Living outside the U.S. I would have to say I smoke Cubans and "Others" in about equal share and there is still a great differential between the two. While there are a lot of good non-cuban cigars, especially from the Dominician, they are simply "good" not great. The Cuban's still have a definite advantage over the rest of the world when it comes to quality, taste and construction. There could be any number of reasons for the rise of other brands, but from personal experience I still prefer my Cubans!