Buying a limited box from one stick

[Styler]

I'm probably just over thinking the situation but I'd be interested in your thoughts.

My desktop humi is about 80% full with various Cuban LEs and REs. I believe, through conversations with BOTL and reviews, that most will only reach their full potential with at least a year or two of age. I'd like to maybe buy a box or two from this selection to have 'special' cigars to bring out every now and again over the next 5+ years.

My problem is that if I age these singles to the point where I am likely to be trying them 'at their best', my chance to actually buy a box will probably be long gone. On the other hand, if I start smoking them all now I may not get an accurate impression of their true potential and either buy the 'wrong' boxes or none at all. Unfortunately I'm not quite rich enough to buy a box of everything on a whim!

How do you decide which limited availability cigars to purchase within the window of opportunity?

[M1F2R3]

Very interesting thread, OP. I'm a student with a part time job :P, I'm not made of money at this age so I'll be watching this thread closely to see how everybody in here purchases.

[daverave999]

I don't generally buy LE or RE but I would treat them the same as any other cigar I choose that I can't try with age on.

Some, I go on other people's recommendations. At least if the consensus is they are worth a punt and I don't like them, they'll be easy to re-sell!

Also, I reckon that you can sometimes tell the potential even when they are young but I'm not very good at this yet. It's something you will hear people say occasionally and they never get called on it, so there must be some truth to it... There are flavours that I find present in most young cigars (simply due to their age) that will disappear, so if you can discern them, and like what's left, I'd say they're a good bet! I hope that makes sense.

[Stevieboy]

Styler- I fully understand your dilemma with LEs and have found myself wishing I'd bought more of certain sticks years down the line. I'm saddened that I never bought more Cohiba Sublimes back in the day. To that end, I stocked up on Monte Sublimes and have 30+ put away for the future...I think the Duke bears watching too as I reckon it'll be a classic in 3 or 4 years

[Stevieboy]

What Dave said about knowing what 'fresh' flavours to ignore is important too. Often with new sticks I get a grassy flavour which I don't like but I know will disappear after a while. I leave the sticks alone for at least a year then try again

[Icey]

As someone who's not exactly made of money either, rather than buying a box i would suggest buying as many singles as you can afford over several 'pay days' for example if you can't afford a box of 10 sticks try buying 2 singles (if they are available as singles) each week until you have 10. Not the best method i know but what matters is you end up with the cigars..

[Styler]

Thanks for the comments guys. I don't find I have this issue much with regular production because the prices aren't as inflated, I'm happier taking a chance on a box at a lower price. It's not that I can't afford to buy a couple of boxes, it's just that in the world of LEs and REs there's too much choice! There are obviously some that smoke well young, I've got a box of those 2008 Monty Sublimes tucked away as well Stevie but most seem to need a little age.

Having been smoking cigars for coming up to 2 years now I'm getting used to picking out specific flavours but I still find it hard to tell which flavours might change with age. I do notice that 'green' taste on young cigars that I presume will dissapear, but then maybe that cigar will have grassy tastes anyway like a lot of Cohibas do.

[whisky77]

I have found that it is always better to try before you buy if possible.

I smoked the Canadian RE Simones and ended up buying two boxes; still reckon they are the best Bolis I ever smoked. Have been lucky enough to try a good few of the RE but there are some of them I would certainly not want a box of.

[Styler]

I smoked the Canadian RE Simones and ended up buying two boxes; still reckon they are the best Bolis I ever smoked. Have been lucky enough to try a good few of the RE but there are some of them I would certainly not want a box of.

That's one of the sticks I've got to try, I've heard they are good.

I'd be interested in hearing about any of the currently avaliable REs that you certainly wouldn't want a box of. I think that finding a cigar good is more subjective than thinking it's terrible, if that makes any sense, so I like hearing about cigars that people don't like more than the ones they do!