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Are they really worth it?

M

MichiganM

Padron Whore Extraordinaire
Joined
Jan 3, 2006
Messages
138
Location
Ann Arbor, MI
The ISOM's. I'm not bashing Cuban's. But are they really worth it? After the problems with finding a source (not THAT difficult of a problem), importing them, risking customs, price gouging in certain markets, expensive from the get go....THEN you are on to probably not having that great of a smoke out of the box or probably not even in a year because the aging is different with cubans regarding the process of not aging them before selling them and needing longer periods to get out of bad periods with them...I mean honestly I'm starting to think that if it weren't such a "forbidden fruit" then these wouldn't be in a class of their own. I'm starting to think if they were legal perhaps they would not be so popular. I mean I can take a 64 PAM right now out of the box for the same price/less price of a PSD4 and have a great smoke right then and there. I'm not trying to bash them, but I have not had many ISOM's in my day, so forgive me for being undeducated. I am still a newbie and will always be in study of this wonderful hobby, never truly being a master. My road is long. I have had a few ISOM's and nothing to truly be THAT excited about to warrant the trouble. And I've heard a majority kind of say the same thing. But I think what I'm saying has some merit. I know that the smoking/hobby/enjoyment of a cigar is up to one's own discretion, but I think what I'm saying here has some merit. I guess I just have very little interest in smoking/buying Cuban cigars, and I wonder if that's wrong being a fan of cigars. Have any others faced this dilemma and felt guilty since Cuban's started it all? Any thoughts??

Jason
 
I'm not a big fan... and I can have them whenever I want. To each his own I always say.
 
Wurm said:
I'm not a big fan... and I can have them whenever I want. To each his own I always say.
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not a huge fan, but you get 'em easier than NC ones (atleast cheaper)
 
Ekans said:
Wurm said:
I'm not a big fan... and I can have them whenever I want. To each his own I always say.
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not a huge fan, but you get 'em easier than NC ones (atleast cheaper)
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Yeah but... with the sick period problem and all the other headaches that entails including most of all having to provide storage for alot of cigars for a few years time and having to wait so long to enjoy them the way they are meant to be enjoyed, I'd rather go with the "smoke em now" NC cigars regardless of the fact we have to pay more for them over here.
 
The majority of the cigar-smoking people that I know in Sweden buy NC's from the US, despite being able to go out and by ISOMs in the shops in Sweden or buy them om the net from Spain (you don't have to worry about customs if you buy them within the EU. As long as the package weigh under 2 kg customs ain't supposed to check it).
So although I enjoy an ISOM now and then there are a lot of great NCs that can match many ISOMs even without looking into the price issue. And if you look at the price issue then there isn't many ISOMs that can bet the best NCs.
This is my view on it but I'm sure you can find many that disagree :)
 
I agree...don;t get me wrong..there are some ISOM sticks I absolutely love (i.e. Ramon Allones...certain cohibas...ERDM, but day to day..I would rather smoke an Anejo or a nice Diamond Crown for about the same price..
 
If you have to ask yourself if they are worth it, then I'd say NO.
 
bfreebern said:
If you have to ask yourself if they are worth it, then I'd say NO.
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Precisely to the point.

Value and worth are in the eye of the beholder. This whole hobby, some would say enterprise, of cigars should be based on pleasure and taste. If you are so inclined to pursue ISOMs because there is something about the mystique, or because knowledgeable friends have recommended them to you, then by all means check them out.

Be true to your taste. It's sad and costly to chase things that don't make you happy though they "should."

Wilkey
 
To me; Yes they are worth it. For you they may not be for a number of reasons. One being price, if your worried about how much they cost then you should just stay away from them all together. Compared to cigarettes, cigars are very expensive. I smoke 5+ a day and not one of them is an NC. That's just my palate and everyone is different, mine just happens to be an expensive one.

IMHO NC cigars have to be aged to perfection to even compete with Cuban cigars and even with aging very few brands come close to competing with the likes of Cohiba, Partagas and many others.

Tell me a Davidoff NC is better than it's Cuban counterpart ever was. ;)
 
I gotta be honest here, I used to think they weren't but thanks to the buyer's club and most recent trades, the dark side is getting to be pretty awesome...

You just gotta find what you like, just like with Non Cubans. ;)
 
Besides my love for the taste of Cuban tobacco, the price and availability makes buying Cuban cigars much easier than finding my favorite non Cubans. I love Padron Anniversary Maduros and Opus X. My favorite sizes in these two lines cost 10-15 dollars a stick. I can buy most of the Cuban cigars that I like for 4-8 bucks a stick. The aging of Cubans is a bit of a pain in the ass, but once you get a good supply aged, then all you are buying is back ups for your favorites.
 
The Master said:
Besides my love for the taste of Cuban tobacco, the price and availability makes buying Cuban cigars much easier than finding my favorite non Cubans. I love Padron Anniversary Maduros and Opus X. My favorite sizes in these two lines cost 10-15 dollars a stick. I can buy most of the Cuban cigars that I like for 4-8 bucks a stick. The aging of Cubans is a bit of a pain in the ass, but once you get a good supply aged, then all you are buying is back ups for your favorites.
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What Harris said. :p

And yes, to me, they are most definitely worth it.
 
I think part of it is the classic "you want what you can't have" I haven't smoked any cubans, but understand there are very good ones out there, but there are also very good DR, NICs and so on......
 
I think Cubans are definitely the best cigars out there and worth it. They have a truly unique flavor you can't get anywhere else. The two points that bother me about these posts are that Cubans are expensive and not good young. I don't agree with either statement. Find a good source and Cubans are pretty reasonably priced. El rey del Mundo Choix Supreme, Saint Luis Rey A , RASS, Bolivar coronas, are all about $150 a box and are better than any non-Cuban I've had at this price point. A box of Ramon Allones small club coronas are $115.

While Cubans get better with age I think they are still usually a decent smoke young as well. The only problem is you feel guilty not aging them and getting the most out of them. Just go for thin gauged cigars with a year or two on them, they are not impossible to find.

And another point about price. Look how much a box of Padron 1926 or Opus X go for. You can get some pretty awesome Cubans for that money. The only thing I don't like about Cubans is their quality control is not so good and they can be inconsistent.

...just my humble opinions
 
The Master said:
Besides my love for the taste of Cuban tobacco, the price and availability makes buying Cuban cigars much easier than finding my favorite non Cubans. I love Padron Anniversary Maduros and Opus X. My favorite sizes in these two lines cost 10-15 dollars a stick. I can buy most of the Cuban cigars that I like for 4-8 bucks a stick. The aging of Cubans is a bit of a pain in the ass, but once you get a good supply aged, then all you are buying is back ups for your favorites.
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Agreed. I love OpusX's / Anejo's but they are very hard to find. The aging process is a bit of a headache, but all it takes is time.... :cool:

Worth it...?? Heck yes.... :thumbs:

Regards - B.B.S.
 
Buy what you like, and like what you buy. To answer your question, some ISOM's are worth it,and some aren't. The price point per box is more than the average NC box. But, the average ISOM is better than the average non-isom. The key with all cigars is this, find out what you love and what you don't. After that, value is all relative to your wallet.

Emo
 
Thanks for all the responses guys. I really appreciate your input! This is something that's been kinda buggin me for a while.

Jason
 
ggiese said:
Do you like Coke or do you like Pepsi?

Same argument in my book....
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Only if the Cuban embargo issue is removed from the equation, making the purchase of Cuban cigars legal, would it be a similar argument.

As far as they're being worth it? That is a personal preference. I must admit that out of the many Cubans I have smoked, only a very few seemed worth it to me. And they were all Bolivar petit coronas and coronas. Yet those Boli's were extremely yummy cigars!

If all Cubans were like those Bolivars, I could see wanting to smoke more. As it is, all other Cubans left me with a desire to want to smoke a maduro wrapped NC.
 
There is something to the flavor profile of a well aged Cuban cigar that just is not in domestic cigar. Some folks call it twang. Unless you have experenced it you don't know it. It is a common trait of good Cuban smokes...Cohiba, Trinidad, Partagas, ect. Some folks crave it...Some don't. I do. :thumbs:

Is it better? That is a personal prefrence. I'll smoke a Cuban over a domestic most times...Unless you offer me a Padron 1926 #9. :p
 
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