Why do you hate Freedom? :dubious:
I have not found that an excellent Cuban cigar is better than, say, an excellent Dominican. I’ve had mediocre Cubans too. I’ll allow for the fact that, despite the fact that I’ve smoked cigars for 20 years, maybe my cigar taste just isn’t refined enough. I can absolutely tell the difference between a $1.50 cigar and an $8 cigar. I’m not sure I’d bet my house on my ability to tell the difference between an $8 cigar and an $18 cigar. So, consider my assessment of Cuban cigars in that context.
By the way, diku, I’ll second the endorsement of CAOs. I’ve had a lot of luck with them. Brazilias are a standby for me. I also smoked a CAO Gold knock-off this weekend that was surprisingly good for the price.
CAO’s are a great smoke. I also recommend the Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real’s.
Sure it was.
<Filing this away for when Bricker runs of statewide office.> 
Corporacion Habanos, which runs the Casa del Habano chain, is a joint venture between Cuba’s government and Altadis SA, the company formed when France and Spain merged their state-controlled tobacco businesses. Altadis’s cigar brands include Cohiba, Montecristo and Dutch Masters, and the company also makes Gauloises and Gitanes cigarettes.
Maybe I just like cigars that are closer in flavor to my pipe tobacco, which is usually burly bright shag cut.
I don’t smoke, but what I’ve heard anecdotally agrees with this assessment. Cuban cigars are good, but they don’t live up to the hype.
First - it is illegal for any person under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Government to purchase or trade for any goods of Cuban Origin without a License from OFAC. This means that no matter where you purchase or trade for a Cuban cigar you are violating the Embargo. This also means the only legal way someone under the Jurisdiction of the U.S. Government can have smoked a Cuban cigar is from a licensed trip, and if in the U.S.A. from a licensed trip prior to June 2004.
Second - Cuban Cigars are the product of the motherland of Cigar Making and carry a certain history and mystique. In addition to that there is a specific aroma and flavor that differentiates Cuban cigars from cigars produced elsewhere. The frequently seen ‘Cuban Seed’ claims are near worthless as there is a region in Cuba called the Vuelta Abajo that has soil and a microclimate that along with the knowledge and traditions there make all the difference in the world. While there are many wonderful cigars from elsewhere - Honduras, Nicaragua, The Dominican Republic - few claim to have experienced a cigar from outside Cuba that can reproduce the flavor of an authentic Puros Habanos.
Third - knowledgeable guesstimates place the percentage of Cuban cigars in the U.S.A. at 95%+ fake. The profit margins in selling fakes are tremendous, the counterfeiters have gotten very good at the packaging and the average smoker does not have the experience required to weed out fakes. Even outside of the U.S. fakes are rampant. This means that the cigars that are passed around are likely poorly made and far from a Habanos.
Fourth - Cuban cigars have traditionally been like fine red wine. Smoked fresh they can be a bit unpleasant to one unaccustomed to smoking Cuban cigars. There are rumors that with Altadis’ takeover certain processes have been modified to assist in reducing the harsh stage(s), but again these are rumors and only time will tell.
Fifth - improper storage can ruin an otherwise wonderful cigar. Under humidification and over humidification change how a cigar combusts and how the flavors are released.
Items three four and five (but mostly three) are why discerning U.S. smokers will often be under whelmed by ‘Cuban’ cigars that they are gifted by a friend who ‘has a friend who has a cousin who works at a factory’. Those that smoke cigars based on the band are always blown away no matter what is under it, but there’s not much to do about that.
=)
Yes, licensed and authorized. I can, for example, think of only four or five authorized tobacconists in the Greater Toronto Area that I would trust for a genuine Cuban cigar. I know there are a few others, but I liked the look of the stock and the storage facilities better at the four or five that I mentioned.
The convenience stores do sometimes have genuine stock, but what they generally do is to buy the cheaper smokes from the authorized tobacconists, and resell them at a little bit of profit in their own stores. Most often though, the stock in the convenience stores and gas stations is questionable at best. I’ve known a few people who have tried to make money off a trip to Cuba by buying a box of fake Cuban cigars on the streets of Havana from somebody who claims to have a cousin who works in the factory (or some similar story), and reselling them to a convenience store in Canada.
I could go on, but in short, if you want the real thing, you have to go to an authorized tobacconist.