Your personal cigar Index........what's gone up and what's gone down?

[NSXCIGAR]

3 hours ago, Taco said:

The ‘19 Mag 54s have been terrific.
 

Up

Petit Royales, Famosos, Mag 54, CoRo

Down

Principe, Nonplus, Dip2, Epi2

 

Wow, the 19 Mag 54s I've had were flat as can be. Must have got a bad batch.

I'll also add El Principe was in a pretty bad rut in 18-19. The 20s I've had are getting back to form which is why I put them on my up list.

Interesting seeing VR Famosos on both ends of a lot of lists. What gives? I thought most of the 18-19s I had were solid. 

[Trlrman2004]

On the up, Monte 4 GOS AGO 19. I just received these less than a month ago [ must be abbreviation for ? ALL GONE].  Awesome cocoa flavor and rich tobacco to the nub.

J.Lopez #1 MOL MAY 19.  Twinge of sweet on an all a round good tobacco flavor. Turned my neat Bourbon into a Butterscotch beverage. 

Human Connie 1 BRE NOV 18. DISAPPOINTING. Good construction, maybe still too young?

Overall, 2018 and 2019 EXCELLENT....IMO.

 

16 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

To those placing Connie 1 in the down category were they late 18s? I noticed a serious dip in quality around that time. All the 19s I've had have been excellent. That's why I put them in the up category. 

Hmm, these just missed the down group for me. Last year's were much better IMO. Recent have been way off to my taste. 

Yup. BRE Nov 18...1 smokeable, barely, 1 light and chunk off balcony.  Maybe some more rest? 

[Cigarsmoker81]

Up 

vigia 

hoyo rio seco 

cohiba medio siglo

 

down

epi2

punch punch

Coro ( might be a bad box )

 

[SansSin]

13 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Wow, the 19 Mag 54s I've had were flat as can be. Must have got a bad batch.

I'll also add El Principe was in a pretty bad rut in 18-19. The 20s I've had are getting back to form which is why I put them on my up list.

Interesting seeing VR Famosos on both ends of a lot of lists. What gives? I thought most of the 18-19s I had were solid. 

noticed that too, i was blown away by a box of BSM NOV 19 famosos i got earlier this year. i had only tried a few singles from earlier years but they weren't nearly as good as what i've smoked in this box so far. been my #1 go to the last couple months

[Sandman]

21 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

To those placing Connie 1 in the down category were they late 18s? I noticed a serious dip in quality around that time. All the 19s I've had have been excellent. That's why I put them in the up category. 

 

Totally agree. 19’s have been excellent. Flavor bomb. BRE codes are all I have, so can’t speak to other factories. 

[Kaptain Karl]

22 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

To those placing Connie 1 in the down category were they late 18s? I noticed a serious dip in quality around that time. All the 19s I've had have been excellent. That's why I put them in the up category. 

 

Yup late 18! That’s reassuring to hear, love em when they’re on. 

[NSXCIGAR]

54 minutes ago, Sandman said:

Totally agree. 19’s have been excellent. Flavor bomb. BRE codes are all I have, so can’t speak to other factories. 

HU factory's been BRE for a while, mid-17 I think. MEG before that. Rare to see Connie 1 not from HU. 

I had to stop ordering Connie 1 blind since there's still a lot of BRE 18 floating around. All the 17s & 19s I've had have been rock solid. Haven't seen any 20 stock yet. 

 

15 hours ago, Trlrman2004 said:

?Nov 18...1 smokeable, barely, 1 light and chunk off balcony.  Maybe some more rest? 

No, these are probably busts that won't improve. The late 18s I had were also really bad. I smoke enough Connie 1 to know what they are "supposed" to taste like, and these are not that. They didn't burn well either, so I'm guessing there was some issue with fermentation with that batch of leaf. 

Thankfully, 19s came right back, hence my inclusion on the "up" side. I think everyone knocking them had smoked those late 18s into 20 and got a bad snapshot. But never fear--they're back.

 

[NSXCIGAR]

6 minutes ago, VKUTT said:

Agree. I have some 17 BRE 1s that were excellent, but 18s have not been as good. Now this box of 19s I have? Back to being excellent. But Ive had some BRE 18 HdMs that were great, so ?

The only cigar I noticed decline that sharply in that period was Connie 1. I think it was a problem with that specific batch of leaf dedicated for the Connie 1, although I will say the Connie A I've had from 17-18 was definitely not as good as before that. I found the 17-18 Connie A to be significantly lighter than in the past. Reminded me of Mag 50, and that's not a good thing.

[NSXCIGAR]

2 minutes ago, VKUTT said:

I have some BSM NOV 19 Famosos as well and they have been very good. I wanted to put them away since they were young, but they've been so good as is, I am down to my last 10! Would like to find another box. 

Had a bunch of ARS late 18-19 Famosos and was very happy. Still wondering why so many on the down side. When have these been lousy?

[NSXCIGAR]

Just now, VKUTT said:

I've not had a lot of Connie As from that period so not enough to judge.  But the Connie 1 is one of my staples so I also know what they should generally taste like. And yes, the 18s I've had were a bit more "blah" than other years. A Connie 1 should definitely not be "light", lol. 

The late 18 Connie 1s I had were worse than blah. They were really crappy. Something was wrong. That classic shortbread was just entirely missing and there was bitterness in there. 

And no, Connie A had never been light for me before. Very disappointing. I'll probably grab a 6er from Rob next time they're up to see what's happening with them.

[NSXCIGAR]

38 minutes ago, VKUTT said:

SCDLH Principes

Hmm, I think this might be the same case. Pretty much all the LGR El Principe was off. 17 wasn't too bad, but LGR 18-19 was not good at all. I've been waiting it out and when the RAT 20s hit I grabbed some and they seem to be getting back to normal, and thank goodness. Not having any for over a year was tough! 

[Bijan]

4 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Hmm, I think this might be the same case. Pretty much all the LGR El Principe was off. 17 wasn't too bad, but LGR 18-19 was not good at all. I've been waiting it out and when the RAT 20s hit I grabbed some and they seem to be getting back to normal, and thank goodness. Not having any for over a year was tough! 

Good to know. I have a box of LGR JUN 17, only have had one so far but it was good.

[NSXCIGAR]

1 hour ago, Bijan said:

Good to know. I have a box of LGR JUN 17, only have had one so far but it was good.

They seemed to start ok with LGR but just hit a real rut for the rest of the code. Strangely, all the LGR La Fuerza have been outstanding. 

I think the recent peak of El Principe was the EML code from 13-15. Absolutely fabulous run. Had some 94-95 pointers from that run. TOS from 15-17 was good but just a notch behind EML. 

I would say the new RATs are approaching where TOS was. But do not buy these blind as vendors are still clearing out the rest of the last 19 LGR stock. 

[BeerPimp]

On 10/8/2020 at 3:43 PM, 99call said:

On the way up...........: Anything Punch.  16-17 were tent pegs, but recent Punch Punch, Shorts de Punch, DC, 898's etc etc  all on point,  full of clove, cream, and unique juicy fruit gum character,  and all drawing nicely. 

On the way down........: Anything Bolivar,      yes still well rolled, yes the wrappers still look ok.........but what is the Bolivar profile these days?   light bodied, malt biscuits and vanilla cream???      how on earth did it get the to point that Bolivar's are all vacant of leather, earth, tannins etc etc.     A once great full bodied, savoury cigar turning into a generic powder puff 'experience', serving the all encompassing sweet tooth, 1 dimensional masses...............sad.       someone in the blending room needs a slap

 

That is too bad.   I ordered a single BRC in 2018 and finally got around to smoking it this year.   It definitely had that leather, earth, and wood profile with lots of complex flavors.   While its not a cigar I would smoke all the time I could definitely see myself enjoying every once and a while.

[Sir Diggamus]

Going UP

1. H. Upmann no 2 
2. RyJ Millie Fluer
3. Monte No 1 

Going DOWN

1. Partagas Serie D no 4 
2. H. Upmann Connie 1 
3. ERDM Choix Supreme

[Chas.Alpha]

UP: Partagas #2

CORO

Partagas Shorts

 

Down: HdM, across the board...

 

[SCgarman]

23 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

HU factory's been BRE for a while, mid-17 I think. MEG before that. Rare to see Connie 1 not from HU. 

I had to stop ordering Connie 1 blind since there's still a lot of BRE 18 floating around. All the 17s & 19s I've had have been rock solid. Haven't seen any 20 stock yet. 

 

No, these are probably busts that won't improve. The late 18s I had were also really bad. I smoke enough Connie 1 to know what they are "supposed" to taste like, and these are not that. They didn't burn well either, so I'm guessing there was some issue with fermentation with that batch of leaf. 

Thankfully, 19s came right back, hence my inclusion on the "up" side. I think everyone knocking them had smoked those late 18s into 20 and got a bad snapshot. But never fear--they're back.

 

I am burning a box of Upmann Connie1 BRE 17 and they are fantastic. Have a full box of BRE 19 sleeping. Hopefully they are just as good. Both October month.

[NSXCIGAR]

8 hours ago, NYgarman said:

I am burning a box of Upmann Connie1 BRE 17 and they are fantastic. Have a full box of BRE 19 sleeping. Hopefully they are just as good. Both October month.

You're fine. It was only Q3-Q4 18 that had issues. 

[BeerPimp]

On 10/8/2020 at 8:57 PM, NSXCIGAR said:

To those placing Connie 1 in the down category were they late 18s? I noticed a serious dip in quality around that time. All the 19s I've had have been excellent. That's why I put them in the up category. 

 

This is worrying to me because my first box of Connie 1's which with a box of Monte 2's were the first CC I ordered.   They came from our esteemed host.   They were BRE OCT 17 and amazing definitely have that shortbread in their flavor profile.   I ordered a half box of HQ at the end of last year that were BRE MAY 19.   I forgot I had ordered these and ordered a box this year of BRE NOV 18 on clearance.   I am going to try one of the late 18's tonight and see how it is.   If it's as disappointing as others have suggested I will bury it in my coolidor and hope it improves in a couple years.

[NSXCIGAR]

3 hours ago, BeerPimp said:

This is worrying to me because my first box of Connie 1's which with a box of Monte 2's were the first CC I ordered.   They came from our esteemed host.   They were BRE OCT 17 and amazing definitely have that shortbread in their flavor profile.   I ordered a half box of HQ at the end of last year that were BRE MAY 19.   I forgot I had ordered these and ordered a box this year of BRE NOV 18 on clearance.   I am going to try one of the late 18's tonight and see how it is.   If it's as disappointing as others have suggested I will bury it in my coolidor and hope it improves in a couple years.

Unfortunately, you probably should be worried about those BRE NOV 18s.

There seems to be a remarkable consensus that the late 18s are off. It seems there was definitely something wrong with that run of leaf. Fortunately, it seems relegated to Q4 18. It's just a bummer since it prohibits blind buys as there's still a lot of that stock floating around. 

[mprach024]

3 hours ago, BeerPimp said:

This is worrying to me because my first box of Connie 1's which with a box of Monte 2's were the first CC I ordered.   They came from our esteemed host.   They were BRE OCT 17 and amazing definitely have that shortbread in their flavor profile.   I ordered a half box of HQ at the end of last year that were BRE MAY 19.   I forgot I had ordered these and ordered a box this year of BRE NOV 18 on clearance.   I am going to try one of the late 18's tonight and see how it is.   If it's as disappointing as others have suggested I will bury it in my coolidor and hope it improves in a couple years.

Hey if they aren’t good you could always dip them in water ??

[Kaptain Karl]

On 10/10/2020 at 5:19 PM, NYgarman said:

I am burning a box of Upmann Connie1 BRE 17 and they are fantastic. Have a full box of BRE 19 sleeping. Hopefully they are just as good. Both October month.

The first box of CC's I really burned through were those BRE 17 sticks with just over a year on them. That box was magical! 

[NSXCIGAR]

55 minutes ago, Kaptain Karl said:

The first box of CC's I really burned through were those BRE 17 sticks with just over a year on them. That box was magical! 

Some of the best Connie 1s I had were fresh BRE OCT 17s in Cuba at the Partagas Festival that year. Again, the only rough patch I can recall with these is late 18. They are remarkably consistent and high quality.

[SCgarman]

1 hour ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Some of the best Connie 1s I had were fresh BRE OCT 17s in Cuba at the Partagas Festival that year. Again, the only rough patch I can recall with these is late 18. They are remarkably consistent and high quality.

I never thought I would say it, but as much as I loved the coveted Upmann PC that was axed, I like the flavor profile of the Connie#1 even more. I have found a suitable replacement. 

[NSXCIGAR]

59 minutes ago, NYgarman said:

I never thought I would say it, but as much as I loved the coveted Upmann PC that was axed, I like the flavor profile of the Connie#1 even more. I have found a suitable replacement. 

I'm surprised since they're very, very different. I was never a PC fan, nor am I a fan of the No. 2, Majestics, Regalias or Epicures which I find to all be fairly similar in blend.

I really only like Connie 1, Connie A, Noellas and SW with an occasional Mag 54 thrown in. 

I am very much looking forward to what they do with the upcoming Connie 2.