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The Truth about Cubans

G

GilV

New Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2001
Messages
1,087
Even though I have only been smoking cigars for only a year I have been fortunate enough to experience some of the best and difficult to get cigars. Lately, because of a good and reliable connection, I started smoking Cuban cigars almost exclusively. I have visited authentic Habano Authorized stores and inspected plenty of cigar boxes in most Habano brands. Now I don't claim to be a cigar expert and much less a Cuban cigar expert but here are some observations to take into account.1) There are some excellent non-Cuban cigars out there which I would rather smoke any day over most Cubans. Among them the AF Don Carlos and Hemingway lines and the Padron Aniversarios. Of course the hard to get Patragas 150 series is superb, way above just about any other Cuban or non-Cuban cigar. Bottom line, if its excellent flavor and consistency you like there are plenty of non-Cuban options.2) The quality and consistency of the average Cuban cigar (Romeo Y Juleta, Rey Del Mundo, Allon Ramones etc. is par with the average non-cuban cigar. In the average box of Cuban cigars you will find plenty of variations in wrapper shades, sunspots, veins on the leaf etc. I find that some cigar magazine writers and self proclaimed experts mention this total perfection in consistent wrapper shade, size and construction. A load of BS. Remember these are hand-made products and while a master grade roller is capable of excellent consistency, perfect consistency is impossible to obtain. I found better consistency in the Padron or Davidoff (to mention a few) lines than in almost any Cuban box.3) While in the topic of rollers we know that a lot of Cubans master rollers are just not there any more. A number of them have left Cuba and are working for Nick Padromo, Arturo Fuente etc. I am not saying that there are no Master Rollers in Cuba just that there are also plenty of shall we say non-Master rollers. I have found plenty of inconsistencies in the boxes of Cubans I have smoked recently. Some hard to draw, cigars I have to keep on re-lighting or burn fairly uneven. Now before you say anything let me remind you that I bought these boxes personally from a legitimate Habano Authorized store. And I am talking about Romeo y Julieta, Ramon Allones, Punch and Sancho Panza (I bought five boxes last time). We even had to go through a few Montecristo LE robustos to get five with a nice even consistent dark wrapper.
Now I am not putting down Cuban cigars. There is no doubt about the quality in construction in a Cuban cigar; my points above are on the consistency not the quality. The pre-light aroma of a Cuban cigar is pure glory and unmistakable. The taste is also unique and distinct. While not all Cubans are to my liking there are some that quite frankly I dislike, just like there are some non-Cubans I dislike (like Opus X for example). I am sorry if I am adding confusion to the Cuban issue/myth. Also, this is not post is not meant to criticize any particular member I just felt it necessary to clear the air on something I notice is more legend than truth.
 
You've been smoking longer than a year Gil :confused:
I think? Is this your writing Gil? Not bad points if it is, if not this is a very intelligent or lucky guessing person who is young to the smoking realm.
Either way it is nice to see ya around General! :biggrin:
 
I'll go along with Gil on a couple of his points. There are very nice and consitent non-Havanas to be had. Do I like them, nope! Aside from an Opus or PAN/PAM on a very rare ocassion, I would rather have a bad Havana. Now this is just my preference, like the opposite can be said for others.
On the consistency of Havanas issue. The last few years have been difficult or the Havana cigars reputation. Prior to 1996, there were very few problems with consistency. But, with increased production, hurricanes, plant disease, etc. qulity has gone down. But, on a higher note, some of the finest Havanas in the last three or four years are being produced now. The early 2001 stuff has been excellent and the later 2001 should be great. Will it compare to 1994 stock, for eaxmple, probably not, but there is a glimmer of hope in the Havanaphiles eyes.
On the master roller issue. In general the Master roller in Cuba does not produce the bulk of the vitolas being made. He instead is commissioned for cigars being made for individual clients. Some of te best torcedors are still in Cuba, Valdes, Toboada are just a couple of examples. But the Fuente family has some excellent rollers, just as do other factories. I've seen some pretty neat smokes that were rolled at the Fuente factory.
Well, that's my .02 plus a couple extra cents. I won't say that there are not any good Non-Havanas..only that there are a lot of bad ones. :)
All in all, when the day is done, you should enjoy whatever it is you prefer, Havana or not!
 
DarrenIt is I the Genral and I just celebrated my 1 year smoking cigars anniversary with a nice P-150 C size (my favoriote)
Matt makes some excellent points.Enjoy life
 
Hey General. Great to see you posting again. Hope this becomes a regular thing again for you. Welcome back. bud.
 
Gil, With all do respect, I think after smoking cigars for such a short period of time. You might want to still keep your mind open to Havana cigars. In my opinion, a year is way to short of a time period for your tastes to mature,
and appreciate the complexities of a fine Havana cigar.See if you can find a well aged Havana cigar, somewhere in age over ten years. I think you will find them to be quite different from what you are smoking now. By reading your post, I see that you hold the (Dom) Partagas 150 series, in very high regard. Now, since that is a very mild cigar, you might want to see if you can find a Quai d' Orsay with a couple of years on it. They are a very mild Havana cigar, and I believe they would be more to your liking.I do not know where you get your cigars, but I would shop around if your cigars are coming in with many different wrapper colors, bad construction, and the sizes are not the same. All of the boxes that I have seen for the last couple of years, all have beautiful wrappers, great contruction, and are very consistent.Please remember that you will have to age these cigars for at least two years to get the best out of them. Three-five would be even better.As to your cigars, that are hard to draw, burn uneven, and go out often. Sounds to me, like you are keeping them a little damp. Try keeping them at 62-65 and see if that helps. It is very possible that you just do not like stronger flavored cigars, as with the Opus X. So Havana cigars just might not be for you. Although after several years, I believe you will grow to like them quite a bit, and that Partagas 150 will not be the cigar it once was to you. Smoke what ever makes you happy!
BTW, in my opinion, there is a lot of truth to the legend.
 
Ditto what Devin said! LOL! Very nice post Devin. I think you will see many more changes in your tastes as time goes on. At least I have there are many cigars that I no longer enjoy that used to be favorites.
 
"Please remember that you will have to age these cigars for at least two years to get the best out of them. Three-five would be even better. "Jeez!!! If I gotta go through all that to get the most out of a Habano, what's the point in paying the exhorbitant cost?? ####, if I age a Consuegra or Maria Mancini for 6-8 months I get a great cigar. And any &#364 Padron straight off the truck or shelf is as good as any ISOM.Forget it. I'll stick to my guns with my opinion that the only reason behind the Cuban mystique is that they had the largest cigar industry for the longest time. Now that Nicaragua and Honduras have balls-to-the-wall cigar industries, Cubans are obsolete.
 
Patience is a virtue. Some people want instant gratification, while others are willing to wait until a cigar matures."Cubans are obsolete"  LOL!!!
 
Agree 110% with what Devin says in both his posts :)
As far as having to sit on them for 3-5 years..yeah, that's very true, but you can find already aged cigars that are outstanding and to be honest some of the 2001 stuff is great right outta the box new, but with 3-5 on them they will be better than great!!!
I've always wondered too, if it's true, is it a legend????
 
And any &#364 Padron straight off the truck or shelf is as good as any ISOM. Oh man if I can stop laughing I will respond to this......
 
Kinda makes ya wonder what was in those Padron's 'eh Rob? LMAO
 
I figure I'll weigh in on this since the seems to be some polarization going on. I enjoy ISOMs very much, but I alos unjoy other cigars. When people around the boards buy ISOMs, they tend to buy quality smokes. Very few people dip down into the depths of mediocrity when there is the risk of confiscation. That makes the population of ISOMs a higher quality than those of other countries. I think most people will tend to buy a good non-ISOM smoke based on a perceived quality to cost basis. When I think about buying an Opus, I ALWAYS think to myself why should I pay this when I could be getting a good Cuban. I firmly believe that if you drop off the bottom end of the non-ISOM smokes out there, the smokes compare nicely. Part of the ISOM experience is knowing you have something that is contraband. Much like the HC rum mystique. The DR, Honduran and Nic cigar makers have made enormous strides in increasing the quality of tobacco in the past several decades in response to the US embargo on Cuba. So much so that they CAN be compared to Cubans. If Cuba had increased their quality at the same pace, there still wouldn't be any comparison.Bottom line is smoke what you like, but don't kid yourself that one country or another makes cigars that are so much better than the others that they should be disregarded out of hand.Lets face it, the worst thing that could happen to us leaf lovers would be for the embargo to be lifted. You'll see such a rush on Cuban cigars that the prices will be blown sky high. People that complain about paying over MSRP on Opus will be thinking that's a bargain!Light 'em up, whatever you smoke! ;)
 
I don't disregard Cuba out of hand. I disregard the time, trouble and expense of procuring Cuban cigars. Like in many industries, people seem to think that there is some "majik" involved with them. There is not. It's a plant, grown in soil, harvested, processed and prepared. Cuba is merely ONE of the places where this particular plant thrives. For a long time they were pretty much able to satisfy the worlds demands for cigars. The investment capital and expertise went to Cuba, and a very nice economic circle developed. Since the embargo, and the crap conditions in Cuba, the money and expertise has gone elsewhere. The development of non-Cuban cigar industries was stalled by conflict in Central America, but now that has been put to rest and we have seen an explosion of top quality Nicaraguan and Honduran brands.What do they put in Padrons?? Top quality tobacco, expertly grown, prepared and rolled; with exacting attention to detail in each and every step of the process. It is then sold at a decent market price which reflects that the company has a sense of realism about what a cigar is. That is more than you can say for the vast majority of Cuban cigars.I really don't care what others smoke, anymore than others care what I smoke. Every once in a great while I vent like this because I do think it is genuinely ludicrous that people think that God has a special ray of light reserved only for the Cuban tobacco crop. This is nonsense. When you add to that the ridiculous price of Cuban cigars, my point becomes clearer. A buddy of mine on CW just got notified that his latest attempted purchase was seized by customs. All this hassle, for what?? I've always said that I would buy the higher priced cigars if I thought for a second that the money was going to the grower, handler or torcedor. Whether you're talking Opus or ISOM, it ain't. Your money is going to some fat-assed prick who is laughing at you while he's counting your money. P.T. Barnum is spinning in his grave.
 
I have to say that the Padron family makes one of my favorite cigars on the market today. The Millennium maduro.
I just wish that they did not list for &#3625.00 each.
 
The Millenium and Anniversario lines kinda punch a gaping hole in my "decent market price" remark. I'm refering to the regular line in my previous comments.
 
In Oct I will also be a 1 year cigar smoker. Unfortunately i found out about cubans way to early. I statered out really liking the fuente stuff. bought loads of boxes of the hemingway line and everything. I still smoke them but just to let my cubans age. I hope by the time my other cigars are gone i will have a full humi of cubans, well maybe not full(it can hold 300 boxes) but you get the point. On any givin day I would have to say that although padron does make a good cigar and the flavors arent bad if you put a 4.00 padron against say a 4 dollor Partagas short, in my opinion there is no comparision. The short wins, as would the SP non plus and several other 4.00 cubans Actually I think the SP non plus are about 3.50.I would also agree with the others here, smoke what you like. If you like the padrons and the fuentes then smoke them. One thing is for sure, they wont be confiscated!!
 
The main idea is you enjoy what you are smoking. I do buy the lower end Havanas on occasion and would choose a Havana Jose Piedra over most of the regular line Padrons. I just enjoy the Havana flavors and dislike the aftertaste I get from other cigars. I think the comment about the mystique because it's illegal my be the case for a select few, especially those who have only had or have a few Havanas in their possession, bt in general it doesn't fly. Look at cigar consumption in other countries. Havanas are the front runners. There is a reason for this, they are for the most part superior in the flavor profile that it is preferred. Do other countries make great smokes??? Of course they do. Do I prefer them, nope. But if you do more power to you, that's the whole idea!
As for the HC mystique: I never enjoyed rum until I tried Havana Club. Could be that I had never had the high end stuff and always went with Bacardi, etc. But, for the price, a &#3612 bottle of HC7 sure beats the heck outta a &#3630-&#3650 bottle of some of the other stuff.
O.k...done ranting, enjoy the weekend, :)
 
The main idea is you enjoy what you are smoking. I do buy the lower end Havanas on occasion and would choose a Havana Jose Piedra over most of the regular line Padrons. I just enjoy the Havana flavors and dislike the aftertaste I get from other cigars. I think the comment about the mystique because it's illegal my be the case for a select few, especially those who have only had or have a few Havanas in their possession, bt in general it doesn't fly. Look at cigar consumption in other countries. Havanas are the front runners. There is a reason for this, they are for the most part superior in the flavor profile that it is preferred. Do other countries make great smokes??? Of course they do. Do I prefer them, nope. But if you do more power to you, that's the whole idea!
As for the HC mystique: I never enjoyed rum until I tried Havana Club. Could be that I had never had the high end stuff and always went with Bacardi, etc. But, for the price, a &#3612 bottle of HC7 sure beats the heck outta a &#3630-&#3650 bottle of some of the other stuff.
O.k...done ranting, enjoy the weekend, :)
 
So nice I had to say it twice. Ooops..sorry. :)
 
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