Cuban vs. Dominican cigars
This is an unending argument. There is no clear-cut answer. Juan Carlos is partially correct in that people do want to smoke Cuban cigars and will pay major money for the fun of doing so. That said, people like James Suckling from Cigar Aficionado magazine, perhaps their most imformed writer, reports that because of the tremendous pressure being put on the factories to produce the famous brand cigars that they sell in Europe (Partegas, Cohiba, Romeo & Julieta, H. Upmann, Ram?n Allones and so forth) quality control is way down and tobacconists are reporting as much as 35% of cigars not being smokable because of manufacturing defects. None of the top Dominican products (Same names plus Arturo Fuente) come close to this level of rejects. Suckling says that 3% of non-useable cigars is typical from the DR.
Now there is no doubt that the tobacco from Vuelta Abajo is outstanding, and it is because of a curious combination of soil, sun and rain. The tobacco from Santa Clara is a clear second. Both tobaccos are used in the most famous Cuban brands, in order to achieve the desired blend of flavors, just like no Dominican cigar is made from tobacco from just one region.
Going to the root of the post
Because Cuban cigar production is already over-extended, it is very difficult for a new market to be opened. And the local Dominican cigar market is very small. Dominicans smoke Marlboros (UGH!) not cigars. And the legitimate Cuban cigars face incredible competition from fakes, either locally made or imported from Cuba. And YES, Cuba makes fake Cubans!! So few people can afford the prices. And the Cuban authorities got rid of the traditional factory codes and date of manufacturing codes so there is no reliable way to tell the genuine from the fakes, except by ultraviolate light and a microscope.
In the DR it is difficult,even, to sell real DOMINICAN cigars. There are so many fakes. I went to a store in Cabarete and there was just a bunch of junk cigars that are considered, here, to be third rate-at best. And no Cubans. No "real" Cubans, that is.
BTW, before you start to do battle, remember that the Central American producers are making a bunch of really fine cigars, like Padrone, C.A.O., Perdomo and others. Many, many people would take a Padrone Aniversario over most Cubans any day (well, except for Monte #2, or Cohiba Lancero)..And the Padrones are just as expensive. Many of my cigar buddies in the States import their Cubans by the box from Holland and Spain....and get what they want, when they want it!
HB