Your most prized Cuban

[butternutsquashpie]

My understanding of the problems in the bad years was not restricted too the top marcas was more to do with inexperienced rollers and a lack of the proper tobacco for the blends which affected all marcas and really started in 99. The reason you can still find discontinued cigars from these years is you really need to have a good vendor that will check the cab and guarantee them for being a box of tent plugs, which a lot are not prepared to do as they know in time they will find a sucker willing to buy them even if they are plugged. My opinion on why prior years are so hard to find is they were all bought up over the bad 3 year period as the current stuff at the time was so problematic.

that is definitely what i tried to echo. you just managed to spray it more gracefully
when bringing in the new rollers, the old ones stayed at their stations. therefore, cigars in general from that era very dodgey and inconsistent. that's the main issue with those years. hand felt and trusted retailers do make a difference. very much so. especially small time retailers. but i still stick with my general rule of the "Top Three Marcas" suffering the most. reason behind this is because of the demand that spiked for Cohiba and the likes. imagine what the Monte 4 would've taken during that time! mass production means drop in quality. Much like mass printing of money, that's how it worked.
But in the end, Punch SSs and LGC1s would've stayed around the same demand. this is why their qualities aren't AS bad from that age. But alas, i can't speak for everyone on that. Never had any generally recognised 'White Whale' cigars before '98......

you also echoed one of the things that annoys me so: why 93-97s boxes are SO FCKN HARD TO FIND. only box i've seen from them are some '96 Punch Churchills (that are in my collection now ).

[ValeTudoGuy]

My understanding of the problems in the bad years was not restricted too the top marcas was more to do with inexperienced rollers and a lack of the proper tobacco for the blends which affected all marcas and really started in 99. The reason you can still find discontinued cigars from these years is you really need to have a good vendor that will check the cab and guarantee them for being a box of tent plugs, which a lot are not prepared to do as they know in time they will find a sucker willing to buy them even if they are plugged. My opinion on why prior years are so hard to find is they were all bought up over the bad 3 year period as the current stuff at the time was so problematic.


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Nicely put! This all certainly seems feasible.

[Simon Bolivar]

Well just to wade in with my 2pennyworth, although the production was at a peak between 98-02, I believe 00/01 are the most notorious for plugging. I can't recall a bad smoke from 98/99 & to be honest nor can I recall a badly plugged one from 00/01, with the notable exception of a recently smoked Cohiba Millenium Piramide (rolled '99). That was a tight sod & if I had brought a jar of those I would have spat blood if they were many like that but unless you buying boxes from 00/01, I wouldn't worry too much, as mentioned, there was a surplus & that's the reason these are the aged smokes some of us are smoking now.

[REASON]

Almost all 00-01 Cohiba lancero I've smokes have ended badly. Now only about 5-6 I've tired to smoke and not all from the same box but I wouldn't call 5-6 sticks fact for me but its always in the back of my head.

[butternutsquashpie]

Well here Simon:
How many 98-02 Montecristo and Cohibas have we all had?
knowing the prices on those bastards, methinks we'd all toss cash at other marcas from those years.
And hence all the Punches, Bolivars, etc splattered from those years

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[tippexx]

there was a surplus & that's the reason these are the aged smokes some of us are smoking now.

True Si .... and not always a bad thing .... 14 years has loosened a lot of the skinnies up nicely. Veguero's that I've smoked recently have been wonderful, and they had a terrible reputation.

I would agree with REASON though .... so far, any Cohiba Lancero from that era have been drumsticks!