Cuban Cigars

Phillip23222

I will be traveling to the Carribean in a few days and was wondering if any one has any suggestions about what cuban cigars to try if the opportunity presents itself. I typical like RP vintages, Oliva O & G series, Sol Cabano, and other mild to medium smokes. Any advice would be appreciated.

kingjake720

LUCKY!!!!

wwhwang

Cohiba

JSaint

See if you can get any Montecristos or Cohiba.

j0z3r

Go for Cohiba and Monte if you want ok cigars that everybody knows at inflated prices. If you want something good, look at Bolivar, Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, El Rey Del Mundo, Fonseca, Juan Lopez, H. Upmann, Cuaba. Lots of great cigars to be had, don't let name recognition fool you, the bigger names are by no means better cigars.

phobicsquirrel

j0z3r:

Go for Cohiba and Monte if you want ok cigars that everybody knows at inflated prices. If you want something good, look at Bolivar, Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, El Rey Del Mundo, Fonseca, Juan Lopez, H. Upmann, Cuaba. Lots of great cigars to be had, don't let name recognition fool you, the bigger names are by no means better cigars.

bolivar has some good cigars.

camgfs

j0z3r:

Go for Cohiba and Monte if you want ok cigars that everybody knows at inflated prices. If you want something good, look at Bolivar, Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, El Rey Del Mundo, Fonseca, Juan Lopez, H. Upmann, Cuaba. Lots of great cigars to be had, don't let name recognition fool you, the bigger names are by no means better cigars.

+1, sort of.... If you go for Cohiba and Monte, be warry of counterfits. Only buy from a reputable dealer, and not a street vender, and certainly not in a "glass top" box. Cohiba NEVER packages their cigars in glass top boxes.
I would second the Fonseca, H. Upman (the Magnum 50 is a great stick), El Ray Del Mundo longsdales are one of my top 5 best sticks ever. I find Bolivar cigars in general to be very 'dry', dusty, like smoking sandpaper with peanut butter on it, but that might just be me?
The Cohiba Siglo III is nice, but the Siglo 5 is a good pick if you want that true "Cuban" flavour.
Have a good trip and enjoy your cigars!

phobicsquirrel

camgfs:

j0z3r:

Go for Cohiba and Monte if you want ok cigars that everybody knows at inflated prices. If you want something good, look at Bolivar, Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, El Rey Del Mundo, Fonseca, Juan Lopez, H. Upmann, Cuaba. Lots of great cigars to be had, don't let name recognition fool you, the bigger names are by no means better cigars.

+1, sort of.... If you go for Cohiba and Monte, be warry of counterfits. Only buy from a reputable dealer, and not a street vender, and certainly not in a "glass top" box. Cohiba NEVER packages their cigars in glass top boxes.
I would second the Fonseca, H. Upman (the Magnum 50 is a great stick), El Ray Del Mundo longsdales are one of my top 5 best sticks ever. I find Bolivar cigars in general to be very 'dry', dusty, like smoking sandpaper with peanut butter on it, but that might just be me?
The Cohiba Siglo III is nice, but the Siglo 5 is a good pick if you want that true "Cuban" flavour.
Have a good trip and enjoy your cigars!

ummm.. yeah Cohiba Siglo III limited reserve are freaking amazing.. well as I hear. The Cohiba Siglo III is pretty good. I have never had the 5 though. ... on a side note, I've had the "cuban" flavor and I'll tell ya, she gave me a good time!

jsnake

Read up on counterfeits before you go. Do not buy from anyone on the beach. You even have to be careful in some cigar shops.

docbp87

Read everything you can on the subject, as has been mentioned here already. CA has a pretty good database of bands comparing fakes to the real deal.

zoom6zoom

And if anyone asks, you're Canadian.

lilwing88

Any Cohibas you come across will most likely be counterfeit..... My favorites are Vegas Robaina, Ramon Allones, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey and Johnny-O...... Good luck and enjoy!!!

+1 on the Canadian thing...... they like to screw Americans.

Diamondog

Phillip23222:

I will be traveling to the Carribean in a few days and was wondering if any one has any suggestions about what cuban cigars to try if the opportunity presents itself. I typical like RP vintages, Oliva O & G series, Sol Cabano, and other mild to medium smokes. Any advice would be appreciated.

Check out Trinidad/San Cristobal....stupendous smokes

Phillip23222

Thanks for all the input.

jpclotfelter

I love the Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill. I pick up a couple of three packs any time I am overseas.

kuzi16

jpclotfelter:

I love the Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill. I pick up a couple of three packs any time I am overseas.

+1

also PSD4

KCW

Phillip23222:

I will be traveling to the Carribean in a few days and was wondering if any one has any suggestions about what cuban cigars to try if the opportunity presents itself. I typical like RP vintages, Oliva O & G series, Sol Cabano, and other mild to medium smokes. Any advice would be appreciated.

If you like mild to medium I would try (depending on what you can get your hands on) a Hoyo de Monterrey. I like the Epicure #2 and the Double Corona. The Cohibas I've had (although Fantastic for me) seem to be on the Med- Full to Full side. But they seem to be the easiest to get (those and Montescristo).$$$$$. My $.02

rwheelwright

Cuaba is one of my favorite Cubans. With that being said, I'm a big fan of Partagas too with Upmann running a close third.

laker1963

Ramone Allones...AWESOME !!! Montecristo #2

kuzi16

laker1963:

Ramone Allones...AWESOME !!!

...ooooh... forgot about that one. good call.

Rob1110

As for reputable shops: Casa Del Habana - it's owned and run by the Cuban government, so you can trust that the cigars are actual cubans, not fakes. Check online with each island you're going to and know if there is one of these shops and where before you go and throw your money away on nasty imitation Cohibas.

Also, read up, as people have already said. Details down to the box, band, cap (most, if not all Cuban cigars have a triple cap), how the tobacco is packed inside the cigar, the tube it comes in (if applicable) and even the price (remember, if it seems too good/cheap to be true, it's probably a fake).

Hawk55

RA..Specially Selected....!!!

ThinBluLine06

I was just in playa del carmen mexico, and you could DEFINITLY tell the fakes! I even saw fake Olivia V's... one of the V's I saw had the band in the direct middle of the cigar!!! I also saw Cohibas cracked and split worse than a 50 cent piece of SH!T from the back alley of NYC!

laker1963

ThinBluLine06:

I was just in playa del carmen mexico, and you could DEFINITLY tell the fakes! I even saw fake Olivia V's... one of the V's I saw had the band in the direct middle of the cigar!!! I also saw Cohibas cracked and split worse than a 50 cent piece of SH!T from the back alley of NYC!

We were in Playa Del Carmen a few years ago too. Stayed at the Royal...nice place. There was a guy in the lobby I talked to a few times. He was rolling sticks right in the lobby. Had a little booth set up for him and he would show up every evening to do his thing.
He was actually only rolling the wrappers onto the "blanks" that he had prepared at home sometime earlier.
The sticks were pretty expensive but after I talked with him for a while he suggested that I try a couple. I did try a couple of sticks about the size of a toro and they were excellent. So the next day I was bact to try a couple different sticks. These were like $25 - $38 a stick, but i was on holidays and so... When we checked out the only bill I had to pay up before leaving was the cigar tab. I got 4 sticks that should have run me about $125 and he had only charged me $18 for the first two and $20 for the other two. Saved me like $50 (according to their prices lol) and I got to meet and talk to a real cigar roller. KEWL.

The sticks I saw other places "on the street" weren't even good fakes, no problem spotting them if you know what to look for.

KCW

laker1963:

ThinBluLine06:

I was just in playa del carmen mexico, and you could DEFINITLY tell the fakes! I even saw fake Olivia V's... one of the V's I saw had the band in the direct middle of the cigar!!! I also saw Cohibas cracked and split worse than a 50 cent piece of SH!T from the back alley of NYC!

We were in Playa Del Carmen a few years ago too. Stayed at the Royal...nice place. There was a guy in the lobby I talked to a few times. He was rolling sticks right in the lobby. Had a little booth set up for him and he would show up every evening to do his thing.
He was actually only rolling the wrappers onto the "blanks" that he had prepared at home sometime earlier.
The sticks were pretty expensive but after I talked with him for a while he suggested that I try a couple. I did try a couple of sticks about the size of a toro and they were excellent. So the next day I was bact to try a couple different sticks. These were like $25 - $38 a stick, but i was on holidays and so... When we checked out the only bill I had to pay up before leaving was the cigar tab. I got 4 sticks that should have run me about $125 and he had only charged me $18 for the first two and $20 for the other two. Saved me like $50 (according to their prices lol) and I got to meet and talk to a real cigar roller. KEWL.

The sticks I saw other places "on the street" weren't even good fakes, no problem spotting them if you know what to look for.

Ditto. My guy was a few miles away. His name was Cresensio. He only charged me $6-$8 per stick. They were good but not great. Kinda wish I brought a couple home to rest.

dennisking

read my review in the ratings and reviews section about the San Cristobal de la Habana. a phenomenal stick for sure. I also like Cuaba and the Siglo3 Cohiba is good but Cohiba is the most faked brand so play it safe. Montecristo is a decent stick but it's not different enough in Cuban form in my opinion to warrant the money for the Cuban. RyJ makes some great sticks as does Cuaba with the exception of the Exclusivos, which I thought were just okay.

dec

I was in Cuba last winter.
Cohiba is pretty heavy. You might enjoy the Montecristo and Romeo y Juliet.

Krieg

If you can find it, I would highly recommend trying/buying a Cohiba Behike. This is a new release from Cohiba and it's supposed to be a powerhouse smoke. This cigar kinda reminds me of the cubans made back in the early 80's late 70's. If you get one...or two...do NOT smoke it on a full stomach! In fact, I would recommend aging it a few years before smoking it. But whatever you get, just make sure you are getting it from a reputable dealer...down there everything is "Cuban".

mcadenhead

Phillip23222:

I will be traveling to the Carribean in a few days and was wondering if any one has any suggestions about what cuban cigars to try if the opportunity presents itself. I typical like RP vintages, Oliva O & G series, Sol Cabano, and other mild to medium smokes. Any advice would be appreciated.

Where in the Carribean are you going? I was on a cruise in May and found a great cigar shop in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. They had a large selection of authentic cuban cigars.

Alex Svenson

Save your money. 50% of Cuban Cigars dont draw and 95% of them arent made with properly fermented tobacco.

kuzi16

Alex Svenson:

Save your money. 50% of Cuban Cigars dont draw and 95% of them arent made with properly fermented tobacco.

i agree with the first statement 100%. the construction is very hit or miss, and if im payin a few bills for a box of fine cigars, they ALL better be spot on with construction


the second one.... iduno


i have yet to have that problem.

this may be due to the fact that i have never smoked a CC that wasnt in the humidor for at least 2 years.