Hey All!

While I have the geniuses upstairs who write all this stuff reviewing this thread, I will comment on a few things. I've read through all of it and first off want to thank those of you who know and trust CI for your support.

When you get to be the big gorilla of any industry, people will dislike you just because you're the big gorilla.

To the guy who was all about 'truth in advertising' let me tell you a story....

Remember when the aged/distressed look was in - about 3 or so years ago? We had these ball caps that were made to look distressed. We called the 'Tattered Hats' and sold them with that name. Well, I can't tell you how many people called us to complain that we'd sent them used caps because they had rips in them - dozens and dozens of calls! They were called TATTERED HATS for goodness sake! ALL of the pictures showed them with the little rips in the construction and STILL people didn't realized what they were purchasing/getting. What I'm getting at here is that "Truth in Advertising" isn't the end-all/be-all that you might think. Even when you're 100% honest, some folks will be unhappy.

Getting to this cigar, I have to admit I don't know much about it. I do see that its sell for less than $2/stick which in my mind says that it will be either mixed filler or made from low-quality long filler. That may be just my industry knowledge but I also know that if I'm purchasing something that sold for 125% more last year than its selling for this year (cigars, cookware, clothing, books, etc.) that tells me that they couldn't sell it for that original price or made too many and the demand has tailed off.

As you know, with any natural product be it grapes for wine, tobacco for cigars or even things like oranges and apples, the climate and weather affect it each growing year. So while a product may be outstanding one year, the next year its not quite the same - even if you use the exact same ingredients from the exact same growing area. Getting back to cigars, the manufacturers know that and they know that the next production, the taste won't be the same. So they sell the name to one of the big players in the industry. That player now has an exclusive but its not the same, even while it is the same. Make sense?

All cigar rollers add bits of tobacco to fill out the cigar. This happens even with long filler. They'll put a little bit at the cap so the rounded to is smooth. That doesn't make it less quality but it does make it look prettier.

If I find out any specifics with this particular cigar, I'll let you know.