Cigars in puerto plata

[sosuajames]

You should really go to Sosua and talk to the new owner of Cafe Cubano, Brian. He lived in Cuba for 6 yrs and knows Cuban cigars. Last week he was waiting for real Cuban cigars coming from an importer in Santo Domingo. They may have arrived by now. That being said, you should at least check him out and he will educate you on cigars.

i have a hard time believing your statement. not anyone can import cuban cigars. here in canada, all cubans sold in this country come through habanos house. it is their territory. not sure whos territory the carribean islands belong to but casa del habanos gets the cigars and no-one else.

its a protection thing for both consumers and merchants. if someone checks the bar codes and they don't match the legit supplier for that district, they can tell who sold them and that person risks loosing their official habanos distribution license.

many swiss and hong kong e-merchants of cuban cigars take the bar code off so they don't get caught steppin on others toes. that being said, how confident would you feel about buying cuban cigars that have had the box manipulated in such a way. i know i wouldn't, especially walkin into a cigar store in sosua to pick up a few singles.

i get my buddies hamelet, la china and reynoldo to roll me customs when i'm in havana and they are the best cigars goin :smoke:

 

[catcherintherye]

i have a hard time believing your statement. not anyone can import cuban cigars. here in canada, all cubans sold in this country come through habanos house. it is their territory. not sure whos territory the carribean islands belong to but casa del habanos gets the cigars and no-one else.
:

Hammerdown speaks the truth. Cafe Cubano does offer authentic Cubans, as well as many top of the line Dominican. The owner spent 6 years in Cuban, and he knows cigars. He also owned a cigar lounge in Canada for many years. On top of that, he has the only real humidor store on the north coast (at least to the best of my knowledge).

The DR isn't Canada or the US. The rules are much different, and although real Cubans are rare they are available (at Cafe Cubano, at least). Any aficionado can simply go to Cafe Cuban and see for themselves. The owner is a good guy, and he enjoys talking to people about the products he offers or cigars in general for that matter.

 

[sosuajames]

if your buddy isn't getting them from dalso sa(the official distributer for RD), someone is getting scammed. either dalso or your buddy


info@dalsosa.com Jorge Yanez is the guy in SD that handles all of this. shoot him an e-mail and see if your buddy is on the list of retailers. it does not matter where in the world you are, habanos operates the same everywhere.

not trying to argue here but if cuban cigars are not bought through the right people that are part of the habanos sa group, there is a real good chance its a scam

 

[catcherintherye]

If you have doubts perhaps you should be the one to shoot Jorge an e-mail.

I don't smoke cigars so it doesn't affect me one way or the other. I just know that Cafe Cubano offers authentic Cubans. For those who are actually here, you can easily go and see for yourself.

 

[sosuajames]

I don't smoke cigars so it doesn't affect me one way or the other

thaen how would you know their authenticity? because someone said so? i buy all my cuban cigars in cuba so none of this really matters to me, but i hate seeing people getting burned

fair enough?

 

[catcherintherye]

I'm sure you have a heart of gold.

 

[hammerdown]

Brian, the owner of Cafe Cubano, buys Cuban cigars from the only importer here in the DR. They are original Cubans, and he also explained how the Cuban cigars are obtained (real ones that is) by proper channels, and how you spot fakes. He also knows the owners of the factory where they are made (in Cuba) but says he can't buy them direct because of legal channels. So you have a lot of credibility sitting up there in Canada and saying these are fake, when you haven't even come down and investigated for yourself........is it that cold up there that you got brain freeze????......lol

 

[sosuajames]

the owners of these cuban factories are the cuban government. so you buddy is pals with fidel?....lol

dalso sa are the ONLY ones that can distribute in the RD. if your guy is getting them from those guys then you are gold. if that box of monty#2 is less than $500 US, i would highly doubt it. think of the costs of dominican cigars in RD. they are crazy expensive. a box of monty #2 goes for 172CUC in cuba. thats just a little better than 200US. by the time import taxes and consumption taxes by the RD government and dalso takes a cut, i'd even be skeptical that at $500US you would be getting the real thing. here in canada a box of monty#2 goes for $900. this is why we vacation in cuba now. plus our list trip to RD was anything but stellar, but thats another story. the trip to cuba is free if i had of bought the cigars here:laugh:. i save 700 buxs on a box of monty#2 and another 700bux on a box of siglo VI which covers the cost of a week in varadero


anyways smoke away, i clearly have brain freeze and have no clue what i am talking about

 

[hammerdown]

Sosua, what I said was that you haven't come down and investigated anything, but you go on saying that these are fake....so you know your cigars, but that's not the point I was making.....with your attitude no wonder your
"last trip to the RD was anything but stellar"..........

 

[guajiro]

Hello sosuajames! My name is Brian and I am the owner of Cafe Cubano. I can assure you that not only my Cubans but all cigars in my shop are 100% authentic. I purchase them through the legal import channels of the DR and there is no doubt of their authenticity. Thank you however for your comments, particularly about the cost of real Habanos product, it backs up the explanations of why some of my cigars i.e the Cohiba 1966 anniversario are over $50 US apiece. Many people are amazed at this cost however as you so aptly stated the real deal costs a lot. My Dominican product is also 100% real. I buy only directly from factory reps.

A previous post stated that I knew the owners of many Cuban factories. What I believe was meant to be said is that I am very friendly with many factory director generals and top management i.e Abel Diaz at Partagas. Of course you are correct in your statement that all factories there are government owned.In short my friend I invite you to visit the Cafe Cubano and witness for yourself my retail and personal collection. You strike me as the sort of gentleman that does not believe until he sees so please come and see for yourself. I have absolutely nothing to hide and you might just learn something.

 

[SKY]

Guagiro,

Do you carry Cuban Cohiba Robusto's and how much for a box if you do? Also could you give us an idea of Cuban brands and prices per box that you carry?

 

[Criss Colon]

Buy from cigarsinternational.com,have them shipped in.
And buy cigars from central america,much better than Dominican cigars.
Great smokes for $2 a piece,and up.
Paying huge prices for "Puros Cubanos",real,OR fake,is just a "Head Trip" for the buyer.
You would be hard pressed to tell the difference between a real "Cubano" and a cigar made in Honduras/nicaragua,Ecuador,from Cuban seed.
Last "Real Cubano" I smoked,I watched being rolled in "La Habana"!
Other than that way,I would never pay for a so called Cuban cigar.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

 

[Snowbird]

Go to santiago

if you want to get some really good Dominican stogies. You can visit the factory and purchase on site. You want to go to:

Tabacalera Cuevas y Hermanos CXA
Zona Franca Especial
Palmarejo Villa Gonzalez
Santiago, Dom. Rep.
809-580-0000

They make a nice variety of smokes with reasonable prices, or at least they did a couple of years ago. Who knows, with all of the changes that are taking place in Paradise, they might not be in business any more, but it is certainly worth checking out. You won't be disappointed if you can still get them.

 

[sosuajames]

thanks for posting up here Brian. i wish you the best of luck with your cigar business in sosua unfortunatly i won't be back in sosua any time soon. started going there in early 2004 and even got married there in 2006 but the de-evolution of the place has made me find other places to go. last trip was in 2009 and i spent 4000 buxs to take me and my family to sosua bay hotel only to have a bunch of wanna be gangsters from NYC rounning around the place with their chicas. it poured rain there every day for the week we where there and the one day it was nice out some punk kid crashed into me on his moto concho. if it had have happened here in canada, said punk would have been eating through a straw for the three months following the incident.

abel diaz is a good guy. i know him well. there are some strange goings on in the cuban cigar world right now as you probably know. a general from the army has just been arrested for dealing in what people are calling "grey market" cigars. all of the cigars where shipped internationally and all-though they are cuban cigars, they might not be the real meal deal. more is coming out on this from havana but it doesn't look too good. i never mentioned the word fakes once in my posts but i have a feeling a lot of them went to e-merchants and 1001 cuban cigars has magically dissapeared off the map.

fakes are everywhere, even at the LCDH's in mexico so if you are getting your smokes from delso you should be fine its just getting people to open there wallets for them. my wedding cigars where bought from your shop, so i have been there. aurora prefferados saphire

 

[guajiro]

Cafe Cuban Cigars

We carry Cohiba Robustos at 25000 pesos a box of 25 equalling approx. $ 650.00 USD. We also feature Monte Christo # 2 and #4 as well as Trinidads, Bolivars, Punch, Romeo and Julietas etc. They range from around 300 pesos apiece up to 2000 for Cohiba 1966 Anniversarios.
Best
Brian
Cafe Cubano

Guagiro,

Do you carry Cuban Cohiba Robusto's and how much for a box if you do? Also could you give us an idea of Cuban brands and prices per box that you carry?

 

[Graebeard]

I'm going to Puerto Plata this summer and would like to know where in town I can find cigar factories and what the price ranges are. I'm not looking for expensive or branded cigars - just some mild, easy smoking coronas at a better price than I can buy in Canada.

Thanks

 

[Hillbilly]

There are no real cigar factories on the North Coast. You need to go to Navarrete, Villa Gonzalez, Santiago or Tamboril to find those.

HB

 

[monfongo]

go to tamboril, more cigar factorys then you can shake a stick at, price range varies but a heck of a lot cheaper then Canada.

 

[MerengueDutchie]

I have a few things to add tot his thread:

1. There are plenty of good Dominican cigars to be had, however the cheapest venue for getting Dominican cigars in the USA would be through mailorder from Florida. The difference in price is caused by tax (taxed in the Dr and not taxed in Florida).

2. The top product in the DR is manufactured by Arturo Fuentes (AF), the Opus X and Anejo series being their best product lines (with the exception of specials like GOF, Lost City, Destino del Siglo, Anniversario, forbidden City and Angel Share; these are however very, very hard to acquire at reasonable prices).

3. I've known most cigar related posters on DR1 for years and they know me. From what I can tell Brian is trying to maintain a reputable business at the Cafe Cubano. He sells a complete product line, from the top cigars down to modest ones. I have no experience with the more modestly priced range but can vouch for the AF lines and the Cuban cigars he sells to be the genuine product.

4. Depending on your budget you can buy cigars at Brian's place (for premium and non-premium cigars) or at the big supermercado's (La Sirena maintains a little hunidor) where they are stocked in humidors (for non-premium cigars).

5. Graebeard would imo be best served at venues like La Sirena or maybe Cafe Cubano. He should try either La Aurora or Leon Jiminez cigars. They are generally mild, well constructed and cheap, provided you stay away from their special lines.