I like cigars, but never thought the more expensive ones were worth the extra dough. As I’ve discussed before, my palatte isn’t especially educated toward this sort of product. To the point, however. I ran out of cigars a couple of days ago and reordered from J&R Cigars. My order’s about the same each time: A couple of bundles (20) of “Alternatives,” knock offs of “good” cigars. The “good” cigars are generally $5+ each, while the bundles are about $30 for 20; my order runs about $70 delivered.
In the interim I went to a cigar store and picked up a $18 Cohiba (Dominican, again, even it it were Cuban I probably wouldn’t appreciate it). Frankly, the draw wasn’t particularly good and the flavor and fullness wasn’t the same as my regular order. Again, I learned my lesson. As they used to say on Wall Street, “Stick to your knitting.”
Incidentally, I feel the same about scotch and generally buy Smuggler’s Cove or something along the house brand line. Used to by Dewar’s but the difference in taste to me was so minimal it wasn’t worth the price.
