Cigar Social Network

CUBAN CIGARS: HELLUVA CIGAR OR HYPE OF A CIGAR?

Many believe the mystique behind smoking a cuban cigar is its difficult accessibility.The successfully placed embargo on Cuba 49 years ago created some race to be the bad ass that can get his/her hands on them.Many cigars Aficionados believe its the cigar makers.Old familys dedicated to the art of handrolling,and creative tobacco blending.Many also believe its the high levels of lithium enriched soil in many regions of Cuba.And If this is true,is it possible to truthfully create a cuban cigar just using cuban seed in soil that isnt Cuban?I ask the experts here on Social cigar to clear this sh*t up.;)

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Permalink Reply by Homebrew on September 7, 2009 at 11:20pm

Quote "There has to be something in the soil there. Don't get me wrong i love a lot of legal cigars that are grown with cuban seed, but there is just something that makes a cuban distinctive, i just can't put my finger on."

You are correct, but I am getting to the place where I am getting close. LOL

I smoked a Padron 3000 maddie, the other day. This used to be my favorite moderately priced cigar. I was going to review it, but my Mama always told me, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In my preperation for the review, I studied the cigar, checked the cap, the heft, the feel, etc. With a cuban cigar, you generally find a well applied triple cap. This is not always the case, but it is the case more often than not. With the Padron, the cap was sloppy. I checked others from the box to make sure it was not an isolated incident, but all looked like the roller added the cap as an afterthought. I felt the weight of the cigar in my hand. It was much lighter tha the average cuban cigar of a similar ring guage and length, though I don't think there is an exact match to the dimensions. I squeezed the cigar, and it felt spongy, and underfilled. I checked other samples to make sure this wasn't an anomoly. I lit the cigar, and timed my smoking time. From initial light, to a 1" nub in 45 minutes???? WTF??? My average smoking time on a Bolivar RC, is about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and it is a smaller ring guage, and shorter length. The same with a PSD#4. Then there is the complexity, of habanos, which I found lacking in the Padron. Your average habanos has flavors that change remarkably during the progression of the cigar. I generally, when reviewing, seperate the progressions into thirds. The first third, second third, and final third. The padron, had flavors that didn't change during the length of the cigar. It was the same, leather cream and cocoa with hints of cedar and white pepper, for the duration of the cigar. The pepper did gain in strength toward the end, but that is it. I found it to be a bit boring.
Then there is the finish. A cuban cigar will leave you with a myriad of flavors on the palate. But they will not interfere with the flavors of your next beverage, or bite to eat. I had to scrape my tongue, to get rid of the cloying sweet flavor of the Padron. I have never felt the need to scrape my tongue, after smoking a Habanos.

Oh Well,
I guess to each his own, but I prefer Habanos, to noncuban cigars.

Dave (A.K.A. Homebrew)

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Permalink Reply by Herbert Kaufman on December 11, 2011 at 12:54pm

You should send your name into Ripley's Believe It or Not or the Guiness Book of Records because you are, I believe, the first person ever to find anything wrong with a Padron. It is considered the best, if not one of the best cigars sold, by most cigar smokers. Even so, they are a bit pricey, but are bargains compared to their pricier Cuban counterparts which, most cigar smokers who live in the real world, cannot afford and wouldn't buy if they could.

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Lund on September 8, 2009 at 12:30pm

I don't know. I have never had a cuban, and doubt I will have the chance to have one, living where I am, unless I make a trip to Canada. But, I do have to say, with the huge variety of non-cubans, and the different flavors, I don't know that I will ever miss not having one. I think the cigar industry is at a high point right now, with a variety unparalleled in history. And frankly, I'm going to enjoy it, and not bemoan what I might be missing.

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Permalink Reply by Craig Schmidt on September 21, 2009 at 7:45pm

TRINIDAD INGENIOS 2007 LE are great! it depends on the cigar, year, care authenticity. Personal taste. LA GLORIA CUBANA MEDAILLE D'OR No.2 are'nt as great! Check out the box pass I am starting note the habanos in the box.

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Permalink Reply by Herbert Kaufman on December 9, 2011 at 12:10pm

It goes beyond accessibility for me. Every now and then I look at Cuban prices and they are from the planet Vulcan or beyond. Even if I had the bucks I wouldn't pay some of the outrageous prices quoted. I wouldn't care if fire shot out of my ass when I lit one up; there isn't a cigar in the world that worth $30+ per cigar. At least for me.

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Permalink Reply by Matt ~RI's CRA Ambassador~ on December 9, 2011 at 1:10pm

It's a mix of both really, I've had several cuban cigars from different bands. Some are good, some not so good. Personally they have the same range of quality that you see everywhere else in the world, but Cuba gets this stigma of having the best cigars due mostly to the embargo, that's not to say that some of the cigars coming out of Cuba are not far better than others, but even in a straight out rating system, where orgin does not play a factor, cubans do not "rule the roost" so to speak. They have their goodies, but they have their dog sticks too. Sadly, for the price and risk of getting them into the country, it far outweights the value. For what you would pay for a "good" but not great box of cubans, you can score 2 or 3 great cigars from another part of the world.

And yes, cuban seed does not a cuban cigar make. The soil characteristics and weather patters for that area are unique and cannot be duplicated "in the wild" even if you take seeds from a cuban plant and transpose them elsewhere, they just don't get the same uptake from the soil.

If you have money to throw away and don't mind the potential of not getting your sticks, there are plenty of online retailers that can get them into the country. If so inclined.

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Permalink Reply by Matt ~RI's CRA Ambassador~ on December 9, 2011 at 3:09pm

I'm with you JB, I think I'd put a few Cohiba blends or Romeo y Julieta's. I agree that the other countries should brag more!

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Permalink Reply by Arturo on December 10, 2011 at 1:10pm

I started smoking cigars on a regular basis in 1999. The first cigars I had were Cubans and I smoked a lot of them because I could get them legally, even though I live in Ohio. When the borders were finally sealed off in 2001, I turned to Honduras and Nicaragua for my cigars and really must agree with JB, in that the present-day Cuban companies will have to really roll something special today to outdo Camacho [Christian Eiroa], Padron or Arturo Fuente.

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Permalink Reply by Arturo on December 10, 2011 at 3:09pm

I enjoy La Flor de Cano, Cuban. It's not among the primos, but I do like them on occasion. I also enjoy the Partagas 898 and the Cohiba Esplendido, as well as the Romeo y Julieta Coronas en Cedro. The Montecristos are a tad strong for me and I don't know why, given the Cohibas and the Partagas cigars are said to be strong, but they are not for me. I also enjoy another not so primo cigar, the Jose Luis Piedra, which is supposed to be as close to a Padron as Cuba puts out.

As for 2011, I'd have to say my favorite Cuban is the Bespoke gran robusto, by Puroexpress. Great burn and taste, handrolled especially for them. At about $12 each, I feel it is hard to find a finer cigar.