I often read cigar reviews that are several years old and sometimes almost ten years old. This leaves me wondering how consistent a cigar blend can be. Certainly the leaves from any field will vary to some degree from crop to crop. Secondly, if the sales of a particular blend start to drop off, does the manufacturer change the blend to lower his cost? Does anybody have examples where a beloved blend has changed noticeably? Was it always for the worse or have some actually gotten better from one year to the next?

Too many to list.

Fuente and Tatuaje Brown label are the most consistent IMO, LFD is close.

Good question... In the past, I started leaning more towards the Nic/Honduran blended cigars as their flavors resembled those of the Cubans (which were banned from US)

But Dave, at John Hay's Cigars could probably give a better answer to your question???

Dave, Isle 9... 🇨🇮

There is no change to the RP 1990 and 1992 that Rocky claimed he found forgotten in a warehouse back in 2003. Musta been a large stash.

Too many variables to say definitively that any cigar blend remains consistent; tastes the same year after year after year. One variable to keep in mind is that your palate, sense of smell and taste, may change as you age. So even if a cigar may be consistent, it might taste different to you a few years later. The taste of a leaf of tobacco can/will also change as it ages.

That's why I appreciate cigar makers who label the blends by year, like Crowned Heads does with Las Calaveras and a few other offerings...or ascribe a number to a batch like LGD does with its Small Batch line. Having smoked several of each, I've noticed that cigars from the same year or batch don't always taste the same.

Let's not even get into individual memories...are you sure you remember exactly what a cigar tasted like four years ago?

Like my buddy MACS said: "I just go by 'is it good or not?'"

His way of saying his palate has changed and cigars change, so why try to worry yourself about how close they match in flavors?

Every single Padron 3000 maduro and Oliva V I have ever smoked tasted exactly like every other 3000 and V I smoked. I don't know how they do it. Come to think of it, maybe I don't smoke those two cigars much anymore becasue they are so predictable and unchanging...

[quote=delta1]

Like my buddy MACS said: "I just go by 'is it good or not?'"

[/quote]

That's my point. I accept that the ones bought a year ago may have just arrived and the ones bought this year may have been on the shelf quite a while. I accept that they may be made from different crops. My concern is when you enjoyed the ones you bought last year and this year, not so much or not at all. I am a believer in aging, so I accept that some flavor may be sacrificed for smoothness and balance.

[quote=Stogie1020]Every single Padron 3000 maduro and Oliva V I have ever smoked tasted exactly like every other 3000 and V I smoked. I don't know how they do it. Come to think of it, maybe I don't smoke those two cigars much anymore becasue they are so predictable and unchanging...[/quote]

Padron for sure never change.

[quote=frankj1]Padron for sure never change.[/quote]

One reason Padron and Oliva brands are in my top list of favorites. They hit my taste, strength, body profile perfectly. Or maybe my profile evolved based on those characteristics (chicken or the egg thingy). They are a steady smoke with solid construction. You know what you're getting with them day in and day out, box after box.

You know what you are getting even before you place the order.

Some may say that it's boring but for a majority of the time, I like to get something that is rock steady and know what to expect when I spark it up.

NINE!

[quote=BuckyB93]One reason Padron and Oliva brands are in my top list of favorites. They hit my taste, strength, body profile perfectly. Or maybe my profile evolved based on those characteristics (chicken or the egg thingy). They are a steady smoke with solid construction. You know what you're getting with them day in and day out, box after box.

You know what you are getting even before you place the order.

Some may say that it's boring but for a majority of the time, I like to get something that is rock steady and know what to expect when I spark it up.

NINE![/quote]

I’mma purdy sure I can say that every Padron I’ve smoked has met or exceeded expectaions, regardless of series or vitola. In the last year and a half-ish I’ve purchased higher end Padrons for specific special occasions and they definitely delivered the goods.

[quote=deadeyedick]There is no change to the RP 1990 and 1992 that Rocky claimed he found forgotten in a warehouse back in 2003. Musta been a large stash.[/quote]

LOL! Or the Fuente Opus X Lost City which was tobacco grown out of season for the movie, a one off that somehow keeps on supplying cigars 19 years later.

[quote=BuckyB93] You know what you are getting even before you place the order. NINE![/quote]

We are not that many years removed from a time when most cigar smokers had loyalty to a brand and perhaps, just as likely, a blend from that brand. Granted, there were not so many brands and blends available as there are today. My gut tells me the proper way to buy cigars is by-the-box and only a few favorite blends but my brain tells me to keep looking for a surprise smoke or the actual pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, an economically priced smoke that knocks your socks off. If history tells us anything, the number of brands and blends will probably retreat to far less than we see today in 10-20 years as regulation, social standards and economics take their toll. If you see that coming start stocking up on your favorites. One other thing, just as all the brands are shifting their blends to appeal to the newer generation of cigar enthusiast, they will one day shift away from your favorite blends for the next generation.

[quote=Stogie1020]Every single Padron 3000 maduro and Oliva V I have ever smoked tasted exactly like every other 3000 and V I smoked. I don't know how they do it. Come to think of it, maybe I don't smoke those two cigars much anymore becasue they are so predictable and unchanging...[/quote]

This ^^ for me, With respect to the 000 Series maduro ( and the Londres, Delicias, etc), and Oliva Master Blends.

I’m sure the higher end Padron maduros are consistent as well.

JGKAMIN I thought they continued it by using the Opus blend but with a different wrapper.

Another favorite daily type smoke, that for me has been extremely consistent over the years, is the Jaime Garcia.

^ they’re winners

La Perla Habana Black Pearl Morado

DPNewell was banned for questioning the blend of the re-release.

(Actually, it was just a re-banding, according to CBid.)

Ah, here it is! 🇨🇮

Someone was actually banned for questioning a blend? Who banned him? How does that violate the rulz?

[quote=LeeBot]Someone was actually banned for questioning a blend? Who banned him? How does that violate the rulz?[/quote]

Oh boy….

Yeah, there used to be a dungeon below cbid offices.

We would get banned for several different offenses, most of them having to do with any mention of…

Platinum Membership

Then of course you could be banned for…

-Competitor references

-Disparaging remarks about cbid CS

-“Inappropriate” posts in general, typically involving sexual stuff or slamming another member

-a variety of other transgressions

I was once banned for jokingly saying a CS gal came into work hungover.

I miss La Princessa…