Goodbye NCs

[Hurltim]

1 hour ago, Bohn007 said:

Sounds like you have plenty of reasons to come back then. Like I said, feel free to look me up when you are in town next for a smoke. That being said, i will not ask you if you are a Cubs or Sox fan....LOL

Actually, I have been to as many Cubs games as Sox games so I like them both. When you move away you tend to be a Chicago fan. 

   My family for the most part, are Sox fans. My granfather was a night watchman at Comiskey for years.

[BBS]

One thing I and a some of my smoking friends have noticed, is that several of the 'old guard', the NC's that were the benchmark flavor and quality brands, just aren't making it anymore. We've carefully compared some from different time periods of the same marca / vitola and it's very obvious that they just aren't what they used to be.  Changes in the blends are rather striking, in some cases.  Sure, age can take the edge off and meld things together a bit but the things we're tasting aren't age related.  And, age won't take a bad cigar and make it into a good cigar....just an old bad cigar.  One theory is that the real high quality tobacco isn't making its way into the regular lines anymore, instead being saved for the 'Reserve' and 'Limited' lines.  Even those are hit and miss, in many cases.

Which is a long winded way to say I'm enjoying CC's more and more, and NC's far, far less.

There are a couple exceptions, and a very select few NC's that will still find a place in my cabinet.  But honestly there aren't more than five or six NC's that I'll still buy.

[dowjr1]

I will not be saying goodbye to my NCs any time soon.  I still have a number to smoke and they are well aged and smoking great. As I go through them it gives my CCs time to age a little bit.

[Bohn007]

2 hours ago, dowjr1 said:

I will not be saying goodbye to my NCs any time soon.  I still have a number to smoke and they are well aged and smoking great. As I go through them it gives my CCs time to age a little bit.

You might not be saying goodbye but are you planning on buying more? 

[maxcjs0101]

I am more than happy to accept all your NCs 

[anacostiakat]

On ‎9‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 6:12 AM, Hutch said:

95% CC smoker here, but do, and always will, stock a decent supply from several lines, most notable being some from Davidoff, Fuente, And Butera. Sometimes I won't smoke a NC for months, but every so often I'll revisit them and go on a jag with some of my old favorites. Variety is one of the best things about this obsession of mine 

Pretty much the same here!  This post is interesting to me due to a recent experience regarding the same cigar.  I had a few Ashton ESG's in the singles drawer from the first or second year they were released.  I didn't really take to them when I got them so I just let them sit.  Decided to burn one not long ago and was pleasantly surprised.  It was enjoyable.  Didn't have to pitch it. 

[godpheonix]

yes CC's are better but you can't really say that NC's are all inferior.  i really enjoy some of Litto Gomez's cigars, like Coronado by la Flor DC's. that cigar is on par with any cuban for me, its amazing really. its a box from the year it was first releases and they are only getting better with age.

padron No.9 ANN. 1926 is also quite an amazing cigar as well and a few others, Opux X and illusion cigars from Don Giolito like the ECCJ's are really up there as well.

i noticed one thing though. it seems to be with NC and Dom puro's only, like the ones mentioned above.

[wabashcr]

I have no interest in Padron, Fuente, Ashton, Liga Privada, or most of the other NCs mentioned here.  They're all fine cigars, but poor value compared to most CCs.  I still smoke quite a few NCs, but it's more the likes of Warped, Caldwell, Tatuaje, Illusione, Chogui, and a few others.  I don't care for the overpowering pepper bombs, but there's so much more to NCs than that.  Try a Warped Don Reynaldo, La Colmena, Lirio Rojo or Skyflower.  All fantastic complex, balanced cigars.  And not terribly expensive, either.  Same with the Illusione Epernay or ECCJ, Tat Black, La Palina Goldie (pricey), or Caldwell Eastern Standard.  Each of these are crafted to some extent in deference to CCs.  They're often called "Cubanesque," but to me they each provide something I can't get from CCs.  

Part of what makes the hobby fun to me is trying new releases and the overwhelming variety of blends and flavor profiles, which I find a bit lacking with CCs.  I definitely have a taste for Cuban tobacco, which is, and always will be the pinnacle.  I would be very disappointed to have to live without either CCs or NCs.  

[earthson]

I do like Fuentes once in a while for a change of pace, but, yeah, avoid buying Padrons, Tatuaje and other "premium" NC lines.

Considering Fuente Opus cost more than Cohiba, I'd say the NC market is largely in trouble.

[LandCruiser]

Smoked my first NC in about 5 months the other day. Liga T52.... got about 1/3 of the way through it and pitched it. Literally tasted like I was smoking a cow paddy filled with pepper. Absolutely disgusting. 

 

And here I am, supposed to go tour the factory in a few months..... Yikes... 

[Bohn007]

1 hour ago, LandCruiser said:

Smoked my first NC in about 5 months the other day. Liga T52.... got about 1/3 of the way through it and pitched it. Literally tasted like I was smoking a cow paddy filled with pepper. Absolutely disgusting. 

 

And here I am, supposed to go tour the factory in a few months..... Yikes... 

I have the T52, No. 9's, UF-13, UF-4's and several others. Don't want to pitch them as they were not cheap smokes but too much pepper and way overpowering. I am saving them with the Padron and Davidoffs for when the company comes by and I don't want to pull out the cc's. 

[dowjr1]

On September 8, 2016 at 0:59 AM, Bohn007 said:

You might not be saying goodbye but are you planning on buying more? 

Yeah is actually saw some Illusione's that had my eye so...

 

[brutusthebuckeye]

NC's suck . Sell your Opus,Padrons and other high end crap to newbs just getting into NC's and buy a bunch of regular production Cubans..

[Bohn007]

13 minutes ago, dowjr1 said:

Yeah is actually saw some Illusione's that had my eye so...

 

I have some of those in my cabinet. Not a bad smoke but no comparison to the Epicure #2 that I am smoking right now. 

[dowjr1]

6 minutes ago, Bohn007 said:

I have some of those in my cabinet. Not a bad smoke but no comparison to the Epicure #2 that I am smoking right now. 

Yes I have some nice Epi 2s as well. But I will say I have had very good experiences with Illusiones. To me they are just different...some guys are ALL about the Cubans...which is great. I love mine as well.  But there are some good NCs also IMHO.

[Habana Mike]

I've smoked a lot of NC and CC in my day. Still have a cooler full of some of the finest non-CC around, rarely reach for them. Have bought only a couple of NC boxes in 2-3 years and then only those that really wowed me.

With my role as a panelist for Cigar Sense I must smoke a handful of NC cigars a month blind (occasionally a CC) , though almost always select a Habanos when my choice.

I'd say about 5-10% of the recent NC offerings at most are to my liking at all anymore.

If it weren't for CS I'd rarely pick up an NC at all. Seriously considering relinquishing my duties....

[jfire]

The one thing I find no one has bought up. Non Cubans leave ashtray mouth. Especially the next day. Thankfully I have found. A product called Oxyfresh mouthwash. It was a lifesaver. Like tonight I smoked a 2010 JL1.
Now smoking a L'atelier lancero.
Oxyfresh Mouthwash will be used.


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[polarbear]

On ‎4‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 9:44 AM, Bohn007 said:

After smoking most of my 1990's stock and taking somewhat of a break from cigars, I got the bug again two years ago but started buying good NC's to stock the humidor because I didn't know where to get good CC's. With time, I realized why I bought so many CC's in the 90's and now I am giving away NC's just to make more room in what was only a couple of years ago an almost empty humidor. Mostly NC's in the top tray for guests and the "real" deal underneath aging gracefully. 

I'll gladly pop by your place if your "guests" get Ratzillas ;-)

[BarryNY]

I'm waiting for my first shipment of CC to arrive....however - I see you have an Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado sitting there on the top - my current favorite NC and I have a few boxes avg price of $7.50/stick.  Not sure if you have smoked one if not you should try if you like a full bodied cigar...(give the foot a tiny clip too)...

To my taste - it blows away the Le Bijou it's sitting on top of and I too wasted $450 on a box of Ashton ESG...which my brother in law now gets to enjoy........

[cigaraholic]

Over the last 10 years I've cut my NC stash in half....used to have 2.....down to 1.....they were gifts ?

[PaulPower]

The only NC's I buy anymore are AF Hemingway's. It's a value proposition; (cost/quality)x(risk of bad stick). And recently the Hemingway's are becoming indefensible


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[HabanaJoe]

I love both nc and cc, my favorites and what's in one of my humi's is tatuaje (everything Pete makes), padron 64 & 26, davidoff millennium and Nicaragua, certain rocky patels, a fuente including Ashton, God of fire and opus X and liga privadas. But I tend to smoke Cuban more then non Cuban. I'd say for every 3 cc's I smoke I'll smoke 1 nc.

[trike]

Please send me a PM if you are interested in selling NCs.  I still smoke them, as I have plenty from previous years' purchases.  I actually enjoy Mex SA wrappers still.