Cigar Aficionados!

First off, I've decided to join the forum. I've been reading for a while and you guys are great, especially the previous 2 posters.

Second, I'm the same way, copro. Months without, then 2-3 in a week or two. I'm sure you've had them, but for a medium-bodied smooth smoke, Arturo Fuente can't be beat. A little pricey, but still my favorite of all time. I also agree on the Punch cigars....solid cigar for a decent price.

For a less known cigar.....Flor de Oliva. Insanely good for cheap price. I got 52 guage torpedos, pack of 25 for about $40 online. Seriously worth trying.

-Beast

I don't smoke Cigars anymore, maybe 1-2 a year.

But, when I did: Fuente's (red label) Don Carlos line was the most perfect cigar on earth. Great taste, !perfect! draw, even burn, long lasting. Any size, though robusto was my favorite. His Hemingway line was also nice, but Don Carlos was always impeccable. Far superior to Opus X. I found my favorite and rarely went to anything else.

As for Cubans, how can you go wrong with a Montecristo #2, I don't know? Nothing like that draw. I know you mentioned Dom Rep Cohiba's, but if they are anything like the Cuban Cohibas, I found it like sucking on a lead stick. And yes, they were legit. It's just the way they make them.

my poison.....

I'm 99.999% certain that you are not at all allowed to bring any Cuban items into the US unless you have been given prior permission i.e. an authorized trip to Cuba. There might be a technicality exempting 20.00$ worth, but what does that buy you? I've researched the legalities many times and have spoken to ICE and BP friends as well. Recently.

They may not have given you a hard time, but it's still against the law. That law, to my recollection is that it's not against the law to possess Cuban items in the US, it's simply against the law to purchase them. The expectation is that if you have them on you, you bought them.

Curious to know your experience. Montreal is an expensive place to buy Cubans, with the provincial tax added onto the Canadian tax and the city tax. Before you know it a Monte #2 costs $50.00US. But that Casa Del Habano store on Sherbrooke is a great place to enjoy Cubans, have you been? Good stock usually. What was your experience with Customs, am curious...

D712

I enjoy a nice CAO Brasilia once in a while. Reasonably priced, smooth, and full bodied. Holds up well when paired with a nice smoky single malt like Lagavulin.

Wow, can't believe you declared them!!!! Not one of my wisest moves back when I was 25ish, but I wrapped them as a gift and PRAYED nobody would ever care to open them. I think you got luuuuuucky.

Aside: my father was part of a huge arrest once and they confiscated crates of authentic Cubans in Miami. They offered them to some of the guys, my dad one of them, and he declined, ultimately, boxes upon boxes were burned as waste. Now THATS a shame. Can you imagine lighting up 50 boxes of Partagas Series Ds? Oh man...

D712

A good friend of mine is a cigar expert. One night at the humidor he suggested Zino Platinums. Really enjoyed it and bought a case. Mild side with good taste.

I have about 20 Partagas -- partagasyCa., and a few Romero and Julieta's from when I was in south America.

They have been sitting for years, is it possible to place them in a humiditor and restore them after being completely dried out?

Cao Blacks are my current go to cigar. Ghurka's in general have left me pretty happy, though I like the Double Maduro especially...

I probably smoke 1-2 per year since I discovered cigars in med school. In med school it was closer to one a month, but I have slowed down to special occasions. My favorite cigar is one that I stumbled across in New Orleans. The Onyx Reserve Mini Belicoso. I saw it in a shop and thought it looked beautiful. Picked it up and loved the feel and smell. Having spent much of my life eating heavily smoked salmon and moose, I tend toward a more full-bodied, somewhat harsher cigar. This one surprised me in that it is more mellow than it looks, although it is still on the high end of a medium bodied cigar IMHO.

I have tried the Belicoso, Torbusto and Mini-Belicoso, but something about the mini just feels right to me.

Give em a try.



- pod

BitingPlates said:

I have about 20 Partagas -- partagasyCa., and a few Romero and Julieta's from when I was in south America.

They have been sitting for years, is it possible to place them in a humiditor and restore them after being completely dried out?

Click to expand...

If you do it VERY slowly, with a fine humidor, I have heard of this working without problem. If you do it too fast, of course, they'll split. Call your local cigar store and ask their advice. Leave the cuban part out, some people are funny.

You should be ok. Who knows how they'll smoke...

D712

Chillin in Whistler at the SCA update on CPB meeting and realizing I haven't done my research in advance.

Any suggestions on good Cubans to sample? Not worried about price, just want to try out a good smoke.

Any advice?

- pod

So I am thinking either these



Cohiba Piramides Edicion Limitada 2006

or these



Cohiba Piramides Millenium

or these



Partagas Series D No.5 E 2008


- pod

Davidoff makes for a light, smooth smoke. Probably the best cigar I've had and that includes cubans.

I bought some cubans a while back while on vacation, and from what I remember from doing research, US Customs allows $100 worth of cuban cigars to pass through customs.

According to the US Customs and Border Patrol site

There is a total ban on the importation into the United States of Cuban-origin cigars and other Cuban-origin tobacco products...

Contrary to what many people may believe, it is illegal for travelers to bring into the United States Cuban cigars acquired in third countries, such as Canada, United Kingdom, or Mexico.

Click to expand...

- pod

Periop,

I'm still surprised that folks think it's ok to buy Cuban products elsewhere and bring them into the US. Maybe because I've spent so much time trying to find a loophole. And time sweating my way through customs. Back in the day of course. I wouldn't risk it now. Just what I need on the med school app, an arrest in Toronto crossing the border...! (I know people who have been slapped on the hands, and also, arrested...)

Anyway, sounds like a fun trip! Cohiba's are not known for their draw. I find them like smoking through lead, they are REALLY packed tight. Notoriously a problem with many of their cigars. The draw on a Monte #2 is totally different, and, if you haven't tried one of these, I would say this is the cigar.
That Partagas looks interesting, if it's anything like their other Series Ds, than it's going to be a REALLY good smoke! (I'm big on draw, and Series Ds are really nice). Those two that I mention, Monte #2 and Series D #4 are my two favorite Cubans. If you like Cohibas, I cannot imagine either of these letting you down. I don't smoke much anymore, once a year, but I've also tried the Cuban Fonseca corona and robusto, good cigars.

If you like Torpedos, the Monte #2 will NOT let you down. Get that and the Cohiba and compare! It's Whistler afterall!

D712

Have fun!

p.s. best of my knowledge, that 100$ Cuban limit is ONLY for those authorized to travel to Cuba by the US State Department, i.e. families, press, relief workers. There is a Miami flight believe it or not, that goes on certain days of the week. Don't think it's published on Expedia though. Periops link is the current ban info.

Peel off the wrapper. You can bring in whatever you like, if you don't have a burning need to have the label on it (pun intended).

Biff

Curious Biff said:

Peel off the wrapper. You can bring in whatever you like, if you don't have a burning need to have the label on it (pun intended).

Biff

Click to expand...

Problem is, when you try to peel the band off, and the cigar isn't hot and the band glue isn't a little hot and melted, it can tear the wrapper really easily. And then the cigar, as far as I'm concerned, is ruined. So, be careful when you do that.