i don't name them, i just smokes them

Non sous vided, unfortunately

trinidad reyes

A fantastic smoke

The new pre-aged Cubans are rather legit.

Perhaps we should organize a box-split

Trinidad Reyes

Nice! Down to my last few of those

Tonite:

Just my pipe, local blend

Sabor cubano

Changing it up

So quick question...Does open trade with Cuba still hold interest for cigar aficionados? Are they still producing a superior cigar?

 

they're producing superior cigars, but they don't have the production capacity to handle the US market, is my understanding.  Opening the US to Cuban cigars could be really damaging to cuban quality.

I would say "different" - not superior. the issue is that Cuban cigars require aging to settle down - so the mark of a really good supplier is how many years of stock they have on hand (which is why Asia is an amazing place to buy). If the market opened today, I would still buy overseas to get the older stuff. I would expect the quality to go down or the prices to get insane. In either case, there are alternatives from other countries, or stockpile like Kennedy

... (Finishing my thought) there are some great NC brands though, Tatajue being one.

Monte No.4 - the worlds most popular cigar.

No kidding. North Carolina...who knew?

 

Seriously though, I've heard that Nicaraguan cigars can be pretty good.

Savinelli autograph with some GL Pease Key Largo that I've been aging for about 7 years. An excellent, excellent smoke.

Edited September 8, 20169 yr by EdipisReks1

On 9/6/2016 at 4:06 PM, swt61 said:

So quick question...Does open trade with Cuba still hold interest for cigar aficionados? Are they still producing a superior cigar?

 

The biggest thing about Cuban cigars is that the soil and climate of Cuba are ideal for the kinds of tobacco plants that are ideal for cigars.  I've sampled many Cuban cigars from many different years of production.  The oldest was pre-embargo (and not from "pre-embargo seeds," as is often meant by that term), and the newest was about 10 years old, but most were rolled in the 90s.  Construction quality varies, and construction quality is a very important component of how a cigar smokes, but the tobacco quality was pretty uniformly excellent.  Like Dan, I'm worried that quality will go down once they start trying to satisfy the US market, but I'm somewhat optimistic. 

Edited September 8, 20169 yr by EdipisReks1

Damn. 

This thread has reminded me how much I like a fine, but occasional cigar.  I've bought a few over the years to enjoy with my son when he visits, from here  https://www.havanahouse.co.uk/havana-house-oxford/ .  This Christmas they are spending with us, so I'll buy a good selection later in the Autumn to enjoy with my lad (in the garden shed, accompanied by fine whiskey).

We had some totally miserable ones in February in Dublin from an outfit that knew diddly squat about anything to do with storing cigars.  Acrid horrible monstrosities, which should have been spectacular had they been stored and treated correctly.

2 minutes ago, Craig Sawyers said:

We had some totally miserable ones in February in Dublin from an outfit that knew diddly squat about anything to do with storing cigars.  Acrid horrible monstrosities, which should have been spectacular had they been stored and treated correctly.

Ugh, that's the worst possible thing to happen with cigars!  I'd much rather have a well stored mediocre cigar than a poorly stored great one.  it's not even that hard, it just takes a little bit of effort and caring.

Craig, you need to check out C. Gars LTD - as lame as it sounds, it is the premier cigar auction house in the world.

http://www.cigarauctions.co.uk/index.php

puro express is who I use, and they've done well by me.

8 hours ago, luvdunhill said:

Craig, you need to check out C. Gars LTD - as lame as it sounds, it is the premier cigar auction house in the world.

 

http://www.cigarauctions.co.uk/index.php

 

 The home page - wow.  Average seems to be UKP500 per smoke.

This is Head-Case Craig...