Bad Cigars Anonymous

[brownnation]

So my uncle smokes several Grenadiers a day that he buys at the gas station. I've been pleading with him not to smoke that garbage and step up to some real cigars. Problem is he's very cheap. I don't know what Grenadiers go for, but I imagine with the tobacco taxes in Chicago, that buying them in a gas station would cost him nearly a buck a stick (but again I'm not sure).

My question is this: Should I send him some cheapies from CI for a buck a stick or would those be just as horrible as Grenadiers? Is there any help for him? I want him to smoke better cigars and quit wasting his money, but I'm worried that sending him more junk would just enable his horrible habit of smoking his Grenadiers.

Have any of you made the transition from bad cigars to good? How did you do it?

I don't want to be the Cigar Police, but this is an emergency situation :0

Maybe there's no help until he himself admits there's a problem.

Thanks all,

Brown

 

[Devil Doc]

I can assure you, he thinks you're the one with the problem. I had a similar experience. It turned out to be a waste of my time.

Doc.

 

[jabba]

There are a lot of cigars out there, that are very good imo, for $2 and under...

Any of the Cuban JLPs (less than $2 a stick)
Padron Londres (about $2 a stick)
The Oliva bundles (less than $2)
The Lusitanias from Mike's cigar (made by Perdomo, when on sale, about $1.50 per stick)

If he doesn't want to spend more than $1, give him some of the Old Fashioned bundles from Mike's, the seconds of Partagas or some of the Honduran ones, they run about $20-25 a bundle and smoke like firsts.

Gift him a few of the above and see what he thinks.

 

[mmburtch]

You'd probably have better luck trying to get someone to switch from Pepsi to Coke, and run the risk of pissing him off in the process.

Offer him a cigar when you're together. If he notices a difference that he likes, you can turn him on to bundles. However, there is more to the switch, than is on the surface. Gas station smokes are stored dry and smoked dry. If you convert him, he will need a humidor, instructions on using it and a willingness to stay on top of the maintainence of it.

Cigars are about relaxation and pleasure, and regaurdless of what CA tells you, they should not be a measure of status.

Read around this board a bit more. Although we often joke about certian brands of cigars that we personally wouldn't spend money on or even smoke in most cases, we never pick on or try to change someone who comes here and says they do and they love them. (The exception is Wilkey and his Moontrances) Just like children, the best we can do is lead by example, and hope they make good choices.

 

[Ginseng]

Although we often joke about certian brands of cigars that we personally wouldn't spend money on or even smoke in most cases, we never pick on or try to change someone who comes here and says they do and they love them. (The exception is Wilkey and his Moontrances) Just like children, the best we can do is lead by example, and hope they make good choices.

* Sigh *

I thought my brothers had made peace with my "special needs"




:laugh:
Wilkey

PS. mmburtch's advice is right on and Doc provides the insight into why this is so.

 

[MadMonk]

You know, I have to admit, I always wanted to try these differant "Drugstore Smokes" Just curious if there is a hidden Gem. The only real reason I havent is that I do not know how they are processed. I.e., fear of chemicals.

My Dad Smoked some type of Dry Cured "Italian" Stogie. They were fairly long. He would cut them in half. Put one half behind his ear, and smoke the other. Always had one in his mouth. He bought them at the Drug Store. He loved them.

When I was about 15 or so, completely clueless about cigars, I bought some type of cigar and cut it in half to mimic my father
It fell apart! :blush:

 

[jabba]

You know, I have to admit, I always wanted to try these differant "Drugstore Smokes" Just curious if there is a hidden Gem. The only real reason I havent is that I do not know how they are processed. I.e., fear of chemicals.

My Dad Smoked some type of Dry Cured "Italian" Stogie. They were fairly long. He would cut them in half. Put one half behind his ear, and smoke the other. Always had one in his mouth. He bought them at the Drug Store. He loved them.

When I was about 15 or so, completely clueless about cigars, I bought some type of cigar and cut it in half to mimic my father
It fell apart! :blush:

Those Toscano and 'Toscano style' smokes are good cigars in my opinion. Wurm (Shawn) sent me a few from Germany and I enjoyed them, I'm pretty sure most of them consist of all natural tobacco, just that it's dry cured like you mentioned.

 

[Devil Doc]

You know, I have to admit, I always wanted to try these differant "Drugstore Smokes" Just curious if there is a hidden Gem. The only real reason I havent is that I do not know how they are processed. I.e., fear of chemicals.

My Dad Smoked some type of Dry Cured "Italian" Stogie. They were fairly long. He would cut them in half. Put one half behind his ear, and smoke the other. Always had one in his mouth. He bought them at the Drug Store. He loved them.

When I was about 15 or so, completely clueless about cigars, I bought some type of cigar and cut it in half to mimic my father
It fell apart! :blush:

Those Toscano and 'Toscano style' smokes are good cigars in my opinion. Wurm (Shawn) sent me a few from Germany and I enjoyed them, I'm pretty sure most of them consist of all natural tobacco, just that it's dry cured like you mentioned.

Best black fly repellent in existence. Never go fishing without them.

Doc.

 

[Ginseng]

You know, I have to admit, I always wanted to try these differant "Drugstore Smokes" Just curious if there is a hidden Gem. The only real reason I havent is that I do not know how they are processed. I.e., fear of chemicals.

My Dad Smoked some type of Dry Cured "Italian" Stogie. They were fairly long. He would cut them in half. Put one half behind his ear, and smoke the other. Always had one in his mouth. He bought them at the Drug Store. He loved them.

When I was about 15 or so, completely clueless about cigars, I bought some type of cigar and cut it in half to mimic my father
It fell apart! :blush:

LOL!

But regarding hidden gems, I'd hazard there are none. Anything that's using homogenized tobacco leaf binder or wrapper (White Owls, Phillies, etc.) are simply abysmal if one is accustomed to smoking premium hand-mades. On the other hand, there are the non-cigar cigars that potentially can find a place, albeit small one, in one's repertoire. For example, the Backwoods-type cheroots and Toscani (as previously mentioned) can provide quite a different smoking experience and be rather enjoyable in the right setting. The HTL-containing cigars, though, are just bad. I'm not partial to Toscani cigars though. I tried to smoke some Ram Rod rum soaked dry cured cigars and they damn near killed me. They were the single worst things I've ever lit and put in my mouth.

Wilkey

 

[Eshaw99]

I'm from the "smoke what you like" school of thought. If he likes Grenadiers, let him smoke Grenadiers. Hell, I wish I'd never smoked anything other than a Swisher. No telling how much money I would have saved over the past 10 years if I'd never have known any better... :laugh:

 

[Fyodor]

I think it's wonderful that he enjoys his Grenadiers so much. Leave him alone and let him enjoy himself, but offer him what you consider to be a good mild/medium cigar and see if he likes it. If you give him an Opus X or something like that it's likely to shock his pallate and he probably wouldn't like it. And if he still sticks with the Grenadier he is one of the lucky ones. Wish my tastes could be fulfilled with such a non assuming cheap cigar.

My dad has awful taste in wine. Sometimes I reprimand him about it, but he wisely tells me that he doesn't want to acquire a taste for something that cost a lot of money.

 

[brownnation]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I guess I wasn't real clear in my question. I'm not trying to get him to buy a box of cigars for $300, or even change his daily smoke to a $2-$4 cigar.

My main question is this: Is there going to be a smoke that would be comparable in price but b/c it is 100% tobacco, hand rolled, full-leafed, and contains much more tobacco (say 5-7" x 42-52) would be a better smoke? Or are those cigars so bad that a Grenadier actually might be as good as them.

I realize that we're in real subjective territory here, but I'm just fishing for opinions.

Thanks guys,

Brown

 

[JHolmes763]

Does he even smoke a "good" (in your opinion) cigar when you offer it to him? If not, then you're wasting your time. If he will, then just be happy sharing and smoking a good cigar with him every so often.

 

[ironpeddler]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I guess I wasn't real clear in my question. I'm not trying to get him to buy a box of cigars for $300, or even change his daily smoke to a $2-$4 cigar.

My main question is this: Is there going to be a smoke that would be comparable in price but b/c it is 100% tobacco, hand rolled, full-leafed, and contains much more tobacco (say 5-7" x 42-52) would be a better smoke? Or are those cigars so bad that a Grenadier actually might be as good as them.

I realize that we're in real subjective territory here, but I'm just fishing for opinions.

Thanks guys,

Brown

I hear ya....but the point is...he likes them, right? I had one Uncle that loved fine cigars and one that smoked White Owls, El Productos..etc...and I couldn't get him to switch in no way, shape or form! My other Uncle would laugh at me when we spoke about it...never telling me once he tried to switch him over for 40 years! He must have loved watching try, damn old school Italians....but I would offer and he would say the stuff I smoked was crap!...LOL...gave us all a lot of laughs at family gatherings though :laugh:

Age will tell you that some things are better left alone.

Smoke what you like.

 

[brownnation]

I hear ya....but the point is...he likes them, right?

I don't get the feeling that he's particularly attached to them. If I thought he loved them, I'd be glad to say, "hey, more power to ya". Like I said, I'm not the cigar police, I could care less what people enjoy smoking. I just get the sense that he ONLY smokes them b/c they're cheap and I'm just interested in showing him other cheap options that might give him a better, longer, quality smoke for his value.

I also think it's a fairly recent habit for him, it's not like he's been smoking them for 40 years. Again, I don't know that there are "better" options out there for the price, that's essentially my question:

In your opinion are cigars you can buy online for between $.80 and $1.20 a better value than gas station cigars?

Thanks for all your input,

Brown

 

[gtadroptop]

My $0.02.

My father liked beer, but would always buy the bargain basement stuff. I knew I couldn't change him, so for his birthday or other special occasions (Christmas, Father's Day, etc), I would buy him a case of premium beers. It worked on many levels. It allowed me to expose him to different brews on an unthreatening level. It solved the ever present 'what to get him' problem. And it provided bonding experiences with him by sharing said beers.

I would say to stop trying to figure out what he might like. Buy him something you like and share it with him. A miracle might happen. At worst, you get to share quality time with him.

 

[Fyodor]

In your opinion are cigars you can buy online for between $.80 and $1.20 a better value than gas station cigars?

Yes.

 

[snapperhead]

JMHO....but the GEM in gas station stogies are "Game" wine flavored cigars, right now they are 2 for $.90 we bought the box the guy had and keep calling back due to them being a great little smoke.

Here is a link to a site that sells them : Wine Cigar

 

[Jam1173]

I hear ya....but the point is...he likes them, right?

I don't get the feeling that he's particularly attached to them. If I thought he loved them, I'd be glad to say, "hey, more power to ya". Like I said, I'm not the cigar police, I could care less what people enjoy smoking. I just get the sense that he ONLY smokes them b/c they're cheap and I'm just interested in showing him other cheap options that might give him a better, longer, quality smoke for his value.

I also think it's a fairly recent habit for him, it's not like he's been smoking them for 40 years. Again, I don't know that there are "better" options out there for the price, that's essentially my question:

In your opinion are cigars you can buy online for between $.80 and $1.20 a better value than gas station cigars?

Thanks for all your input,

Brown

Brother, why not just buy him a couple of bundles yourself of different types of smokes for around a buck or two a stick and let him try them out to see what he likes better. Yes IMHO you will get better smokes then what he is currently smoking.

I am sure he will really appreciate the gesture.

 

[brownnation]

Brother, why not just buy him a couple of bundles yourself of different types of smokes for around a buck or two a stick and let him try them out to see what he likes better. Yes IMHO you will get better smokes then what he is currently smoking.

I am sure he will really appreciate the gesture.

Yeah, you're right. I should just either try them myself, or pick some and send them to him (which was the original plan).

I don't want you guys thinking I'm cigar snob, I'm really not, I just thought he might get a better bang for literally his buck in a cheap stick online. This original post's title was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek and the post itself was supposed to be light-hearted. I'm not trying to pick on my poor uncle, just seeing if you guys had any opinions on the quality of cheap 2fer's online vs. Grenadiers.

I know he enjoys the cigars I give him when we hang out (moderately priced $4-$10), so along with a nice box, I thought I'd try and shoot him out something comparable in price to his Grenadiers, but I wasn't going to waste my time if the consensus around here was that they were in the same quality category as Grenadiers.

I do appreciate the input fellas, I think I've decided on a decent box of smokes to send him and in addition I'll send along a cheapo box that he can compare to his Grenadiers.

Thanks again,

Brown