Best pound for pound, dollar for dollar cigar of the decade?


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To me the runners and riders are Connie A, PLMC, JL2

Currently smoking a Connie A from 2017, and I have zero love for the size............but Jesus!....what a cigar!

so considering, consistency, price, and quality,   what is the pound for pound champ from 2010-2020.....ish?

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Completely agree with @99call on the Connie 1s and the PLMC and will add Upmann HCs and el principes for the under an hour department  

Quintero Favoritos would be the king of the basement for me

and for the amount of money invested for a stick you want to guarantee to be good I’m going BBF, cuaba distinguidos,  Connie B   Can’t comment on anything aside from this decade, and only within the last 6 years 

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20 minutes ago, SenorPerfecto said:

I'm patiently waiting on a box of PLMC to mature. Have never had an aged one but looking forward to it, judging by these PLPC...

I enjoy the PLPC greatly,   but "sipping" (as @JohnS would put it)  on a PLMC is just more of that burnt caramel flavour in more abundance, longer lasting, and with a greater degree of focus.   In my opinion anyway. 

The day they work out they could easily charge double, will be a sad one.

 

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This kind of plays into a post I've started blocking out to put into "Cheap and Cheerful" - something along the lines of a string of reviews for "Five Buck Chuck" because there are a lot of great cigars out there for ~US$5.50 or less. Note: I am a sucker for long, thin vitolas over stubbier, short ones.

I'm still working on checking out more Cubans, but the two boxes I've purchased that fit in this category are:

La Gloria Cubana Medaille d'Or No. 4: This hits a lot of the same notes as the Monte No. 2 - a pretty classic Cuban mineral-y, woody smoke. I feel that the longer vitola really lets these shine in a way that nubbier ones do not (that said, nubbier ones do have a lot of protection against overcooking from vigorous puffing, insulation & consistency from ash, and so on). The downside is that prices on these vary wildly and I think I really lucked out finding these around $5/stick.

Por Larranaga Montecarlos: These are really spectacular - these sticks lean much more towards the wood side, but a lot of that figgy fermented tobacco flavor comes through for me. These are delightful, and I do love them. THAT SAID a perfect draw tool or similar is really mandatory. These have like a 40-50% plug rate, and it's frustrating not to have one on hand when you're doing your test draws (and moreso when you forget to check the draw!)

I'm waiting on some H. Upmann Regalias (just shipped today!) that I am extremely excited to try. There are others on my list, but that's what I have on the way.

For non-Cubans, I have a little more experience/availability. My humidor staples (very quickly) are:

Illusione Rothchilde: Chocolatey, spicy, Nicaraguan flavor. Somehow manages to pack a completely full flavor evolution experience into a tiny package (4-1/2 x 50)

Tatuaje Series P: That sub-brand sounds so familiar, where have I... oh well. I have only had the short robustos so far (box of 20: $67.50), however I am going to pick up the toros as soon as possible (box of 20: $72) because the short robustos while delicious leave me wanting just a little more, and I would much rather spend the extra few cents per stick to be able to put it down when I want rather than have it end before I want it to.

Drew Estate Nica Rustica El Brujito: Want to try Liga Privada? It's a scam price-wise, have these instead. Serenely smooth and the nicotine sneaks up on you and will keep you in your chair.

Lastly, shoutout to La Faraona out of Tampa Bay, their lanceros and in-house Faraona Natural are great, and if you end up with 20 cigars, they're $5/each. Worth a shot, and I'm a sucker for fellow small businesses.

 

I'll be taking notes on other responses in here! Very excited to expand the humidor.

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Gosh - now I REALLY need to try a PLMC!  Never had.  But I was going to say PLPC.  Presumably, for it to be the cigar of the decade, it would have to be excellent, consistent, represent good value and be available (because who wants to spend their time hunting down some esoteric smoke).  If they hadn't been discontinued, I would have said the Quai Corona.  I love them and find them to be wonderful and consistent performers but the new ones are culty (never had a new corona) and the older ones have become hard to get at reasonable prices.  That said, I do love me some Quai Coronas.  

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1 hour ago, Wailbait said:

If they hadn't been discontinued, I would have said the Quai Corona

Unless you're referring to the Coronas Claro Claro, the Coronas Claro is still in production and was in fact just re-launched with the new bands alongside the 50 and 54 last year.

1 hour ago, Wailbait said:

Gosh - now I REALLY need to try a PLMC!  Never had.  But I was going to say PLPC.  Presumably, for it to be the cigar of the decade, it would have to be excellent, consistent, represent good value and be available...

The PLMC is all those things, but as is the case with all PLs, at least 2-3 years is strongly recommended on them. I do believe they reach a nice peak before PLPC which usually takes 5-7 years whereas PLMC is 3-5. 

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7 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

The PLMC is all those things, but as is the case with all PLs, at least 2-3 years is strongly recommended on them. I do believe they reach a nice peak before PLPC which usually takes 5-7 years whereas PLMC is 3-5. 

I got a 2015 box off of the auctions, and I think they could use even longer.  I’ll get halfway thru great carmelized sugar notes and they start getting a bit spicy.  Amazing smoke. First time I’ve seen the forum light up about them, shoot, now they’re a hot topic. 

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12 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Unless you're referring to the Coronas Claro Claro, the Coronas Claro is still in production and was in fact just re-launched with the new bands alongside the 50 and 54 last year.

The PLMC is all those things, but as is the case with all PLs, at least 2-3 years is strongly recommended on them. I do believe they reach a nice peak before PLPC which usually takes 5-7 years whereas PLMC is 3-5. 

Great advice on the PLMC.  

I suppose I was referring to the Quai Corona that I have from 12-15.  My last box is ETP 15.  All have been made at Partagas factory.  I haven't had a chance to try any of the new Quai Coronas that have shown up around these parts with the pretty bands.  That said, I do like Quai with some age on them so my 15s are likely just coming into their own.  They used to be reasonably priced, available, and REMARKABLY consistent.

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The Bolivar Gold Medals and RA Superiores and VR Famosos have got to be in the top 5, imho. At 5.40-5.75CUC per stick they never disappointed (can’t buy blind though). Hard to believe that a 10 count box of GM was 54CUC!

Otherwise, my most trustworthy cigar in the last 15 years has been the Connie 1.  

To complete the quintet I will go with customs - Raynaldo’s, Alex’s and Jorge’s in particular.  They are all great values. However, the pre-2012 Monsdales still blow me away every time i smoke one and my 2006 are simply out of this world. 

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47 minutes ago, treberty said:

RA Superiores

At the CUC price, yes, RAS is probably the number one greatest value in all of the cigar world. Unfortunately, that price is only on the island. No idea why they price it that low there. Easily could be $60-70 CUC and it wouldn't make a bit of difference. Always thought it was bizarre. Biggest discrepancy between CUC and worldwide price is the RAS with Fundys a distant second. 

Compare that with Connie 1. 157.50 CUC and Rob had them up last week for ~$165 or so.

 

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49 minutes ago, treberty said:

Hard to believe that a 10 count box of GM was 54CUC!

I recall paying about $80 for the 07 release. Back when special production was priced similarly to regular production. Recall picking up RACF for $190, Boli Especiales No. 2 for $360, PSD3 for $220. Those were the days.

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Mag46, Punch Punch, Fonseca No. 1, & JL No. 2 would fit the bill best dollar for dollar cigars of the last decade.  Price to quality is quite high for all four

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I tend to split this into two categories, low priced cigars that are exceptionally good value in terms of great pricing for a consistently good (not necessarily great) cigar. Then there is the outperforming cigars that although not cheap, are very consistently great cigars and highly valued. 

In the low priced category, I nominate three in this order: #1: PLMC (~$4/ea), #2: PLP (~$2.60/ea) and #3: RGPE (~2.25). 

In terms of great outperforming cigars that are not really cheap, but highly valued in my cigar collection, I nominate in order: MC#1, RyJ CdL#1, and a tie between MC#3 and MC#2Esp.

Unfortunately, the Cedros Deluxe #1 have departed, and I will miss them dearly. The most underrated, unloved, under the radar Lonsdale for some reason, but they really turn my taste buds on. 

PL anything is always good, but for the best value the PLP is so cheap it's seemingly crazy to me that it doesn't fly off the shelves at just $2.60ea. But between the PLMC and PLP the PLMC is superior, but not by much. 

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How many here buy multiple cabs of PLPC just to bury them away and age for the long haul due to the reasonable price point?

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RGPC: a good PLPC tastes like ?  Turd compared to a merely average RGPC.  Severely disrespected. Way underpriced.

PLMC: fantastic cigar. Still underrated. Always feel like I’m robbing a blind man when I get a box. So cheap.

JL2 & RASS: these two cigars without a doubt are the most consistently fantastic Cubans coming off the island bar none.

HUHC - the most consistent, best cigar in the Upmann line. This cigar is so good, if they put a second band on it, jacked up the price 10x, put them in a cab and called them ”Upmann Kahn’s, Exclusivo Mongolia” they would FLY OFF THE SHELVES!

 

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