how to start a good "rotation"

[habanos_specialist]

There was a question of how many cigars people have but to how many boxes do you need stored away to be able to smoke a couple a week n not have to constantly replenish stock. in other words how can i create a collection of cigars where i constantly have a variety of different smokes to choose from without running out? what is the method, taking into consideration that i want a rotation where i always have aged (6-12 months) cigars on hand to smoke while having staggered my future purchases to age/climatize in my humidor by the time the boxes im smoking out of run out.

Does it take many boxes to create a good rotation?

[Smallclub]

1/ you must buy much more than what you smoke. If you smoke 1 a day, you must purchase about 2 boxes each month.

If you want to smoke reasonably aged cigars, you must order the next box before you reach the 2nd layer of the box you're working on.

then 2/ what are the sizes you can afford to smoke/buy on a regular basis?

[cbob]

1/ you must buy much more than what you smoke. If you smoke 1 a day, you must purchase about 2 boxes each month. If you want to smoke reasonably aged cigars, you must order the next box before you reach the 2nd layer of the box you're working on.
then 2/ what are the sizes you can afford to smoke/buy on a regular basis?

I concur but the cost of buying 24 boxes/year, every year could be steep. Still, many folks have the budget and if you buy online, flaunting the import laws, you can do quite well.

In my own case, I don't normally smoke one/day except in the summer when I can get out on the deck. When I started to collect in a serious way with a view to ageing, I had the funds but was unwilling to buy from offshore as my Sis was a Customs Officer at the time. My solution was to buy my "Duty Free Limit" whenever I traveled to The USA where non-Cuban smokes were relatively cheap. There were times when I made 2-3 trips/month. I was able to make 2-3 trips to Cuba each year, recruitring Mules as much as possible and built up a small stock of Tasty Island Treats^?
The rule at the time was set to: sample a few when new but don't put into the regular smoking rotation before the cigars were two years out of production (or purchase in the case of NC smokes) but that was hard to stick with until a certain "critical mass" was reached.
It took a few years to build an inventory but the reward is that I now have a decent number of 10-12 yo cigars to enjoy while my latest purchases are "resting".
But if you smoke 1-5 cigars every day, you will have to have a serious budget to be able to establish an inventory of your favorites to "rest".

[nicwing]

I assumed this thread had been started by Commander Bob as it's his specialist subject. Not surprised to see him in third post, listen to the master and learn by brothers.

[Nightwingvyse]

I agree that you have to buy cigars at a faster rate than your consumption, but it needs to be thought through a little. If you forever buy cigars at a faster rate than you smoke, that's just stupid. That's gonna have more of an effect on your will than anything else. You only need to buy cigars at a faster rate until you have enough for a good rotation, which is obviously proportionate to how much you smoke. You just need to stockpile enough to get a good rotation and variation, at which time you can then simply buy them at the same rate you smoke.

[smokin_e2011]

I was becoming a little expensive with shipping etc, but i was using a little system, were for each one i smoke i buy 2 to keep my humidor replenished.
However i must have lost count or been sleep smoking or something because i had almost 300 sticks and i was down to 140 last week...

[habanos_specialist]

excellent detailed replies guys thanks that helped alot