Comments on: Stogie Commentary: Is the Cuban Cigar Hype Justified?

By: кyкyш

кyкyш — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:59:05 +0000

Где-то я уже нечто аналогичное читал, причём один в один…

By: The Survivalist Forum » Blog Archive » A Little Torch of Liberty: Big-government’s War on the Pleasures of Tobacco

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:58:05 +0000

[...] Today the best non-Cuban cigars, usually from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, or Honduras, are as good as Cuba’s top smokes. Innovative blenders are creating new cigars with all the complexity and subtleties of the [...]

By: Alex D

Alex D — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:33:38 +0000

Interesting discussion. This is a subject I often wondered about myself. My findings tend to agree with Patrick’s conclusion: “the world’s standard stogies are no match for Cuba’s average”.

I’ll explain why: When I started smoking cigars, I didn’t know what I liked except the pleasure of smoking stogies and discovering the many different flavors. I was trying everything I could get my hands on and that included Cubans and NCs. I live in Canada so I have access to both but I have more trouble finding certain NCs than I have buying any Cuban available (except regional editions), just like Javier from spain noted earlier. It was a long “Try them all, find what you like” type discovery session since I had nobody to educate me (I picked up the habit alone, no smoking budies or aficionados that I knew of).

Now, I’m far from having tried them all, or even anywhere close to it (there are so many!). Besides, the Canadian prices/taxes on tobacco products plus the ban on smoking in public places are factors which seriously reduce my cigar smoking sessions and my abilities to increase my (small) stash. There isn’t a big difference between prices on Cubans and prices on premium NCs around here. I often found myself ordering NCs from US online retailers (hoping that Canadian customs won’t charge me) while having friends and family pick up a box or two while vacationing in Cuba.

Over the years, I developed a strong preference for the Cuban taste – aka twang or zip. I found that with very few exceptions (Guantanamera and several other machine mades), all Cuban sticks have it. It’s that little something that makes the cigar so much more enjoyable and I’ve yet to find that characteristic in a non-cuban. And although I’ve found many NC to be good to very good, some ‘ordinary’ cubans like the JLP or even the cuban peso cigar ($1 for 25) give me more satisfaction.

My conclusion: I like all cigars but my love goes to the cubans. Didn’t you guys quote someone as saying “The best cigar is the cigar you like best”? I couldn’t agree more…

By: Recent Links Tagged With "cigar" - JabberTags

Recent Links Tagged With "cigar" - JabberTags — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:04:17 +0000

[...] by KMinnican on Tue 09-12-2008 China Journal #10 Saved by greencelluloid on Wed 03-12-2008 Stogie Commentary: Is the Cuban Cigar Hype Justified? Saved by katsushirookamoto on Wed 03-12-2008 MACANUDO 1968 Saved by clementesc on Sun 30-11-2008 [...]

By: Stogie Reviews: Bolivar Royal Corona (Cuban)

Stogie Reviews: Bolivar Royal Corona (Cuban) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:03:16 +0000

[...] it quality or call it hype, but I’m never surprised when I see Cubans rated highly in mainstream cigar publications. I think [...]

By: shawn

shawn — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:41:36 +0000

Cuban zealots just fall back to the same old story- cubans are the best beause they’re cubans.

By: Larry

Larry — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:06:01 +0000

Hey guys love the site.

Well first lets examine your title. “Hype.” I don’t think it is “hype” at all. Thats like saying is French champagne up to the “hype” or is prime dry aged beef up to the “hype.”

The question begins with a faulty assumption.

By: Erik

Erik — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:52:16 +0000

I’m from Europe (Holland) and have been mostly smoking cuban cigars over the last ten years… but I have to say that the poor quality of the things often left me frustrated. A good cuban cigar is hard to beat , but when you buy a Padron or Camacho you just know you will get your money’s worth. (at least you’ll be fairly sure you can smoke the damn thing). Really , I prefer the Camacho Corojo to any Monecristo… Then again , the R y J Cazadores is still my favourite cigar…

By: Javier

Javier — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:31:29 +0000

I am a european guy. I live in Spain, the country in Europe with less taxes on tobacco. Here it is complicated to find no cuban cigars. I can only get some Padron and Opus in very few shops here in Barcelona. For me, smoke a non cuban cigarro is like you trying to smoke a cuban one. Also the price is the same or even less.
But I have to say that the best cigars I have ever smoked are cuban: Magnum 46 from H.P. Upmann, a Churchill from Romeo y Julieta, a special Edition 2005 from Montecristo, a Partagas P2, a Cohiba Maduro, a Special Edition 2007 from Trinidad, a Cuaba Salomon, Epicure nº 2 from Hoyo de Monterrey. There are a lot of incredible cigars! I would say that every company has at least 1 or 2 super quality cigars.
In my opinion, when Fidel died and the embargo finish, the prices will increase and the quality will be less to sell the most quantity of cigars.

By: oceanelect

oceanelect — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:32:53 +0000

lets have a no band throw down to see if a certain number of people can tell the difference.