so to stir it up, list one or two that are overrated to you and one or two you love...

 For me it is basically anything drew estate that is overrated. Also nearly any "special edition" (fine and rare, liberty) they never live up to what you think they will be. On the other hand, la antiguedad, most arturo Fuente, and Pete johnsons are pretty damn good.  I've smoked boxes and I'll take consistently good smokes over hype any day. 

Definitely stirring it up - I've never had a Liga Privada I didn't like.  Swisher owned or not.  They are my go to smoke and I enjoy them more than most sticks I torture with fire.  Padrons are another perennial favorite - always good and well constructed.

On the other hand, Gurkha's always seems over-hyped and I've rarely had one that was worth the effort to clip.  The Leccia lines aren't far behind - relatively new, but there's not much to them that is good for me.

Love the Oliva Serie V Melanio, yet to have a bad one... And almost anything by Pete Johnson is always spot on.

Things that don't do it for me, Acids (with the exception of the OCCASIONAL Kuba Kuba), and I know I will catch flak for this, but I am yet to have a Viaje that I like (disclaimer: I haven't had too many from the Viaje line, but the ones I have had have left me underwhelmed)

Over hyped = CA COTY list and most cigars priced over $50
Love me some Fuente and Litto smokes among others. The LP line is great and same with the Liberty, though I've only smoked 2012 and earlier.

Nicaraguans!!!! Every new popular cigar is Nicaraguan. Spice spice spice spice...so overrated!! 

As far as ISOMs go Cohiba Siglo did not live up to my expectations at all, but the Bolivar Royal Coronas blew me away. As for not having to leave the country I was let down with the Undercrown, just didn't do it for me.  The PDR brand hasn't let me down so far, especially the Small Batch Reserve Habano Robusto.

QuoteLonghorn - 11/25/2014  9:54 PM  Definitely stirring it up - I've never had a Liga Privada I didn't like.  Swisher owned or not.  They are my go to smoke and I enjoy them more than most sticks I torture with fire.  Padrons are another perennial favorite - always good and well constructed.  On the other hand, Gurkha's always seems over-hyped and I've rarely had one that was worth the effort to clip.  The Leccia lines aren't far behind - relatively new, but there's not much to them that is good for me.

I didn't know Swisher owns DE!  Is that a recent development?  And I'll plus one the Gurkha.  I think I had one Ancient Warrior that I have positive notes about in my Journal.

 

QuoteThe Burn Ward - 11/25/2014  10:17 PM  Over hyped = CA COTY list and most cigars priced over $50 Love me some Fuente and Litto smokes among others. The LP line is great and same with the Liberty, though I've only smoked 2012 and earlier.

 

I've only smoked later.  

Quotesar127 - 11/25/2014  11:41 PM

Nicaraguans!!!! Every new popular cigar is Nicaraguan. Spice spice spice spice...so overrated!! 

90 % of the cigars I smoke are NIC or a blend with NIC involved.  I do not see anything over rated.  Drew Estates and Padron, My Father, Oliva are all NIC cigar companies with cigars rated highly by CA and CG.  

Loving all the Flatbed cigars I've had and Crowned Heads as well. My biggest let down to date was the Pudgy Tiff although I really like almost all of Pete's cigars.

I'm not a big fan of the Gurkha or Oliva just seems that I always have problems with them. I like just about anything from Perdomo and I'm a big fan of the 101's.  

just goes to show we all have different tastes

Oh man I've never met a Liga I didn't enjoy! Liga #9 are probably my go-to for a good enjoyable cigar and any of the undercrowns as every day smokes so for me they aren't over-rated at all. They are maybe overpriced but that's by supply & demand not because its s bad/ good cigar. I know Ashton gets a lot of high marks, but again for me I have yet to smoke a bad Ashton either with the VSG being one of my favorites As far as hyped cigars tho sincd this is the topic no sticks get more hype then the novelty cigars (CAO Sopranos, Man O War Orange County Choppers, Sons of Anarchy, etc) in my personal experience e these are the sticks that are mostly let downs, not all but most.

Quoteblondie - 11/26/2014  7:27 AM

QuoteLonghorn - 11/25/2014  9:54 PM  Definitely stirring it up - I've never had a Liga Privada I didn't like.  Swisher owned or not.  They are my go to smoke and I enjoy them more than most sticks I torture with fire.  Padrons are another perennial favorite - always good and well constructed.  On the other hand, Gurkha's always seems over-hyped and I've rarely had one that was worth the effort to clip.  The Leccia lines aren't far behind - relatively new, but there's not much to them that is good for me.

I didn't know Swisher owns DE!  Is that a recent development?  And I'll plus one the Gurkha.  I think I had one Ancient Warrior that I have positive notes about in my Journal.

 

Recent acquisition...

The only things I find consistently a let down are Rocky Patel and Gurkha.  

To Bradleys point, Viaje are right in the middle for me.  When they get it right, they nail it.  I have had some of them that I would NEVER touch again as well.  Mostly on the good side, but they can be a frustrating company to me.

Oliva can be like that to a point for me.  The regular Oliva stuff is pretty underwhelming for me, but I love the Serie V  and Maduro.  Oddly, I didn't like the Melanio, but loved the Melanio Maduro.  But Oliva is never construction, it is just my flavor preferences.

Crowned Heads and RomaCraft are my go-to brands, and always love Tatuaje, Liga Privada (most DE that is not the infused or cheap crap), Illusione, Panacea, so many others that never let me down.

Most Graycliff's have been a downer for me.

Anything AF and Ashton have been good to me, but I still prefer medium strength nicotine cigars and they have a large lineup. Gurkha has been a PITA for me, as I've had some fantastic and some horrible sticks all in the same line. Consistency is horrible there. Not a fan of RP either, and also find Oliva to be hit or miss (but love the ones they hit). The only "name" cigars I've really disliked have been a Torano, an RP, and an RyJ. I've only had one of each though, so I will try them again down the road.

For my taste, overrated cigar brands include Oliva, Ashton, Graycliff, Alec Bradley, Cohiba (non-Cuban), and the Drew Estate KFC

Underrated brands that I really enjoy are Flatbed, Iconic Leaf, Crux, Emilio, Caldwell

Quoteblondie - 11/25/2014  10:26 PM  

so to stir it up, list one or two that are overrated to you and one or two you love...

 For me it is basically anything drew estate that is overrated. Also nearly any "special edition" (fine and rare, liberty) they never live up to what you think they will be. On the other hand, la antiguedad, most arturo Fuente, and Pete johnsons are pretty damn good.  I've smoked boxes and I'll take consistently good smokes over hype any day. 

 ruling out DE as an entire brand eliminates a number of good cigars IMHO.  The Ligas and Undercrowns along with the Nica Rustica are all good (difference between overrated and over priced).  Same as the Gurkas, as most are not in my wheels house but the Cellar Reserve is terrific

 Dunhills are pretty much one overrated cigar for me

QuoteCfickter - 11/26/2014  9:51 AM

Same as the Gurkas, as most are not in my wheels house but the Cellar Reserve is terrific

 Dunhills are pretty much one overrated cigar for m

Agreed Chuck, that Cellar Reserve is a nice smoke.

Quotesar127 - 11/25/2014  11:41 PM  Nicaraguans!!!! Every new popular cigar is Nicaraguan. Spice spice spice spice...so overrated!! 

AAAAAAMEN!!

I would never rule out cigars by producing country.  I smoke many nic cigars as well.  As far as the DE stuff goes, I did have one or two of the Undercrown Belicoso's that passed, the half dozen or so LP #9's were troublesome from a construction angle.  I just felt like I was fighting to get any amount of smoke off of them, and at that price point, why work so hard.  Looking at the country angle though, I think Honduras has some pretty good smokes and they don't get a whole lot of attention.  The Punch Gran Puro comes to mind.  The Punch Upper Cut is nice as well, and has that Nicaraguan Ometepe tobacco. 

Padrone, Crowned heads and Aging Room are up there for me as well as LFD. The other side of the coin is RP, Victor Sinclair and Alec Bradley to name a few. I find that the list on the bad side is easier to fill then the good one.

IMO, the AB Fine & Rare is the most overrated.  The wrappers tend to unwind and the flavor is less than complicated.  The MUWAT KFC was hyped up pretty good, and was nothing special.  The standard MUWAT is a great smoke, and shouldn't have been messed with.

The most underrated I'd give to the Fonseca Cubano Limitado.   Or maybe the CAO Brazilia.  Both are excellent.

As for Gurkhas...I've only had 3 that I can recall.  Two were so poorly built, I could only smoke less than half of them.  With this track record, I lit the third one to mow the yard and it was really pretty good.  Razor sharp burn, lots of smoke, no relights, and burned for the whole job.  Someone mentioned consistency problems...

Quotegpd4 - 11/26/2014  10:56 AM

The MUWAT KFC was hyped up pretty good, and was nothing special.  The standard MUWAT is a great smoke, and shouldn't have been messed with.

Thats a good one!  I was excited about those myself and they were a total let down.  But you can't win em all.