Famous Nic 3000

[Bubba - NJ]

Since I started buying them the price has creeped up every year since the bandless edition first came out . And they are still a great cigar . The only special I ever saw with them was the inclusion of a free bundle of Nic 1000 Churchills . Very plain but my Bro in-law loves them 1000's . If you buy a bundle and don't like them I'm sure they would be easy to sell here .

[Tio Gato]

There's a lot of old chatter about this brand on the old Club Stogie now Poofda.com or something like that.
Go back and search for the rumored history of the original 3000's. Interesting stuff and really good cigars. Can't comment on the latest blend if it's the same or not. At the price point they're worth a shot.

[Zanaspus]

Originally Posted by SmokinApe

I have heard that the blend has changed more than once. And when you think about it, how couldn't it have? In any event after smoking the original band-less version and subsequent versions I believe there is a difference. That being said they are a decent stick at a great price BUT IMO they are more a hype stick at this point than anything else. If they really stood up to $6 sticks on a consistent basis someone would put a band or two on them and charge six bucks...

I am not hating on value smokes or bundle smokes at all, please don't take it that way. IMO the market dictates price and people will charge the most people will pay. And IMO the quality will drop on cigars like this to keep them affordable will maximizing profit...

I have to disagree strongly, given my masters degree in economics. We all see how fast they sell out. Clearly Famous could double the price and unload them, yet they choose not to.

Why is this? Clearly, an altruistic vendor makes no rational sense. No, I feel it is more a free advertising ploy. They get so much free press in the cigar community, it's like free Famous commercials?

Hype stick? If you say so. They sure blow Gurkhas and Graycliffs out of the water imho, so I guess it all depends how you define hype stick.

[SmokinApe]

Originally Posted by Zanaspus

I have to disagree strongly, given my masters degree in economics. We all see how fast they sell out. Clearly Famous could double the price and unload them, yet they choose not to.

Why is this? Clearly, an altruistic vendor makes no rational sense. No, I feel it is more a free advertising ploy. They get so much free press in the cigar community, it's like free Famous commercials?

Hype stick? If you say so. They sure blow Gurkhas and Graycliffs out of the water imho, so I guess it all depends how you define hype stick.

If they haven't doubled the price, how do you know how well they will sell? How do you know they were never re-branded and sold at a different price as a trial or even regular production like many have claimed? Not trying to be confrontational, just asking....

When the description of a cigar reads: "One of the most talked about cigars on the internet...." that equals hype IMO... I could be wrong... And maybe we describe hype differently, which is fine... I have never seen a Gurkha or Graycliff add say that...

[neoflex]

I don't think they are hype sticks. They have been producing these for many many years and for a while they were always in stock as the demand wasn't that high. They sell out faster and faster simply because people talk and word spreads about how good of a smoke these are and word gets around. As far as bundled cigars I think these are one of the best and priced fairly well for a bundled cigar unlike some other shops that still charge $6-$7 for what esentially is a house brand/bundled cigar. Yes, the taste will change from year to year slightly. It's to be expected as the taste can change slightly with each crop. You will see this even with high dollar smokes and if you happen to pull a 2 year old stick and compare it with a stick that you bought a few days ago they will taste different. Different crops and one has been aged. These used to be a part of my regular rotation a few years ago but than I moved on to other things. I did recently smoke a newer release and I still think they are a great cheap smoke.

[SmokinApe]

Originally Posted by neoflex

They sell out faster and faster simply because people talk and word spreads about how good of a smoke these are and word gets around.

Exacly what I mean by hype stick...

Originally Posted by neoflex

I did recently smoke a newer release and I still think they are a great cheap smoke.

Exactly my point...

[Whee]

Et Tu Taboo?

[SeanGAR]

The original ones were unbanded Olivia Serie X that were dumped after Fuente sued them (thanks Carlos) & they couldn't be sold as Serie X.

They were very nice cigars.

I haven't had any of the ones Famous had produced after the first run ran out, so I can't say if they're different or not.

[neoflex]

I guess I must have misunderstood what you meant by hype stick. I typically think of smokes like the Nub as being hype sticks where they were all people were talking about and everyone thought they were the best thing since sliced bread but yet they hadn't been released yet which made everyone nuts and start calling and seeking them out release day and also on the far end of the spectrum I consider Opus and Anejos albeit great smokes as hype sticks. Everyone wants them, most enjoy them but they can't be had all the time due to limited release dates controlled by the manufacturer(IMHO to create hype) and the retailers that do get them know this so in turn a bunch then double the mark up because they can and because people will still pay it. I honestly don't think the Nic3000s fit into this category. IMHO, its only the serious cigar smokers who typically know about them and seek them out. The average consumer who typically would help the hype machines for smokes like the Nub, LE Tats, Opus etc don't typically know about the small but very enjoyable bundle/house brands.

[bazookajoe]

Originally Posted by SeanGAR

The original ones were unbanded Olivia Serie X that were dumped after Fuente sued them (thanks Carlos) & they couldn't be sold as Serie X.

They were very nice cigars.

I haven't had any of the ones Famous had produced after the first run ran out, so I can't say if they're different or not.

The originals were the best. The subsequent blends are good, but don't have the depth of flavor. Easily worth the $2 price but not worth twice that IMO.

[MajorCaptSilly]

The torps are on sale at Cigar Monster for the next hour:

http://www.cigarmonster.com/


MCS

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by SeanGAR

The original ones were unbanded Olivia Serie X that were dumped after Fuente sued them (thanks Carlos) & they couldn't be sold as Serie X.

They were very nice cigars.

I haven't had any of the ones Famous had produced after the first run ran out, so I can't say if they're different or not.

I have seen this rumor time and time again about these cigars. I have had the Series X cigars and IMO they taste very different than the Famous Nic 3000. From my research on the subject I have never seen it confirmed that the 'X' were actually the Famous Nic 3000. If you know different I would greatly appreciate that info.

[SeanGAR]

Originally Posted by wayner123

I have seen this rumor time and time again about these cigars. I have had the Series X cigars and IMO they taste very different than the Famous Nic 3000. From my research on the subject I have never seen it confirmed that the 'X' were actually the Famous Nic 3000. If you know different I would greatly appreciate that info.

Lots of innuendo without direct statements at the time from people in the industry who should be in the know.

I've had several of them side by side and thought they were exactly the same cigars. A couple of others who tried them thought the same. When you compared them, you compared the first run 3000s with X that were still available in a few places at the time?

The sizes were the same as Olivia had produced for X and they were box pressed, which the X were but which a bundle would typically not. They also came out at the time when Olivia would have been getting rid of them if they didn't plan on just naming them something else.

Proof, no.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by SeanGAR

Lots of innuendo without direct statements at the time from people in the industry who should be in the know.

I've had several of them side by side and thought they were exactly the same cigars. A couple of others who tried them thought the same. When you compared them, you compared the first run 3000s with X that were still available in a few places at the time?

The sizes were the same as Olivia had produced for X and they were box pressed, which the X were but which a bundle would typically not. They also came out at the time when Olivia would have been getting rid of them if they didn't plan on just naming them something else.

Proof, no.

I went to researching and came to the same conclusion really. No real confirmation if they are the same cigar. I did however find that the Series X were made for Eddie Ortega (United Tobacco) in the Oliva factory. The same Series X which Fuente later sued Eddie for.

I have compared the X series to Original Release 3000's in each vitola. I still have some X series. I have done vertical tastings and they taste very different to me. Maybe it's aging, or different crop from different fields, who knows? But they tasted different to me. Lookwise, they are similar, but a lot of different cigars look the same.

[Zanaspus]

Shrug. I just know I like em a lot.

as for the ""most talked about on the internet"" review...

Famous was OVERRUN with Internet and phone call orders for the Nic3K

What was it caused by? the Internet Cigar Boards. PERIOD.

No advertising can compete with word of mouth.

[alfbacca]

Got a 5 pack of the torpedo size about a month ago. Looking forward to trying them in the next coming months. I'm assuming these get better with age, but they can't be all that bad fresh right?

Originally Posted by wayner123

I went to researching and came to the same conclusion really. No real confirmation if they are the same cigar. I did however find that the Series X were made for Eddie Ortega (United Tobacco) in the Oliva factory. The same Series X which Fuente later sued Eddie for.

I have compared the X series to Original Release 3000's in each vitola. I still have some X series. I have done vertical tastings and they taste very different to me. Maybe it's aging, or different crop from different fields, who knows? But they tasted different to me. Lookwise, they are similar, but a lot of different cigars look the same.

I might be totally confused, but I always thought the OR Nic 3000 were the unbanded Oliva Masterblend I.

[fsjonsey]

Nic3K's have been one of my absolute favorite smokes for a long time now. they're consistant, the construction is always top notch, not to mention they taste great!

I just bought 20 of these so here's hoping they're great.