Are they really worth it?

[Jeffro600]

It depends on your tastes and what you like.

Personally, i dont think MOST cubans are worth their often hefty price. Id rather smoke a higher dollar Padron or an Opus X that i knew i would enjoy before some questionable cuban.

 

[The Master]

I think a lot of people are under the impression that Cuban cigars are expensive. It is not the case if you look around and get a few good sources.

Case in point. Right now a certain vendor is having a sale on cabinets of 50 cigars. I can buy a Cuban Punch Punch for 5.86 delivered to my door. This sale happens usually twice a month. Let's compare what that 5.86 buys in the land of good non Cubans.

Does it buy an Opus X.......nope, cheapest one is 8.25

Does it buy a Padron Anny........nope, cheapest one is around 8

Does it buy a Ashton VSG........nope again around 8

Does it buy a Diamond Crown........nope over 10

Does it buy a Davidoff......... not even close

Does it buy a El Rey Del Mundo.........yep

Does it buy a Hoyo Excalibur..........yep

Does it by a Torano..........yep

Does it buy an Oliva ..........yep

Now which would I rather smoke........... Cuban PP or the above mentioned ones in the same price range? Guess I'll take the Cuban PP.

 

[Strayvector]

For 18 months, I was fortunate enough to be able to walk into a local shop in Stockholm and try all the different brands and vitolas to see which I like. I was able to try them young and old, and was even fortunate enough to try them fresh from the roller's hands. I now purchase certain cigars to smoke young and others to age. Some I will smoke part of the box young and lay the rest down, but there is always a Cuban for me to smoke that I know I will like.

Recently, I returned to the US and decided to try some of the better NCs on the market. So for the past couple of months I searched for some of the better smokes that everyone seems to be talking about. I searched, found, and was bombed with Anejos, Opus, VSG, PAM, PAN, 1926s, Hemingways, CAOs, Tatuajes, and others. I then set about to systematically smoke them and take notes on what I liked and did not. Some were very good and others excellent, but for some reason, I felt that there was just something missing from the taste. Never could pin it down, but when I light up a Cuban, I don't get this sensation. Granted the construction of most these premium NCs are consistently better than the Cubans, but the difference is not enough to make me desire them more than Cuban cigars.

I feel that with all the different sticks that I've tried, I've made a pretty informed decision to concentrate my buying to those smokes that originate from Cuba. Also, like The Master mentioned earlier, I can generally get the Cuban cigars that I like cheaper and easier than the NCs I like. I'm sure I'll smoke some NCs in the future, but most of what I will be smoking will be Cubans.

So in short, to me they are definitely worth it.

 

[ggiese]

It depends on your tastes and what you like.

Personally, i dont think MOST cubans are worth their often hefty price. Id rather smoke a higher dollar Padron or an Opus X that i knew i would enjoy before some questionable cuban.

[snapback]275727[/snapback]​

With all the wealth of experience you have smoking Cuban cigars, I don't know where you got the idea MOST cubans have a hefty price. Actually, they tend to be pretty comparably priced compared to most mid-range N/C's. And they do have a better flavor profile than most.

I do agree that I'd rather smoke a higher dollar Padron or Opus X, than smoke a questionable Cuban. But I'd also like to smoke some more reasonably priced real Cuban's rather than an Opus X or Padron '26...

 

[atuck]

The Cubans are pretty much the cheapest boxes I have in my humidors. And I pick out of them more often than I pick out of the NC boxes for some reason. Although, my favorite cigars are NCs.

 

[moki]

The ISOM's. I'm not bashing Cuban's. But are they really worth it?

[snapback]274227[/snapback]​

Some are, some aren't -- try a few different brands and see which ones you like or don't like.

 

[Double D]

cubans here are reasonably priced and i have smoked more than a few. The thing is though i find myself likeing some of the n/c more gurkha fuente to name a couple but the good cubans for example Punch punch blow away the n/c by far and to be honest i dont much care for cubans but the good ones are very good.

 

[marcsheldon]

it all goes back to the pepsi/coke comparison. there are some isoms i really enjoy yet my humi is about 85% nc. i have about 3 boxes of my favorite isoms and a desktop humi full of singles and truth be told i give out about 5 isoms for every 1 i smoke to guys that come over and are enamored by the fact i have them. relative to this board, i dont smoke that often so price doesnt play a big role for me. ill take a pam, pan or higher end fuente any day over an isom. if i smoked every day, that would probably change.

 

[ggiese]

Do you like Coke or do you like Pepsi?

Same argument in my book....

[snapback]274690[/snapback]​

Only if the Cuban embargo issue is removed from the equation, making the purchase of Cuban cigars legal, would it be a similar argument.

As far as they're being worth it? That is a personal preference. I must admit that out of the many Cubans I have smoked, only a very few seemed worth it to me. And they were all Bolivar petit coronas and coronas. Yet those Boli's were extremely yummy cigars!

If all Cubans were like those Bolivars, I could see wanting to smoke more. As it is, all other Cubans left me with a desire to want to smoke a maduro wrapped NC.

[snapback]275706[/snapback]​

If the Cuban embargo issue was removed, yes - I think it would a similar argument. Certainly, there are those who want a Cuban cigar because they can't have them - making them desireable. But - Cuban tobacco is just like any other tobacco... There are things that are really appealing about Cuban tobacco if you like that flavor profile. It's just the same with DR, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Peruvian, African, etc. tobacco's. Each have their own "special" flavor which makes them appealing. Certainly, some hate the Honduran flavor, while others love it.

Again - it goes back the Coke/Pepsi analogy. Everyone has a different opinion as to what tastes appeal to them. I think one thing that can't be argued - most seasoned cigar smokers I know tend to grab a Cuban - and all say it's because of the flavor profile of the Cuban cigar. And it seems almost universal you have Cuban cigar smokers that favor the stronger, more flavorful Cuban cigars (Cohiba, Bolivar, Vegas Robaina, Ramon Allones, etc.) And I believe that to be true specifically because of the flavors unique to Cuban tobacco of those blends...

 

[Wurm]

Do you like Coke or do you like Pepsi? 

Same argument in my book....

[snapback]274690[/snapback]​

Only if the Cuban embargo issue is removed from the equation, making the purchase of Cuban cigars legal, would it be a similar argument.

As far as they're being worth it? That is a personal preference. I must admit that out of the many Cubans I have smoked, only a very few seemed worth it to me. And they were all Bolivar petit coronas and coronas. Yet those Boli's were extremely yummy cigars!

If all Cubans were like those Bolivars, I could see wanting to smoke more. As it is, all other Cubans left me with a desire to want to smoke a maduro wrapped NC.

[snapback]275706[/snapback]​

If the Cuban embargo issue was removed, yes - I think it would a similar argument. Certainly, there are those who want a Cuban cigar because they can't have them - making them desireable. But - Cuban tobacco is just like any other tobacco... There are things that are really appealing about Cuban tobacco if you like that flavor profile. It's just the same with DR, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Peruvian, African, etc. tobacco's. Each have their own "special" flavor which makes them appealing. Certainly, some hate the Honduran flavor, while others love it.

Again - it goes back the Coke/Pepsi analogy. Everyone has a different opinion as to what tastes appeal to them. I think one thing that can't be argued - most seasoned cigar smokers I know tend to grab a Cuban - and all say it's because of the flavor profile of the Cuban cigar. And it seems almost universal you have Cuban cigar smokers that favor the stronger, more flavorful Cuban cigars (Cohiba, Bolivar, Vegas Robaina, Ramon Allones, etc.) And I believe that to be true specifically because of the flavors unique to Cuban tobacco of those blends...

[snapback]276046[/snapback]​

Really good post George, funny thing is I like the R&J NC cigars more than the cuban ones, everyones tastes are different, and thats something we should be happy about. It would be a boring world if it wasn't that way.

 

[Jan Primus]

When I fist started smoking cigars, I preferred NC's for the milder and smoother taste...I found the cubans to be bitter and harsh. Then I had a siglo vi that was great, then I found out about sick periods. Then I found out the box codes of the cubans which I did not enjoy, sure enough, they were firmly entrenched in the sick period..since then, when people ask what my favourite cigar is..my reply, any nicely aged cuban. They have a certain something-something which I cannot put into words. It does take some effort to find nicely aged ones, but it is well worth it imho.

But the bottomline is, smoke what tastes best for you...just don't judge all cubans by a 6 month old monte 2.