CC's or NC's?

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Bill86

I would say a full bodied CC is maybe a medium to medium full bodied NC. As far as I know there are no FFP/Pork Tenderloin/Liga Privada FULL FULL bodied CC's. I could be wrong and If I am there are VERY few.

In general strength is not something CC's go for. Flavor however is.

The only full-bodied, full strength cc I've ever had is a big Por Larranaga hogleg that Klugs asked me to try at the last Shack. I think that's what it was, if I remember correctly. I asked him twice and he told me what it was, exactly, and I forget again.
I was thinking it was an old Belicosos Finos, but it's not. at any rate, it was INCREDIBLY good.

I also think you hit the nail on the head, Bill. I can't imagine any reason that there can't be full-bodied, strong cc's. The money is in what they're doing. I would guess that the trend toward larger rings will also begin a trend toward fuller body/strength. Probably in LE's, that'd be a good place to do it.

[shilala]

Smoke what you like, like what you smoke.
Realize that our tastes change as we go through life, and variety is the spice.
I'm smoking LOTS of cc's right now and vastly enjoying them. So much so that I've excluded everything else, but I'm also not smoking much. I have plenty of nc's on hand that I truly love, and when I'm ready for them, they'll be ready for me.
You're not missing a thing.
I do tell guys that when they're new to cc's, it's important to ease up on the strong, heavy nic puros, etc. before giving them a shot. It allows the palette to recover and enjoy the milder cc's. That's not to say that cc's aren't strong, but on average, they're not as brutal as nic puros and dominican puros strength-wise.
If you've been smoking lots of real strong nc's as I've guessed you have, I've found that in my experience it's best to taper down that strength or take a break before launching a fair cc trial. I found that out via a bad head/chest cold that lasted forever and didn't allow me to smoke. When I was ready to pick up a cigar, I had a very nice fiver someone had shared with me and I wanted to give cc's another shot.
That threw a hook in me. Still, I didn't really get involved with cc's for a couple more years, at least.

[RichieBklyn]

Originally Posted by shilala

Smoke what you like, like what you smoke.
Realize that our tastes change as we go through life, and variety is the spice.
I'm smoking LOTS of cc's right now and vastly enjoying them. So much so that I've excluded everything else, but I'm also not smoking much. I have plenty of nc's on hand that I truly love, and when I'm ready for them, they'll be ready for me.
You're not missing a thing.
I do tell guys that when they're new to cc's, it's important to ease up on the strong, heavy nic puros, etc. before giving them a shot. It allows the palette to recover and enjoy the milder cc's. That's not to say that cc's aren't strong, but on average, they're not as brutal as nic puros and dominican puros strength-wise.
If you've been smoking lots of real strong nc's as I've guessed you have, I've found that in my experience it's best to taper down that strength or take a break before launching a fair cc trial. I found that out via a bad head/chest cold that lasted forever and didn't allow me to smoke. When I was ready to pick up a cigar, I had a very nice fiver someone had shared with me and I wanted to give cc's another shot.
That threw a hook in me. Still, I didn't really get involved with cc's for a couple more years, at least.

Thanks for sharing your experience and advice!

[pektel]

If you don't like CC's, that's awesome. More for me.

My palate prefers the subtleties, the nutmeggy cinnamon from an 04 HdM DC, the tea like flavors from my box of 00 LGC MdO 3's, and oh, the sweet caramel from a 2005 PLPC.

A lot of the mainstream NC's I've smoked seem to concentrate more on pepper and strength, not to mention large ring guage. I really feel it takes a very skilled torcedor to roll a smaller, longer cigar, and the blend has to be more precise, given the lesser amount of leaves in the filler. Something about a lancero/palmas/and other long skinny CC's that just strike me as a work of art.

And of course, the obligatory "smoke what you like, like what you smoke."

[akumushi]

It's the French wine Vs. Californian wine debate all over again, so really, smoke what you like. There are good and bad examples of both.
I for one gravitate toward the milder CCs, but I enjoy an occasional Padron or Pepin. I would point out that they're blended to completely different palletes, with NCs mostly marketed toward mouth-smokers that want big, bold & chewy flavors with a rich mouthfeel, and with CCs mostly marketed toward nose-smokers that want complex and subtle aromas that don't rip into your sinus.
If there is any truth to the idea that people gravitate toward CCs in the long run (I certainly have) it's because it generally takes people a while to switch to the retroexhale and to learn how to pick up the more subtle flavors other than "burning tobacco smoke." IMO, if you've just smoked a few CCs and you didn't retroexhale, you've completely missed out on 90% of what is good about them, and should revisit them later, in that context.

[pektel]

Originally Posted by akumushi

would point out that they're blended to completely different palletes, with NCs mostly marketed toward mouth-smokers that want big, bold & chewy flavors with a rich mouthfeel, and with CCs mostly marketed toward nose-smokers that want complex and subtle aromas that don't rip into your sinus.
If there is any truth to the idea that people gravitate toward CCs in the long run (I certainly have) it's because it generally takes people a while to switch to the retroexhale and to learn how to pick up the more subtle flavors other than "burning tobacco smoke." IMO, if you've just smoked a few CCs and you didn't retroexhale, you've completely missed out on 90% of what is good about them, and should revisit them later, in that context.

VERY good point.

[lilninjabuddy]

Originally Posted by akumushi

If there is any truth to the idea that people gravitate toward CCs in the long run (I certainly have) it's because it generally takes people a while to switch to the retroexhale and to learn how to pick up the more subtle flavors other than "burning tobacco smoke." IMO, if you've just smoked a few CCs and you didn't retroexhale, you've completely missed out on 90% of what is good about them, and should revisit them later, in that context.

I'm wondering if over time that may happen to me as well. I retrohale with nearly all my cigars now. My initial thought about CCs was that they were nice, but generally for warm summer days only. Over the past year, I've gotten to the point where I want a Liga Privada about 50% of the time, and the other 50% of the time I'm wishing I had a Partegas or a Bolivar, or a Monte to smoke.

[dwoodward]

My tastes are definitely NC for now... I haven't had enough CC's to make a good judgement of yet. The CC's I had were all great sticks in their own right, just not to my prefered tastes.

As i live in England i smoke mostly cubans but i also have a few dozen NCs i keep in rotation (DPG black label,padron ambassador maduro,A Fuente sun grown robusto) that i like and tbh the flavour between the two is so different they shouldn't be compared to each other.

Just smoke what you like because both CC and NC can come up with some dire crap sometimes COUGH MONTIE OPENS COUGH

[lilninjabuddy]

Originally Posted by Reaver2145

...the flavour between the two is so different they shouldn't be compared to each other.

It's like comparing chocolate milk to raw milk. I enjoy both, but they're really two entirely different things.

[OLS]

Damn fine bit of reasoning there. Initially this forum was almost entirely made up of people who would rather have the CCs.
It MIGHT be drifting the other way now, but the CC love and knowledge here is still awfully strong.

[Don Fernando]

Originally Posted by RichieBklyn

It seems to me the more people smoke (years) they tend to lean toward CC's as better than NC's. Any truth to this? I can't seem to figure out why? I have smoked about 10 CC's, premium brands mostly when out of the US, bought at an LCD. I have not found CC's to taste better than NC's. What am I missing?

Nothing. I prefer Nicaraguan tobacco. It's all about personal preference.

[lilninjabuddy]

I've gotten caramel from My Father. Delicious graham cracker, caramelly goodness!

[RevSmoke]

I consider smoking cigars akin to smoking a pipe - in this regard - you will find flavors in both that are similar, and then flavors in both that are vastly different. The subtleties of Virginia tobaccos are mild, and require more concentration and palate acclimatization to really appreciate than Aromatics, English, or Oriental tobaccos.

The same is true of CCs versus most NCs, especially the Nicaraugan sticks. Most NCs have their flavors boldly present right from the beginning, though some nuances can be noted to ephemerally appear in the background.

On the other hand, while CCs have some bold flavors, they are more subdued. And to get the most out of them, you need to focus on the flavors and aromas that are more subtle.

As someone else said, sometime those flavors are noted more in nose than in the mouth.

I like both, at different times.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[OLS]

I'd also like to make the comment that I started smoking cigars with the General Cigar H.Upmann 2000 and the H. Upmann "Churchill"
which was a corona gorda, lol. I smoked them for years, and when they switched away from Cameroon wrappers, then I found Arturo
Fuente, smoked those for a few years, then found Padrons, smoked those for MANY years, and then got into ordering havanas WAY later
than most of my brothers, and after that I never looked back. You could therefore say that I have forgotten more about NCs than
some people know. I was a serious student of all things cigar, reading everything I could get my hands on. I act like a know-it-all
today because I feel like I DO know it all. Of course, I DON'T, far from it. But I FEEL like I do. Certainly enough to know what I like.
And of course, I abandoned the NC so long ago that I have NO IDEA of the things that are going on now, outside of the cursory
knowledge I get by loosely following the forum for those smokes here. So I now know what's hot, I just don't know why, lol.

And Bao, don't tell me what your opinion is, I KNOW, hahahaha.

[Mugen910]

Originally Posted by OLS

I'd also like to make the comment that I started smoking cigars with the General Cigar H.Upmann 2000 and the H. Upmann "Churchill"
which was a corona gorda, lol. I smoked them for years, and when they switched away from Cameroon wrappers, then I found Arturo
Fuente, smoked those for a few years, then found Padrons, smoked those for MANY years, and then got into ordering havanas WAY later
than most of my brothers, and after that I never looked back. You could therefore say that I have forgotten more about NCs than
some people know. I was a serious student of all things cigar, reading everything I could get my hands on. I act like a know-it-all
today because I feel like I DO know it all. Of course, I DON'T, far from it. But I FEEL like I do. Certainly enough to know what I like.
And of course, I abandoned the NC so long ago that I have NO IDEA of the things that are going on now, outside of the cursory
knowledge I get by loosely following the forum for those smokes here. So I now know what's hot, I just don't know why, lol.

And Bao, don't tell me what your opinion is, I KNOW, hahahaha.

You know nothing sir! Whatever people say about me is false...Don't listen to Pnoon or the Hog...they love to make up rumors about me.

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by Mugen910

You know nothing sir! Whatever people say about me is false...Don't listen to Pnoon or the Hog...they love to make up rumors about me.

Who are you???

[markem]

Originally Posted by Mugen910

You know nothing sir! Whatever people say about me is false...Don't listen to Pnoon or the Hog...they love to make up rumors about me.

Tom and Peter both told me that you were an above average looking heterosexual male.

[Mugen910]

Originally Posted by markem

Tom and Peter both told me that you were an above average looking heterosexual male.

see!!! they lied!!!

Only the cool kids smoke cc's
Posted via Mobile Device