Sampler Includes 20 Cigars + Desktop Humidor
5 x 5 Vegas Classic Torpedo (6 x 54)
5 x 5 Vegas A Limited Ed. Atomic (4.5 x 54)
5 x 5 Vegas Gold Toro (6 x 50)
5 x 5 Vegas Limitada 2006 Torpedo (6.25 x 52)
1 x Desktop Humidor (20 Ct.)

Regular Price: $125.00
One Day Price $59.95!

Comments:

Another humidor special this week.  Maybe all these different on-line retailers are owned by the same company?

At any rate, I’m just not as ambitious as I was when I first started smoking gars.  These days, I’m not buying 20 of anything unless I know I like it or the reviews are fantastic.  I’ve never had a 5 vegas, and the reviews on top25cigar.com put these as mediocre smokes at best.  Moreover, I don’t need another average-quality humidor (particularly a branded one for a product I’ve never tried).   In short, this is a good deal if you’re looking to stock up on moderately priced smokes that will get the job done (and little else) and you’ve been waiting for a starter-humidor deal.  Otherwise I suggest passing on this.

PS:  Since there were no great specials this week, I went searching for some additonal deals and found a great Arturo Fuente sampler at www.famous-smoke.com for 49.95 (plus shipping).  You get 14 Fuentes, including 4 Hemmingways(!), for just under 50 bucks.  I’ll take 14 Fuentes to 20 budget-gars-in-a-box anyday….

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The Montecristo Golf Set.

1 Hexagonal Montecristo Humidor (holds at least 27 cigars)
9 White belicosos
9 Platnium belicosos
9 Original belicosos
Assorted golf extras (tees, mostly)

Price: $129.00

Comments:
This is a very good deal. The Belicoso versions of these gars are worth $129.00 all by themselves, particularly the whites (which make excellent morning smokes). The fantastic humidor only sweetens the deal. Ordinarily this collection sells for at least $250.00, so this is a steal–at least by JR’s standards (never seen it anywhere else). If you’re in need of a humidor or like the Montecristo moniker, this is a good purchase. As I already have a Montecristo-dor, the only reason to buy these would be if I really liked Montecristos. I don’t. Not anymore, not these at any rate. Brother-M is out of the country this week, so I guess that means the brothers will not be purchasing.

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La Fincas:
Robusto (4.5 x 50)
EMS     $24.95
Maduro   $24.95

Fifty Four (5.0 x 54)
EMS     $28.95
Maduro     $28.95

Comments:
About a year ago, I ordered a box of the EMS Robustos “on special,” meaning they came with five free “fifty fours,” so I got to try both EMS versions of these gars for around $35.00.  All things being equal, I wasn’t too impressed.  These gars had below average draw and terrible burn.  Plenty of Nicaraguan flavor, however; so much so that I started calling them “La Stinkas.”

In the end, these are not bad gars for the price–if you smoke four or five gars a day, might as well stock up now.  Those with less of a death wish should stick to something with better construction.

rate 5.5

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Sampler Includes 15 Cigars
5 x CAO Black Gothic (6 x 52)
5 x Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Torpedo (6.15 x 52)
5 x Sol Cubano Torpedo Maduro (6.5 x 52)

This is a good deal. Normally you don’t see many torpedos on sale because they are one of the most popular size/shape, so they sell well on their own. That said, I will not be purchasing these because I’ve grown tired of CAO Blacks and Rocky Patel Vintages, as they have been in a lot of weekly specials lately (not just from cigar.com). Bottom line: while a little repetitive, this deal is still a good value. Recommended if you haven’t tried these gars yet.

Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $3.33
Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

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3 Macanudo Hyde Park* 5.50 x 50
3 Macanudo Robust 747 7.50 x 47
3 Partagas Naturales 5.50 x 50
3 Partagas Spanish Rosado Sabroso 5.88 x 44

JR weekly special price = $39.95!

Meh, this deal is average. Odd sizes. Decent smokes, but nothing really special.

Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $3.33
Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

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Sampler Includes 20 Cigars, Cigar Jar Humidor & Cutter
5 x Gurkha Legend Robusto (6 x 50)
5 x Gurkha Regent Toro (6 x 50)
5 x Gurkha Centurian Perfecto (6 x 60)
5 x Gurkha Genghis Khan (6 x 50)
1 x Cigar Jar Humidor
1 x Cigar Cutter

Sure, the cutter and humidor jar are worthless, but 20 large Gurkha’s for $100.00? This is an insanely good deal. Easily one of the best ever. Kudos to cigar.com for showing its competitors what a deal is all about. (That said, I probably won’t be purchasing because my stock is full right now–though I’m sure I’ll regret missing this deal until it comes along again….)

Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $5.00
Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

1 Comment »

Hate to judge sight unseen, but these have “crap gar” written all over them. And adding 5 additional crap gars hardly sweetens the deal. This is the worst deal in a long time. JR is really going downhill. I should stop giving them money until they come up with some good deals again….

Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $1.66
Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

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25 Cigars:

5 x CAO Cameroon Robusto (5 x 50)
5 x CAO Brazilia Gol (5 x 56)
5 x CAO Black Storm (5 x 50)
5 x CAO Gold Robusto (5 x 50)
5 x CAO Criollo Pato (4.75 x 50)

One Day Price $74.95

About three months ago, Brother Delonne picked up the first CAO sampler from cigar.com–the same as this one without the Blacks or Criollos, at $59.95. The quality of the cigars was amazing, and, as a result, Brother Delonne began purchasing gars from cigar.com again, despite the site’s generally steep prices. This deal adds five Black Storms and 5 Criollo Patos for just 15 bucks more.  Not a bad increase for an extra 10 CAOs. Needless to say, 25 CAOs for just $75 is a great value, anytime, anywhere. In fact, this package is the foundation for Hudgar 2006 (see below).

Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $2.99
Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

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Nicaraguan/Dominican S.T. Dupont cigars
The Tubo: Size: 6.75 x 44 Weekly Special price: $49.95
The Lonsdale: Size: 6.50 x 43 Weekly Special price: $49.95
The Churchill: Size: 7.00 x 47 Weekly Special price: $59.95

Brother Delonne seized this opportunity immediately, scoring a box of the Dominican variety of these gars before they sold out—never to be heard of again. A great value at just $59.95, I will definitely be saving at least 5 of these for long-term storage.

Brother Dicksbain elected to wait for the cigar.com special, which was even better this week. But it’s nice to see JR with a REAL special again. Lately, they’ve been utter crap.

Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $2.28 [Average]
Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

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This week’s cigar.com special features a cigar I’m not familar with. They’re offering 2 boxes of 10 Pueblo Dominicanos. The reviews over at Top25cigar.com look pretty good…I’m just too stocked right now to make a mystery purchase. I’ve been burned too many times taking that gamble.

10 Pueblo Dominicano Ambassador (7.5 x 50)
10 Pueblo Dominicano Torpedo (6.25 x 52)

Brother’s Purchased?:
PPG (price per gar): $4.50
Deal Rating: ???
Deal Direct URL: Click Here

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With a price-per-gar (ppg) of just over $2.25, this deal should be a no brainer. But I’ve ordered La Gloria Cubanas from JR before, and they frequently taste bittery and the wrappers always crack. This deal screams “buy me, buy me.” The memories I have of JR’s quality do not. In my book, experience always trumps advertising.

5 x La Gloria Cubana Corona Gorda 6.00 x 52 EMS
5 x La Gloria Cubana Churchills 7.00 x 50 EMS
5 x La Gloria Cubana Glorias Extra 6.25 x 46 EMS
5 x La Gloria Cubana Wavell 5.00 x 50 MADURO
5 x El Rico Habano Rico Club 5.25 x 54 MADURO

In the end, this is not a bad deal, even with these shortcomings. I guess what is holding me back is that I know these gars are better than they are when I receive them from JR. And I just can’t bring myself to pay for gars that are worse than the manufacturer intended them to be.

Deal Rating:
Deal Direct URL: Click Here
Brother’s Purchased?:

1 Comment »

CIGAR.COM’s weekly special contains a series mild robustos and toros:

4 x Rocky Patel Connecticut Torpedo (6.5 x 50)
4 x Gurkha Connecticut Robusto (6 x 50)
4 x Sol Cubano Connecticut Toro (6 x 50)
4 x Montecristo White Label Rothschild (5 x 52)

Of all of these cigars, I’ve only had the Montecristo Whites before. I look forward to trying the rest as this is a good deal I’ll be ordering.

Deal Rating:
Brother’s Purchased?:

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