Quote Originally Posted by Johnny
Cubans are not cheap in the UK, I buy from a Hong Kong trader. I'm more worried that if and when they become legal, smokers in the US may buy Cubans at the expense of cigar brands they smoke now, which may in turn lead to less variety of cigars. I love the variety that US websites have to offer, unfortunately only a few ship to the UK. I've had a CAO, Gurka and Puros Indio so far and I've got a La Perla Habana in the humi for tonight.

I just watched an interesting documentary about the cigar business in Cuba. The members of the Cuban cigar manufacturers say about 60 percent of the Cuban cigars are currently entering the United States. Pretty staggering, if you think about considering we have an embargo in effect.

The next thing he said, which was more disturbing, is if the ban were lifted tomorrow, they are prepared to ship 100 percent of their output to the US in order to fulfill the demand they expect. That would mean if you wanted a Cuban cigar, you'd have to go through US channels to get it. From the experience you're now having, Johnny, that would REALLY suck!!!

The one thing that the US market produces is a wide variety of choices. Unfortunately, the US is a glutton when it comes to just about everything. Cigars are no exception. I do love the fact that I can walk into my local shop, and choose from several hundred different choices of cigars. And my retailer has no signs of having difficulty moving their product lines.

I like certain Cuban cigars - but not all. I've had some domestic cigars which I feel tasted and smoked better. It will be interesting to see what happend if and when the embargo is lifted. To be honest, I think it would be best kept in effect so that the demand will not outstrip the supply. It seems to me that can only cause prices to rise, and quality to diminish...