I ever received on this forum follows, and is worth sharing with all noobs, past, present, and future:

The first came from Jay9 and Knokmdwn who said "stop buying quantity and go for quality. Most of the cheap smokes are cheap for a reason" and "if you are always only trying mediocre cigars, you will never have a high and low gauge of what is really "out of this world" for you and what isn't" plus "This is what we have figured out and you haven't and we try to tell ya but you think you know better" along with the donkey bashing icon. But they were indeed right, of course, as I can attest after smoking all them samplers and 5 packs and not finding a single great smoke in over 100 different sticks. I got better though.

Second was from nnightmar who talked about this in person with me but said in best in a post which said something to effect of "Aging a cigar for a year will make a bad cigar passable, a passable cigar good, a good cigar great, and a great cigar sublime". I don't have any with a year on them yet but again can attest to what a diffference 3 months can make, and 6 months even more. I can't wait for 9 months and then that year aged.

And lastly Kombat who thru his sharing info on some of his favorites and generosity helped me to try those full bodied smokes we noobs tend to shy away from, which are now some of my fav's too.

So to all noobs, experiment as you will but save most of your $$ for those cigars that are recognized the forum over as great smokes, even if you have to smoke a bit less. Then be sure to buy enough to let some rest and you will be rewarded (and remember dog rockets don't age, they just get crusty). And don't fear those smokes lableled full as they are some of the tastiest and complex out there.

Ok that's it. Anybody want any well aged G2's I got left? (Hint: just say no.)

StogieHog wrote:

Ok that's it. Anybody want any well aged G2's I got left? (Hint: just say no.)

StogieHog wrote:

Bur's low?

tyyler82 wrote:

Poor bastid is down to Gurkha's and White Owls

SweetHavok wrote:

One other word for you noobs. In the next year or so, your palate WILL change. Things you are enjoying right now, you may no longer want to smoke in a year from now. Most of us more experienced smokers learned this leason the hard way.

dpnewell wrote:

Also note that your palate can also switch back eventually, especially if those old cigars age well. I remember buying a box of Cubao lanceros after smoking one I liked. Five sticks into the box and I was over them so I gave most of them away. Two years later and I find a few on the bottom of my humidor and after smoking one I instantly regretted giving all of them away.

euodias wrote:

Best advice I got was don't buy boxes until you know what you like. Advice came 4 boxes too late, but still good advice.

Sunoverbeach wrote: