Here are a few things I've learned from the past year of smoking cigars on a regular basis and really enjoying it.

1) Cigar Strength - Just because you are a new smoker doesn't mean you wouldn't like a full bodied cigar over a medium or light. Its all about the flavor.

2) Hydration - If you buy cigars online and don't have a humidor, make sure you give them 1-2 weeks in a ziplock bag with a 69-72% Boveda pack. You will know when they are ready when they go from being hard to being a little softer to the touch. A properly hydrated cigar will burn cooler and give a better taste. Cigars purchased at a shop should be good to smoke that day. If not throw it in the bag with a Boveda pack.

3) Smoking - This is really important and my #1 tip - Cigars taste better when you don't smoke it quickly like a cigarette. Taking a short/moderate draw every 60+ seconds and let it burn on its own. Try it. You can take a few puffs at a time but try to slow down and let the cigar burn on its own!

4) My Top Suggestions - If you are not sure what to buy, buy one of everything on this list to try out. These are in no order, but all are extremely great cigars where "you can not go wrong" and range from light to full bodied:

• Oliva Melanio Serie V


• Davidoff Late Hour or Escurio


• Opus X Lost City (as good or BETTER than a Cohiba)


• Drew Estate Liga Privada T52 or T9


• My Father Flor de las Antillas


• Crowned Heads Luminosa

Not sure about your online purchase comments. If a cigar is dried out, it's dead. It's a common myth that a cigar can be "re-humidified." Technically speaking, yes, you can restore the moisture level to a cigar, but you certainly won't be restoring the original flavors.  It will most likely taste like crap.

Online sellers store their cigars in humidors, just like brick and mortar stores.  If I ever got dried-out cigars from an online sale, they'd be issuing me a refund faster than shit through a goose.

And regards to cigar selection - that's a very personal choice.  One person's top choice is another's garbage.  For example, I've never smoked an Oliva that I enjoyed. Tight draw, inconsistent quality, poot/bland flavor, just never blew my skirt up.

When I was new to cigars, I did two things to experiment... I'd go to a store, talk to the guy behind the counter, tell him what I've enjoyed in the past and that I'm looking for something new.  Cigar shops are like gun stores - most of the guys behind the counter are knowledgeable, friendly, and love to talk.  Or, simply ask him what his favorite smoke is.

Another method - just look up the CA Top 25 for a given year, and use it like a checklist.  I found some real gems that way.

This is the first negative comment towards Oliva that I have seen.

Hey intheburbs, you are correct if cigars are completely dried out its trash. However for cigars purchased online while they are stored in a humidor, my experience (and from many others ive read) is that they still need to go into a humidor for 1-2 weeks to bring the Rh up a bit. Cigars purchased at a local shop (a legit cigar shop with a walk in humidor) should be good to smoke right away.



Cigars are definitely a personal choice, which is why I listed my favorites as a relatively new smoker. I've spent a ton of money on cheap, middle and expensive cigars and all of the ones I listed are must-try for a new smoker.

I am in the same boat with you on Oliva with the exception of Oliva Melanio Serie V. I've gone through a lot of Oliva cigars with their 20 cigar sample pack and didn't care for any of them with the exception of the melanio serie v. I would highly recommend you give it a shot, its light years ahead of their other blends.

https://www.cigarsinternational.com/p/oliva-serie-v-melanio-cigars/1410165/

Again, that's your opinion.  Another example - the Liga Privda T52 - yes, I agree it's a great smoke.  However, that's about as full-bodied as one can get.  I'd almost call it a borderline pepper bomb.  Very strong flavors.  Most new smokers would be totally turned off by that.

To use the gun analogy, that's like taking your new girlfriend, who has never fired a gun and is scared to death of them, to the range, and giving her a 500 S&W magnum revolver as the first gun for her to shoot.  How do you think that's gonna end?

Something like a Macanudo white tube or CAO Cameroon would be much more suitable to a new smoker.  They can work their way towards more full-bodied offerings.

Again that's why I said this are my suggestions as a newer smoker and I don't taste the pepper you do, I hate peppery cigars :)

I think a better analogy than a gun is spicy mexican salsa. I don't like certain salsas because they are spicy, I like the flavor that it gives and the spice/burn is an after thought.

Couple good things there, but I'd disagree with, or at least caveat, the humidity part. My experience has been that online sellers almost invariably ship too wet, and I always give new arrivals at least 2 months in the humidor to drop down to a smokeable level. After many years of smoking I find I prefer 62-65% humidity - my cigars burn better and more evenly, require less touch-ups and are fine with less frequent draws, all of which contribute to better taste. Just my opinion there, but it's worth experimenting with. Smoke one fresh off the truck, smoke one after 3-4 weeks at 70%, then smoke another after 2 months at 65% and see what you like. Boveda packs make it easy, because you can just throw a few in a Tupperware container to try.

Your point about pace is spot on though. And it's good to remember that bigger isn't always better with cigars - new guys will probably do better with a corona or robusto vs trying to slam a 2.5-3 hr churchill.

The Oliva comment surprises me too. I know taste is subjective and I won't try to talk anyone into a cigar, but I will say their construction is among the best in the industry IMO. I've smoked hundreds of Serie V, the limited release Serie V Maduros, Melanios and Melanio Maduros and I don't think I've ever had a poorly made cigar.

Interesting, where do you get your cigars from online? Cigars International has been excellent but I find they get better after a week or two in the humidor. I always use priority shipping to get them to me within ~5 days.

For Oliva, it was just the flavor didn't do it for me, maybe a little blander? I was never "wowed". I've been through 4 boxes of Serie V Melanio and they just have a great flavor I love. I have a 5-pack of melanio maduros arriving this week that Im looking forward to.

I've bought from all the big places - CI, cigarbid, Atlantic, Holt's, Famous Smoke, JR's and even Thompson's when the price was irresistable.  And a bunch of smaller retailers, probably the best of which is smallbatchcigar.  There are a few overseas places as well that you can get into; that's a rabbit hole for sure.

On Oliva, I don't care for their Connecticut, Serie O or Serie G, but the V and Melanio are top shelf to me.  Their seasonal release Serie V Maduros are typically tremendous too.

great to hear, looking forward to receiving them in a few days... and smoking them in 2 weeks

The Oliva Master Blends III are great as well as the Serie V Melanio IMO

I would like to add.

Always find a cigar shop with a sit down lounge.

I echo above comment Utilize the guy behind the counter.  

Sit down and smoke... come back later and try a different one.

Buy on line  five packs over samplers. If you get some you don't care for share them with your buddies, it does not mean they won't like it.

Best advice...

Always have some hard candy or sugared ginger with you... When you get an overload of nicotine. Life savers etc. will quell the nausea

https://www.cigar.com/p/oliva-serie-v-limited-edition-sampler-box-of-20/2030381/

I dig the Serie V. This is a pretty good deal for 20.

This one got me: Don’t smoke a cigar on an empty stomach! A few years ago I had skipped lunch because of a sinus headache and had taken Sudafed. Smoked a cigar, and I like full bodied ones, and I was stoned out of my mind and shaking. It was probably a combination of the two things but I won’t make that mistake again. A good cigar after a good meal is Heaven.

For humidifiers, ive found the foam ones eventually get musty and destroys the flavor of anything in the box, replacing it with an acidic bitter taste and smell. I have a padron anniversary in the box that is likely wrecked as a result.