By 2030......will 60 + ring gauges be the norm?


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I was reading the below this morning.

"in a rare move for the Padrón family, the company is adding a new cigar to its lineup, a short, fat smoke meant to honor departed patriarch José Orlando Padrón, who founded the company that bears his name in 1964. The Padrón Family Reserve No. 95, measuring 4 3/4 inches long by 60 ring gauge, will beef up the Family Reserve line, which tends to be made with the company’s oldest tobaccos."

It got me  thinking. I remember when the Cohiba Siglo VI was released in 2003 that it was the first Cohiba over 50 ring gauge.  "Whoa! 52!.....that was huge! .....even the factory name Cañonazo put an image in your head of one big bad mother ducker. It is a pop gun today :D

Now I am a big believer in different strokes for different folks. No one has to like what I like. 

I am intrigued however as to where the trend is heading by the end of this decade.   4 3/4 x 60? Really. I would use that as a door stop!

Will there ever be a pull back?

How big is too big? Is that a legitimate question? Are we still talking about cigars?

:thinking:

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Just don't throw all of us US guys in the same basket! I have no interest in those non Cuban 60+ ring donkey dongs. I feel many that smoke them do it simply because they think it looks macho and their

If all cigars were from 38-42, left room for an occasional Robusto and Figurado, my life would continue along just fine...

Not in my humidors. 

I remember reading in March this year, a new Non-Cuban line that was going to be all 70 ring gauge. So by 2030 I say be prepared for the Petit Cananazo at 60 ring gauge being the quintessential size! 😬

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Actually didn't mind the feel of the 1 60rg I've had so far, like I thought I would.

Also have a couple 70rg's I was given to try. I suspect that will be too big for my liking, as they just look and feel massive.

I definitely prefer to cap it at 54rg, with 50 being even better

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

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NC producers are much more experimental than CC. I doubt there will be a 60 RG (parejo) CC in regular production by 2030. It's only 8+ years away. Keep in mind they touched 58 RG almost 8 years ago with an EL and never got back there. There will probably a few more special releases with 60 by then but not a regular production or LCDH/HS. 

Cuba has only one 57+ in regular production (RyJ Hidalgos) and you can't even find them. Who knows if anyone wants them. I would expect another 58 special release in the next couple years and one or two 58s into regular production before 2030. But not a 60.

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it's up the orient and the american market (even though it's illegal for them to purchase cubans, but I digress). 

 

they control the market. 

 

i suspect those two nations make up 60% or more of your sales. (maybe much more). 

 

americans like sucking on thick sticks. not sure about the orient, but I suspect so. 

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1 minute ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

it's up the orient and the american market (even though it's illegal for them to purchase cubans, but I digress). 

 

they control the market. 

 

i suspect those to nations make up 60% or more of your sales. (maybe much more). 

 

americans like sucking on thick sticks. not sure about the orient, but I suspect so. 

I would bet 75% of FOH sales are to the USA. We yanks love our Habanos.

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1 hour ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

yep. 

all with no duties or taxes. 

nothing beats yanks complaining about increase in cigar prices. :) :) :)

Don't worry, inflation in the USA is rampant right now. Government money printing is out of control unfortunately. Cigars are another subject 🤣

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To each his own. Generally nothing above 50rg for me. The only exception is the HU Mag 54. Those are delicious cigars, so I put up with the large ring. 

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Don’t know about them becoming the norm. Definitely not in Cuban cigars, the Monte #4 continues to be the one that sells in the highest volumes. 
60+ might become more abundant, especially in NC’s. But I don’t think it’s something that will actually become the standard, not even in the US 😄

Anything at or above 60 ring starts to move into the territory of gimmick cigars. Sure, there might be some people that actually do love a size like that. But I don’t think 60+ ring gauge accounts for any real volume compared to sales of more ‘normal’ sizes (i.e 56 ring and below). 

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6 hours ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

americans like sucking on thick sticks. not sure about the orient, but I suspect so. 

Some like to suck, some like to hold

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1 hour ago, Tdm_86 said:

the Monte #4 continues to be the one that sells in the highest volumes. 

Monte 4 was eclipsed by the PSD4 almost a decade ago. 50 RG started picking up steam in the mid-80s and never let up. But it was never exceeded until 2002.

I will say I don't know where this demand for 51+ came from. I literally don't know anyone who prefers cigars that big. I just don't get it. In the 150 years of records of cigars never was there a cigar over 50 RG I'm aware of and very few at that. Can preferences change that much in the span of a decade? 

Maybe @Cigar Surgeon could answer this: what was the 51+ RG situation for NCs before 2002?

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I don't really prefer one RG over another.  I enjoy a good E2, Rio Seco, or QdO 54 as much as I like a PLMC, Monte 1, or Siglo III.  I do like a thicker cigar on the golf course for whatever reason.  I think 56 is my comfort max though.  I guess chomping on a cigar fatter than a Rio Seco could be a look and feel that people might be going for but it's not for me.

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Pretty soon there will be a new vitola called the lata de sopa. The petit version is the lata de atún.

I am getting used to fatter cigars and I have some Conni Bs that I'm dying to wrap my lips around but my stash has few cigars that are fatter than 50RG except for those with tapered ends.

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6 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Monte 4 was eclipsed by the PSD4 almost a decade ago. 50 RG started picking up steam in the mid-80s and never let up. But it was never exceeded until 2002.

I will say I don't know where this demand for 51+ came from. I literally don't know anyone who prefers cigars that big. I just don't get it. In the 150 years of records of cigars never was there a cigar over 50 RG I'm aware of and very few at that. Can preferences change that much in the span of a decade? 

Maybe @Cigar Surgeon could answer this: what was the 51+ RG situation for NCs before 2002?

When JC Newman released the Diamond Crown, a 54 ring gauge cigar in 1995 it was a massive outlier. Prior to that anything over 50 RG was largely considered a novelty. Once those flood gates were opened you saw the LGC Serie R making the 6x60 a standard format around 2001, the Tatuaje Gran Cojon in the mid 2000s, et. al.

Contrary to the above comments about retailers not moving large RG cigars, large RG cigars are the bulk of the sales (52 RG and up). You want to not move a cigar? Put it out in a Lonsdale and watch it languish at most US shops.

I get a lot of flack for it but I've long been a proponent that anything over 52 RG is a waste of tobacco. You'll almost never see a blender or experience tobacco person smoking anything above a 46 RG, and I contend that any cigar that is blended 54 RG and can always be blended with the same tobaccos in a smaller format for superior flavor.

Unfortunately the US market is king and the US market has been driving large RG demand for a while. There's no expectation that it will stop.

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7 minutes ago, NYgarman said:

Just don't throw all of us US guys in the same basket! I have no interest in those non Cuban 60+ ring donkey dongs. I feel many that smoke them do it simply because they think it looks macho and their smoking buddies also smoke them. I still love my 42 ring Cuban petit coronas. Guess I'm in the minority but I march to the beat of my own drum and don't care about what is trendy. And yes those big girth cigars are a waste of tobacco. There is a ridiculous amount of filler in a 60, how do you properly blend it? 

Yeah unfortunately you're in the same 0.5% bucket that I'm in. We just don't represent the majority of the market. Most cigar shops have no interest in educating their customers, they're more than happy to ring up the "donkey dongs" and then go back to browsing Reddit all day.

As far as properly blending a 60 RG? There are a few companies out there that can blend a smokable 60+ RG cigar, but again I contend they could make two 44 RG cigars with the same tobaccos and a blind, one armed monkey should find it to be a much better smoking experience.

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I just don't see any need for a cigar above 50ish RG, there is no functional need for it. 

I'm always amazed at how hard it is to find custom and farm rolls in sub rg sizes in Cuba. If you can find them, or make the relationships necessary to ask for them to be rolled specially, you often pay a premium. Im fine with it, but is that really driven only by US tourists? I dont see a lot of the typical Chinese Business man/tourist reaching for these so I dont think thats a big factor. 

I think quality wrapper availability is still the main driving factor in Cuba and has been for years. I guess it's the "trends" in other areas that drive HSA and non Cuban producers. 

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15 hours ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

 

americans like sucking on thick sticks...

Not quite sure how to take that. 😂

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