My Quest to smoke CA's top 10 Cigars of 2015

[Tonto]

So this is my quest to smoke the top 10 cigars chosen by Cigar Aficionado for 2015

My goal is to try to smoke all of the top 10 cigars...maybe some others of the top 25 & try to document the adventure of obtaining them & smoking them.  I'll do my best to provides an adequate review.

My budget is limited, so that will be a big factor, along with the availability of the cigars.

http://top25.cigaraficionado.com/

Here is the list:
1. My Father; Le Bijou 1922 (Nicaragua)
2. Ramon Allones; Specially Selected (Cuba)
3. CAO; Flathead V660 Carb (Nicaragua)
4. Arturo Fuente; Don Carlos Belicoso (Dominican Republic)
5. Padron; Family Reserve 50 Years (Nicaragua)
6. Illusione; Ultra (Nicaragua)
7. Rocky Patel; The Edge (Nicaragua)
8. Ashton; Symmetry (Dominican Republic)
9. Bolivar; Belicoso Fino (Cuba)
10. Drew Estate; Liga Privada No. 9 (Nicaragua)

[Guarantee]

I don't have any of those or would help the cause!

[Tonto]

My first adventure was this afternoon.    I'm sorry if this is a little long...
TL;DR....Cigars found:  #3 & #6  Local B/M sucked. Won't go there again.

So...
I paid a local B/M a visit to pick up a few on the list.  I've been going to this B/M for over 10 years.  In that time, it has moved once, & now changed owners twice.  I haven't been there too many times recently or in the past 2 years.

I was confidant that I would be able to find at least 5 of them.  I was wrong.

Today, when I got there, there were some signs posted on the front.  "Now Under New Ownership" "Mom's Cigar & Lounge"

I went inside & spoke to the older gentleman.  He had white hair and appeared to be in his 60's.  I asked him if the store was related to another cigar store called "Mom's", located in Valley Stream, NY.  He said they had the same owner.  He asked me if I needed any help.  I said I would, but in a little while as I wanted to just take a look at what was available first.  So I went into the walk-in humidor.

I spent about 10-15 minutes looking around, trying to find any of the cigars on the list.  I spotted some that were close, but the wrong size or blend.  I want to try to find the exact size cigars.

So I exited the humidor only to find the older gent leaving.  Another guy, younger, maybe 30'ish was taking over, talking on a cell phone.  I waited for him to finish his call to ask him for some help.  He finally took a break in his call to try to assist me.

I asked for for a few of the cigars on the list.  He had no idea about many of the different cigar makers.  He kept showing me the wrong cigars, over & over, trying to get me to take any cigar he offered.  I finally spotted one on the list.  I let him know that I found one. It was the CAO Flathead V660.  Before I could pick one up to take a look at it, he moved in front of me, grabbed it, & threw it into a basket he was holding.  I was pissed at both they way he roughly handled the cigar & also the fact that it appeared he didn't want me touching them.

Now I had 1 on the list.  I wanted a few more.  He kept on over & over not understanding what I was looking for & also kept pointing out other cigars that I had absolutely no interest in. Yes, I know Fuente makes a good cigar...I only wanted the Don Carlos Belicoso.  I couldn't find it & he strted offering me curly heads, short stories etc.

Looking around & getting increasingly frustrated by this guy...and seeing what I considered higher than normal prices on the cigars...I found another, the Illusione Ultra.  Before he could do anything, I gently picked it up, inspected it, and then carefully placed it in the basket.

That's 2 now.

For the 3rd..I figured it would be easy to find The Edge by Rocky Patel.  I was wrong.  I saw the Rocky Patel section, but didn't see The Edge.  I saw everything but it.  So I asked.  He kept pointing out everything that had "Age".  I kept on saying, "No, it's called EDGE"!  finally, I spotted one type of Edge.  It wasn't one on the list, but I took it anyway, as I figured I'd just get the 3 cigars & leave.

I exited the humidor & went to the register for him to ring me up.  He was still inside the humidor.  Oh...he was still on his phone call during this entire time too.

He motioned for me to come back in.  I did so, with the hope that maybe he actually found 1 of the cigars I was looking for.  Of course, I was wrong.  He was trying to talk me into buying some cigar call "Leaf" By Oscar.  I never heard of them & they looked like they were made from the dried up droppings of tobacco that Drew Estates used to wrap those weird Egg cigars years ago.  It seemed like he wouldn't stop with the sales pitch.  I walked out of the humidor & he then followed to ring me up.

He placed the cigars in a bag & I paid, in cash.  Then he went & put a book of matches in the bag with the cigars.  No, not the wooden, cedar cigar matches.  It was a cheap no name book of matches that you would get from those old cigarette machines when you bought a pack.  My thinking was WTF?  They didn't have real cigar matches?

This guy was a total asshole who knew nothing about cigars & tried to hard sell me on cigars I didn't want.

As soon as I was in the car, I took a look at the book of matches & took them out of the cigar bag. 

I have no use for matches...especially USED matches.  Upon inspection, several of the matches were torn out of the book & the cover was used to light them. 

WTF would I want that in with my cigars???

This used to an okay little B/M. 
On a scale of 1 to 10, without this guy, I'd give it a 5, because of the higher prices & limited selection.  Now because of this guy...I'd rate the shop a 1 only because I can't go lower.

I'll never stop in there again. 

I wouldn't recommend this shop to any one.


Here are the pics of what I picked up:













Note: the old name of the shop is still on the receipt & the time stamp is at least an hour off.

Here were the prices for the cigars:
3. CAO Flathead V660 Carb  I paid: $9.95  CA says the price should be: $8.39
6. Illusione Ultra I paid: $13.50   CA says the price should be: $11.50
Rocky Patel The Edge  I paid: $9.25  CA says the price should be: $6.55  (I bought the Maduro, CA lists the Habano) So I'm not counting this as 1 of the top 10.


Oh...they did have #5 Padron Family Reserve 50 Years there...but I didn't feel like paying $25 for it.  I'm on a limited budget, so I'm trying to be frugal.

[Tonto]

Recap as of 1/6/2016


1. My Father Le Bijou 1922 Torpedo 6 1/8 x 52                      Obtained
2. Ramon Allones Specially Selected  4 7/8 x 50
3. CAO Flathead V660 Carb 6 x 60                                             Obtained x 2
4. Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Belicoso Torpedo 5 3/8 x 52     Obtained
5. Padron Family Reserve 50 Years 5 x 54
6. Illusione Ultra 5 1/2 x 56                                                          Obtained
7. Rocky Patel The Edge Habano (Teal band) Torpedo 6 x 52
8. Ashton Symmetry 5 x 50
9. Bolivar Belicoso Fino Torpedo 5 1/2 x 52
10. Drew Estate Liga Privada No. 9  7 x 54


11. Hammer and Sickle Tradición Serie  7 x 48
12. La Bohème Pittore  5 1/8 x 52
13. Laranja Reserva Toro  6 x 52
14. Trinidad Vigía 4 3/8 x 54
15. Alec Bradley Sanctum Toro  6 x 52


16. Avo Syncro Nicaragua Toro  6 x 54                                         Obtained
17. La Mission du L’Atelier 1959  4 ¾ x 52
18. Heritage by Dunhill Robusto  5 x 50
19. The King Is Dead The Last Payday  6 x 52
20. Espada by Montecristo Quillon  7 x 56

21. Nat Sherman Timeless 652T  6 x 52                                        Obtained
22. Padilla Miami 8&11 Torpedo  6 ½ x 54
23. NUB Cameroon 358  3 ¾ x 58
24. La Flor Dominicana Coronado Especial  5 7/8 x 47
25. Sublimes Robusto Extra  5 ¼ x 52

[Jimmie the Mum]

That was some experience.

[nayslayer]

Love this, I may have a 9, I'll have to see

[MaytagMan]

As ambassadors of premium cigars to the public, it is extraordinarily important for them to KNOW their product in depth, and communicate this information to clients in a responsible and respectful manner.

By the sounds of this outfit, they do not have any idea about what they are selling, and they do not have a passion for cigars. Anybody can throw a couple of well-known names around or point you towards higher margin products.

That s*itbag operation is lucky you spent a cent in there... I would have walked.


I wish I had something that I could send you to fill out your list a bit, but I do not.


I'll look forward to your evaluations!

[Tonto]

As ambassadors of premium cigars to the public, it is extraordinarily important for them to KNOW their product in depth, and communicate this information to clients in a responsible and respectful manner.

By the sounds of this outfit, they do not have any idea about what they are selling, and they do not have a passion for cigars.   Anybody can throw a couple of well-known names around or point you towards higher margin products.

That s*itbag operation is lucky you spent a cent in there...  I would have walked.


I wish I had something that I could send you to fill out your list a bit, but I do not.  


I'll look forward to your evaluations!  

Yeah, I couldn't believe how much this guy did not know. 

I was very close to walking out. In hind sight, I probably should have.


Next up is located another b/m relatively close by...that has a decent selection.  I know of a small place that opened a few years ago, but I was there only once & all he had at the time were knock-off hand rolls.  I think there is a place near where my in laws live, about 15 minutes away.  I think there are a few others nearby as well.  I'll have to do some research.  I wish J Barbera Tobacconist was still around...they had a great selection & good prices.

Also, for some reason...I feel like picked up Litto's latest small batch, no. 6 IIRC.

I might have to place a few online orders & maybe pick up a few 5'ers.

[Tonto]

I'm going to go out tomorrow or Monday, to do a little more "hunting" for the cigars.

I figure, I'll start smoking them, only when I either get all 10, or I obtain all the ones I'm able to.

I've been thinking, I might expend to numbers #11 - #20 & start smoking them sooner than the top 10.

[Parkster]

I was hoping you were going to smoke and review as you went along .... Just to keep the thread rolling as opposed to it being a treasure hunt, and then, a review of the 2015 chart toppers.