Traveling to Italy, Tobacco Question

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kingbilliard

Lurker
Feb 13, 2015
25
0
I'm going to Italy in the near future, lucky me :)
It's a high school trip so I won't be able to smoke being one of the adult chaperons, but I thought I can buy some tins to bring back.
Question, what are the rules concerning bringing back tobacco to the USA, and what are some blends I can get there that aren't available here?
Thank you!

 

zack24

Lifer
May 11, 2013
1,726
2
You didn't mention what part of Italy...Having traveled to damn near every nook and cranny over the past 5 years, all the while keeping my eyes peeled for good pipe tobacco, I can give you some general guidelines- Southern Italy is pretty much a pipe tobacco desert- with a couple of exceptions in Rome and Naples. Northern Italy has the strongest pipe making tradition....As far as finding blends that you won't find in the US, I didn't see any pipe shops blending any house tobaccos...Everything on the shelf was what you would find on the internet...but at significantly higher prices than you'll find in the US...

 

brudnod

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 26, 2013
938
6
Great Falls, VA
I am going with my family to Italy in June. We will be going to Pisa, Rome and Venice. Although these sites are not the best places for pipes are there any good spots for pipe makers or tobacconist?

 

pipefish

Can't Leave
Aug 25, 2013
341
6
Hi King, welcome to the forum. Lots of very friendly and helpful people here.
I just got back from a five day trip from Rome and will be submitting a lengthier thread about what I found there. Headed to Florence in a few weeks and will also update the forum when I return.
Long story short, there is really only one word that sums up tobacco in Italy--Toscano. While cigarettes are consumed en masse, the second most popular choice were these very cool and unique dark fired Kentucky cigars. They have a multitude of different flavors and strengths and I brought a ton of them back. Very inexpensive as well--my favorites were the Garibaldis and the Soldatis (mild--low strength) and you can get a pack of five of them for about 6 Euro. I liked the Originale as well, but the Antico and Extra Vecchio were much too strong for my tastes. Another cool thing about Toscanos is that they are meant to be shared, so it is customary to cut the cigar in half and share with a friend. They also don't need to be placed in a humidor since they are quite dry already. Finally, you can get smaller "Tocanellos' in a variety of flavors including anise, coffee, vanilla, grappa, and chocolate. At less than 3 Euro for a pack of 5 I bought at box each!
You can read more about Toscanos here:
https://www.italiansmokes.com/categories/Toscano-Cigars/
And Toscanellos here:
https://www.italiansmokes.com/categories/Toscanello-Cigars/
Prices on all of these cigars are MUCH cheaper in Italy.
Two great pipe shops in Rome--Fincato and Novelli. I'll be posting photos of each shop in a separate post when I get some time to load the photos. Purchased a few pipes during my visit.
Zack is right about tobacco though--prices there are a bit more expensive. 20 Euro for SG and 33 Euro for Rattray's 100 g tins. However, I did purchase a 50g pouch of MacBaren HH Vintage Syrian for 8 Euro which I thought was more than fair. You might want to pick up a pouch of Italia or Comune pipe tobacco--kind of like smoking a Toscano in pipe, this pipe tobacco is very unique to Italy. I passed on the Forte as it was said to be very strong, and based on my experience with the Toscano Antico I knew what my limits were.

 

kingbilliard

Lurker
Feb 13, 2015
25
0
Pipefish
Thats great info, thank you. I look forward to your next posting. I'll be in Florence and Rome. I'll look into getting the Toscanos. How many can I bring back in checked luggage? How do I declare them?
I went to school with a girl named Toscano, I never saw her with a cigar??? :lol:

 

bigjoe

Might Stick Around
Aug 14, 2014
55
0
Those Toscanos are really nice, a friend brought me back some.
It didn't occur to me that the longer ones were meant to be shared, thanks for the info pipefish! All the Toscanos smoke for much much longer than you would expect from a similar sized cigar, smoking the longer ones I was on the back deck for over an hour and a half!

 

thehappypiper

Can't Leave
Feb 27, 2014
303
0
The thing to remember is that many items are much cheaper in The States than in The EU. The way I'd deal with it is to make some enquiries to the Moretti or Savinelli factory and visit it/them. Or maybe a bespoke maker. Get onto the Italian web and track down pipe shops in the areas you will be visiting. If you had been going to Denmark, I'd have been extremely jealous!

 

joshb83

Can't Leave
Feb 25, 2015
310
2
I don't remeber there being a limit to the amount of tobacco brought back into the states as long as it's not Cuban. Most times you can pick up cigarettes and pipe tobacco in the duty free shops of international airports. So on your way out of the airport, check in to one of those shops so you have a price idea to go off. Also, you can check them, but if you declare a large amount, they may ask you to open your suitcase when you get home. I grabbed a couple tins of tobacco on a trip to London and kept them in my carry-on and they looked and saw they were still sealed in the tin and didn't give me any issue. Hope this helps a bit.

 

pianopuffer

Can't Leave
Jul 3, 2017
491
140
NYC
Resurrecting this query as I will be traveling to northern Italy next week.
As far as I can tell, the tobacco info listed on Customs' website refers to cigars (100) and cigarettes (200) for no fee.
No mention of pipes or pipe tobacco, loose or tinned. Anyone have experience bringing pipes and/or tins back from Italy into the USA? What's the deal w/ this?

 

trubka2

Lifer
Feb 27, 2019
2,470
21,640
A few tins is definitely no issue. If you're at all nervous about it, just put fill out a declaration form and be prepared to pay duty. I've done that on a few dozen occasions when I was bringing in a particularly large number of Cubans or cartons of cigs from cheap-tobacco countries, and they always just wave me through. The worst I've gotten from CBP is a little "don't waste my time" grimace. Just be honest and be ready to pay if need be, and it's all good. If you've got less than the equivalent weight of 100 cigars (purposely vague!), you can argue that it's exempt. I wouldn't argue with a CBP officer, though.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,565
27,065
Carmel Valley, CA
I've brought back pipes and tobacco I originally took over with me, no problem. But also no experience buying tins abroad and returning with them.

 

pianopuffer

Can't Leave
Jul 3, 2017
491
140
NYC
Cool thanks. Sounds like if I don’t load up a suitcase with goodies I should be fine.
Thank for the tips on Toscanos. Will most definitely be checking those out!

 

64alex

Part of the Furniture Now
May 10, 2016
566
339
[Thank for the tips on Toscanos. Will most definitely be checking those out!]
Two more tips. One is the "Cimette di Toscano" which are the end of the toscano cigars which are sold to be used in the pipes.

The other ones about cigars is to look at the "Nostrano del Brenta" cigars which are completely different, they are not Kentucky based but based on Habanos imported in Italy in the 17th century. They are kind of Cuban cigars with an italian flavor.

 
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