What is your favorite Churchill/DC and why?

[PuroDan]

9 minutes ago, JohnInCleveland said:

Does anyone think the SLR DC’s will ever resurface?  
 

Something tells me it will.  It’ll be limited and a ton more expensive and not in a 50 cab.  
 

 

I sure hope so. While they are at it would be nice to have the Serie A back as well

[JohnInCleveland]

5 minutes ago, PuroDan said:

I sure hope so. While they are at it would be nice to have the Serie A back as well

Got half a cab in a split and I have maybe 1 a year.  
 

a lot of people confuse mild with one-dimensional.  They’re the best example I can think of that disproves that.  It’s a shame they haven’t been around in so long.  

[rcarlson]

HDM DC.  

Espy and SW?  Well, duh!

[captaincaveman]

Punch DC

[Vitola Corleone]

This is my favorite vitola. I love them all, at their best they are all 93-94++ point smokes for me. If I had to rank:

1. HUSW. For my money the best cigar out of Cuba. Just perfect.

2. Espy. Fantastic, but the value quotient is weak. They are so bloody expensive. 

3. Lusi. Love the red pepper and flat cream profile. 

4. Hoyo DC. Vanilla, cake donuts, and cream. Lighter bodied for me but the flavor is well defined and on point.

5. RyJ churchill. So good when it's on. But the least consistent of the bunch.  

6. RAG. Has the classic RA profile but an element of biscuit under the stone fruit. 

7. Punch DC. Not that they aren't great, but hey someone has to be last. Only had a few of these so far and my open box (SEP 19) needs more age. So that's probably a factor for my experience of them.  

[BoliDan]

2018-2020 RyJ churchills. Blowing Sir Winnies out the water, in my humble and "wrong" opinion. 

[JohnS]

14 hours ago, BoliDan said:

2018-2020 RyJ churchills. Blowing Sir Winnies out the water, in my humble and "wrong" opinion. 

Haha...wouldn't necessarily call this a wrong opinion! Funnily enough, according to my Cuban Cigar Website Smoking Diary ratings, I too have the 2018-2020 Romeo y Julieta Churchills ahead of the few H.Upmann Sir Winstons I've smoked in that time, but not by much.

[Vitola Corleone]

Are either of you experiencing production issues in the R&J? For 2018-19 I am running about 1/4 to 1/3 plugged or with wrappers that go sideways in the 2nd half. 

[Kaptain Karl]

There really aren’t any bad choices out of any of the current Churchill’s and Double Coronas! Any one of them at any time can be sensational, from my personal experience and that taken from others. I do think the espy, sir winnie, punch dc, lusi and hdm dc will have the highest chance of being sensational, but there isn’t a wrong choice here. All I know from reading this thread is I need a box of hoyo dc’s! 

 

4 minutes ago, Vitola Corleone said:

Are either of you experiencing production issues in the R&J? For 2018-19 I am running about 1/4 to 1/3 plugged or with wrappers that go sideways in the 2nd half. 

Yeah my 2019 box is pretty plugged so far. Maybe 2 out of 6 were fine, the others were extremely tight. 

[Chibearsv]

6 hours ago, Vitola Corleone said:

Are either of you experiencing production issues in the R&J? For 2018-19 I am running about 1/4 to 1/3 plugged or with wrappers that go sideways in the 2nd half. 

I've had a lifetime of RyJ production issues.  I remember a box I had from 2015 where every cigar save 3 or 4 was like a block of granite.  It's part of the game with them I'm afraid even with the newer production.  I'd say 15-25 percent of cigars in my newer boxes have had construction problems which is what I've come to expect.  But they sure are showstoppers when they are done right.

[PuroDiario]

Espléndidos and Lusitanias 

[Jimmy_jack]

HU Sir Winston. Done. Next topic please.

[Bijan]

4 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

I've had a lifetime of RyJ production issues.  I remember a box I had from 2015 where every cigar save 3 or 4 was like a block of granite.  It's part of the game with them I'm afraid even with the newer production.  I'd say 15-25 percent of cigars in my newer boxes have had construction problems which is what I've come to expect.  But they sure are showstoppers when they are done right.

In my limited experience with recent production I've had better luck. I've been slowly working through a box of Churchills and Ex 4. And more quickly going through a lot of RyJ cheap and cheerfuls (Mille Fleurs, Sports Largos, Petit Royales, etc.), and haven't hit a plugged one yet.

[Chibearsv]

2 minutes ago, Bijan said:

In my limited experience with recent production I've had better luck. I've been slowly working through a box of Churchills and Ex 4. And more quickly going through a lot of RyJ cheap and cheerfuls (Mille Fleurs, Sports Largos, Petit Royales, etc.), and haven't hit a plugged one yet.

I probably should have clarified "Churchills" in my description for RyJ construction problems.  I don't smoke very many RyJ non-churchills.

[mprach024]

27 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

I probably should have clarified "Churchills" in my description for RyJ construction problems.  I don't smoke very many RyJ non-churchills.

It’d be weird to have a full box without 6+ plugs.  In fact I’d question if they were fakes at that point if it were plugless.  A Perfecdraw is the best pairing for an RJC and should come with every box.

[Bijan]

33 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

I probably should have clarified "Churchills" in my description for RyJ construction problems.  I don't smoke very many RyJ non-churchills.

Yeah, I probably should have assumed that from the context of this thread.

it's weird that the flagship RyJ is probably the least consistent

 

[mprach024]

Just now, Bijan said:

Yeah, I probably should have assumed that from the context of this thread.

it's weird that the flagship RyJ is probably the least consistent

 

But it’s the best (RJ) by a margin when you get a good one IMO.  
No offense to Ex 4, they are good but clear runner up.  Rest of the Marca I could pass on beside the odd Cazadores which is my inclement weather golf course cigar.

[JohnS]

14 hours ago, Vitola Corleone said:

Are either of you experiencing production issues in the R&J? For 2018-19 I am running about 1/4 to 1/3 plugged or with wrappers that go sideways in the 2nd half. 

 

2 hours ago, Bijan said:

In my limited experience with recent production I've had better luck. I've been slowly working through a box of Churchills and Ex 4. And more quickly going through a lot of RyJ cheap and cheerfuls (Mille Fleurs, Sports Largos, Petit Royales, etc.), and haven't hit a plugged one yet.

Same here. I've been fortunate to have had excellent RyJ Churchills and Exhibicion No.4s in the last two years or so. For me, plugging hasn't been an issue.

However, to get back on track, I do consider the Cohiba Esplendidos the best Churchill-sized cigar of recent times, at least for me. I too am intrigued by the Double Coronas, and more so about the Partagas Lusitanias. This was the standout for me in the 2015/6 to 2018 period but I admit I haven't visited this cigar as often as I'd like since 2019. Since then I've been more enamored with the Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas. The Ramon Allones Gigantes has been fine in the meantime, but the Punch Double Corona has indeed gone a little 'underground' in that time...in other words, hard to source and therefore hard to comment on.

[Connoisseur Kim]

Didn't puff many DCs & Churchills enough to give a ranking, but I can say that I really love Partagas Lustitanias for DC ?

[wine_junkie]

On 2/13/2021 at 10:36 AM, Hammer Smokin' said:

hoyo's are like partagas. you either love em or hate em. 

and generally those who like one, dislike the other. 

(in my mind, they are the opposites of the Cuban spectrum) 

That’s how I feel. I am a Lusi guy and my buddy is all Hoyo....

 

On 2/14/2021 at 3:48 PM, Vitola Corleone said:

This is my favorite vitola. I love them all, at their best they are all 93-94++ point smokes for me. If I had to rank:

1. HUSW. For my money the best cigar out of Cuba. Just perfect.

2. Espy. Fantastic, but the value quotient is weak. They are so bloody expensive. 

3. Lusi. Love the red pepper and flat cream profile. 

4. Hoyo DC. Vanilla, cake donuts, and cream. Lighter bodied for me but the flavor is well defined and on point.

5. RyJ churchill. So good when it's on. But the least consistent of the bunch.  

6. RAG. Has the classic RA profile but an element of biscuit under the stone fruit. 

7. Punch DC. Not that they aren't great, but hey someone has to be last. Only had a few of these so far and my open box (SEP 19) needs more age. So that's probably a factor for my experience of them.  

Pretty much sums my list up as well! Have had less than thrilling HdM’s recently and Tainos has been quite beautiful 

[FatPete]

I think Churchill/DCs are the best vitolas of all-I love the extra time and the evolution you get with them. I like them all, but my favourite was the Robaina Don Alejandro before they were axed. My current favourite is the Hoyo DC, with its creamy cake profile and the RAG with its fruity element. The RyJ Churchill is splendid at times, average at others-so inconsistent, but when you get a good one it's a tantalising creamy Cherry and rosewater ride. These three are what I prefer to smoke on a regular basis. The esplendidos and Sir Winston are certainly great cigars but I think they are not worth it now with the price increases.