So many '98 cigars available !

[tksamtec]

[quote author=mcgoospot link=topic=34804.msg148009#msg148009 date=1440550080]
I disagree. 99-early 01 yes. Mid 01 and all of 02 have been tremendous. As for 98s there were a ton of those made and the boom ended. A lot didn't sell and a lot sold and weren't smoked. Back then factory codes were soooo important if you wanted quality smokes. IMHO the 2002 vintage is the best vintage of CC's since 1995.
[/quote]

The 02s I have had, that were not plugged, were total flavor bombs... but I have had several tent pegs with 02 boxcodes.  I think smaller ring gauge smokes from that era are a total crapshoot.

[mcgoospot]

[quote author=tksamtec link=topic=34804.msg148025#msg148025 date=1440599462]
The 02s I have had, that were not plugged, were total flavor bombs... but I have had several tent pegs with 02 boxcodes.   I think smaller ring gauge smokes from that era are a total crapshoot.
[/quote]

Agree with the smaller ring gauge stuff.

[dangolf18]

There's one vendor I know of that has a bunch of '98 Bolivar and HdM cigars in stock at the same price as current stock. Unfortunately, a bunch fo people buy these cigars and try to flip them for 2-3x the price they paid. Great cigars though fwiw.

[Hutch]

Interesting discussion. IME the '99-"00 and overlap into early '01 was the period of inferior production and tobacco, including less ligero and  the H2000 asbestos wrapper.

But I guess I was obtuse in my original post. I love most '98 production, when it actually is from '98. My original point of the post was that I just don't believe that some, if not most, of what's being sold as '98 actually is. Barring a band change, when selling 5ers, folks can claim any year of production in order to inflate the price. I'd bet that almost all of the "'98 Fundadores" sold as '98 are from later years until the band change. And in the case of unbanded Fundies from Cyprus and Lebanon, I'd put the authenticity at zero :)

[CigarFreak]

more 99-02 popping up recently.  i wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole

[tstoner86]

[quote author=CigarFreak link=topic=34804.msg158880#msg158880 date=1460058625]
more 99-02 popping up recently.  i wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole
[/quote]

ditto

[alwayslit]

[quote author=CigarFreak link=topic=34804.msg158880#msg158880 date=1460058625]
more 99-02 popping up recently.  i wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole
[/quote]


..pretty much this. Since the 13 and 14 are smoking really well why chase these at the prices asked. This also reminds me of the never ending 98 trini fundi's.

[canadianbeaver]

This would be a great name for a cigar... Ten Foot Pole

[alwayslit]

[quote author=canadianbeaver link=topic=34804.msg158907#msg158907 date=1460126897]
This would be a great name for a cigar... Ten Foot Pole
[/quote]

The name already hurts my jaw :nana: :nana: