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What’s the most expensive cigar you ever bought?
By Daniel | February 26, 2008 |
Okay, guys. Time to be honest here!
What’s the most you’ve spent on a cigar, and what did you spend it on? What was the occasion? Do you regret spending that much? Were you sober?
I think I probably spent a good $20 on what was (hopefully) some sort of Cuban Cohiba while I was in Toronto. Then again, I don’t really remember…
Bottom line: I’m looking for straight answers here, folks. So confess. If anyone admits to spending over $100 on a single stick, I’ll probably buy you a drink at some point. That is, as long as you have a good story behind it.
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Tags: cigar confessions, Cigar Talk, Cigars
Topics: Cigar Talk |
February 27th, 2008 at 12:31 am
$40
on a Greycliff double espresso black label. It was Deltha O’neal’s birthday (bengals player) and he was a regular at my local B&M. that was his favorite cigar, so if you wanted to be in the VIP section and have a cigar with him on his birthday you had to buy that one. I thought what the hell…
February 27th, 2008 at 12:45 am
My friend recently spet $52 on a Stradavarius. He was very disappointed with it and thought it was a flavorless waste of money.
Personally, that same friend had to buy me a giant Gurkha Black Dragon to settle a football bet for $22. Damn, that was good and I would do it again!
February 27th, 2008 at 6:31 am
I spent about 75$(180z?) for a pack of 3 Trinidad Robustos Extra and smoked them one by one in a park. That day I f**ked up an exam and was about to be thrown out of college.
February 27th, 2008 at 8:03 am
So far,the most expensive cigar I have purchased was a CAO America Anthem at $18 a stick.It was a fairly decent cigar,but it was not worth the price.It should have been a $10-$12 cigar at best
February 27th, 2008 at 9:19 am
$35 for a custom-rolled cuban. It’s still resting in the humidor as it’s only a year old. Gonna give it some more time. We’ll see if it was worth it.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:41 am
@Brian $18 for a CAO America!?! Yikes…
Most I’ve spent is probably $20. I also live 10 minutes from Kentucky which has a very low tax on cigars.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Jesse - What’s with the “@”? You’ve been spending too much time on Twitter!
February 27th, 2008 at 10:57 am
LOL I’ve always done that when I respond to people. I need to start doing threaded comments I think.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:52 am
A handful of Cohibas (Cuban) for 40 Euros each (about $50 per cigar at that time). My wife and I had just spent a few weeks touring Europe on a motorcycle. I had several hundred Euros left that I didn’t want to convert back to dollars before leaving; so I spent them on cigars in the tobacco shop in our hotel in Austria.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I always like to tell people that I’m part Irish and Scottish, which means I like to drink, but I don’t want to pay for it. The same goes for cigars, I like to smoke ‘em, but I really don’t like to pay too much for them.
The other day I walked in to the local tobacconist and made the foolish mistake of asking him what’s new. He proceeded to pull a box out from a closed cabinet behind the desk and show me an Ashton ESG robusto. When he said they were $18.50 a stick I must have visibly winced or some other kind of nervous tick because he put it away and proceeded to show me some other (cheaper) cigars. While walking around I happened to bump in to an end table and knock his large, completely full coffee all over his nice oriental(ish) rug. He was really cool about it, but I felt pretty guilty and ended up walking out of there with that ESG and some others he showed me. Of course, to further accentuate my cheapness, I did have a gift certificate for $20.00 so I really shouldn’t complain.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
I really believe that by careful shopping you can get great cigars at friendly prices. However, I recently ordered a Padron Series 1926 #9 just to see how the #1 cigar of the year (according to CA) tastes. That set me back about $21.00 with shipping. Haven’t smoked it yet.
The single most expensive stick I ever bought was a Cuban Bolivar torpedo I bought at an English Pub in Munich, Germany 2 years ago. That babe went on the company credit card to the tune of about $28.00. Worth every penny!
February 27th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
OK, so we have Chris at $40. Can anyone beat that?
February 27th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Yep: 40 Euros->$50 (see comment #9). At today’s rate of 1.5120 dollars per euro that would have been $60.48, but I bought them in 2004.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Oops. Completely skipped over that, Jack. My apologies!
February 28th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Probably something in the $20-25 dollar range. I can’t recall specifically what it was. I think it was something by CAO.
Keep in mind that this was in Canadian dollars, and was almost a year ago, when the Canadian dollar was worth about $0.60 American, instead of being almost equal like it is today. So, really, that’s only about $12-15 US.
I guess I haven’t really bought anything that was too expensive.
I did by a Cuban Cohiba once, that would have been really expensive if I had bought it here at home, but I was in Cuba at the time, so it was relatively cheap (although, even then, it was something like 12 CPC, which works out to about $12 US).
February 28th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
A few months ago, I made my first visit to a new cigar and rum bar in Dallas. A colleague and I picked out Arturo Fuente Between the Lines. After a couple of great rum drinks and our smokes, I picked up the check only to see for the first time that they were $60/each.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
I have to admit, i’m the guy Joe referenced in his comment about purchasing the Stradivarious for $52.
That was the most unflavorful cigar I had and at this price, it made my cigar experience less enjoyable.
I’ve spent $38 on the God of Fire and really enjoyed them alot!
Paul
February 29th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Hard to beat any of you. Cigar Taxes across the river in Kentucky are extremely low. I think the most expensive cigars the shop I frequent has is the Stradivarius and it is right around $30.
February 29th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
It looks like Ninophile is our new leader. I hope you were able to put it on an expense account!
Ironmeden - Just think, a Stradivarius violin can go for millions of dollars! Just be happy you’re no violinist.
Jesse - I officially hate you.
February 29th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
[...] Daniel: It looks like Ninophile is our new leader. I hope you were able to put it on an expense account! Ironmeden -… [...]
February 29th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I think it was around $20 in Mexico. Don’t remember what it was it was so long ago.
February 29th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Lately, the most expensive cigar I bought was a Punch Double Corona. Spent around 18 euros on it ($27).
February 29th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Sadly, no.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:44 am
$20 in Mexico can get you a long way, stinkie.
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:01 am
[...] Jack: This week Jesse asks about your cigar spending habits. He’d like to know what’s the most and the least you’ve ever spent on a cigar. He also reviews the Torano website, compares [...]
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:02 am
That it can Daniel lol….
March 6th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I don’t know if one can mention retailers on linehere, so just blank it out if you have to.
The Davidoff Diademas Finas sells for $220 the box of 10 (cheapest I have seen is $210). I could not therefore turn down the deal from another ‘cigar Jack’, Jack Schwartz Importer of Chicago, was offering - $22 a piece. Box price for single sticks? I’m there.
I’ll drop my quick philosophy here too - there is no such thing as a $22 cigar, there are only cigars that sell for $22.
If one finds a disapointing $22 cigar more disapointing than a disapointing $5 cigar, shouldn’t be buying $22 cigars in the first place.
March 6th, 2008 at 10:47 am
We’re fine with links in comments if it helps out our readers. :)
March 6th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
FNA - You live in Chicago? I was just in Jack Schwartz a couple of days ago.
March 7th, 2008 at 11:15 am
“FNA - You live in Chicago?”
No.
I found this really cool thing on my computer. They call it the internet…
Too many retailers, not enough watch on my spending. I’ve bought cigars from Chicago, Oklahoma City, Las Vegas - Arnie’s in NYC is a cool place too.
I live in Philadelphia, home of another age-old retailer, Holt’s.
I find Jack Schwartz real interesting for among other reasons that they sell $200 cutters and $500 ashtrays. This leads me to wonder about their custom.
(No wonder about their customer service tho’. I had a problem with a cigar they sent, I called, they immediately replaced, no return requested.)
March 7th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Really? The Internet? Golly.
I support my local stores as much as the next guy, but I also use Web-based retailers like Cigars International. Do you use them too?
March 7th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
$200 for a cigar cutter?! Are the blades tipped with diamond dust so they stay sharp forever? Is the casing made of solid gold?
My god, maybe a future post can be: “What’s the most expensive cigar accessory (cutters, humidors, etc.) that you ever bought?”
I can’t say my answer to that question would be very extreme, though. My best cutter cost $6. My humidor only cost about $30 (to be fair, it’s pretty small: only holds between 20-40 sticks, depending on the sizes). Hell, even my Colibri lighter was only $15.
The point is, I can’t imagine spending $200 for a cutter.
March 7th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
“they sell $200 cutters and $500 ashtrays”
My mistake - they sell $700 ashtrays.
I linked to the page offering these ashtrays in response to the review here of the two cigar metal ashtray.
I probably use CI and Famous more than other internet retailers as they are almost local to me - like 50 miles up river. Often makes UPS ground shipping one day.
I think the main reason I buy from a variety of ‘net retailers is that I will be looking for a specific cigar and surprisingly, it will seem like only a couple of places stock it. (Hardly anybody sells the Davidoff Diademas as a single)
March 7th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
“The point is, I can’t imagine spending $200 for a cutter”
neither can I, nor most of us here (or anywhere) I imagine.
That’s why I say I wonder about their custom.
I have to think that a shop wouldn’t stock such items, along with $1,000 lighters, unless they had customers for them. Who are these people?
(Yeah, yeah yeah, the rich, I know)
March 7th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
It thing, for that type of customer, it’s more about status than it is about wealth, per se. I mean, even if I could afford a $200 cigar cutter, I think I’d stick to the more basic, cheaper ones. Better to spend my excessive wealth on the cigars themselves, rather than on unnecessarily expensive accessories.
I sometimes suspect that people who spend that much money on their accessories are smoking cigars more because of the image they think it creates than because they actually enjoy the cigar experience.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Um…where I said “It thing…” in my last comment it should say “I think…”
March 9th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
The most expensive for me was an opus x forbidden X it was 75$ I got it for my 18th birthday. I’m 20 now but to this day or should I say in the last 2 years I haven’t had a cigar that can touch that Forbidden X best cigar ever. Not even the Cubans I’ve had.
March 13th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Whoa, 20 and with an Opus X Forbidden X under your belt. Not bad.
March 13th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
You’d probably be surprised at some of the cigars I have gotten a hold of. Here in Florida we have a tobacco depot store that gets lots of different types although ordering from tampa sweethearts helps out too. One of my other favorites is the Ashton ESG 20 year incredible cigar that was about 25$ and I just got my hands on an opus x Perfection A for a little over 30$ a steal according to the 75$ online list price I need to try it soon.
May 27th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
$120 One REAL Cuban cigar (i was on a cruise in the Caribbean)it was absolutely THEY best money ive ever spent……and i might have been a little drunk
May 28th, 2008 at 9:33 am
$120? That must have been some smoke! I can’t imagine paying that much for even the most expensive Cuban, unless it was pre-embargo or something special like that. Do you know specifically what it was that you bought?
May 28th, 2008 at 9:35 am
That would be that infamous Cruise Ship/Tourist Area Markup I bet. :)
May 28th, 2008 at 10:08 am
That’s what I was thinking, Jesse. I know the price of Cuban’s has been steadily increasing over the years (to the point that they’re starting to become something special even in countries where they’re legal), but $120 for a single stick? I can’t imagine that being the regular price. Surely, it was marked up with the knowledge that a lot of tourists would be willing to pay that much for it.
May 28th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I spent $30. I got a Padron 1926 Anniversary #9. I would say it is the best cigar I have smoked.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:38 pm
I’ve worked a few bartending shifts at a cigar bar in Charlotte NC. The most expensive stick in the cabinet sells for $60, and they do offer a pre embargo Romeo Y Julieta at $350… Stupid money! I try to cap myself at $12-$15 per cigar at a premium, I normally smoke very fine sticks under $5.
August 8th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I remember when my dad bought a box of 40 behike cigars for about $19,000.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
My good friends,
I just got back from spain in a tour of the new realized cigars by Cuban Cohiba Behike, I spend $300.00 USD on just one of these premium cigars sold in the street by a man who bought the box that only is sold by a box of 40. An the box alone is worth 25,000 USD. This man was selling them on the street at 300.00 to 500.00 USD depending if he liked you or not and belive it or not he was selling them faster than humans can blink. I was one of the lucky ones to buy one. I know is alot of money to spend on just one cigar, but we only live once and I had the money, and let me tell you my friends if you ever get the chance to buy one. I sugest you do because it has been the best one I ever smoked, to date. You own me a drink budy…..
August 31st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Behikes sold in the street? You’re joking, right? (Please tell me you’re joking.)
I think I spent 18 bucks once on a Fuente Anejo. The price was inflated, but it was a fantastic smoke for a special occasion.
September 1st, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I’m still fairly young (not yet 19) but I’m trying to sample all of the main brand cigars by the time I’m 22 and am transferring to a farther away school. Just today I shelled out 45$ for an Opus X but I’m waiting for my buddy to join me so I’m not quite sure how good it will be yet. It would be awesome to be able to try a Black Dragon Gurkha though.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:53 pm
I had a His Majesty’s Reserve cigar, if you ever have $700 to spare, I’d highly recommend this. Special occasion was when I hit the seven-figure mark. I used a $1500 solid gold lighter to light this baby. Absolutely great cigar, I can’t even really explain how good it was, but it was a once in a lifetime smoking experience.
September 3rd, 2008 at 12:53 am
I can’t really imagine spending $700 on a single cigar, but I suppose if I had the money, I might go for it. But, a $1500 solid gold lighter? Why? Seems like a silly way to spend $1500, if you ask me.
September 14th, 2008 at 4:29 am
I had a 440$ a smoke, Altadis’ Behike. They were of exquisit quality.
I suggest you fellas try it sometime
September 14th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
For $440, I’m picking up a new guitar or PS3.
November 27th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Partagas 150. Was the best cigar I ever had.
November 27th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
$20.00 on a Cuban H. Upmann Petite Corona while in Cancun. WORTH EVERY DOLLAR!!!! I haven’t found a smoke that’s come close to this yet. Can’t wait to travel abroad to get another one.
November 28th, 2008 at 11:42 am
$20 for an H. Upmann sounds a bit high. I think you might have got ripped off a bit, because you were a tourist. Still, they are very good cigars, so I can hardly blame you for paying the money. :)
December 5th, 2008 at 3:06 am
The people that buy the 6,000 dollar humidifiers and 2,000 lighters are not the type of people to be posting on websites like this, their time is much more valuable. My dad is one of those people and it is simply because he has the money to spend. Why not live life to the fullest if you have spent 60 years working your ass off? Like someone said earlier, you only live once. I personally plan on taking advantage of all luxuries available if i get lucky enough to do it. As my dad says, “I came from nothing and worked hard for my money so you should have to work for it as well. Everything i have is going to charity. I will pay for your full education and housing until you graduate but then you are on your own.” The big ballas roll deep my friends… and most of them deserve it. There is your answer to WHY
December 5th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Hey, the expensive humidors, I understand. There is a humidor/coffee table unit I saw once, and my goal is to one day have that as the centerpiece of my smoking room.
Still, even if you’ve got big $$$, I don’t understand why you’d spend thousands of dollars on a lighter. A lighter is a tool, not a luxury. The cigars are the luxury. Humidors can be pieces of furniture, so they can be luxurious, too. But, lighters? I dunno.
Of course, that’s just my opinion.
December 17th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I bought two Padron 80th Anniversary 1926 Torpedo’s @ $30 each. A friend of mine enjoyed them with me, along side a few snifter glasses of Don Juleo 1942 Tequilla; and it was the most pleasurable experience that either of us ever had smoking a cigar. Most of the smokes I buy are in the $9 - $14 range, but this $30 Padron was worth every penny!
May 1st, 2009 at 12:05 pm
haha 420$ on a Altadis’ Behike, there was a death of a family friend who was a huge cigar fan and we split in 2 ways so i spent about 210$. while it was an impressive smoke, i would not pay that money again
May 11th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
my uncle had real cuban cigars in cuba and said they were really good but he has had better in the us
May 28th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I know a guy who has a full box of pre-embargo cuban Davidoffs that supposedly go for $25K here in the US. He’s got the certificates and everything. Crazy part is that they aren’t even locked up.
Also
Justin: Your comment was a while ago, so I’m sure its done and over with, but the Opus X is a great smoke. That said, $45 is a bit steep for an Opus though. I picked up a corona size one for 11 bucks. I also picked up another opus which was the second largest smoke I’ve ever had (the first was an Alec Bradely Maxx <– great smoke) and that was only $20.
As far as the most expensive one goes for me, probably that $20 Opus. I was once given a $40 Cohiba from an ex-girlfriend’s dad, thats about it.