Cuban Cigars

Master T

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Ok, I realize that most of you are American and don’t have decent access to Cuban cigars. I am Canadian so I can get them pretty easily.

 

 That being said, you guys really seem to know your stuff and I’d still like to ask you guys a question. I’ve been smoking Cigars off and on for almost 20 years now, but mostly they have been Cuban and I started getting into it seriously into them over the last 4 months or so. The collection has grown to two humidors and over 150 cigars and I now I find myself making time to smoke them.

 

Anyway, as I smoke more and more and try different manufacturers and brands I find myself thinking that these Cubans that everyone loves so much are over rated. Although some are excellent, I can’t say that they are better than some others that I have smoked at ½ the price.

 

I’m just wondering how everyone else feels about them.

smbrink

I believe that the general attitude towards this subject is that a good cigar is a good cigar, and a bad cigar is a bad cigar no matter where it comes from. Just because a cigar comes from... oh lets say.....Honduras doesn't mean that it's better than a cigar from Nicaragua.

Lasabar

There are some cubans that can knock your socks off, but the prices of them and all the "Edicion Limitatda" and Regional Edicions make it harder to keep up and when you don't have a good shop and you have to buy them buy the box, these cigars become more elusive!

Cubans are a treat and I have hand a handful, but the ones I have had I've researched and done my homework on what is good and what everyone else likes and I have smoked some GEMS!

That being said I have ordered a TON more cigars from online like C.COM and others (Not thompsons) for FAR cheaper... You really can't get a daily deal on a Cuban!

I like a cuban that I KNOW I like for special occasions, and Non-Cubans for really enjoying life everyday! Plus there are alot of Non-Cuban I have found that taste just as good or better!

jlmarta

Lasabar:

Plus there are alot of Non-Cuban I have found that taste just as good or better!

Yeah. What he said........

Marty

kuzi16

i do feel that Cubans are a bit over ratted.

the cigar industry in cuba has gone downhill since Castro took over. many of the great cigar families either fled the country or were forced to give up their land. of course some were left but this drain of tobacco "greats" did have an impact.
cuba is still a great climate with wonderful soil conditions for tobacco growth.
its a lot like france and wine. though some great wines come out of france they are by no means the only country that can produce a great bottle. there are also a bunch of average and bad wines that come out of france.

cuba doesnt only produce 90+ rated cigars. they also produce some average and below average cigars.

dont feel bad that you dont like cubans as much as you "should"

i dont think they are anything special just because of where they came from.
i only think they are special if the taste good.

JZ

There are certainly excellent Cuban cigars as with other orgins in the world. I think part of the popularity lies in the fact that they are illegal in the U.S. It's similiar to our childhoods, if we were told no, we wanted whatever it was even more. I've had some great cubans, and some not so great, but then again its like that with all of the cigars I have smoked. I do crack up when I hear someone raving that all Cubans blow the competition away.

kuzi16

JZ:

I do crack up when I hear someone raving that all Cubans blow the competition away.

the only thing that i find more humorous than this is when people try to brag about the cigars they smoke.
"i only smoke cubans... the big fat ones about this big (holds up hand with a circle made out of the index finger and a thumb, the hole is about 2 inches wide) and this long (holds up 2 fingers about 10 inches apart). anything else isnt worth smokin!

i always ask them how much they cost. one guy told me "$4000."
"a box?"
"each"



yeah....

Matt Marvel

kuzi16:

JZ:

I do crack up when I hear someone raving that all Cubans blow the competition away.

the only thing that i find more humorous than this is when people try to brag about the cigars they smoke.
"i only smoke cubans... the big fat ones about this big (holds up hand with a circle made out of the index finger and a thumb, the hole is about 2 inches wide) and this long (holds up 2 fingers about 10 inches apart). anything else isnt worth smokin!

i always ask them how much they cost. one guy told me "$4000."
"a box?"
"each"



yeah....

I've ran into people like this from time to time, sometimes they're like that with the blends we have here in the States. You know the guy who only smokes Padron's or God of Fire's? Or Cohiba? It brought up a thought, that I would like to get an opinion on. Do you think that has to do with the status smoking these cigars might bring? I know a lot of people have this misconception that cigar smokers are well-to-do yuppies, and it's the kind of thing that guys with money do while they're on the golf course at their posh, exclusive country club. You know, the lifestyle that magazine shows everyone? Could these smokers have the same misconception, leading them to try to be some big shot?

Master T

I find that most people who only smoke to occasional cigar would rather have a Cuban because that's all they really know. I was in that category for a long time. I loved Cuban cigars but didn't really understand what else was out there. So people pay between 8.00 and 50.00 bucks a cigar not really understanding that they could have better smoke for much less.

I guess, like in all things, the more educated to get the more you realize how ignorant you were on a subject not so long ago. For some reason, this one just hit me harder than most I guess.

kuzi16

Master T:

I find that most people who only smoke to occasional cigar would rather have a Cuban because that's all they really know.

whats funny about this statement (at least in the states) is that they dont know cuban cigars. my example above supports the claim i just made. up until the last few years, most cuban cigar makers didnt make many (if any) cigars that were above a 52 in ring gauge. if they did, they were usually short (belicoso).

most people in the US have never seen a cuban cigar or smoked one let alone know where to get one in the US. Even many seasoned cigar smokers in the US have never had a Cuban cigar.


But i think Mr. Marvel hit the nail on the head. that people need to brag about their cigars to make them feel important. when they brag to me about the "giant cubans" that i know they have never had and probably dont exist, i can only laugh at their ignorance.

Krieg

Matt Marvel:

kuzi16:

JZ:

I do crack up when I hear someone raving that all Cubans blow the competition away.

the only thing that i find more humorous than this is when people try to brag about the cigars they smoke.
"i only smoke cubans... the big fat ones about this big (holds up hand with a circle made out of the index finger and a thumb, the hole is about 2 inches wide) and this long (holds up 2 fingers about 10 inches apart). anything else isnt worth smokin!

i always ask them how much they cost. one guy told me "$4000."
"a box?"
"each"



yeah....

I've ran into people like this from time to time, sometimes they're like that with the blends we have here in the States. You know the guy who only smokes Padron's or God of Fire's? Or Cohiba? It brought up a thought, that I would like to get an opinion on. Do you think that has to do with the status smoking these cigars might bring? I know a lot of people have this misconception that cigar smokers are well-to-do yuppies, and it's the kind of thing that guys with money do while they're on the golf course at their posh, exclusive country club. You know, the lifestyle that magazine shows everyone? Could these smokers have the same misconception, leading them to try to be some big shot?

I usually don't have a problem with people thinking I'm a yuppie when I am smoking cigar, I have more problems with people thinking I am just smoking a big ass cigarette.

Matt Marvel

Master T:

I find that most people who only smoke to occasional cigar would rather have a Cuban because that's all they really know. I was in that category for a long time. I loved Cuban cigars but didn't really understand what else was out there. So people pay between 8.00 and 50.00 bucks a cigar not really understanding that they could have better smoke for much less.

I guess, like in all things, the more educated to get the more you realize how ignorant you were on a subject not so long ago. For some reason, this one just hit me harder than most I guess.

I can see this being the case as well at times. For the longest time, the only cigar other than a true Cuban that I knew of was Cohiba. I went to a local shop and found some more blends, and then I started doing some research on the internet, and found the forums. I immediately was given a wealth of knowledge.

By the way, I wasn't lumping you into the group I referred to in my previous post. I didn't want you to think I was trying to put you down or anything.

jsnake

I have had the opportunity to smoke 2 Cubans and for me it was a treat. Had I not been told they were Cubans would they have been so good? I honestly do not know. I think part of it was the knowledge they were Cubans made them already good in my head before lighting one up. Just as in anything we all know there are good Cuban cigars and bad ones too. Not everything from your favorite brand is good for the most part. I personally think every Gurkha I have smoked is a treat while others think they make nothing but turds. Of course your palate and individual taste in cigars will determine this also.

Krieg

jsnake:

I have had the opportunity to smoke 2 Cubans and for me it was a treat. Had I not been told they were Cubans would they have been so good? I honestly do not know. I think part of it was the knowledge they were Cubans made them already good in my head before lighting one up. Just as in anything we all know there are good Cuban cigars and bad ones too. Not everything from your favorite brand is good for the most part. I personally think every Gurkha I have smoked is a treat while others think they make nothing but turds. Of course your palate and individual taste in cigars will determine this also.

Ghurkas give turds a bad name. jk

laker1963

Good cigars come from everywhere, Cuba too.

It was said here already about lot's of Cuban families who were involved in the cigar industry left Cuba and set up somewhere else in the world. This has led to a booming industry outside of Cuba taking hold.

That said, Cuba makes some FANTASTIC cigars, they are the standard everyone uses to compare themselves to, and the fact that some of the oldest knowledge left Cuba for other parts of the world means two things. Sticks which can compare to Cuban cigars can now be made in several different countries and be enjoyed by anyone. Mostly thou it does show how important Cuba and the people from Cuba who left for other cigar making countries have been to this industry we all love.

There is a good reason that most cigar advertizing refer to "Cuban seed" or the history of the Master Blender from his days on the farm in Cuba.

They are as entrenched in the history and story of cigars as much as America and baseball is.

T. Gervais

People who are uneducated in cigars have an automatic misconseption that cuban cigars are the best because that is what they have been told by the media and whatnot, and because of the forbidden fruit factor. If they did their research they would see that most of the tobacco blenders and families that were making the finest cuban cigars before the embargo are now making their cigars elsewhere using the same tobacco seed, the same process and technique, and virtually the same growing conditions. Yet they are coming up with newer and better things, all at less than half the price.

mcadenhead

I agree with the "forbidden fruit" factor. I think it is human nature to want what we can't have. I have had a few cuban cigars and did not think they were any better than some other brands from different regions. That being said, I am looking forward to a carribean cruise next spring and picking up a box of cubans

Luko

laker1963:

Good cigars come from everywhere, Cuba too.

It was said here already about lot's of Cuban families who were involved in the cigar industry left Cuba and set up somewhere else in the world. This has led to a booming industry outside of Cuba taking hold.

That said, Cuba makes some FANTASTIC cigars, they are the standard everyone uses to compare themselves to, and the fact that some of the oldest knowledge left Cuba for other parts of the world means two things. Sticks which can compare to Cuban cigars can now be made in several different countries and be enjoyed by anyone. Mostly thou it does show how important Cuba and the people from Cuba who left for other cigar making countries have been to this industry we all love.

There is a good reason that most cigar advertizing refer to "Cuban seed" or the history of the Master Blender from his days on the farm in Cuba.

They are as entrenched in the history and story of cigars as much as America and baseball is.

Very well said...I agree that some with a lack of knowledge may overhype cubans in an attempt to impress people, but there's a reason Cuba has been such an impt region in the cigar industry for so long. Continuing the baseball analogy, they play some good ball in Detroit and Minnesota, but the Yankees are still the Yankees for a reason (as much as I love to hate them).

Lasabar

I do say the "Forbidden Fruit" factor has long been in my mind... My first Cuban that I smoked was delightful... Not really because it was Cuban, but because it was the first cigar, out of the first box of Cubans that I personally had purchased... THAT was a big deal to me...
It is true that Cubans have a very distinct taste and smell and each palate is different, Mine just so happens to like them.

And as for me, I'm going to try to buy as many Cubans as I can, for when the Trade Embargo is lifted with Castro gone, the tide of people are all saying that quality will go way down due to Cuba not being able to keep up with the New demand.... I have 4 boxes of Cubans resting now... and I'm going to add more soon, so no matter what happens I'll have some of them... But they only account for about 15% of my overall cigars, definitely not the main thing!

ejenne87

Lasabar:

I do say the "Forbidden Fruit" factor has long been in my mind... My first Cuban that I smoked was delightful... Not really because it was Cuban, but because it was the first cigar, out of the first box of Cubans that I personally had purchased... THAT was a big deal to me...
It is true that Cubans have a very distinct taste and smell and each palate is different, Mine just so happens to like them.

And as for me, I'm going to try to buy as many Cubans as I can, for when the Trade Embargo is lifted with Castro gone, the tide of people are all saying that quality will go way down due to Cuba not being able to keep up with the New demand.... I have 4 boxes of Cubans resting now... and I'm going to add more soon, so no matter what happens I'll have some of them... But they only account for about 15% of my overall cigars, definitely not the main thing!

The first cigar I ever smoked was a from my first box, a RyJ I got from a German BX when I was in Afghanistan the first time. It was pretty great from what I remember. The thing that In loved was that "forbidden fruit" thing, plus it was the first time I had ever felt the tabacco buzz so I was in Heaven haha