Maybe this question has been asked, or maybe it is true, but I have now been told in this country and saint martin, that it is legal to bring 2 boxes of cuban cigars into the U.S. Is this true or are both salesman (from two seperate countries) telling the same B.S. story just to make a sale? If it is illegal to bring them back, what would happen if they are found in a suitcase by U.S. customs. Thanks for the info.
- Thread starter melvinfrom NYC
- Start date
cuban cigars
US Customs would confiscate the cigars and fine you, unless you could produce a receipt showing you bought tem in another country but Cuba.
Then they might do it anyway.
Best to buy Dominican cigars and save the hassle. They're better anyway.
If you don't believe me, ask Hillbilly. He's in the business.
Texas Bill
Then they might do it anyway.
Best to buy Dominican cigars and save the hassle. They're better anyway.
If you don't believe me, ask Hillbilly. He's in the business.
Texas Bill
Just buy the Dominican cigars because most of the cuban cigars are dominican cigars with cuban wrappers. US Customs will confiscate them but I don't believe you will be fined.
Badpiece
Badpiece
I've brought Cuban Cigars back. Twice. Once they didn't ask, the other time, they asked if I had cuban cigars and I told them yes, he asked how many and I told him and he just said okay and waived me through... so I guess it all depends.
Please read this
You have not brought back any Cuban cigars. What you have purchased are fake Cubans made in the Dominican Republic. You paid good money for crap cigars.
You are the typical tourist that is buying by "Name" not because you really know what you are buying.
The only place to purchase real Cuban cigars in the DR is in the Free Port at the airport on the way out, and even then I would be cautious. And they are not cheap!
If you bought your cigars anyplace else the possibility that they are rel Cubans is 0%....
Why spend $100 on crap when you can buy a box of Aurora Preferidos for a bit less, or a box of La Flor Dominicana or a box of
R&J Churchills?? Or a box of almost any other cigar made in the DR of really great, aged tobaccos?
Besides, what did you pay for them?
HB
You have not brought back any Cuban cigars. What you have purchased are fake Cubans made in the Dominican Republic. You paid good money for crap cigars.
You are the typical tourist that is buying by "Name" not because you really know what you are buying.
The only place to purchase real Cuban cigars in the DR is in the Free Port at the airport on the way out, and even then I would be cautious. And they are not cheap!
If you bought your cigars anyplace else the possibility that they are rel Cubans is 0%....
Why spend $100 on crap when you can buy a box of Aurora Preferidos for a bit less, or a box of La Flor Dominicana or a box of
R&J Churchills?? Or a box of almost any other cigar made in the DR of really great, aged tobaccos?
Besides, what did you pay for them?
HB
I think too many Americans buy an 'image' in their pursuit of 'Cuban' Cigars. The fact is, they aren't any better than the usual American product! They are buying a myth and don't realize it, but will swear to the quality to 'save face' with fellow Americans.
Nuff said!
Texas Bill
Nuff said!
Texas Bill
Texas Bill said:
On the contrary ... the better Cuban cigars are without (nearly) any equal. Granted, most casual smokers wouldn't know the difference though.
There are many Cuban cigars that are just so-so or even downright bad ... but Cuba's best are ... the best. Cuba produces millions of "hand finished," and low level machine-made cigars every year that are surpassed by many Dominican, Honduran and Nicaraguan cigars in flavor and construction.
If you look at some of Cuba's premier vitoles such as the Partagas Lusitania and the Serie D #4, the H. Upmann Sir Winston and #2, the Cohiba Robusto, the Bolivar Belicosos Finos and the Coronas Extra (just to pick a few of the best), there is no match from any other country. If you don't agree with this you probably haven't experienced any of Cuba's finest or haven't smoked long enough to have developed a refined pallet and nose. I will state that one of Cuba's finest is wasted on the majority of "cigar smokers."
Agreed certain non-Cuban cigars like the Fuente Don Carlos series and the Padron Anniversario's are close seconds ... but they still don't have that Cuban "terroir."
It is possible to even determine if box of Cuba's finest cigars is authentic while blindfolded (only if you know what you are smelling for). A freshly opened box has a unique earthy "horse-sh*t" aroma that isn't present in any non-Cuban tobacco I have ever experienced. In fact, this is the best way these days as the print and graphics quality of the counterfeits has become so good it's very difficult to use print quality, seal and box code anymore to determine authenticity.
Yes, most people won't be able to tell the difference and will be ripped off, but yes Virginia ... there IS a difference when it comes to Cuba's best cigars! The DR is just a really difficult place to try and find them.
But
According to James Suckling from Cigar Aficionado, the Cubans are averageing a 30-35% plugged rate! Totally unacceptable.
I agree that Cubans are unique. hell, even the good Cuban fakes are good, but they don't smoke. I have them remaide and then they are good smokes.
Padron Aniversarios are interesting but "doctored" IMO. I am convinced that they use a lot of casings and other ingrediants...But they hate me for saying that. I like the Preferidos, Some of the Flor Dominicana, A few of Tabacalera Garc?a's like the Henry Clay Breva and the maduros they have on some lines. The Ashton VSG are very very good cigars....And they are never plugged!
The really good Dominicans are far and away a special treat. Better made than our island neighbors and thay can be just as strong. The aromas are different too, no doubt about it. BTW, I wouldn't trust that horseshit test too much either since the fake Cubans smell the same as the $300 Cohiba Robustos....
A good magnifiying glass can spot the fakes as well as the price...
HB
According to James Suckling from Cigar Aficionado, the Cubans are averageing a 30-35% plugged rate! Totally unacceptable.
I agree that Cubans are unique. hell, even the good Cuban fakes are good, but they don't smoke. I have them remaide and then they are good smokes.
Padron Aniversarios are interesting but "doctored" IMO. I am convinced that they use a lot of casings and other ingrediants...But they hate me for saying that. I like the Preferidos, Some of the Flor Dominicana, A few of Tabacalera Garc?a's like the Henry Clay Breva and the maduros they have on some lines. The Ashton VSG are very very good cigars....And they are never plugged!
The really good Dominicans are far and away a special treat. Better made than our island neighbors and thay can be just as strong. The aromas are different too, no doubt about it. BTW, I wouldn't trust that horseshit test too much either since the fake Cubans smell the same as the $300 Cohiba Robustos....
A good magnifiying glass can spot the fakes as well as the price...
HB
And...
That is a very good point. The horsey test only helps to separate Cuban tobacco from non-Cuban... not fakes from Cuba from the authentic factory product.
In the DR most, if not all of the Cuban fakes I have seen have been made from non-Cuban tobacco, presumably Dominican, as with so much cigar resource there I wouldn't imagine many Cuban fakes would be brought in? Do you know differently?
Also, the percentage of plugged Cuban smokes statistic you mention ... if you included the machine made product I wouldn't be a bit surprised. Many truly suck, or rather they don't suck, that being the problem! For their prestige cigars though in the larger ring sizes I don't think that is the case at all.
Hillbilly said:
That is a very good point. The horsey test only helps to separate Cuban tobacco from non-Cuban... not fakes from Cuba from the authentic factory product.
In the DR most, if not all of the Cuban fakes I have seen have been made from non-Cuban tobacco, presumably Dominican, as with so much cigar resource there I wouldn't imagine many Cuban fakes would be brought in? Do you know differently?
Also, the percentage of plugged Cuban smokes statistic you mention ... if you included the machine made product I wouldn't be a bit surprised. Many truly suck, or rather they don't suck, that being the problem! For their prestige cigars though in the larger ring sizes I don't think that is the case at all.
No reason to even think about this
Melvin--dont worry about this problem-when you can buy GREAT Dominican cigars and have NO probs. at customs its a no brainer.
Im buying on line JR weekly specials at 2 or 3 $ a stick deld. to my door step for $2 shipping and handling. Why even think otherwise???
JOHN
P.S. $2.00 a BOX
Melvin--dont worry about this problem-when you can buy GREAT Dominican cigars and have NO probs. at customs its a no brainer.
Im buying on line JR weekly specials at 2 or 3 $ a stick deld. to my door step for $2 shipping and handling. Why even think otherwise???
JOHN
P.S. $2.00 a BOX
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Re: Please read this
How did Dominican Cigars get in Cuba and why would Cuba be selling Dominican Cigars?
I bought a bunch but mostly Cohibas and I got them directly from the factory in Havana, Cuba. So if I'm a typical tourist not knowing what I'm buying and buying Dominican Cigars in Cuba then I guess I got took pretty good.
But you are right in that they weren't that good, Cohibas USED to be the best, I've bought them several times in Cuba and when I give them to people to smoke they all say that they were just okay. I hear the Cuban cigars just aren't what they used to be due to some kind of drought or something.
Hillbilly said:
How did Dominican Cigars get in Cuba and why would Cuba be selling Dominican Cigars?
I bought a bunch but mostly Cohibas and I got them directly from the factory in Havana, Cuba. So if I'm a typical tourist not knowing what I'm buying and buying Dominican Cigars in Cuba then I guess I got took pretty good.
But you are right in that they weren't that good, Cohibas USED to be the best, I've bought them several times in Cuba and when I give them to people to smoke they all say that they were just okay. I hear the Cuban cigars just aren't what they used to be due to some kind of drought or something.
It's not a drought
No drought caused it. Weather conditions will cause an occasional bad year (lower quality and/or production), but this is not the reason for the recent decline in the quality of Cuban cigars. What was both good and bad for Cuba was wonderful for the Dominican cigar industry though.
The decline in the quality of Cuban cigars is due to the cigar boom in the US which started around 1992 or so. Can't blame them for an opportunity to capitalize, even at the cost of their most famous product's reputation. Thankfully, for the majority of smokers, it is over now.
Cuba is starting to catch up, but it remains to be seen if they can achieve their former glory.
Cuba's best as of today is still better than any commercially available Dominican cigar, IF in the hands of a smoker who knows. Not to disparage the many excellent Dominican cigars out there ... some are damn good.
ClippedWing said:
No drought caused it. Weather conditions will cause an occasional bad year (lower quality and/or production), but this is not the reason for the recent decline in the quality of Cuban cigars. What was both good and bad for Cuba was wonderful for the Dominican cigar industry though.
The decline in the quality of Cuban cigars is due to the cigar boom in the US which started around 1992 or so. Can't blame them for an opportunity to capitalize, even at the cost of their most famous product's reputation. Thankfully, for the majority of smokers, it is over now.
Cuba is starting to catch up, but it remains to be seen if they can achieve their former glory.
Cuba's best as of today is still better than any commercially available Dominican cigar, IF in the hands of a smoker who knows. Not to disparage the many excellent Dominican cigars out there ... some are damn good.
I'll take these as they came
Clippedwing: I was referrring to the original poster who, presumibly, had purchased "Cuban cigars" in the DR. These are almost certainly fakes.
In Cuba, there is a booming business of fakes, even the highest end cigars are counterfeited in Cuba by Cubans. Generally speaking they just do the most famous and most requested such as the R&J Churchills, the Monte #2s or the Cohiba Robusto and Esplendidos. This is known and winked at by Cuban authorities, since it also produces dollars. "Hey Meester! Jew wan some gud ceegars, yes? Mai seester, she work een dee Cohiba factory...onny feeftee dollar a box, jus for jew..!"
Since you cannot buy Cohibas directly from the factory unless you go to Cuba, I have to surmise that this is what you have done, right? Tell me you didn't answer some ad that said that they got their cigars straight from the factory??
Festero: Obviously you are a cigar person. Wonderful.
The most recent problem with Cuban cigar production, apart from trying, as you mentioned, to satisfy a huge demand world wide, has been a new mold that destroyed many tons of tobacco in the drying houses. No one is really sure how much tobacco was lost to the molds which weren't noticed until way too late. It had never occured before, and it has been blamed with a change in roofing materieal for the drying sheds' roofs...
Sorry to say that Suckling was referring to the most highly rated premium Cuban cigars with that 30 - 35% figure. He talked about throwing away a Trinidad into the gutter in London!
And yes, we do get a lot of Cuban fakes here in the DR, from people that go to Cuba...
Johne: You are absolutely right!. If you live in the States or Canada JR cigars is the best possible supplier for outstanding buys in cigars. There are one or two suppliers from Europe that have been proven to deliver quality Cuban cigars to residents of the USA....If interested, drop me a line...
HB
Clippedwing: I was referrring to the original poster who, presumibly, had purchased "Cuban cigars" in the DR. These are almost certainly fakes.
In Cuba, there is a booming business of fakes, even the highest end cigars are counterfeited in Cuba by Cubans. Generally speaking they just do the most famous and most requested such as the R&J Churchills, the Monte #2s or the Cohiba Robusto and Esplendidos. This is known and winked at by Cuban authorities, since it also produces dollars. "Hey Meester! Jew wan some gud ceegars, yes? Mai seester, she work een dee Cohiba factory...onny feeftee dollar a box, jus for jew..!"
Since you cannot buy Cohibas directly from the factory unless you go to Cuba, I have to surmise that this is what you have done, right? Tell me you didn't answer some ad that said that they got their cigars straight from the factory??
Festero: Obviously you are a cigar person. Wonderful.
The most recent problem with Cuban cigar production, apart from trying, as you mentioned, to satisfy a huge demand world wide, has been a new mold that destroyed many tons of tobacco in the drying houses. No one is really sure how much tobacco was lost to the molds which weren't noticed until way too late. It had never occured before, and it has been blamed with a change in roofing materieal for the drying sheds' roofs...
Sorry to say that Suckling was referring to the most highly rated premium Cuban cigars with that 30 - 35% figure. He talked about throwing away a Trinidad into the gutter in London!
And yes, we do get a lot of Cuban fakes here in the DR, from people that go to Cuba...
Johne: You are absolutely right!. If you live in the States or Canada JR cigars is the best possible supplier for outstanding buys in cigars. There are one or two suppliers from Europe that have been proven to deliver quality Cuban cigars to residents of the USA....If interested, drop me a line...
HB
Re: I'll take these as they came
I stated in my original post that I got them directly from the factory in Havana Cuba.
I was appoached probably 30 times on the street from people whosaid their uncle,cousin,brother worked at the factory and could get them for me real cheap..LOL.. I had already been forewarned though and passed.
We went on a tour of the cigar factory which is where I bought mine. I did get some MonteCristo's and Romeo and Juliets from some state owned stores though.. they could have been fakes though... don't know.
Hillbilly said:
I stated in my original post that I got them directly from the factory in Havana Cuba.
I was appoached probably 30 times on the street from people whosaid their uncle,cousin,brother worked at the factory and could get them for me real cheap..LOL.. I had already been forewarned though and passed.
We went on a tour of the cigar factory which is where I bought mine. I did get some MonteCristo's and Romeo and Juliets from some state owned stores though.. they could have been fakes though... don't know.
I'm not a smoker, so I will respond as a non spoker. What the hell is a fake. It did not grow in Cuba? A tabacco leaf is a tobacco leaf.
Is it the flavor like coffee where you can taste the flavor based on the type of soil it was grown.
Isn't the regions, ie soil type much the same in DR as it is in Cuba.
Is it the altitude, which influences coffee growing.
I'm thinking Grandma Cubana could grow a tobacco leaf in her backyard in cuba, and roll it up and make you guys go crazy wanting to smoke it.
What makes them different, or is it just simple hype and the idea of because the US does not allow you to buy it, it makes it more attractive yet it is not all its cracked up to be.
What gives.
Is it the flavor like coffee where you can taste the flavor based on the type of soil it was grown.
Isn't the regions, ie soil type much the same in DR as it is in Cuba.
Is it the altitude, which influences coffee growing.
I'm thinking Grandma Cubana could grow a tobacco leaf in her backyard in cuba, and roll it up and make you guys go crazy wanting to smoke it.
What makes them different, or is it just simple hype and the idea of because the US does not allow you to buy it, it makes it more attractive yet it is not all its cracked up to be.
What gives.
Cubans & Fakes
Dear Joe: The soil and the Cuban climate make the tobacco in Cuban just different. Cuban is one of the oldest, if not THE oldest cigar manufacturing nation/area in the Western Hemisphere. The Dominican Republic is also a very old producer of cigars. But Cuba was closer to the US and they were the recipient of English and American and German busniness people.
The DR just grew tobacco.
As for fakes, these are cigars that (a) "say" they are Cuban, but are not, or (b) are made in people's back yards-in Cuba- but are not the product from the factories, and therefore fake.
There is a huge markes for both...
HB
Dear Joe: The soil and the Cuban climate make the tobacco in Cuban just different. Cuban is one of the oldest, if not THE oldest cigar manufacturing nation/area in the Western Hemisphere. The Dominican Republic is also a very old producer of cigars. But Cuba was closer to the US and they were the recipient of English and American and German busniness people.
The DR just grew tobacco.
As for fakes, these are cigars that (a) "say" they are Cuban, but are not, or (b) are made in people's back yards-in Cuba- but are not the product from the factories, and therefore fake.
There is a huge markes for both...
HB
Leon Jeminez, How do you rate it Hillbilly?
Hillbilly,
I may have mispelled the name of the cigar. I got it at the factory in Santiago that is run by the same people as the Presidente beer company. (I recommend the tour they offered if it's still available - It sure smells good there)
Some of my friends recommended this cigar and I thought it was pretty good too. How do you rate it as far as quality and price?
I have had what I considered good values from JR cigar in the states. There have been some dissappointments there too though.
On a related note: When I smoked cigarettes I imagined cigars must be really unhealthy for a smoker. Since I quit cigarettes and smoke only cigars, I feel much better. No smoker's cough in the morning and no sudden urge to smoke like when I smoked cigarettes. One cigar in the evening fills the bill. Any explaination for this?
I'd like to stock up on cigars this next trip. Any recommendations are appreciated.
Thanks,
Gregory Wales
Hillbilly,
I may have mispelled the name of the cigar. I got it at the factory in Santiago that is run by the same people as the Presidente beer company. (I recommend the tour they offered if it's still available - It sure smells good there)
Some of my friends recommended this cigar and I thought it was pretty good too. How do you rate it as far as quality and price?
I have had what I considered good values from JR cigar in the states. There have been some dissappointments there too though.
On a related note: When I smoked cigarettes I imagined cigars must be really unhealthy for a smoker. Since I quit cigarettes and smoke only cigars, I feel much better. No smoker's cough in the morning and no sudden urge to smoke like when I smoked cigarettes. One cigar in the evening fills the bill. Any explaination for this?
I'd like to stock up on cigars this next trip. Any recommendations are appreciated.
Thanks,
Gregory Wales