Tstew75

Lucky to have some boxes from 17-on. Top 5 cigar coming off the island. It's a lovely cigar, full of elegance & grace...almost like smoking a glass of Krug Champagne. I sometimes wish there was a tad more power there like a 46, but that's splitting hairs.

They will sit on shelves forever.

*sigh* I keep stacking PLPC cabs just because the thought of 50 cigars in a box is friggin' cool (& the obvious hope of caramel bombs at 10+ years). Really wish they still did Punch Punch in that format. My only gripe is PLPCs aside, they typically do not travel well.

600 Euros for my beloved Laguito Vigia. I'm pretty crushed.

Some of us will defect forever...some will be waiting in the wings for when the crash happens & laugh in glee as we restock our humidors with needed CCs at reasonable prices. I fall in the later camp, I'll be ready...

Please post if ya have em

I cant remember what thread it was in, but I did see a Oct or Nov 21 box code & posted it...all of my boxes are TLE MAR 21, so at least for 2021 it proves they rolled 2x I'm always surprised they only roll Sir Winnies at provincial factories...

Fascinating read. Certainly not what I saw across 50+ luxury wine brands during that time...but my sample was only for the United States, so there's that limitation to my experience. Also, just for clarity- people indeed drink MORE during bad economic times, I'm just suggesting they trade down in price. Perhaps wine is different that handbags is this regard.

After selling luxury wines through 2 major recessions, I can assure you this isn't true in my experience. When rich folks look at their portfolios & don't feel as rich anymore, they cut spending like everyone else. In the wine business it always appeared as if people dropped 2-3 price tiers down in products they consumed.

Have to admit I'm not really a Bolivar fan, including BBF. They always seem brutish to me & lack the nuance I enjoy, in say a Piramides or Upmann No.2. BBFs also never exhibit that twang I love (though they do have that dirty mongrel thing that's interesting) In terms of pyramids they rank in the bottom third for me No body change in the last 10 years, IMO *One other thing worth mentioning is that my experience BBF SLBs do not seem to travel well. Even the best packed boxes from retailers seem to include 3-5 cracked feet. Also, be very choosy form that last big SOR 21 run...1 in 2 boxes seem to sport pretty thin, brittle wrappers

So much speculation around these increases... let's get this thing done & see where we sit.

Thanks for your input...they def take a long time to be built. I'm so excited to get my collection out of the stacks of weathertight boxes & into view...

If you care about continuing to collect/smoke CCs, then the time is now to spend as much as you can grabbing boxes. Prices will likely never go down. I remember several threads early last year (in the face of increases) asking this same question, and the answer was the same then. Anyone who listened then is now grinning with relief. It's not much different than when I went to buy a house in Portland 5 years ago. I was like 'damn this is expensive, i wonder if it's worth it?? will prices continue to climb??'. Duh, of course they will. Fast forward and my equity has increased 25% in that span. So many 'shoulda woulda coulda' stories in real estate...and also in CC collecting over the past 2 years.

Thanks for the tag! I'm from NC but live in OR. I have a Avallo in the works, I hope to have it by Sept.

Another huge pile of Laguito-rolled Vigia.

It's indeed bad...but as Prez said, don't freak out & give up this glorious hobby that easy. Something tells me this thing will turn around in certain regards & might level out some. But Hiba & Trini are different- if they price these 2 brands out of all of our budgets, then it is what it is. None of us drink Dom P, Salon or Krug Champagnes on a weekly basis either, that's how luxury brands go.

When I think twang I think of Punch, Upmann & J Lopez.

ELs are already outrageously expensive, why not put em in a fancy box? The same reason my winery refuses to put our $60 Pinot Noirs in a screwcap...price carries an expectation of prestige, and packaging is a part of that. The Supremos & Selección Especial presentations are pretty spectacular. It's worth noting that folks crapping on the new packaging probably aren't EL purchasers anyways...so this luxury marketing plan likely isn't being targeted at you.

Nice! I'm not a big Maduro fan, but would certainly like to try one sooner or later.

@El Presidente missed these 1st time around, can't wait to grab some rosato lanceros on next release

Mine is stuck in NY customs with DHL...they've emailed me 4 separate times asking if it's cigars. My last email response was: "THIS PACKAGE CONTAINS A BOOK. A BIG OLE' HARDBOUND BOOK ABOUT CIGARS. IT WILL NOT HURT ANYONE."

For Reg Prod I don't like em too thin, or too rough & dark...mottled just bothers me in an ascetic sense. Maduro wrappers seem to overwhelm delicate CC flavors. Rosato is my jam, such a pleasure to look at & smoke.

I love the Valencia call, too cool. You are right, CoRos almost always have many more facets than a D4.

Factory codes used to come into play on these- 18-early 20 MSU/TUA boxes were fire, but some newer Partagas-rolled examples have looked/smoked worse than random provincial, so yea. Maybe mother factory isn't always best...D4s always bring that Partagas flavor tho. I love 5 & 6s and think they're a bit more consistent...those vitolas have looked fire since 2019

I really like the format & how the wrapper really adds to the flavor. The experience is so diff than that of the PLPC which seems to take longer to come around. Similar to my PLPC cabs, most of my 17-19 boxes are buried deep awaiting future discovery. I really wish they were more available