WHY Cuban Cigars?

[CyBeRDiVeR]

OK, first of all, forgive me if this has been covered before, I tried a search but nothing really came up that answered my questons.

I fairly new to cigar smoking, and like everyone here and on other forums predicted, it's become more of an obsession than I expected.

I just want to know what all the hoopla is about cuban cigars? Are they REALLY better than non cubans? I am Canadian, but live in Florida, and I am planning a trip to the great white north this summer, so I will get a chance to try one eventually, but I just can't believe that there is THAT much difference than the quality non-cubans that are available here in the USA.

Is it just the draw of the "forbidden fruit"? or is there really something there worth going out of our ways for?

Hope some of you cigar vets can shed some light on this subject for me.

Thanks

 

[chenvt]

It's all a matter of taste.. Try them for yourself and find out what you like. You never know, you might like Cremosa's and White Owls

I have friends in Europe who have cubans galore, but want a Tatuaje or Fuente more than anything else.

 

[bfisher88]

It's all subjective. Some will only smoke Cuban, some only smoke non. I mainly smoked NC but on rare occasion I will pull one out. I feel a lot of it is the forbidden fruit concept. They want what they cant have. Yes some are good, and some are not good. Just like any other NC cigar. Smoke whatever tastes best to you.

 

[JHolmes763]

Smoke everything once and then continue smoking what you liked...

 

[rectifythis]

Why nicaraguan cigars? Do all taste great? NO! Are there great nicaraguan cigars? Yes. Padron for example. Are all cubans good? NO! I only care for a few brands myself. It is all a matter of what your tastes are. I would just as quckly reach for a Padron 1964 as I would a Bolivar. A cigar is a cigar as Moki would say.

 

[MadMonk]

I like cigars from every country, but not every manufacturer. Cuban tobacco has some attributes that I find very much to my liking, and I find that I will like more brands from Cuba than I will like from Nicaragua, or any of the other countries. That said, and with all things being equal i.e., readily available and legal; if I had to choose a cigar from a selection consisting of a Padron 1926, an Ashton VSG, and a Cuban Bolivar, it would be strictly based on my mood.

 

[beyond the band]

I have a favorite Cuban it's the Trinidad lancero.
One of my favorites. My girlfriend was at Bevmo and tried to pick me up some smokes to be nice. She sat there were some non ISOM Trinidad lanceros there and thought they were the same. She picked me up a couple. Not the same for sure! I could really taste the difference.

Nowhere near as good.

At any rate having a girlfriend that picks up cigars for you is priceless!!!

 

[stlboarder]

You got a keeper there B.T.B

 

[Macion Grey]

Just try a few mate, and try not to hype yourself up too much beforehand.

 

[Not A Nice Person]

*shrug*

It's a bit like Opus X cigars . . . a little bit harder to come by, so a certain mystique arises. And, just like Opus X, there's a distinctive flavor involved, and if THAT particular taste is what you want, that's where you go to get it.

Not that all Cubans taste the same by any means. But they all seem to share a certain "twang."

I will say that based on my very limited experience, Cuban cigars seem to age better than almost anything. A friend once sent me an RyJ churchill with 5 years of careful aging on it, and that stick blew my mind. Smooth as silk, cool all the way to the nub, and delicious.

But since I don't have that kind of patience or budget, they're really not that big a deal to me. Love 'em when I can get 'em (especially RASS, Epi 2, and RyJ Short Churchills, all of which smoke great young) but don't really obsess about 'em any. I'd much rather have a VSG Spellbound or San Cristobal Fabuloso than almost anything else.

And there's dozens of other fantastic cigars that are just plain easier to get.

~Boar

 

[moki]

Why nicaraguan cigars? Do all taste great? NO! Are there great nicaraguan cigars? Yes. Padron for example. Are all cubans good? NO! I only care for a few brands myself. It is all a matter of what your tastes are. I would just as quckly reach for a Padron 1964 as I would a Bolivar. A cigar is a cigar as Moki would say.

This. Except the part about that Moki feller. He's a fool.

 

[NullSmurf]

Why nicaraguan cigars? Do all taste great? NO! Are there great nicaraguan cigars? Yes. Padron for example. Are all cubans good? NO! I only care for a few brands myself. It is all a matter of what your tastes are. I would just as quckly reach for a Padron 1964 as I would a Bolivar. A cigar is a cigar as Moki would say.

Among us, this is all true. Among those who know little or nothing about cigars, Cubans are frequently thought of as the best. Perhaps forbidden fruit plays in. It can be prestigious to present a Cuban cigar to an infrequent smoker. That spills over a bit here too, but as you've read, its merely a matter of taste.

 

[jepe]

Why nicaraguan cigars? Do all taste great? NO! Are there great nicaraguan cigars? Yes. Padron for example. Are all cubans good? NO! I only care for a few brands myself. It is all a matter of what your tastes are. I would just as quckly reach for a Padron 1964 as I would a Bolivar. A cigar is a cigar as Moki would say.

Among us, this is all true. Among those who know little or nothing about cigars, Cubans are frequently thought of as the best. Perhaps forbidden fruit plays in. It can be prestigious to present a Cuban cigar to an infrequent smoker. That spills over a bit here too, but as you've read, its merely a matter of taste.

I agree.
I thought,before joining CP,that only cuban cigars are worth smoking.
I never heard of Padron,Anejo,CAO and many more.
After tasting some of this great non cuban cigars I must say it is just a matter of taste.
Cuban cigars are more famous because of the embargo and lots of movies make them very popular.
There is a lot non cuban cigars which that taste much better then some cuban cigars.

 

[golfgar]

I have a friend who lives in another country who buys Kweben cigars with the currency of his own country (btw I understand California is paying people with Chits or IOU's, isn't that like printing your own money? Perhaps you could spend those to buy Kweben's) and sometimes when I visit he gives me one to smoke while visiting and not for bringing back home. While the flavor seems to be good on most of the cigars he has let me try there is something missing.

 

[moki]

I will for one will only smoke Cuban cigars, drink only French wine, eat only Italian cheese, and drink only Columbian coffee.

You heathens may kiss my pinky ring.

 

[Mr Peat]

Why nicaraguan cigars? Do all taste great? NO! Are there great nicaraguan cigars? Yes. Padron for example. Are all cubans good? NO! I only care for a few brands myself. It is all a matter of what your tastes are. I would just as quckly reach for a Padron 1964 as I would a Bolivar. A cigar is a cigar as Moki would say.

Among us, this is all true. Among those who know little or nothing about cigars, Cubans are frequently thought of as the best. Perhaps forbidden fruit plays in. It can be prestigious to present a Cuban cigar to an infrequent smoker. That spills over a bit here too, but as you've read, its merely a matter of taste.

I agree.
I thought,before joining CP,that only cuban cigars are worth smoking.
I never heard of Padron,Anejo,CAO and many more.
After tasting some of this great non cuban cigars I must say it is just a matter of taste.
Cuban cigars are more famous because of the embargo and lots of movies make them very popular.
There is a lot non cuban cigars which that taste much better then some cuban cigars.

The movie Crank has a little pool scene with a mobster called Carlito and he is smoking a Opus X. I kid you not. Like everything in life, its all subjective. You can apply this to everything you do or what someone else does. Just do what makes you happy and you will have no complaints.

 

[sonuvabum]

This has actually been a part of my journey that I have enjoyed a lot. With NC's it's easy to run the gambit and try lots of different smokes. With the others, not always so easy. Therefore, my personal experience with these is limited by comparison.

I can say that in my world, I have yet to be blown away by anything from the Island. That's not to say I haven't had good smokes from there, I have. I just haven't had anything I would take over a nice Padron, or some Tat's, and DPG's to name a few.

There is something else I would say about the CC's; To me, there is truly something unique about them. I can't put my finger on it per se', maybe it's the earthiness, maybe it 's a certain kind of richness, I just don't know. But what I do know is that they always seem to take me back to days long gone. There's no real good reason for this that I can think of. I've only been smoking cigars for 6-7 years now so there is no reason I should feel nostalgic about them. When I do have one though, I feel as though this must be what cigars were like way back when. Hell, it might just be my mind playing games with me. Again, I don't know. The experience for me is unique enough that I know for sure when I want one. And when I want one, I want one bad.

...and, I still have a ways to go on my journey. I'm sure the day is coming when I hit on one that will just knock my socks off and I can't wait.

G-

 

[BlindedByScience]

I will for one will only smoke Cuban cigars, drink only French wine, eat only Italian cheese, and drink only Columbian coffee.

You heathens may kiss my pinky ring.

Italian cheese is seriously gross. Brings your opinions into question, it does..... :laugh:

/thread

 

[Devil Doc]

I will for one will only smoke Cuban cigars, drink only French wine, eat only Italian cheese, and drink only Columbian coffee.

You heathens may kiss my pinky ring.

Italian cheese is seriously gross. Brings your opinions into question, it does..... :laugh:

/thread

You, are a Philistine and need a haircut. :laugh:

Doc.

 

[CoventryCat86]

Yes, they really are better than many non Cuban cigars. Yes, there is "that much" difference in the flavor, quality and construction. No, it's not the "draw of the 'forbidden fruit.'"