So a few weeks back I was asking around to find out if anyone had any ideas what Cubans smoked and I got some great information about "Peso Cigars" that you can buy super cheap on the street. Seeing as I got so much help from all of you guys I figured I'd let you know what I found out.
Basically Peso Cigars are a regional pack of cigars subsidized by the Cuban government for the consumption of Cuban Nationals. Each pack costs $25.00 in Moneda Nacional (one peso a stick) which converts to $1.00USD for 25 cigars. Now obviously for that price they can't be anything special. But contrary to what I have read elsewhere I am pretty sure they are hand rolled. I cut one open and it was definitely scrap tobacco not long leaf or anything close, but scrap tobacco in Cuba ain't bad. Plus they draw great! I smoked these constantly during my whole trip and enjoyed the El Sucro's the best.
At different cities different brand were available. In Havana it was the Selectos (which were marked as being made in Holguin). In Trinidad it was the Bauza which were decent (marked as being made in Sancti Spiritus). And my favorites which I bought In Camaguey were the El Sucros which I believe were made in the Camaguey province. These produce a lot of smoke and have a decent flavor. They are very easy to overheat, which makes sense because they aren't long filler. I stayed at a couple of people's houses where they smoked a couple of these different peso cigars. I felt a little bad smoking 6+ dollar habanos around them when a whole pack of their cigars costs only a buck, but almost everyone was really welcoming and warm on the Island.
Anyway here are some pics of the cigars and packaging along with a Bolivar Belicosos Finos for comparison.
Edited for my terrible spelling.
Basically Peso Cigars are a regional pack of cigars subsidized by the Cuban government for the consumption of Cuban Nationals. Each pack costs $25.00 in Moneda Nacional (one peso a stick) which converts to $1.00USD for 25 cigars. Now obviously for that price they can't be anything special. But contrary to what I have read elsewhere I am pretty sure they are hand rolled. I cut one open and it was definitely scrap tobacco not long leaf or anything close, but scrap tobacco in Cuba ain't bad. Plus they draw great! I smoked these constantly during my whole trip and enjoyed the El Sucro's the best.
At different cities different brand were available. In Havana it was the Selectos (which were marked as being made in Holguin). In Trinidad it was the Bauza which were decent (marked as being made in Sancti Spiritus). And my favorites which I bought In Camaguey were the El Sucros which I believe were made in the Camaguey province. These produce a lot of smoke and have a decent flavor. They are very easy to overheat, which makes sense because they aren't long filler. I stayed at a couple of people's houses where they smoked a couple of these different peso cigars. I felt a little bad smoking 6+ dollar habanos around them when a whole pack of their cigars costs only a buck, but almost everyone was really welcoming and warm on the Island.
Anyway here are some pics of the cigars and packaging along with a Bolivar Belicosos Finos for comparison.
Edited for my terrible spelling.
