just had my first cuban cigar

[peaker]

its friday night had my cuban cigar just now, took ****ing forever to smoke.... are they illegal over in the US and if so why the **** is that?

[Elysium]

They're illegal in the US? Didnt know that. Just thought it was a fancy cigar. I haven't tryed one, smoking to me is disgusting. I have no interest in it at all.

[Maraxus]

US Embargo.

[peaker]

US Embargo.

haha what are you in for mate... a box of cubans.. ahaha

[peaker]

or like in seinfeld.... thats what you get when you dont get real cubans LOL

[Maraxus]

Well im cuban and live in Miami, I know how hard it is to get Cubans

[peaker]

is it really that hard, they are only cigars though, probably easier to score AS over there in Miami then a cigar...true?

[Maraxus]

Depends on where you go. I know some places in Little Havana that sell them illegally.

[Elysium]

How come they are Illegal? Do they contain something that makes them illegal?

[Maraxus]

No, the United States neither exports nor imports anything to Cuba, thus there is an embargo.

[Elysium]

No, the United States neither exports nor imports anything to Cuba, thus there is an embargo.

Ahh right, so its not the Cigars. Its the fact that nothing is to be traded between the two, cuban cigars obviously coming from cuba are deemed illigal?

[Maraxus]

Ahh right, so its not the Cigars. Its the fact that nothing is to be traded between the two, cuban cigars obviously coming from cuba are deemed illigal?

Correct.

[Elysium]

Correct.

Ahhh i see. What if the cigars were exported from Cuba to the UK for example, then Exported to the US. Would that be illegal? Or is it all down to the point of origin?

[Maraxus]

point of origin.

[Maraxus]

They are of cuban origin, thus illegal to own.

[Elysium]

They are of cuban origin, thus illegal to own.

Oh right! Wonder if the same law applys in the UK! Didnt i see MTV Cribs and Shaq had some cubans?

[peaker]

what about the dominicans?

[Maraxus]

Dominicans are perfectly fine to own. Only problems are the cubans.

[peaker]

how do they compare to the cubans?

[Maraxus]

Theyre both good. Cubans are better IMO.

[Rob]

seinfeld..classic..dvd's are out now that i think of it

[Swellin]

Some Dominicans are better than some Cubans IMHO. The famous Cuban Cohiba is pretty nice, but over priced. I bought a box of Partegas Serie D No. 4 that rival anything I have ever smoked.

Call me a sheep , but the Fuente Fuente Opus X is an unbelievable smoke that will surpass many Havanna smokes.

Hell, I have smoked a fake Cuban Cohiba (from Mexico, but I suspect it was made in the Dominican) that was among the best I have ever sampled. It had a very long, slow draw with plenty of complex flavours...who cares if it was a fake.

[Will Power]

Had my first Cubanno this summer while on a Caribbean cruise. Was able to bring a few home. Needless to say they are already gone. Wish I had more.

[Commando_Barbi]

I am with you. Some of the best cigars I've had have been Dominican. Never been a fan of Cubans....to bitter for me.

Some Dominicans are better than some Cubans IMHO. The famous Cuban Cohiba is pretty nice, but over priced. I bought a box of Partegas Serie D No. 4 that rival anything I have ever smoked.

Call me a sheep , but the Fuente Fuente Opus X is an unbelievable smoke that will surpass many Havanna smokes.

Hell, I have smoked a fake Cuban Cohiba (from Mexico, but I suspect it was made in the Dominican) that was among the best I have ever sampled. It had a very long, slow draw with plenty of complex flavours...who cares if it was a fake.

[sin]

ive only had one cuban in my life and i thought it was outstanding. but fuente makes some amazing cigars as well, so i wont whine that cubans are illegal.

[decadbal]

well did u lube it up before you had it, or just a dry run, if so sounds to me like your a tuff bastard

[sin]

well did u lube it up before you had it, or just a dry run, if so sounds to me like your a tuff bastard

i dont know how you linked cigars to anal sex, but it sounds to me like you have some issues you need to need to come to terms with.

[decadbal]

i dont know how you linked cigars to anal sex, but it sounds to me like you have some issues you need to need to come to terms with.

dude i love it, she cant get pregnant, my dick gets a tan... its win win

[Swellin]

well did u lube it up before you had it, or just a dry run, if so sounds to me like your a tuff bastard

LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!

[OGPackin]

Some interesting read on the Cohibas...

OG

Will The Real Cohiba Please Stand Up

There is perhaps no brand name in the world more copied, counterfeited or fought over than the name Cohiba. Setting aside the problem of actual counterfeits, there are three 'legitimate' cigars you can get on many web sites that are called Cohibas. There are those that say that one, two or all three are not authentic and some are called counterfeits. So which is which?
To unravel the mystery, you have to go back to pre-revolutionary Cuba. At that time, a cigar was manufactured in Cuba by Cuban rollers, using Cuban tobaccos and blended by Cuban experts. That cigar called a Cohiba had an excellent reputation as a very strong and well made cigar. When Castro came to power and nationalized tobacco manufacturing, some of the leading experts, rollers and owners of patent rights left the country. They settled in many other countries including the US but the Dominican Republic acquired more than it's share of experts. That is where the problems began. The Cuban Cohiba brand continued to be manufactured in Cuba with less experienced rollers and without the experts that had blended the cigars in the past. In addition, the people that owned the copy rights to the name were now settled in the Dominican Republic.

Soon these immigrants began to do what they did best, grow tobacco and make cigars. They used the rollers and experts that came from Cuba but used Dominican or other tobaccos in their product after the US placed an embargo on Cuban products. The owners of the copy rights naturally started using the brand names they owned even though the product they produced was nothing like the product they had produced in Cuba. Through a series of purchases and mergers, the brand name Cohiba produced in the Dominican Republic was purchased by the General Cigar company. But in the confusion, some of the copy rights were not international copy rights but for specific countries. One such copy right was for cigars manufactured in the Domincan Republic for sale only in the Dominican Republic.

This led to a third brand that was called Cohiba but could only be sold in the Dominican. Some of these cigars were imported to the US under that name. They are manufactured at a factory called 'Montecristi' not to be confused with the brand name 'Montecristo'. Got all that straight? OK. When these cigars started coming into the US, General Cigar sought court action based on copy right infringement. They won the case but the judge ruled that any cigars that were already imported could be sold. No new imports, however, would be allowed. Of course, it is impossible to tell whether certain cigars were imported before or after the court order but there are legitimate cigars that can be purchased with name Cohiba that were manufactured in the Montecristi factory. So now we have three cigars you can purchase under the name of Cohiba. Here's how you tell the difference.

Cigars manufactured in Cuba have a yellow, black and white band. They say 'Cohiba' and have the words 'La Habana, Cuba' under the name. These words were added in the early 90s so should be present unless your buying very old cigars. The Dominican Republic cigars manufactured by General cigar have a completely different band. It is red, black and white with the 'o' in Cohiba filled in red, hence the name Cohiba red dots. The cigars manufactured at the Montecristi factory have a label that is yellow, black and white and similar to the Cuban band. The difference is the words 'La Habana, Cuba' are replaced with words 'Republica Dominicana'. These are commonly called yellow band Dominican Cohiba. So which are the Cohibas your friend said to try? My guess would be the red dots. Cuban Cohibas are, of course, illegal in the US and yellow band Dominican Cohibas by all accounts are not very good cigars. So what's the bottom line.

I have smoked the Cuban and the red dot Cohibas. Both are very good but totally different. They might as well be different brands. I prefer the red dots but that is a matter of taste. These two cigars are expensive and have limited availability. I have not tried the yellow band Dominican Cohibas but have seen them for sale on web sites at a lot less than the red dots. Friends have said they are not as good as the red dots but that's up to you. What you need to do when buying cigars on line is understand what you're buying. If they are advertised as Dominican Cohibas, ask if they are the red dot or yellow band and expect what you order. A second action you can take is to know the person you're buying from. Large legitimate vendors that sell Cuban cigars will only sell Cuban Cohibas. Large vendors that sell Dominican cigars will only sell either the red dots or the yellow bands, not both.

So which are the real Cohibas? In my way of thinking, the only true Cohibas are the pre-revolution cigars. Cigars made after that time under the name Cohiba where made with either different tobaccos or with different rolling and blending expertise. So as my grandmother used to say, 'Yous pays your money and yous makes your choice'.

[1badcamaro]

OG actually thinks ppl are going to take the time to read all of that......but i'll pretend i did:



WOW, good read OG, thanx for the info bro!!

[OGPackin]

OG actually thinks ppl are going to take the time to read all of that......but i'll pretend i did:



WOW, good read OG, thanx for the info bro!!

Ummm...dick...

OG

[Swellin]

I read it...so thanks OG. It was pretty elementary for the cigar afficionado, but an interesting read none the less! I found myself in 100% agreement about the difference in Cuban vs Dominican Cohibas. I hate the Dominicans. There is something in them that just turns me off, and I can't put my finger on it. Just like the ever popular Macanudos....I think they suck. There are a couple I can smoke, but by and large...I can't stand them.

OG, where did you find this?

I used to have pictures of all of the known Cuban Cohiba fakes, but that computer crashed many moons ago.

[BOUNCER]

Oh right! Wonder if the same law applys in the UK! Didnt i see MTV Cribs and Shaq had some cubans?

As far as I can recall the US also threatened an embargo with countries who traded with Cuba too, not sure how that one went.

[OGPackin]

I read it...so thanks OG. It was pretty elementary for the cigar afficionado, but an interesting read none the less! I found myself in 100% agreement about the difference in Cuban vs Dominican Cohibas. I hate the Dominicans. There is something in them that just turns me off, and I can't put my finger on it. Just like the ever popular Macanudos....I think they suck. There are a couple I can smoke, but by and large...I can't stand them.

OG, where did you find this?

I used to have pictures of all of the known Cuban Cohiba fakes, but that computer crashed many moons ago.

Ur very welcome bro! Iv smoked a real Cuban Cohiba once and found it to strong for my taste. Yuck! lol In the old, old day the "real" Cuban Cohibas from Havana were rolled square not round. That was the way to tell the difference.

I got that from here bro http://cigars.about.com/

OG

[The Baron]

Cuban smokes are illegal to posess by US citizens under the "Trading With the Enemy Act". The only way to legally import Cuban cigars is as accompanied baggage and I believe you are limited to one box. Of course you must have LEGALLY traveled to Cuba and back to be able to do this.

I am a seaman and so I pick up my cigars elsewhere. The "Black Market" Cubans you buy in the US are mostly couterfeit. Many of the cuban cigars sold in Mexico are also fakes, even though they may legally be bought and sold there. The reason is that a genuine Romeo y Julieta Churchill goes for about $18 US, and a fairly good Honduran or Dominican phony can be had for about $8. The unscrupulous retailer can give you a "bargain" (There ARE no special bargains in Cuban cigars... the price is rigidly controlled by the Cuban govt agency tasked with distribution) and still make an easy 100%+ markup on the goods. Turistas don't know the difference, generally.

My faves are... Punch Double Corona, Partagas #10, Romeo y Julieta Churchill, and occasionally I will have a Robusto shape in one of those three marks. I liked the old Cohibas except for the long skinny one... I forget what they called that shape. I was partial to the Robusto and the Esplendido. The new "Siglo" line isn't as distinctive... it is like they are trying to emulate the more popular Dominican types. The old Cohiba had a STENCH to someone unused to that peculiar aroma. They ran the filler through a seperate fermentation process in addition to the normal curing. The taste was very distinctive and actually an acquired one. Most people who pretended to like it (It was the second most expensive cigar after the legendary but IMHO overrated MonteCristo "A") actually only tolerated it for the sake of style. The R&J Churchill is the best buy in terms of quality vs price of the Cuban cigars. My only beef, which is actually a big plus for some folks, is that it is only available in tubes. Tubes interfere with the aging process. A 5 year old tubed cigar is roughly equivelant to a 5 month old boxed, un-cellophaned cigar. Fine cigars benefit from direct contact with one another in their box, with controlled humidity and temperature. The oils and essences migrate, you see. A sign of a well aged cigar is spots that look like white mold. That is semi-crystalized oil from the wrapper and binder and even from the filler. Sort of like very old chocolate. You won't get that with cellophaned cigars or tubed cigars. OTOH tubed cigars require very little care if kept tightly closed and not exposed to great fluctuations of temperature. The tubes are convenient for pocket carry, too.

I used to smoke some of the better Hondurans, as well. I liked the Punch Grand Cru Monarca and other larger shapes, and the Hoyo de Monterrey Excal #1. Through the late 80s and early 90s, they had a very buttery character, with a good mouth-feel in the smoke, and a very nice finish, particularly after aging a year or so.Now, those two marks (same company, same factory, same tobacco) are just like all the others, clones of one another with nothing unique about them. As for Dominicans, I will have a R&J Robusto after dinner but that is about it. I find them too bright and harsh. The Hondurans are typified by a heavier, smoother feel.

For the cigar newbie... always select a larger ring guage (A "fatter" cigar) because it will be a cooler and milder smoke. Often the little skinny ones are also rolled too tightly for a good draft, especially in the case of the Cohiba. If you want smaller, go with shorter. A robusto is typically a 50 guage by 5" or so cigar and ideal for an after dinner smoke. One interesting after dinner cigar sort of breaks the rules here... the Fuente Hemmingway "Short Story". This is a unique little smoke about 4" long and tapered. A leisurely evening smoke would be a double corona or a Churchill. The double corona will be slightly longer and slightly smaller than the churchill. The MonteCristo "A" is actually an oversized double corona. It's inflated price is the result of having to find such huge wrapper leaves of sufficient quality. I think only about 300 boxes are released annually worldwide. I have only seen one intact, complete box in my life. I bought one cigar just to mess up the box LOL! I enjoyed it but I didn't think I got my $34 worth out of it... that was 1995 dollars. Anyway, go with at least a 48 guage cigar and the length depends on convenience. Don't waste your money on under-the-table deals. I know if I were bringing cigars back to sell, I would have to at LEAST double my money. That means you would be paying me around $50 for a cigar. Anybody selling for less in the US is selling fakes. Your best bet is Canada. Many reputable shops will remove the Cuban bands and re-band and re-box your cigars so you can get them through customs. You won't have bragging rights because you can't show off the bands, but you will know what you got.

One US brand that showed promise until they got too commercialized and all was La Gloria Cubana. I liked the hot chick on the band, but it was also a nice smoke. Their Robusto was divine. Now, they are only so-so. I believe the original owner still rolls the brand for his own shop in Miami, BTW, and they are closer in character to the original.

I think it is time for me to take a nice walk along the river with my last Partagas #10, so you will excuse me now...

[IntensityX]

Blame all of this on Fidel "Trip And Fall" Castro!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Baron]

Some interesting read on the Cohibas...
So which are the real Cohibas? In my way of thinking, the only true Cohibas are the pre-revolution cigars. Cigars made after that time under the name Cohiba where made with either different tobaccos or with different rolling and blending expertise. So as my grandmother used to say, 'Yous pays your money and yous makes your choice'.

NO! Absolutely not! You are thinking of another brand. The Cohiba is a post-revolution brand! It was created specifically to prove to the world that the commies could still be a force to be reckoned with in the cigar world. After the revolution, many famous makers fled the "worker's paradise" to the Dominican Republic and Honduras. That is why the old line brands exist both as Cuban and Non-Cuban products. The commies refused to give up the expropriated brand names. For several years, the Cuban cigars were of inferiour quality and insufficient quantity due to the flight of so many skilled workers in the indoustry. The Cohiba was an effort sanctioned (in other words, you help make the world's finest cigar or we kill you) by Castro himself to salvage the country's reputation and it stunned the cigar world. Eventually the old line brands started showing pre-revolution quality. Genuine pre-revolution cigars would now be too expensive to smoke and not very enjoyable BTW. And all Cuban Cohibas are and always have been round. In the late 90's they came out with a new line, the "Siglo" series, that are of a more mainstream flavor than the old ones with their very peculiar smell and taste. My baby brother is still holding a couple of boxes of old Robustos in his humidor for me and I would cheerfully refuse to sell them for less than 10 large per box. In fact I don't think I would sell them for ANY amount of money. They will begin to decline pretty soon so I will probably reclaim them next year and give him a couple for holding them for me for the last 15 years. The Siglo series are a huge commercial success but I prefer the distinctive taste of the original Cohiba. I have never smoked one of the Dominican Cohibas but I have smelled one being smoked and it is absolutely nothing like the Cuban, either the original or the Siglos.

[biglouie250]

i prefer romeo y julieta robusto to any cohiba(dominican or cuban). There is a slight taste difference(IMO) in the romeo y julieta if they are from the dominican republic or from cuba as they both are made in both countries. Diff tabacco, or leaf drying??

[The Baron]

i prefer romeo y julieta robusto to any cohiba(dominican or cuban). There is a slight taste difference(IMO) in the romeo y julieta if they are from the dominican republic or from cuba as they both are made in both countries. Diff tabacco, or leaf drying??

There is little difference in skill and technology between the Cuban and Dominican. The difference is in the tobacco. The Dominican seed is probably directly descended from seed taken out of Cuba by the brand owners but don't quote me on that. Nevertheless, differences in soil and weather and other environmental factors will make a difference. I find the Cuban R&J much better than the Dominican. Heartier. less "bright" and "scratchy". But the Dominican R&J is definitely my fave of all the Dominicans.