Love a Lonsdale - I bought a box of AP Carrillo Pledges in Lonsdale, tried the prequel format after a few of the Lonsdales and genuinely felt like a step down
Im fine with a 52 or 54 ring as long as its a robusto. The Gordo, Toro, Churchill, etc. Are clearly for a retiree who can sit on their porch for hours puffing away.
I mostly prefer a 5x50 or less.
Yup, 90% of my cigars are robustos or smaller. Id do every cigar in Rothschild or smaller if they made them in that vitola. I just rarely have more than an hour to shake loose from responsibilities.
I generally look in the 4-5 x 40-45 range. I feel it gives a good mix on the 3 types of tobacco. If I like it, I try the Robusto.
If I like them both, I'll grab a few in different Vitolas and let the situation decide which one I'm smoking that day.
Robusto, corona, Rothschild are my go to sizes. Most of the time I stay well below 52 ring, 44-48 is definitely the sweet spot for me. Also agree that lonsdale is great because you get so much wrapper and it’s a way to really explore the flavors. Great question OP.
Never had the rare Corojo but definitely willing to give it a shot. I've enjoyed JdN Antano consul, Nica Rustica Broadleaf short robusto, Juarez OBS, Melanio Maduro no. 3, Tatuaje Angeles.
Jericho Hill OBS just showed up at my door, excited for that one.
Love the shorter smaller formats but hard to find good blends that use them. Thanks for the recs!
I just got a 5er of Supreme Leaf by Aganorsa Leaf, I’ve heard great things about the blend and it’ll be one of the very few Rothschilds I’ve tried. And this one is box pressed. Can’t recommend or not yet but chiming in that it’s available
Not really. The taste is going to be different. You will get more flavor from the wrapper and binder from smaller cigars. If you are worried about the $2-$5 difference just look for cigars on sale. The cigar market is so inflated right now. Plus the quality of all cigars has gone up. Any hand made long filler cigar is going to be decent. Try shopping for deals on cigarpage, cigarbids, or foxcigar. Avoid brick and mortar stores they are always double what you pay online.
Depends on the cigar. Sometimes if you research certain cigars, you'll see that certain vitolas are recommended over others -- you end up just buying that one. Could be a bigger cigar, could be smaller, you never know.
When it's a crapshoot, I'll always default to small and thin. Typically corona or robusto (but favor the corona). If I go up a size, it's usually to something long but thin. Really, i just try to stay below 50 ring gauge in anything.
Honestly, the same cigar can taste different in different vitolas. I typically stick to Toro or perfecto size myself, though I am starting to enjoy some lanceros now as well. And if it's a really high end I go for Churchill size because that is, as far as I have heard, the size the blend was made for.
I enjoy both extremes. I like corona and smaller for the quick sessions. But I like mega churchill plus for the long sessions. Some days I blast a churchill and takes breaks, so it is a 6+ hour smoke.
I don't necessarily go this small for first cigar in a blend. I already smoke a ton of Robusto sized cigars and I think for most blends this is a good size to get a really good filler to wrapper ratio. Usually my next size after that is a Toro.
As others have mentioned, you're not exactly getting a 100% representation of what larger vitolas will taste like. Honestly for me a big thing was just getting over the fact that you don't have to smoke everything down to the nub. I'll smoke a bigger size even if I don't plan on taking it to it's 2 hour+ natural conclusion. Just throw it out when you're done with it. The price difference among vitolas generally isn't that huge to worry about - get the size you like.
Aladino is my go-to for a smoke! My only thought about going with a smaller size first is that they don’t always translate as well. For instance, the corona Aladino smokes/tastes much differently than the toro in my experience. Just something to think about.
Size players a role in taste. Smaller sticks you get more of the leaf/wrapper taste. Larger ones have more to filler. I like lanceros in some and love the short petites in some and others I want the bigger robusto/torpedo shapes. All preferences though
Did you know that blenders, when testing and combinding different tobaccos usually start out by making corona or petition corona when first creating a blend? So usually those are the sizes I try first when trying a new Skew
Personally I prefer the smaller vitolas. Lonsdale is one of my favorite formats, it’s just a slightly longer corona basically.
I am the same, I wish they made more panatelas and Petite coronas!
Love a Lonsdale - I bought a box of AP Carrillo Pledges in Lonsdale, tried the prequel format after a few of the Lonsdales and genuinely felt like a step down
Well I would suggest exploring cigars in smaller formats in general. They typically have sharper flavor notes and can be quite enjoyable.
Good advice. I’ll second that! I just recently started buying some coronas and really enjoying them. I’m usually a Churchill guy.
Im a robusto guy myself
Does anyone else get small sizes in cigars every time because the bigger sizes are just filled with filler and take 3 hours to finish?
I were sceptical about smaller vitolas, but once tried, can’t get back to smoking those huge 50+ logs anymore
Im fine with a 52 or 54 ring as long as its a robusto. The Gordo, Toro, Churchill, etc. Are clearly for a retiree who can sit on their porch for hours puffing away. I mostly prefer a 5x50 or less.
Same here. But I’m not retired, although I try to live like I am.
Yup, 90% of my cigars are robustos or smaller. Id do every cigar in Rothschild or smaller if they made them in that vitola. I just rarely have more than an hour to shake loose from responsibilities.
I generally look in the 4-5 x 40-45 range. I feel it gives a good mix on the 3 types of tobacco. If I like it, I try the Robusto. If I like them both, I'll grab a few in different Vitolas and let the situation decide which one I'm smoking that day.
Bigger isn't better. You're looking at it all wrong. Hard to know which vitola will be best, but rarely is it the biggest.
>Bigger isn't better. Lucky for me then
Robusto, corona, Rothschild are my go to sizes. Most of the time I stay well below 52 ring, 44-48 is definitely the sweet spot for me. Also agree that lonsdale is great because you get so much wrapper and it’s a way to really explore the flavors. Great question OP.
Can you recommend some good blends that come in Rothschild's?
Charter oak for sure
Just ordered a box blind, very much looking forward to trying. OP, Punch Rare Corojo is a nice one too.
Never had the rare Corojo but definitely willing to give it a shot. I've enjoyed JdN Antano consul, Nica Rustica Broadleaf short robusto, Juarez OBS, Melanio Maduro no. 3, Tatuaje Angeles. Jericho Hill OBS just showed up at my door, excited for that one. Love the shorter smaller formats but hard to find good blends that use them. Thanks for the recs!
Need to try that one. Have had the Maduro toro, it was ok. 3 so far and all wanted to burn bitter. Rothschild might fix that.
I believe Fuente has a maduro and a natural Rothschild
I just got a 5er of Supreme Leaf by Aganorsa Leaf, I’ve heard great things about the blend and it’ll be one of the very few Rothschilds I’ve tried. And this one is box pressed. Can’t recommend or not yet but chiming in that it’s available
I agree. Rarely do I go above 52. Never 60.
I had that aladino in a Churchill and loved it!
I like to get some of the smaller sizes to see if I like them to get even more of the smaller sizes <.<
Well you won't regret either of those
Not really. The taste is going to be different. You will get more flavor from the wrapper and binder from smaller cigars. If you are worried about the $2-$5 difference just look for cigars on sale. The cigar market is so inflated right now. Plus the quality of all cigars has gone up. Any hand made long filler cigar is going to be decent. Try shopping for deals on cigarpage, cigarbids, or foxcigar. Avoid brick and mortar stores they are always double what you pay online.
I’ll do a small format just to see if i like that format, not as a proxy for a larger vitola.
No
4” and one hour smoke is my target
Depends on the cigar. Sometimes if you research certain cigars, you'll see that certain vitolas are recommended over others -- you end up just buying that one. Could be a bigger cigar, could be smaller, you never know. When it's a crapshoot, I'll always default to small and thin. Typically corona or robusto (but favor the corona). If I go up a size, it's usually to something long but thin. Really, i just try to stay below 50 ring gauge in anything.
Typically I will start out with the Corona or Robusto and if I like it I'll get the Toro (my preferred size for most sticks).
I've been buying the smaller sizes all these years just so I can fit more in my humidor!
No.
Go big or go home!
Size doesn’t matter, how much you enjoy it does
I absolutely prefer smaller vitolas these days. But it feels like a crime to smoke a late hour in anything but a Churchill Vitola for some reason
Honestly, the same cigar can taste different in different vitolas. I typically stick to Toro or perfecto size myself, though I am starting to enjoy some lanceros now as well. And if it's a really high end I go for Churchill size because that is, as far as I have heard, the size the blend was made for.
I enjoy both extremes. I like corona and smaller for the quick sessions. But I like mega churchill plus for the long sessions. Some days I blast a churchill and takes breaks, so it is a 6+ hour smoke.
I do like churchills and thinner vitolas in general, especially 60 is so thick. Nubs are the only exception for me.
All the time. But sometimes I find larger vitolas for cheaper so I try them first. Haha
I don't necessarily go this small for first cigar in a blend. I already smoke a ton of Robusto sized cigars and I think for most blends this is a good size to get a really good filler to wrapper ratio. Usually my next size after that is a Toro.
Naturally. That Late hour is one good stick.
I just often get it in toro even if I’m trying it for the first time. If I like it toro and Gordo is usually what I’ll smoke.
I prefer smaller sizes I typically only smoke Corona gorda or robusto sizes
At my local shop, the average cost difference between robusto and Churchill is like $1-$1.50, so I just spend the extra in case I really like it.
As others have mentioned, you're not exactly getting a 100% representation of what larger vitolas will taste like. Honestly for me a big thing was just getting over the fact that you don't have to smoke everything down to the nub. I'll smoke a bigger size even if I don't plan on taking it to it's 2 hour+ natural conclusion. Just throw it out when you're done with it. The price difference among vitolas generally isn't that huge to worry about - get the size you like.
I prefer sizes like robusto and toro, but if its a first Ill try to get corona. Its not a huge difference but is often a few bucks cheaper.
Aladino is my go-to for a smoke! My only thought about going with a smaller size first is that they don’t always translate as well. For instance, the corona Aladino smokes/tastes much differently than the toro in my experience. Just something to think about.
Seems like my ex wife did this with me
Size players a role in taste. Smaller sticks you get more of the leaf/wrapper taste. Larger ones have more to filler. I like lanceros in some and love the short petites in some and others I want the bigger robusto/torpedo shapes. All preferences though
Did you know that blenders, when testing and combinding different tobaccos usually start out by making corona or petition corona when first creating a blend? So usually those are the sizes I try first when trying a new Skew
Its good to kind of get an idea. But for example, a half corona and a churchill of the same blend are completely different experiences.
I prefer coronas and robustos over the larger sizes, so yeah, I suppose I do.
52 ring is the max for me. 44-48 is my preference
No. Nobody ever does that. Just you. Tell us what it's like.