Random basic info/opinion on Havana's

[sammis]

Wow, very nice, lots of good info.

[craig]

Some good references:

http://www.pacificcigar.com/eng/havana/grow/anatomy.php Pacific Cigars is the Habanos distributor for Asia/Pacific (including Canada). The info on the website appears to be lifted word-for-word (and pic-for-pic, mostly) from a small book that Habanos SA published a few years ago (that I have), which was mostly written by Simon Chase.

http://cigars.co.uk/cigar-book Hunters & Frankau, the U.K. Habanos distributor, have piled all their articles (including the Pacific Cigar website content referenced above) into their new "The Cigar Smokers Club" website. You have to register to read the articles, but it is worth it IMHO. Simon Chase is one of the true experts on Cuban cigars (okay, he's a fuggin' Cuban Cigar GOD), and he has authored a few of the articles found on the site. Unfortunately, the information is organized alphabetically in the website's "cigar book," so you have to do some browsing to find the 'good stuff.' (Look for the words "by Simon Chase" in an article's description.)

As a sample, here are Mr. Chase's top 10 regular production Habanos (no RE, LE, etc.) as of 2006:
1. RASS
2. SCdlH El Principe
3. Montecristo #2
4. Partagas Lusitania (cabinet)
5. Cuaba Divinos
6. Cohiba Siglo III
7. RyJ Short Churchill
8. Trinidad Coloniales
9. Partagas Shorts
10. Montecristo Petit Edmundos

Other sites that I regularly refer to are, in order of use:
http://www.cigars-review.org/ - reviews, general reference.
http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/ - sizes, shapes, brands, packaging
http://habanos.com/default.aspx - Habanos' site, current catalog, news
http://www.lacasadelhabano.cu/site/i...p?lang=english - mainly for the multimedia, and info on LCDH exclusives.

[ChristopherS]

Thanks, I learned a lot from reading the article!

[ggiese]

Excellent write up, Craig. I'm not an expert, by any means, but what you've written is much of the same experience I've had.

Although - I still think, by far, the best Cuban style cigar that defines the difference in Cuban taste from all others is the Vegas Robaina Famosos. Cohiba may be Cuba's flagship brand, but I've not been nearly as impressed with Cohiba as VR.

The tobacco in the VR line is from the best growing area in Cuba - Vuelta Abajo district of the Pinar del Rio province. Much of what goes into Cohiba is also grown in this region.

Dollar for dollar - the VR cigars (in my personal opinion) are some of the best that Cuba produces. I'm surprised it does not get as much press as Cohiba and Montecristo - but that's okay by me - it keeps the cost of their cigars down...

[JFellows]

Good write up, though I don't think it's fair to simply dismiss Club cigars (well, Cohiba at least - I can't speak for any other brand). When I lived in Spain I went through several packages of Cohiba Clubs and absolutely enjoyed them, especially for the price. I think I paid around 9-10 euros (~$13-14) for each package of 20. They're great bar smokes.

[Smoked!]

Nicely done, craig. I appreciate the time and effort you expend to compile the information you posts. Hopefully, we will all have an opportunity to sample some of these delights in the near future.

[craig]

Excellent write up, Craig. I'm not an expert, by any means, but what you've written is much of the same experience I've had.

Although - I still think, by far, the best Cuban style cigar that defines the difference in Cuban taste from all others is the Vegas Robaina Famosos. Cohiba may be Cuba's flagship brand, but I've not been nearly as impressed with Cohiba as VR.

The tobacco in the VR line is from the best growing area in Cuba - Vuelta Abajo district of the Pinar del Rio province. Much of what goes into Cohiba is also grown in this region.

Dollar for dollar - the VR cigars (in my personal opinion) are some of the best that Cuba produces. I'm surprised it does not get as much press as Cohiba and Montecristo - but that's okay by me - it keeps the cost of their cigars down...

I've only smoked a couple half-boxes of Famosos, but one of those boxes (from 1998, smoked last year) had one of the best cigars that I've ever had. It was the kind of cigar where you can't help but just stare at the cigar in your hand in wonderment at how awesome it is, and you forgive that half of the cigars were plugged bricks, even after 10 years worth of shrinkage . (Aside: quality control seems to be much improved these days.)

VR's are (I think) unique in that the wrappers are supposed to all come from Robaina's farm. (I've also heard that all/most/some/none of the tobacco comes from that farm, so YMMV.)

BTW, the 2009 RE for Canada is supposed to be a VR in the Petit Edmundo size (4 3/8" x 52). If the price is relatively reasonable (which is a big if with RE's, IMHO), then it might be worthy of consideration.

As for Cohiba (and Trinidad) and, to a slightly lesser extent, Montecristo, I think there is an awful premium to pay for the name.

Good write up, though I don't think it's fair to simply dismiss Club cigars (well, Cohiba at least - I can't speak for any other brand). When I lived in Spain I went through several packages of Cohiba Clubs and absolutely enjoyed them, especially for the price. I think I paid around 9-10 euros (~$13-14) for each package of 20. They're great bar smokes.

You're absolutely right - it isn't fair. However, you have to keep in mind that the clubs, minis, and puritos are licensed, machine-made products, and it appears that different markets get different products - IIRC, the Spanish domestic market gets cigarillos that are (were?) made in Spain (maybe France?) from Cuban tobacco. UK and Canada get ones that are machine-made in Cuba, at least from the boxes that I have had. (I don't know about other countries.) Thus, the Cuban clubs, etc., are not small versions of the 'real' cigars - they're a product unto themselves that share the same brand names. Contrast that to something like the Padron Corticos or Plasencia Nesticos, which are just smaller versions of the Padron / Plascencia Organicas.

Taxation rules and fancy packaging can also skew the value-for-money relationship. For example, the Cohiba clubs found in duty-free shops (mostly) come in a beautiful (to me ) 50-count brushed metal canister - but you're paying $20 (before taxes) just for that canister, when compared to the cardboard pack prices.

I guess what I really meant when I said the club's, etc., "aren't worth it," is that I'm making a personal value judgment. I'll take a bundle of budget Cubans over a similarly-priced bundle of (admittedly larger) non-Cubans, but I'll do the reverse when it comes to cigarillo's (in general, I'm ignoring the S-CHIP impact, etc.). YMMV.

As an aside, the cigarillo's that I smoke at the moment are machine-bunched hand-finished Mexican no-names. They're a local close-out that are 20+ years old, and have nicely-yellowed cello .

[denver24]

Read this today and thought it was interesting:

"YOU ARE VICTIM OF A FRAUD"

The problem of counterfeit Havana cigars dates back to at least 1850. That’s when Gustave Bock decided to put an identifying band on all of his Bock & Co. cigars to separate them from fakes sold by others.

Habanos S.A., the worldwide distribution firm for cigars exported from Havana, has taken more and more steps to make sure that smokers are buying genuine Cuban cigars and have now quietly introduced an important, real-time guard against the sales of counterfeit boxes: the Habanos “Authenticity Check.”

This online program is simple to use, but works only on newly-shipped Habanos which have the new Cuban warranty seal, introduced in March. In addition to now-standard features such as a self-destructing seal, holography, micro-dot printing and optical variations known only to those training in Habanos security code recognition, a bar code was added to the seals attached to all boxes, displays and cabinets, but not to carton packs.

The bar codes are of two different types: one with five characters on one side and seven on the other (12 total) and the second with six characters on each side (also 12 total). These code characters are the key to the Authenticity Check.

-Cigarcyclopedia