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Just wondering whats so damn special about cubans? Ive never smoked one but what is it about them that people love so much? Is it the simple fact that we cant legally have them, thus creating a sort of"mystique" about them, or are they simply better cigars do to conditions in cuba? It seems that if I mention that I smoke cigars to someone they always reply with something about cubans. Just want to know whats so special about them.
They are what I look for in a flavor profile. I don't like a lot of spice and I've had very few Cubans that I would call spicy. I just like the toasty, earthy, nutty taste. I'm past the 'hype' and I get tired of the "You ever have a Cuban?" question, too. I've had Cubans I didn't like just like any other cigar.
For many people, it's they hype that you are smoking something that is illegal.
For Cigar Smokers, they are some of the best tasting cigars. Cuban soul is the best place to grow tobacco for cigars. Hence why they make the best cigars.
When you smoke a well aged cuban, you know why they are special.
A lot of people will try a Cuban without really being into cigars. To them its just the mystique.
Remember that Cuban cigars are smoked regularly all over the world, and chefchris is correct in that they run the range from incredible to just plain nasty. I enjoy a good DR or Nic cigar just as much as some Cubans.
spiffy
There are just as good Dominican, Honduran, and Nicaraguan cigars out there. Cubans have different profiles in flavor, smell and taste to them that is intoxicating to any smoker. True, many try to obtain or smoke them because of the "illegallity" of it, but those are normally the same people that would pay $15-$20 for a Gurkha because supposedly it's the Rolls Royce of cigars.
People that smoke for the enjoyment of the smoke and not the status of it can really appreciate what a cuban cigar can offer.
Like Chris mentioned, it's more mellow in strength and yet flavorful. You can get the most flavor in such a mild-medium bodied smoke from a cuban, than you can get from a normal Dom, Hon, and Nic cigar. When you get to the full-bodied cubans, YOU GET tons of flavor with the feeling you just got kicked in the nuts.
Andrew
That's my experience as well. Amongst my favorite cigars of all times are a few Cubans. There are also a few Cuban amongst my most hated cigars of all times. The rest, eh, they're OK but I can do without them.Quote:
Originally Posted by spiffykyle
same.
I like NC's because they are so dam consistent. Every cigar tastes the same.
I've had Cubans where cigars sitting next to each other in the box don't taste anything alike.
OK so there is some truth to them actually being really good cigars in some cases. It just seems like everyone who I talk to about cigars (mainly non smokers) always ask the question "Ever had a cuban?". Thanks for clearing that up guys.
I REALLY HATE when people ask "You ever had a Ko-Hee-Buh?"
I friggin HATE it. I have plenty of cubans but I also have plenty of NC's. They are good if they are what you are looking for.
Downers to cubans-most need alot of time to be worth smoking.
NC's sometimes need age but alot of them are AWESOME right out of the box.
It's mainly the need to expand your knowledge. I will also agree to saying there are cubans that are as nasty as cheapo NC. I had a 98 H. Upmann last week and I swear there were moments that I thought I tasted shrimp...ugh.
'98 Sancho Panza Non-Plus or Trinidad Fundadore...
But as a friend of mine once said, "If you've never had it - you'll never miss it..." :smiley2:
Cuba grows and exports what, sugar cane (sugar), coffee and tobacco? Not much else. Although Cuba still sells many cigars to the rest of the world wouldn't you think that a lot (I mean mucho grande quantities) of surplus tobacco is regularly sold to Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, etc.? What is sold as "Cuban seed tobacco" is exactly that. Only it is actually grown in Cuba, shipped to another country where it is processed and then exported to the US.
Am I dreaming here? If so, wake me up and tell me why not?
umm i love shrimp and a shrimp flavored cigar that sounds awesome i think ill give the guys at drew estates a call and see if they could come up with something.:smiley36:Quote:
Originally Posted by guado
working at a cigar store i get people that come up to me daily and seriously ask me if i have any cubans? is there still people out there that dont know that cubans are illegal? what am i going to say yes they are right over here in our please arrest me and give me a huge fine humidor.
From what I understand as Cuban Seed is that the original crop came from Cuba in the exodus of all the farmers many years ago. They loaded up as much seed as they could get and high tailed it outta there. So almost everything is cuban seed. However, soil plays a HUGE part in the taste of a cigar as well where (globally) it's grown. Try a Sumatra wrapper and tell me that taste like a Cuban wrapper. It's a much spicier wrapper due to the conditions it's grown in. Same thing with many others, Conneticut, Cameroon, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeDubya
And if I remember correctly, I'm almost positive Cuba does not sell their tobacco to other countries for their own cigar blends.
Just to be clear, no one who is a US Citizen on this board has ever, will ever, or is now smoked, smoke, smoking a cuban. It is illegal for us to do so.
It certainly is and I have never smoked one. My question is whether or not Cuban tobacco can be sold (legally or not) to let's say Ecuador where it is processed and rolled and then legally exported to the US as a product of Ecuador.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMacFU
Also, there is still the supposedly "pre-embargo" product available, both tobacco and cigars.
From everything I have ever read or seen, I think Chris is correct here. Cuban tobacco is tightly controlled by the government.Quote:
Originally Posted by chefchris
While it sounds plausible that some tobacco could find its way out of the country, I highly doubt that any "organized" way of secretly using cuban origin tobacco in cigars exists.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeDubya
Cuban seed is what it actually is, not the leaf. And ChefChris gave a great explanation! IT depends on soil, weather conditions, and other factors to produce that distinct taste. If the leaf was exported to another contry, the country HAS to specify where the leaf/binder/wrapper came from. AND if it came from CUBA, it will NOT go into the US. So, exporting tobacco leaves will be mute. SO, what manufacturers try to do is get the sead and plant it in Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Rebublic, etc and advertise the cuban seed part as a selling point, when in actuality it's a totally different end-product from a cigar you can get from Cuba.
Cubans are illegal, and the experiences I've shared actually came from a Cuban Pen-pal of mine (Pepe), and not my own.
Ummm... No... :smiley26:Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeDubya
"Cuban Seed" tobacco means that the seeds used to start the plant were originally from Cuba. However, the seed is now planted and harvested outside of Cuba. Supposedly these seeds were taken out of the country at the time of the Cuban revolution (or sometime thereafter) by Cuban tobacco growers looking to make a better life for themselves outside of the Cuban society.
The idea that "excess Cuban tobacco" being sent to other countries and making it's way into US destined cigars is a myth. Just as the "Pre-Embargo" tobacco that's "been stored in warehouses since before the Cuban revolution and forgotten until now" stories are myths.
Nope - Cuban tobacco makes it into Cuban cigars. "Cuban seed" tobacco grown in the DR, Nicaragua, Honduras, etc. makes it into the NC cigars...
...it is a nice dream, though... Although I personally tend to like to dream about blondes on the beach... :smiley2:
Just checking. Like the article from Cigar Aficionado (link about 4 posts back) about the Canary Islands and them buying tobacco from Cuba and rolling it into their cigars it seems that it would be hard to control.
"The chief factor that differentiates Canary Island cigars from most others is the strong tradition of using Cuban tobacco in their blends."
~Cigar Aficionado~
They sell tobacco to be used in other cigars. Up until a couple of years ago Villager boxes has the "Contains Cuban Tobacco" blacked out for Sale in American and claimed not to use cuban tobacco only in the cigars sold in the US.
Interesting, ThanksQuote:
Originally Posted by nhcigarfan
I've never had a Don Gabriel but it is my understanding that they buy cuban tobacco (filler and binder) and use a wrapper from somewhere else on their house brand.
Okay - you've established the Canary Islands and a few other small outlets have at some time or another put Cuban tobacco into their their products - but there is no information to support your question concerning "a lot (I mean mucho grande quantities) of surplus tobacco is regularly sold to Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, etc."Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeDubya
So the answer is still - NO :smiley2:
I believe that my original question (it was a question???) was quite appropriately answered. chefchris and nhcigarfan were thorough and very informative. I don't know a lot about the Cuban trade so I speculate as to what might be. I'm not sure why you would like to drive it home one more time. But hey, if you feel better now then...Quote:
Originally Posted by ggiese
Deedub, Giese is just informing you that the canary island thing may stick, but the rest doesn't. He wasn't mean about it, trust me, that ain't anything close to mean on this or any other cigar board. So, don't get the panties in a bunch over something like this and think Giese is attacking you and your ego.
Gotcha, I'm not the best communicator and somewhat of a squareheaded German. But everything is cool and I love to join in the fun. If I get snippy just kick me in the ass.
You shouldn't alter your post after you post it - even to remove the "extremely foul language". You might not like the answer - and if you're man enough to toss around foul words - be man enough to stick by them and the consequences they bring. Maybe you won't be so inclined to toss around that nonsense the next time you feel so smited... :smiley2:Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeDubya
You tossed out a question - which (admittedly) was answered in some sort of fashion or another - although not fully accurately. The question is one that is oftentimes circulated. Even worse - the "theory" is many times stated as fact - nearly as often as the "grassy knoll" theory. Bothersome to those that keep seeing is circulate, because some fools latch on to it (this being the Internet) as the God-Spoken truth!
I suppose the accepted answer would be one that would make you feel better (i.e. - there IS Cuban tobacco in the cigars you smoke - WOO-HOO!!!). While some (as you say) have so "eloquently" answered your question - the question continued to remain comletely unanswered (except for my unacknowledged, lowly, horrible, "god forbid it's true!" opinion). Tough as it is to accept - The reality - nothing could be further from the truth... :smiley40:
I believe (unless someone has something else to offer) - the answer is still NO. :smiley2:
"You shouldn't alter your post after you post it - even to remove the "extremely foul language". You might not like the answer - and if you're man enough to toss around foul words - be man enough to stick by them and the consequences they bring. Maybe you won't be so inclined to toss around that nonsense the next time you feel so smited... "
I did not remove foul language, actually I didn't change anything, but it got your attention! I'm not into calling names but if I change my mind you will be the first to know.
So the "Last edited by DeeDubya : Yesterday at 07:38 PM. Reason: Removed extremely foul language, twice" was not true? Interesting... Hmmm... Social misfit? Class Clown? :smiley29:Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeDubya
I'm sorry - musta missed it - I didn't see any "chastising" going on with your question. I believe I pointed out the theory of Cuban tobacco being put into cigars making their way into the US as being an age old issue, asked numerous times in various forms. It also has been routinely put forth as a "theory". I must admit - typically, though, it is proposed by slobbering knuckle-draggers with big foreheads that don't know any better. And, typically, those that buy into it are similarly endowed... :smiley3:
I've never met you - you haven't been around long - but I'm fairly confident you're not in the "typical" category. Please don't disappoint my high aspirations for you... :smiley4:
Too late!!! I already captured what you removed!!! :smiley36:Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeDubya
Done... :smiley37:Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeDubya
You slick devil, caught me in the act. That really pisses me off. :smiley15:
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeDubya
:smiley8:
Chris, George, and maybe others have suggested that tobacco grown from Cuban seed outside of Cuba is from seed that was taken when the country transitioned to being virtually state-run.Quote:
Originally Posted by ggiese
I'll bet not. While seeds can remain viable for decades and even centuries, after a half century the (inevitable decrease of) viability would not sustain commercial purposes (enough to annually plant a few or many acres). And, after a Cuban seed is sprouted in non-Cuban soil, seeds from the resulting plant would then be non-Cuban.
Without researching it, I'm thinking that the only way non-Cuban brands can maintain that their tobacco is from Cuban seed is to buy that Cuban seed in order to use it for each new crop.
If this is accurate, I guess it follows that the US embargo of Cuban products stops at the gene.
To answer DeeDubya, I think the illegality of the Cuban cigar is a huge draw. Especially for folks who don't really smoke cigars. As others above have said, there are good, bad, and ugly cigars from any country that produces them, including Cuba. What's kinda fucked up in my mind is that an authentic Cuban, even if it is limited edition, aged 10 years, grown at the foot of a sacred, ancient volcano, and from Fidel's personal stash, it is completely goddamn wasted on a non or very occasional smoker because this person doesn't know a decent cigar from an over-hyped piece of CAO (or what have you) shit.
Now for a cigar smoker, well, and again, this is just me speculating, the real McCoy - one of any number of brands and fucking spare me the ko-hee-bahs too, with 3-4 years on it, on the strong side of medium, a good draw, with a diet Dr. Pepper in the back yard on a Sunday afternoon (and hell yeah it would add to the experience if somewhere on the band were the words "Cuba" or "Habano") . . . Well, fuck me. That would be fucking perfect.
Ive always wondered if cuban grown tobacco was sold to other countries and than rolled/sold under diffrent name. I think that it might not be that good of a move being that if Cubans were legal in the US, most of there sales would be just because its a Cuban. If it wasnt know that it was Cuban tobacco most people (and I say most because a true cigar smoker will smoke what he like if it was cuban or not). Another thing ive been wondering. I see on some of the videos on Cigar Aficianado that they sometimes just come out and say that theyve smoked Cubans. I think in one particular video they are actually smoking a Cuban. Than sometimes at the end the will jokingly say I have never smoked or possesed a cuban cigar. Does that make it ok if you say that after the fact of just admitting to smoking one?
Read the Cigar Afficianado articles with Michael Jordan... :smiley2:Quote:
Originally Posted by prostartjr1738
Oh, Ted... Linky... :smiley37:Quote:
Originally Posted by basil
I don't think Cuba sells their tobacco, they have a limited production and have a hard enough time meeting demands. Sometimes even their own production is not up to "Cuban" expectations.
The Cuban cigars are better. Granted I've had good Nic or Honduran cigars, they aren't better. I'll take a RASCC, Monte #4, Siglo IV, VI, Mag 46, Partagas SDC #3, etc over any non Cuban cigar you can name, period.
Now I guess the Cubans do sell seeds to other countries, as some of the Tatuajes are Cuban seed. And they are pretty dang good cigars. Better than a #4? Not in my opinion. Better than a Cohiba Siglo VI? :smiley36: But they are good cigars. At their price? No.
I don't really know a whole lot about cubans, never had one. Whenever I mention cigars, though, I do almost always get asked whether I've had one (mostly by people who do not smoke cigars).