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CBL

By CBL
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CBL Campanas

CBL

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Hi!

My name is CBL and I'm a 23 year old aficionado from The Netherlands although I live and study in Taiwan right now.

I started smoking cigars two and a half years ago during New Years Eve where a friend and I smoked a Cohiba Siglo II, 3 months later we bought a humidor together and our first box of Montecristo 4's.

Since then many a box has passed and before long I bought another humidor to keep entire boxes in. Sadly that humidor is also nearing it's breaking point and I'm working on a new project to save my cigars in.

Last summer me and my friend went to Cuba for a week to be closer to the source of both our happiness and the demise of any financial gain: Cuban Cigars! We had an amazing time and smoked some beauties and learnt a lot about the whole process and what is available. We hope to go again some day and maybe even attend a Habanos Festival one day :)

Two years ago I started studying Advertising at a college in Taiwan. Most of my cigars remain in The Netherlands where my dad looks after them (although he doesn't smoke himself) and I have a small humidor in my apartment in Taipei for singles.

Even though I am relatively young and somewhat inexperienced I'm blessed to have had the chance to own and try some of the best and rarest cigars that are available in our time.

Cigars like:

Ramon Allones 8-9-8 (found in a small corner humidor in Club Havana)

Ramon Allones Phoenicios (bought one single in Taipei)

Bolivar Libertador

Montecristo No. 4 Reserva

HdM Piramide EL 2003 (bought one in Prague a couple of weeks ago)

Cohiba Sublime EL 2004 (was given one in Hong Kong!)

El Rey Del Mundo Tainos

etc.

Some cigars might not be extremely rare and I've seen plenty of people with boxes of RA 898 and Phoenicios, but remember I'm a 23 year old student and for me these are some ones in a lifetime smokes :P

Cigars I love include:

Montecristo 4 - My first love and I'll always remember that first box!

Partagas D4 - delicious for any time of the day

H.Upmann Sir Winston - The first one I smoked was a rollercoaster ride of different tastes!

Ramon Allones SCC - My favorite coffee cigar, I go through a box with no hesitation!

Trinidad Reyes - Great with a coke

Trinidad Robusto T - Like smoking a piece of bread! Too bad the price is ludicrous.

And many more that I've sadly only smoked once :2thumbs:

Allow me to show you a little humidor history, hopefully I'll be able to post my new humidor soon!

My first humidor that I shared with a friend - March 2008:

dscn8825h.jpg

My first humidor for myself - August 2008:

dscn9371.jpg

My humidor after Cuba - August 2009:

dsc00483y.jpg

My humidor right now - August 2010:

dsc02551f.jpg

Note: The Cohiba Behike 52, Cohiba Sellecion Reserva and most of the lower right corner is my friends. The Tainos and the Monty 2 box are filled with singles.

I hope this has been a thorough enough introduction and look forward to learning from everybody and sharing my experiences.

P.s. I found this forum after watching the FOH reviews on Youtube which I absolutely LOVE! I often watch them without caring what the cigar might taste like, I just love the back and forth interaction ;) It's exactly how I usually smoke with friends, nothing pretentious and no holds barred insults B)

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thechenman Prominentes

thechenman

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Welcome to FOH. Glad you found us. I hope you will enjoy the forum. It looks like you've have quite a bit of experience with Havanas already. I'm 39 and have only been smoking Cuban cigars for a little over a year and a half. Love them though. You've got a nice selection of smokes. Oh...by the way...I was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Most of my family is still there. I came ot the U.S. when I was 4 though and grew up in Southern California. I get back there every couple of years though and love to visit.

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thechenman Prominentes

thechenman

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It may not be until sometime in 2012, but if you are still studying or living there, the next time I am out there we will definitely meet up for a smoke.

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CBL Campanas

CBL

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Thanks for all the welcomes! I've already gone through months worth of old topics and learned a lot! Most notably a post from 2007 about Partagas SDC3 having a ligero leaf in it which was a revelation for me to say the least :D

@Kangaroo495:

I was lucky enough to have started smoking cigars before the smoking ban in The Netherlands and there are still a couple of lounges where I can smoke regularly. In Taiwan it's still okay to smoke in public places except restaurants and karaoke bars :P So when I go out to a club I can bring a Sir Winston with me to accompany my drinks ;)

God bless Cuba where people start smoking the SECOND they walk into the arrival hall at the airport. I even smoked in the elevator of the hotel I was staying in :D

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hansa Perlas

hansa

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Welcome (welkom) to this fine board, CBL...

We've met before, online, this forum is a nice addition to one we're used to.

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CBL Campanas

CBL

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Hiya CBL, Welcome to FOH. Mate, you've got a great collection going, you're gonna need some more space. Love the black humidor. :lol:

Thanks! Yeah I can only fit one more box of minutos right now :lol: But about 1/3 of the boxes are gonna move to my friends humidor soon! I'm looking forward to that day like parents look forward to their 35 year old unemployed son moving out ;)

And next year I hope to complete a new humidor that I'll hopefully use for at least 5 years :rolleyes:

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/inde...howtopic=102829

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  • 1 year later...
CBL Campanas

CBL

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A roundhouse kick on this year-old topic from when I first arrived on this forum! But I wanted to share a small update compared to last year. I didn't go back home this summer so my dad took this picture for me, to show that all is well in Cedar town.

post-6983-0-78002400-1317279398.jpg

The boxes I'm proudest off:

- The full Partagas Serie Du Connaisseur line (1, 2 & 3)

- Partagas 898 (10) from 2003

Some notes:

- The second 898 box is filled with 10 PL Enchantos (btw. notice that the two boxes aren't the same shape! One is from '03 the other from '09)

- The bottom left box is an ERDM Tainos box filled with singles

- The Sir Winston box is filled with singles and maybe 7 remaining Winnies from 2002

- Oldest box is a box of ERDM Demi Tasse that's hidden behind some other boxes.

Full list of full/half full boxes:

- Bolivar Gold Medal LSM ABR 08

- Partagas Culebras EMA DIC 07

- Partagas 8-9-8 (10) GKI AGO 03

- Montecristo Sublime EL 2008 USE JUN 08

- Partagas Serie Du Connaisseur No. 1 LSM MAR 08

- El Rey Del Mundo Demi Tasse RPO DIC 01

- Partagas Serie Du Connaisseur No. 2 LSM AGO 07

- Montecristo Grand Edmundo EL 2010 MOA FEB 10

- Partagas Serie D Especial EL 2010 TUG FEB 10

- Trinidad Reyes (24) OUR ABR 08

- H.Upmann Magnum 48 EL 2009 OPM AGO 09

- El Rey Del Mundo Petit Compania RE Francia OSB AGO 09

- Partagas Serie D No. 4 (10) BLO ABR 10 (2x)

- Partagas Serie Du Connaisseur No. 3 TEB OCT 07

- La Gloria Cubana Inmensos POL SEP 10

- Bolivar Coronas Extra LAG NOV 10

- Quai D’orsay Coronas LRE ABR 06

Not a huge collection, but I'm very proud of it. You might notice that there aren't a lot of "everyday smokes" or "current production" smokes but all my daily smokes are kept in Taiwan and every time I can buy a "big" box that won't fit in my humidor in Taiwan I have to wait till one of my parents comes over to bring it back home with them.

So I haven't had a chance to collect boxes for daily consumption, which sucks, but I had to make choices in what I could buy in the early stages.

So anyone have any suggestions on what I'm missing in my collection? :P

And before anyone mentions them... yes I realize I need Partagas Shorts :D

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CanuckSARTech Prominentes

CanuckSARTech

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Very nice. A good foundation for you - well done.

I personally might suggest to add some RASS and/or CoRo's, depending on your like for the sizing. But, some Ramon Allones is a need in there (so maybe RASCC), and them maybe some H.U. Mag 46's.

Can't go wrong with those 898's, though. If you get the chance, I'd also add in some other great long and skinnies - Lanceros, Fundadores, or anything else you can gobble up from the LGC MdO series lineup.

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CBL Campanas

CBL

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I personally can't stand the RASS :$ And Coro's are out of my budget for now. I finished two boxes of RASCC this year and I haven't had an opportunity to order a new box yet. I have a box of Superiores over at my friends place though!

I think a cab of Mag 46's would be a good addition, but I have yet to determine if I really loved them. I had one that was really nice, but another aged one that was ****, so I need to try another single or two before I commit to a box.

For long and skinnies there's only one box that I have my eye on right now and that's the ERDM Grandes de Espana, but as you know that's kinda hard to find :P The MdO series still need more reviewing from my side, had a No. 3 that was horribly plugged. Also, they're a little hard to find.

And like yourself, I'm waiting for a PSP Monty 4 to add to the collection :D I might settle for HQ, but if it's in the stars, I'll go for the PSP :)

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laficion Prominentes

laficion

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- Bolivar Gold Medal LSM ABR 08

- Partagas Culebras EMA DIC 07

- Partagas 8-9-8 (10) GKI AGO 03

- Montecristo Sublime EL 2008 USE JUN 08

- Partagas Serie Du Connaisseur No. 1 LSM MAR 08

- El Rey Del Mundo Demi Tasse RPO DIC 01

- Partagas Serie Du Connaisseur No. 2 LSM AGO 07

- Montecristo Grand Edmundo EL 2010 MOA FEB 10

- Partagas Serie D Especial EL 2010 TUG FEB 10

- Trinidad Reyes (24) OUR ABR 08

- H.Upmann Magnum 48 EL 2009 OPM AGO 09

- El Rey Del Mundo Petit Compania RE Francia OSB AGO 09

- Partagas Serie D No. 4 (10) BLO ABR 10 (2x)

- Partagas Serie Du Connaisseur No. 3 TEB OCT 07

- La Gloria Cubana Inmensos POL SEP 10

- Bolivar Coronas Extra LAG NOV 10

- Quai D’orsay Coronas LRE ABR 06

WHAT ?, no Corona Gorda ? THIS IS NOT SERIOUS :lol:

Ve hav vays of macing you zmoke !!!!! :whip:

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