Now that it is OK to import Cuban Cigars, I have a question about how to tell a “genuine” one.
My line of thinking is this: Obviously if you go to Cuba, you will be getting a Cuban cigar.
But with the relax on import restrictions, I am betting that a lot of Internet sites will be set up to do mailings of Cuban cigars to Americans.
But this leads me to ask, how would you know if you’re getting an actual Cuban cigar via the Internet?
How do you know you are really getting Belgian chocolate or a Swiss made watch? It’s illegal to intentionally misrepresent a product for sale in the US. That doesn’t mean that someone won’t try to do it. Caveat emptor.
Buy from a reputable tobaconist. Just like with so many other goods, if you buy from street vendors or sketchy shops, the chances rise dramatically that you are buying counterfeit goods.
You can’t.
And for that matter, there are plenty of “entrepreneurs” walking around beaches in Cuba selling boxes of cheap cigars from Honduras or wherever with Cuban cigar bands on them to gullible tourists.
To be clear, it is not okay to import Cuban cigars to be sold in the US, either now or in the near future. The President’s announcement is that people who travel to Cuba may return with up to $100 of alcohol or tobacco for their own personal use. Reselling such products is illegal, and will most likely continue to be illegal for some time.
ETA: with that being said, any Internet site that claims that they are selling Obama-legalized Cuban cigars is certainly a scam.
You can’t. Further, considering the quality of cigars from places like the Dominican Republic, there’s no need to pay “Cuban” prices for real Cuban cigars. BTW, on a cruise a few years ago I bought a box of 20 Cuban Cohibas. Set me back $300.00. Arrived home and put them in my humidor. Week or so later, the humidor was crawling with beetles who were very much enjoying my cigars. Being strapped for cash, Cuba was rolling/selling cigars without the tobacco being thoroughly dry. Larvae never died. Smoked a few, anyway.
I’ve never tried smoking beetles, but I hear the Beatles got high from smoking. 
What kind of beetles? I’m impressed that they can feed on something that contains as much nicotine as tobacco leaves.
A totally unsubstantiated rumor that others might know about… the guy who sits next to me at work pointed out that a bunch of the Cuban cigar makers moved to Honduras and Costa Rica so they could sell cigars to the US, and the great cigar makers don’t all live in Cuba any more. Anybody heard about this?
Tobacco beetles I’m assuming.
FWIW, in my youth my father was a frequent world traveler and cigar smoker who regularly enjoyed Cuban Romeo Y Julietas. He once told me that, if you pressed your tongue to the end of the cigar in your mouth, you could taste a saltiness in a genuine Cuban cigar that was not noticeable in cigars from other countries. He also told me that the unique flavor of a Cuban cigar was not reproduced elsewhere (such as Honduras or the Dominican Republic), even when people planted Cuban tobacco seeds. It had something to do with the soil.
Mark Twain, who was an extremely avid smoker, had some interesting insights into cigar preferences and how he didn’t think they worked the way most people thought. He even did an experiment to back up his hypothesis. He also reportedly hated Cuban cigars.
My understanding is that 80% of “Cuban” cigars are fakes.
I have bought Cuban cigars. They came in a fancy dovetail wood box. And complete with a certificate of authenticity. But, I am sure they can counterfeit the certificate also.
Probably 80% that you get from a “friend” here. Go across the border into Canada and go to a reputable cigar retailer and they will be real. But the cost is extremely high due to both the hype and the high taxes on cigars.
There are some Cuban family owned hand rolled shops in NJ that are as good or better than anything Cuban.
If you are not dealing with a reputable dealer in all likelihood you are getting a counterfeit. The fakes are all over the place especially in the Caribbean countries.
Probably the most counterfeited cigar is the Cohiba because of name recognition. If you are in Cuba and buy Cohibas from some guy who claims to have “a friend that works in the factory” it is probably fake. So you can be buying a “Cuban” cigar but it is not necessarily a Cohiba. The one place where you can be sure of authenticity is the shop in the Hotel Nacional in Havana. The hotel is owned by government.
I was at a place in the Dominican Republic where they were selling cigars and other stuff. I think all of the cigars were fakes. I bought a Davidoff that I’m sure was fake but it turned out to be, in my estimation, a really good smoke. There are excellent Dominican cigars.
Something I heard that I can’t verify is that Cuban cigar tobacco is one of the few lucrative cash crops and consequently, the land has been worn out. The quality isn’t as good as it used to be.
So, buyer beware.
I think this is a problem with tobacco in general because of how tobacco draws so much nitrogen out of the soil. Lots of farmland in Virginia has been damaged from making Marlboros.
Here’s the thing- yes, the Cohiba and a few others are pretty damn good. But you can buy a genuine and authentic, made from 100% cuban tobacco and have a rather mediocre smoke. Many aficionados also now claim that even the best cubans have fallen behind, that its now mostly hype.
Here’s a list of the top cigars, and cubans are on it, but no longer dominate.
And the embargo still stands. Congress will have to take it down. What a traveler* can do now is travel there, spend some limited funds and bring back $100 worth of cigars. That’s not even one box of the best cigars.
But that makes things worse, in way. Now dudes will think they can buy them in the USA, and fakes will abound.
*General licenses will be made available for all authorized travelers in the following existing categories: (1) family visits; (2) official business of the U.S. government, foreign governments, and certain intergovernmental organizations; (3) journalistic activity; (4) professional research and professional meetings; (5) educational activities; (6) religious activities; (7) public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions; (8) support for the Cuban people; (9) humanitarian projects; (10) activities of private foundations or research or educational institutes; (11) exportation, importation, or transmission of information or information materials; and (12) certain export transactions that may be considered for authorization under existing regulations and guidelines.