Do house cigars ever compete?

Went to a shop as a first time customer and the owner told me he and his family had been rolling cigars for several generations.
Seeing they had several blends and their price ranged from $4 - $8 mostly respect to size, I thought I would try one.

He picked a couple out for me and told me how good they were and assured me I'd be back for more.
I grabbed a couple and asked if they needed to be aged but was instructed to smoke them fresh.

Lit one up and found it to be mediocre. I good smoke for the price, but a little disappointed knowing for a couple more bucks I could have walked out with a name brand. I understand comparing them to well known names with a reputation is quite a standard to compete against but with all the hype
he gave, it made me wonder if anyone has had any luck with house cigars.

Anyone ever been surprised by one?

One of my favorites is from a shop in Charleston called Lianos Dos Palmas. A broadleaf maduro double corona, about $6 a pop. They are rolled in shop and I love them. There can be advantages to smaller operations and shops, there may be batches of great tobacco that are too small for the big boys to use but some of the smaller "boutique" places can use it easily since they are producing on a much smaller scale. I guess it depends if the house cigar is house blended or just a 2nd with a house band.

The maduro WTF from Outlaw Cigars in Kansas City is good. I always grab a handful when I'm up there. I want to say they're in the $5-6 range which is solid from a B&M IMO.

That's the only house blend I recall smoking though.

Casa Fuente and Flor de Ybor City are a couple of Fuentes house blends that don't disappoint.

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Originally Posted by Cardinal

The maduro WTF from Outlaw Cigars in Kansas City is good. I always grab a handful when I'm up there. I want to say they're in the $5-6 range which is solid from a B&M IMO.

That's the only house blend I recall smoking though.

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Outlaw Cigar Company makes great cigars. I have yet to have one that I did not like.

I had a house maduro at a bar in St Augustine a few weeks ago. It started out nice than became very boring quickly and wouldn't stay lit. my friend is a very casual smoker and he really liked it but he likes everything lol. I would not go out of my way to have another house cigar after that one but I'm sure there are some excellent exceptions out there.

i have a shop that has a house blend that is awesome. its actually no longer a house blend since its so popular afew other local shops sell them. you can go into his shop at any time and he is hand rolling cigars!!

Not sure if these qualify as house cigars but Fox Cigar in Chandler, AZ has a house cigar that was blended by Eddie Ortega and rolled at MF. They are pretty good for $8 a stick.

I think its hit or miss and good is always a subjective term. I really enjoy the 10th Anniversary blend from Corona Cigar they are a mild-med grass and hay bomb.

Latin Quarter House of Cigars in St. Pete Beach has great custom cigars.

"House Blend" is sometimes just a rebranded version of a commercial blend. The B&Ms around me sell Pinar Del Rio, Camacho, and Casa Magna for house blends.

There is a shop here in Rochester that exclusively rolls and sell their own. I personally don't like the flavor profiles of them but they do pretty good business and are popular. They make good options if you like primarily dominican cigars.

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Originally Posted by herman

Went to a shop as a first time customer and the owner told me he and his family had been rolling cigars for several generations.
Seeing they had several blends and their price ranged from $4 - $8 mostly respect to size, I thought I would try one.

He picked a couple out for me and told me how good they were and assured me I'd be back for more.
I grabbed a couple and asked if they needed to be aged but was instructed to smoke them fresh.

Lit one up and found it to be mediocre. I good smoke for the price, but a little disappointed knowing for a couple more bucks I could have walked out with a name brand. I understand comparing them to well known names with a reputation is quite a standard to compete against but with all the hype
he gave, it made me wonder if anyone has had any luck with house cigars.

Anyone ever been surprised by one?

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Nazareths in Beverly Hills has their own RyJ line rolled in Honduras that is simply fantastic. I did hear they had stopped production some time back but I haven't been back to confirm.

Some people like the JR Ultimate line from JR Cigars. I'd classify them as medium-strong in body, similar to (but not exactly like) Hoyos or perhaps Excaliburs. Some come in as many as five wrapper choices, from (definitely not my choice) Candela to Oscuro. Once you find a wrapper you like, they're pretty consistent throughout the line. The thing is, there are brand-name cigars in the same price range or less that are just as good, if not better.

If you like milder smokes, the 8-9-8 house brand from Mike's is fairly good. I've gotten them in special deals, and enjoyed them. (Mike's also sells "seconds" of these, which I've never tried.)

Martinez Cigars here in NYC has some pretty dang good cigars. I was given 1 or 2 and then went down to their shop after the Sochi games last year to check out their digs. You walk in and it looks like a mess, but then you realize it's all from the torceadors constantly rolling cigars. I bought and smoked a Flat Iron maduro from them, hung out and chatted.

I've been meaning to get more from them, in fact I've really been meaning to order some lanceros from them as that's the only way to get them. Ordering the minimum amount.

Also De La Concha has good house blends. They had Don Pepin make a house blend for them after he came to the US from Cuba, which ended up being his Original Blue Label blend. Davidoff also makes a few sticks for their house as well. Not sure those count though?

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Originally Posted by El Sanchimoto

Martinez Cigars here in NYC has some pretty dang good cigars.

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YES on the Martinez Cigars. A customer from those parts found out I like cigars and sent me a few, some years ago.

There is (or used to be) also a shop in Hoboken that rolls. Those were very tasty too.

I love the sticks from my local B&M, I have sent them to everyone that I send cigars too.

But I don't know that anyone has given me feedback.