I think I've come to the end of my "trying cigars".

[akumushi]

I feel you and I don't Scott. I have never had a Padron Anni so I'm missing the bliss you're getting, but I definitely have arrived at a point where sub-par cigars do not suffice. I find myself oscillating between the premium Nicaraguan/premiun Cuban axis; about the time I get fed up with a few consecutively poorly constructed CCs I switch to some premium NCs and I'm digging their chocolaty spiciness, and then after a while they taste flat and I switch to CCs and have a few that are off the chain and woo me back. Then I get a couple of crappy ones and switch back to the Nics until they taste flat and uncomplex. At least when you swing between the extremes you always have a place to go, so about the time you get bored you can change it up. I wish i could convince you that CCs are worth it, but I think our palettes are just too different

[shilala]

Clayton, if I were smoking your cc's, I think I could definately make habit out of it. The ones you sent me, every single one was excellent.
The thing with Padron anni's is that they are ever-consistent, and always perfect. Never a bad flavor, never a bad burn, never a plug, never an unravel. The flavors are consistent and perfect. They are incredible rott, and are meant to be smoked that way. They age beautifully if a guy can't smoke them quick enough, and I've been fortunate to try a lot with varying numbers of years on them.
The fact that they are best rott is a real cincher. I don't have to stress "getting them ready to smoke".
I've had good fortune to smoke some awesome cc's, and if they even closely resembled the quality and consistency of padron, I'd love to rotate them in.
I know guys enjoy "the hunt" and it's fun going through box after box to find that one box that's mind-numbingly good. I don't enjoy that. It just pisses me off.
I'll always try different cigars, I suppose. I can't imagine not trying new ones at b&m's and herfs, because that's tons of fun. I'm certainly going to try the sticks that my brothers share with me, too. I'm sure I'll find new "rage" sticks that are enjoyable.

Todd, the LGD stuff is always going to be in my humidor. So will a few others like JLP's and Cohiba maddies and just a handful of others, because I really enjoy a "mood" smoke sometimes, too.
I'm just scaling way back. I'm gonna smoke what I like, hoarde what I like, and hoarde far less. It'll be a lot easier on me, and I'll enjoy taking care of lots less smokes.

Originally Posted by akumushi

I feel you and I don't Scott. I have never had a Padron Anni so I'm missing the bliss you're getting, but I definitely have arrived at a point where sub-par cigars do not suffice. I find myself oscillating between the premium Nicaraguan/premiun Cuban axis; about the time I get fed up with a few consecutively poorly constructed CCs I switch to some premium NCs and I'm digging their chocolaty spiciness, and then after a while they taste flat and I switch to CCs and have a few that are off the chain and woo me back. Then I get a couple of crappy ones and switch back to the Nics until they taste flat and uncomplex. At least when you swing between the extremes you always have a place to go, so about the time you get bored you can change it up. I wish i could convince you that CCs are worth it, but I think our palettes are just too different