorite)
My Father
Padron
Tatuaje
Roma Craft
Cornelius & Anthony
Foundation Cigars
Excellent point. Great Recommendations.
Illusione, so freaking good. I have never been disappointed with one of their sticks, even when they don't align with my preferences, they're still great.
Foundation only has a few lines, but great stuff. You'll just have to see what you like. I love El Gueguense natural and charter oak. Can't stand Tabernacle, but a lot of guys like it.
You'll just have to try the Roma crafts, they do great work, the intemperance BA stands out as best to me, but you may prefer another.
I was/am in the same boat from you, the issue I find is that with the smaller brands like my father, black label, tatuaje, etc, they are all good lol. If you want to know what is maybe the flagship or iconic smoke from brands you are going to have to ask veterans lol. One I can recommend is the chateau series from fuente, it is supposed to be the entry point of the fuente line.
Good point.
Crowned HHeads. la Careme and Jericho Hill
Curivari. Gloria de Leon
Olivia serie v Melino
Cornelius and Anthony. Meridian
Espinosa Laranja Reserve
Florez y Rodriguez Maduro or Habano
My Father la gran offers
La Barba Purple
Those would be my recommendations
Good recommendations. I'd also
Say aerial and Cornelius from C&A.

Updated with more detail, gunga-ungalagoonga
 
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Glassman

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The ones I've enjoyed have been varied. I like the DE Undercrown series, some CAO (Brasilia, Colombia), Fuente Work of Art was good, my favorite was MF The Judge.

I guess what I'm going for is that some threads seemed geared towards those that already know all the brands. Its intimidating to those of us that dont. A pic doesn't tell us much, especially when every post is different.

I want to try a lot of cigars, just hoped that a good gateway cigar for each brand could be offered to shorten the chase.

I'm a big bourbon fan, and could easily list bottles from each distillery to push a novice down the path of discovery, or at least save them from wasting money on the dogs...
It seems overwhelming initially, but you're on the right track now and it will continue to get clearer as you dig into it.

Today's smoke and top 25 may seem overwhelming, but compared to what's out there it really helps you whittle it down.

Some blenders generally have a similar flavor profile style that seems to carry across their lines. How much it seems that way seems to depend on palate.
To some of us AJ Fernandez work seems to really show that, but he has some stand outs. Ie:last call Habano, and H. Upmann by AJ. His RyJ isn't bad either.
A lot of people enjoy some of his budget lines Ave Maria (not my cup of tea, but honestly not bad) and Diesel (Many love them, I'm not a fan, especially the "rage" :yuck:)

To me Fuentes all have a very similar flavor, that I don't particularly care for. All the way up to Opus.
But it's not so bad with their entry level stuff once in a while, (8-5-8, short story, WOAM) (I prefer their maduro, don't really enjoy their Cameroon) but for a similar flavor on their higher end expensive stuff, no thanks, not for me. But you see plenty of guys that really enjoy it.
All depends on your palate. Which unfortunately can shift and change as you smoke more. And more consciously.
As was already mentioned, keeping a cigar journal, making notes of what you like and don't like, along with blend info, will really help you figure things out.

Repeating what others said, try all the crowned heads lines, there's not too many, but all pretty well done, and buy more of the ones you like. For me that's Luminosa, four kicks, Jericho hill and LA Careme. Again, not a big fan of the Dominican flavor, so Hedley grange is out. (oddly, La flor Dominica seems to make some great stuff that doesn't knock you across the face as distinctly Dominican, even though it primarily is. La Nox, and air Bender are winners for me)
Oh, based on some of the other stuff you like, you'll probably really enjoy the Tennessee waltz and Texas Yellow Rose if you can grab some.

BLTC does good work across the board, killer bee and rorschach are standouts to me, but trying a sampler wouldn't be a bad idea.

Espinosa does great work. Same advice. With laranja being an obvious standout. But doesn't expect the other lines to be similar.

Peter Johnson may have a style, but he does cover a lot of ground, and it's almost all good. You can start with any brown label, 7th capa, or get his sampler from Atlantic. his more obscure lines make up a large portion of my favorites. Everything under the L'atelier umbrella particularly the original natural and maduro. As well as Cabaiguan.

Sorry, it's kind of a wide open question and hard to nail down in one comment, but you've gotten some great advice here and it will start to become clearer. Do avoid most of the bargain samplers on the bigger sites, they're mostly garbage.
There's some good samplers
here - https://atlanticcigar.com/search.php?search_query=Pete+Johnson+sampler
You also would not be remiss to pick up the curivari sampler at Atlantic.

Oh, Brazilian tobacco is tasty, and CAO generally does good work for a big company brand, hence the quality of the Brazilia and the Amazon lines. Good stuff.

CAO flatheads are good as well, and will suit you I think.
 
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I'm gonna make a slightly different suggestion. First, I agree with the "smoke everything" approach, as that's part of the journey and trying a new smoke is always fun. You get one chance to try a new cigar for the first time, so make the most of each of those opportunities.

For those looking for a little bit more direction than "smoke all the cigars", there have been some good brands recommended here, brands that are popular on the forum for good reason. But instead of recommending my favorites among those brands, I'm going to say start with their core lines and then decide which brands you'd like to smoke more of next. You won't always be able to get a feel for what a brand has to offer by doing it that way, but at least it gives you a starting point and a little bit of direction, hopefully while still smoking everything eventually
 
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It seems overwhelming initially, but you're on the right track now and it will continue to get clearer as you dig into it.

Today's smoke and top 25 may seem overwhelming, but compared to what's out there it really helps you whittle it down.

Some blenders generally have a similar flavor profile style that seems to carry across their lines. How much it seems that way seems to depend on palate.
To some of us AJ Fernandez work seems to really show that, but he has some stand outs. Ie:last call Habano, and H. Upmann by AJ. His RyJ isn't bad either.
A lot of people enjoy some of his budget lines Ave Maria (not my cup of tea, but honestly not bad) and Diesel (Many love them, I'm not a fan, especially the "rage" :yuck:)

To me Fuentes all have a very similar flavor, that I don't particularly care for. All the way up to Opus.
But it's not so bad with their entry level stuff once in a while, (8-5-8, short story, WOAM) (I prefer their maduro, don't really enjoy their Cameroon) but for a similar flavor on their higher end expensive stuff, no thanks, not for me. But you see plenty of guys that really enjoy it.
All depends on your palate. Which unfortunately can shift and change as you smoke more. And more consciously.
As was already mentioned, keeping a cigar journal, making notes of what you like and don't like, along with blend info, will really help you figure things out.

Repeating what others said, try all the crowned heads lines, there's not too many, but all pretty well done, and buy more of the ones you like. For me that's Luminosa, four kicks, Jericho hill and LA Careme. Again, not a big fan of the Dominican flavor, so Hedley grange is out. (oddly, La flor Dominica seems to make some great stuff that doesn't knock you across the face as distinctly Dominican, even though it primarily is. La Nox, and air Bender are winners for me)
Oh, based on some of the other stuff you like, you'll probably really enjoy the Tennessee waltz and Texas Yellow Rose if you can grab some.

BLTC does good work across the board, killer bee and rorschach are standouts to me, but trying a sampler wouldn't be a bad idea.

Espinosa does great work. Same advice. With laranja being an obvious standout. But doesn't expect the other lines to be similar.

Peter Johnson may have a style, but he does cover a lot of ground, and it's almost all good. You can start with any brown label, 7th capa, or get his sampler from Atlantic. his more obscure lines make up a large portion of my favorites. Everything under the L'atelier umbrella particularly the original natural and maduro. As well as Cabaiguan.

Sorry, it's kind of a wide open question and hard to nail down in one comment, but you've gotten some great advice here and it will start to become clearer. Do avoid most of the bargain samplers on the bigger sites, they're mostly garbage.
There's some good samplers
here - https://atlanticcigar.com/search.php?search_query=Pete Johnson sampler
You also would not be remiss to pick up the curivari sampler at Atlantic.

Oh, Brazilian tobacco is tasty, and CAO generally does good work for a big company brand, hence the quality of the Brazilia and the Amazon lines. Good stuff.

CAO flatheads are good as well, and will suit you I think.
Hah!
I rest my case.
:finger::ROFLMAO:
 

Glassman

Glass Gars Guns Garden
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Oh! My father cigars, they cover a lot of ground, but the - Le Bijou 1922 is iconic and delicious and generally well liked across the board. Absolute Must Try.
DPG Blue also has a big following, and many people like the Jamie Garcia.
I think the Cuban classic is pretty good, and the Vegas Cubana is great with some age on it.

So, you've got your work cut out for you @gurgalunas, but it's fun work.
You can spend a year or 2 and fill up a cooler or two trying all these, but it's honestly better than trying everything in the shop or ending up with boxes of mediocre stuff from the online sites. If you end up with some fivers of stuff you don't like, you can always push them off on some other poor sap, they may actually even like them. ;)
 
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My tastes are fairly specific and it took trying a ton of different cigars over many years to find what I really like. That said said I tend toward full bodied cigars in the medium and above range, so Nicaraguan tobacco seems to suit me best. It was mentioned above that a lot of Fuente cigars taste similar and I would agree to the extent that most of their light wrapper offerings use Cameroon wrappers, which have a sharp pencil lead flavor to me so I don't like them. Their Maduro and Sungrown wrapped models are much better for me. Good advice above, try lots of different cigars to find what is best to your taste.

My current go to brands/models are:
Cornelius and Anthony Ariel and Mistress
Black Label Trading Killer Bee, Green Hornet, and Last Rites
Fuente Opus X (smaller ring gauge models) on occasion (Dominican)
Davidoff Colorado Claro (Dominican)
La Careme Corona Larga (I think that's what it's called)
Warped Guardian of the Farm Apollo, Lirio Rojo, and Flor del Valle
Caldwell Hit and Run, Midnight Express
Foundation Tabernacle

Brands I'm still exploring
Casa Fernandez makes a lot of good ones, no specific stand out for me yet
Hiram and Solomon, need to try more of these as well

Tatuaje make a lot of very good cigars, but after smoking from the many lines for years they all started tasting the same to me

I buy mostly from smallbatchcigars.com, Famous and cigarking.com. Small Batch and Famous are site sponsors.
 
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Bingo. Lots of good responses- thanks to all of you. I've got a fair number of those mentioned already in the humidor, and lots more to follow up on. Thanks for the direction, I know I've got some "work" to do, but this has made me more confident that I'm on the right track. I don't smoke often enough to move through a list in a hurry, so I guess I'll have to be patient...

A few recent purchases seem to follow the recommendations given. MF le bijou, la opulencia, judge. DPG Blue. Tat Cojonu. Looked for BLT, but none of the B&M had even heard of them...

Again, thanks a bunch.
 
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