Cuban cigars

[Zundfolge]

So my next door neighbors just got back from Cuba.

While there he bought a bundle of hand rolled Montecristo #4s (apparently Che's favorite) and gave me a few and I finally got around to smoking one.

Keep in mind that I am no expert, but I've often enjoyed the occasional cigar and all my life I've heard tales of the wonder that is Cuban cigars.


It was much smoother than I expected (I guess I expected it to be very rustic, if not harsh). But it also wasn't tremendously flavorful either. It was impeccably rolled. I cut the end off with an x-acto since I don't have a proper cutter, but it stayed together nicely and burned evenly and I didn't end up with a mouthful of chew.

Overall impression is that it was a good cigar ... not a great cigar, but good. I guess I'm mildly disappointed as I expected it to be more than it was, but maybe that was just several decades of expectation and hype.


Anyway, I'm glad I got the opportunity to smoke a real Cuban cigar (and I'll enjoy sharing the couple I have left with friends) but I wouldn't fly to Cuba to buy them

Years ago I worked with an old guy that used to live in Galveston and he'd go down to Havana often (before the revolution) and he said Fidel ruined the Cuban cigar industry so maybe there was a time when this would have lived up to the hype.

[Hoser]

MonteCristo, Romeo and Julieta and Punch are my favorites. Cohiba are good, but on the strong side.

I used to travel to Central and South American often (fighting the drug war) and went through lots of cigars for dirt cheap, before cigars became a yuppie thing in the mid 90s.

I still try to keep my humidor full of goodness for evenings when I can just sit on the deck and chill.

[Gman]

From what I hear, Cuba isn't what it used to be for good cigars.

[Graves]

Nice! The 4's are pretty smooth, I've been sitting on a few Gran Edmundos from 2010 and some Behikes that I REALLY enjoy, I don't know what I'll ever end up breaking them out for, but to me they're like .22lr circa '08/'09...don't wanna burn through 'em lol.

BTW...no pics? lol

[ray1970]

It wasn't that the Cuban cigars were all that good in the first place. It was more the whole "forbidden fruit" thing.

[Erni]

Cohiba Pantellas are my favorite. Just small enough to finish.
That reminds me I may hypothetically have some Cubans in my study from a while back. I wonder if they are any good anymore?

[Graves]

Cohiba Pantellas are my favorite. Just small enough to finish.
That reminds me I may hypothetically have some Cubans in my study from a while back. I wonder if they are any good anymore?

Toss them in a freezer bag with a 69% Boveda pack for a month, they may not have the same flavor they did when they were fresh but depending on how long they dried you might be able to revive them.

[Erni]

Cool, will try that! Thanks.

Than maybe we can have COAR meet, greet, shoot and smoke.

[DireWolf]

Cohiba Pantellas are my favorite. Just small enough to finish.
That reminds me I may hypothetically have some Cubans in my study from a while back. I wonder if they are any good anymore?

Toss them in a freezer bag with a 69% Boveda pack for a month, they may not have the same flavor they did when they were fresh but depending on how long they dried you might be able to revive them.

I know a guy who may have, hypothetically, once upon a time forgotten about a small box of Romeo y Julieta's and another small box of Montecristo's for a couple years with no climate controlled storage....they were not good (so I heard)...

Lots of good Dominican stogies available, and personally I think some of them are at least as good if not better than the Cubans....

[Graves]

I know a guy who may have, hypothetically, once upon a time forgotten about a small box of Romeo y Julieta's and another small box of Montecristo's for a couple years with no climate controlled storage....they were not good (so I heard)...

Lots of good Dominican stogies available, and personally I think some of them are at least as good if not better than the Cubans....

Yeah, the extreme temp swings in a non climate controlled storage for a couple years would probably kill your sticks for good but usually you can bring most dried sticks back with humidipaks so long as they're not cracked. I forgot about a box of Don Tomas' I left in my office for about a year and they came back okay. Tossed them in a baggie with a 69% Boveda pack for 4wks and about 2 more in my humidor.