great post. very thoughtful. i'm gonna bump your ring gau... er. nevermind.
i fall in the 10-20 year category myself. sounds like you're kind've directing this thread towards NC cigars. i enjoy both, but mostly CCs. here are the NC brands i enjoy, off and on:
LFD (i like most of what Litto produces)
JdN
Tatuaje (i'm kind've new to this brand, but really like the brown labels)
and Gurkhas
BWAH-HAHAHAHAHAHA!
joking on that last one....