Cuban Cigars and Cuban Rum Now Legal In The U.S.A. Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

Discussion in 'The Good Life' started by DaltonGang, Oct 14, 2016.

  1. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    Already happened. Quality fell off years ago.
     
    Paul6506, DaltonGang and jimjo1031 like this.
  2. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    Anything by Fuente is approximating 1950s Cuban smokes. Rocky Patel and Perdomo are great as well.
     
    DaltonGang and jimjo1031 like this.
  3. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    I think I still have some Rocky Patels, from a while back.
    If the prices of cigars weren't so expensive now, I might be inclined to buy a few modern sticks.

    Well, there is only one way to put all this debate to rest. Who is going to be the first, on out site, to go to Cuba, and smoke some genuine Cuban Cigars, for comparison.

    @Bama Samurai , I agree, I do like the Fuentes Cigars. Opus X are some of my favorites. Here is a cople of photos of some favorites, not all, just some, that look presentable, and the wife won't pitch a fit if they are seen, in out Formal living room.

    Any there you recognize and have tried???
    PA160406.JPG

    PA160407.JPG
     
    jimjo1031 likes this.
  4. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    Man O War, nice.............
     
  5. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    Mysterioso, even better.
     
    jimjo1031 likes this.
  6. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    Seen them but haven't tried yet
     
  7. champagneinhand

    champagneinhand Well-Known Member

    I smoke 2 cigars per day on average. I love many Nicaraguan cigars and some better blends from Caldwell, RoMa craft as well as others. I have some intact Cubans that are resting. There are many great cigars out there. Most need a bit of humidor rest. For habanos to be at their best a good deal of aging is required. I collect and hold cigars just as I do wine. Just one if my hobbies. Watches us another passion but I have way too many, I have to use reading glasses most of the time so tinkering with mechanical movements and switching watches just rarely happens these days. But I love the smell of well stocked humidors and wine cellars. Just can't help myself.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    Bama Samurai and Bobcat like this.
  8. Bama Samurai

    Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

    I like the robusto and torpedo shapes in Opus X. Are those colorado wrapper?
     
  9. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    They appear to be a Colorado to Maduro colored Wrapper, but they were not advertised as such, when I bought them. I wasn't concerned with that at that time, 8 or 10 years ago, when I bought them.
     
    Bama Samurai likes this.
  10. champagneinhand

    champagneinhand Well-Known Member

    Most AF Opus X are some for of Habano seed, criollo or corojo. AF seems to keep their blends on Opus X, God of Fire and Lost City a bit of a mystery but they are so overpriced. I would take a good Caldwell, RoMa craft, Warped (almost any of the selections), La Palina and one of my consistent go to sticks is Illusione.
    Their sticks are so good. They Epernay line, while not cheap is about as close as you come to the better Cubans in style.

    I buy mine through internet retailers and you can find some good discounts, through 5 pack scorchers or even boxes from cigar page, which is owned by brandshopper. Even the bigger online houses put up big sales this time of year through the end of the year to raise capital to pay those end of year taxes. Usually you can find things about 30% off retail.

    As far as Cubans go, you really never want to buy then unless you are getting them straight from the monopoly government run La Casa de Habano stores as there are so many rip offs and counterfeits. There are a few very respected internet dealers that ship out of warehouses in Western Europe that buy in bulk from Habano SA, the government cartel, but they use Asian financial processors and guarantee shipment to your door. PM of that's something you are interested in, but there are on,y 3 reliable websites, other than an Australian website with forum dedicated to habanos. The owner imports Cubans to all of Australia and gets some great specials, but again triangulated shipping that takes forever and a day to your humidor. The good thing is that he smokes several sticks out of each case and ranks the marques every year with the factory code that is stamped on all Cuban boxes. Buying singles or travel packs of 3s is almost not worth any risk, especially in Canada from stores that aren't LCDH or a very well known and respected reseller of cigars in cities where there are no LCDH located. Still you take your chances and buying at resorts or tourist shops is almost guaranteed to get you a fake Cuban made from God knows what, on some sweat shop overseas.

    I think many of the better Cubans that have pretty steep price tags need about 5 years rest in your humidor or Tupperware/coolerdor that is weather sealed and humidity controlled. These are cheap to build and you get Spanish cedar drawers online and boveda humidity packs which rarely need changing unlike humidity which always need careful monitoring.

    Plenty of great Cuban and non Cuban labels and you oat for the premium stuff from Arturo Fuente like you do from the post revolution Cuban marques like Cohiba and Trinidad.

    Bolivar, Partagas and a toss up between H.Upmann, Montecristo and Ramon Allones there after but RA is growing on me as is San Cristobal de la Havana. Especially their 4" sticks.

    Great NC sticks worth their tariff online are Illusione Rothschilds. Small Batch cigars dot com out of Orange, CA run great sales like Warped Wednesday or Tatajue Tuesday, but those are usually 20% off and free shipping, but I really look for sakes that go 30% or greater. SBC does get some special blends and vitolas, and another little known website that has good sakes is antilliancigars.com, which is a small family owned shop out of little Havana in Miami that has a very good house cigar called Sosa. These are great cigars much like the resurgence of La Palina or Casa Fernandez out of Miami, which does a lot in conjunction with Warped cigars, a pricy brand that's great when catching them on sale.

    I always drink something while smoking a cigar be it rum mixed with some root beer, ginger ale or cola and occasionally a mixed drink with whiskey, vodka or just a plain sofa or water. It almost always makes the experience better when you have time not to rush a cigar too. Doing yard work or playing golf are classic examples of how cigars hold a cherry for up to 10 minutes between drags or puffs. Rushing leads to hot smoke, bad burning cigars and a waste of your hard earned cash.

    If you get the craving a ton of info is on the different forums. I like Puff, but you learn how to get the best band for your buck and such. If you use tapatalk, it's great to read up on Habano sat friendsofhabanos.com, even if they seem a bit clique-like at first. Most folks from Oz don't really like Americans a lot though they tend to be good blokes once you lurk then slowly join the conversations.

    Life's to short not to enjoy good food, good drink, a good cigar now and again as well as loving each shave rather than dreading it.

    Just dome advice from a guy that's medically retired as I worked 2-4 jobs since I was a teen and your body, mind and relationships suffer as you do t have time to enjoy life's finer things.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
  11. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    @champagneinhand , very good post. The Cubans I have were bought from a friend who did lots of traveling, and knows his cigars. I agree, most cigars need to age a few years in a good humidor. Mine have been sitting and mellowing for 8-10 years. It's about time to smoke another. Maybe with a little cognac, outside, on a nice cool fall day.
     
    champagneinhand likes this.
  12. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    Hmmmm, today might be a good day to fire up one of those old Cubans. Cool weather, and just feeling like a relaxing day.
     
    champagneinhand likes this.
  13. champagneinhand

    champagneinhand Well-Known Member

    I puffed on an Ave Maria Knights Templar while walking the dog. My problem with AJF cigars are the huge bands that seem over glued and hard to remove without damaging the wrapper.
    Last night I smoked a Partagas short. Always a great Habano.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    DaltonGang likes this.
  14. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    I just finished an H.Upman Churchill. Beautiful looking and tasting. It was about a 50 minute smoke, with a perfect draw. It never needed relighting. Yum Yum Yum.
    PA230414.JPG
     
  15. preidy

    preidy Just call me Dino

    That made me chuckle. The last time I heard "smoke em if you got em" was at basic training Ft Leonard Wood.
     
  16. Ryan B

    Ryan B Knight of the Soapocracy

    I smoked my first cigar in 2009 when I was visiting my grandma in Florida. I had a Dominican Cohiba. That was pretty good and I savored it. I had my first Cuban when I went to Ireland in 2011. I was pretty underwhelmed. I bought a few when I was in Israel that same year and brought them back. We smoked them at my friend's wedding. I thought they were good, but the Dominican was way better. In Ybor City here in Tampa, a lot of shops hand roll cigars. I think those are better than any Cuban I have smoked. They use a lot of Dominican, Nicaraguan, and even some seeds from Indonesia.
     
    Bobcat likes this.
  17. champagneinhand

    champagneinhand Well-Known Member

    Just enjoying a Juan Lopez no. 1, that had plenty of rest.
    [​IMG]


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    DaltonGang and Bama Samurai like this.
  18. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    I've never tried a Juan Lopez Cuban cigar. How was it?
     
  19. SRD

    SRD Well-Known Member

    Upmann #2 from factory code LUB 2014 with a few Boulevardiers
    IMG_4881.jpg IMG_4884.jpg IMG_4888.jpg
     
    DaltonGang likes this.

Share This Page