Cigar preferences: evolve, cyclical, or seasonal?

[El Hoze]

I am wondering whether most people on here find their preferences in cigars evolve over time or are more cyclical/seasonal, or a bit of both? 

I find that with beer, as an example, my tastes have evolved/changed/narrowed. At one time my favorite beers were IPAs, hands down (I even named my dog in college "Sierra" after Sierra Nevada). These days I can hardly stand even a hoppier pale ale. And while every once in a while I'll be in mood for a darker ale, and I love a good Boon lambic w breakfast, these days I drink almost entirely lager beers, not too malty light on the hops. I don't ever see myself going back to drinking IPAs. I feel like my tastes have just evolved.

With wine, I have found it different. I have periods where I will drink more California Cabernets (for some reason in the warmer months?), then older California cabs, then I'll go into Barolo mode, maybe Valpolicellas, then to Bordeaux (both more of a winter thing), then back to the new world. It's kinda seasonal but definitely cyclical. 

Booze for me is totally seasonal, given I don't drink alot of it. I never drink Scotch in the summer, yet the first chilly day in Fall I usually think "finally Scotch season...and maybe paired with a nice Porter." It is totally seasonal. Rum on a cold day is unlikely (luckily I live in Miami). Tequila is always an option. 

I wonder where cigars fit in for you. Clearly those smoking outside in cooler areas may swap to smaller vitolas out of practicality in cooler months...

But I am more interested in if people find their tastes (vitola/size, aged/newer, flavor, marca, body) have evolved over time or are they more cycical/seasonal at this point. 

The reason for my question is in managing inventory. I have been finding that my preferences are shifting more towards "less age" which would have a big impact on how I manage my stock. I am wondering if this is more an "evolution" or a "cycle" for most. 

Thank in advance! 

[Troels]

Just as with food and wine im more likely to choose lighter flavour summertime than Winthertimes

[Guest Nekhyludov]

I find that the seasonality you described is true for me, but in reverse. I tend to smoke a lot of PCs and robustos in the summer because the weather is nice and it's easy to duck outside whenever I want. In the winter, however, smoking outside is a non-starter, so I have to drive (pretty far) to a lounge. So if I'm gonna make the trip, I'm gonna make it worth it by smoking a churchill or a DC. 

Beyond that, I go through phases where all I want to smoke are certain marcas - usually Upmann or Punch. Other times I'll have a phase where I just want to try new stuff. No real rhyme or reason to it that I can tell.

[canadianbeaver]

Great post to read! Thanks El Hoze. 

[Colt45]

For me it's more a simple matter of variety - what do I feel like at the moment.

[MrGlass]

My choice always revolves around how long I can/want to spend on a cigar at that time.  So after choosing a size, I figure out what options I have and pick whichever cigar I feel like most from those.

[PigFish]

I too think that this is compelling thread. Thanks for posting it...

I don't think much in the way of a seasonal smoker. I live in a region that supports smoking pretty much year round.

I have however, long postulated that cigar smokers should be allowed the latitude to 'mature.' I don't really think that there is much opportunity for that today as Tabacuba has so drastically tampered with and damaged the catalog that fewer choices exist in cigars, especially in the narrower ring gauge range.

I have been posting to cigar boards long before this boar existed. I have known many, many seasoned cigar smokers, of which I now consider myself one. I experienced an evolution in smoking. Having smoked through the majority of the Cuban cigar catalog that existed close to two decades ago, I formed opinions about vitola and taste. With that I honed my skill to purchasing cigars that are more aligned with my wants, tastes and needs. This is much more difficult to do today, as a primary push by Tabacuba today is in selling bands and boxes that cost more, and their efforts to build the trendy, fat, pricey cigar has put the superior cigar, the ones that fit times, places and smoker's needs in the discontinued column, year in and year out now for more than two decades.

I believe that smokers mature as they begin to trust their own tastes and begin to ignore the hype and the cigar 'press.' I mean why have a cigar chosen for you via popularity or hype when your own tastes drive you a different direction? I won't claim that my path will be the same for everyone, however in keeping this interest for so long, and on such a passionate level is what truly defines (in my mind) what a seasoned smoker is. Knowing many like me, some or all that have come to a very similar conclusion, the evidence points toward a maturing process in smokers with a lot of experience... These smokers are more picky than others. They have formed opinions and prefer the cigar with a good reputation to that of the untested. They choose a range of cigars that fits their desires to smoke, and not the ones that make the glossy print of magazine covers... Tried and true is more value that new and untested. Tabcuba today is more aligned with the 'trend' smoker than the seasoned smoker (MHO). I believe they have largely abandoned anyone that would find criticism in the Monte 2, and favor a cigar such as the Especial, or Grandes de Espana...

That is my story and I am sticking to it...

-the Pig

 

[garbandz]

I used to smoke more Lonsdale size, but they are scarce now.

went thru a Nica bomb period, that is over now.

I have moved to smaller diameter (42)  Cuban sticks ,occasionally a Churchill or robusto,or torpedo.

also I have minutos for quick smokes. In 4 decades I have tried a lot of cigar companies,countries of origin, novelties and failed notions.

 

 

[SignalJoe]

I tend to gravitate to the cigars I enjoyed when I first discovered Cubans.  In the same way that a song can take you back to an exact moment in time I have found the aroma or taste of certain sticks can do the same.   

I have branched out and tried different sticks through the years and stock a variety in my humidor, but familiarity and appreciation often brings me back to those first loves.   

[BuzzArd]

I'm a cigar whore.   Not much preference for what I smoke profile-wise or when, or where.  There's not a particilar flavor profile I favor because I can appreciate almost anything.   About the only preference I'd say I have is I'm not a fan of very peppery cigars.  For example, I like Opus X, but I like them with several years (at least three) of rest.

[BrightonCorgi]

I can't find a cycle to my preferences I wish I could.  I do tend to hover the same few most recent boxes and kind of forget about the older ones pretty easily.  Like showing a baby a new toy and all the old ones don't matter.  

[MooseAMuffin]

I have only been smoking for a few years now but I have definitely had an evolution. I started out smoking short, large ring gauge sticks. Now I prefer small RG stick. I only smoke outdoors so the length depends on the time of year. If it's summer, I smoke short skinnies to avoid the cigar being affected by the humidity. In the winter, I prefer longer skinnies sitting next to a fire. Winter seems to be more of the lancero and churchill size cigars which are my favorite.

[TheMonk]

I mostly adjust vitola size to the expected time I'll have to smoke, but in terms of marcas and favorite sticks I've been keeping pretty faithful. I always like to try new releases, be it LEs or REs, as IMO that's part of the fun of it, but only a very few each year actually appeal to me enough to buy a box or two.

[JohnS]

Cigar preferences do evolve, are seasonal and cyclical.

As mentioned, weather conditions affect the choice of vitola, the more favourable the more likely one will smoke a longer or larger cigar.

If you've been smoking cigars for some time you may find that you'll abandon a previous favourite cigar as over-exposure may make you desire something new or different. At the moment I'm giving the Partagas Shorts a break, I haven't had one in a few months now, but I'm sure I'll return to them with vigour. Likewise, I know of friends who stopped smoking Montecristo No.4's and have since returned to them with relish.

Now, in regards to evolution of taste, it is my heartfelt belief that aficionados develop a nostalgic bias towards flavour preferences experienced early on in their pursuit of this hobby. What will happen is that you'll smoke a variety of marcas/vitolas early on, settle on some favourites, explore something different outside your 'comfort zone' once-in-a-while, but then you'll settle on some specific cigars that will have a permanent residency in your humidor and that you'll feel never let you down. In the same way, one may never connect with certain marcas or vitolas no matter how hard or many they try. 

[BrightonCorgi]

Cigars I liked 20 years ago I still like today, but those are cigars generally everyone likes...  Kind of like wine or cars...  Cristal always is good and Ferrari's are always cool looking.  Nothing changes in that respect...

[DWC]

3 hours ago, JohnS said:

   ....Montecristo No.4's and have since returned to them with relish.

 

       Seems like a strange pairing to me,   ....but whatever floats your boat.

[dgixxer252525]

I for sure smoke seasonally in general. Here in Tampa the summers are unbearable and we have very mild winters(think summer lite). For this reason, I smoke way more in the winter just due to the comfort level

[Stogieninja]

All three.

My palate has certainly evolved since I started and my preferences have moved from maduros to more medium format cigars. So my stash has evolved over that time too.

It's seasonal too, but opposite what most folks do. During the summer I smoke a lot of short smokes as I'm driving somewhere, or at the park, or in the back yard. I'm outside or moving around more so I can smoke more, but in shorter and usually more active periods. In the winter I smoke in my smoking room in the garage, so I'm smoking larger sticks for two hours a few times a week, and that's about it.

It's cyclical in that I'll go through periods where I smoke a lot of stuff I love, and then I'll get a hankering to try some of the new stuff that's out from places like Warped or Foundation or Illusione. Then I'll go back to smoking favorites for a while.

So yeah, all three. What can ya do? Age some, and keep buying more! Sell old aged stock and buy more if that's what floats your boat. Financially that's a lot better than going the other direction!

[Customsfan]

Because you still can't buy Cubans cigars legally on line in the U.S., this makes me save the ones I do get.  In saving to buy CC's, I normally buy crappy Non-Cubans.  And I smoke the crappy cigars and reward myself with a nice CC from time to time.

Live in an apartment, so I smoke a whole lot more in the summer than winter. 

As far as what I smoke and when, I try to have something nice for special occasions and family gatherings.

Drink of choice year round is anything with rum.:)

 

[joeypots]

When I started with Cuban cigars i gravitated to double coronas and pyrimids. I liked the sizes because I was playing in a regular friendly game and there was time for a big stick. I gravitated to the corona gorda and the dalia for an afternoon smoke when I had less time. Box passes, private sales,  and trades got me into vitolas and marcas that were unfamiliar. I learned that age, moisture, and  provenance have a huge effect on Cuban cigars. The intensity of smaller ring gauge cigars became apparent when I smoked some Hoyo DD, MC Especial, COLA, and various PCs. That education took about 8 years. It seems now to have boiled down to a conflict between flavor and size. I love a CORO but am ambivalent about the robusto vitola. So I have quite a few robust because the blend is great but they aren't my favorite. I love the corona gorda,, PC, Lonsdale, corona, and most vitolas that have less than a 48 ring gauge but lots of those cigars are thin on the shelves, except for  petit coronas.  I buy and hold, preferring most of my smokes to have about 5 years before I start to sample them. That's pretty much my cigar evolution.

[Trimming]

Season doesn't dictate, scrounge around the cabinets and grab what impulse gravitates me towards, shame I feel the selection is mundane.

[ethosan]

For me, i certainly go through cycles, while at the same time my general conceptions of tobacco and my palate change with the new experiences and maturity that time brings.

But you could wake me at 3 in the am any day until i die, with a LGC MD4 and i will be gracious