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pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,371
9,020
Neptune seems to have some nice prices on non-cuban.

@pantsBoots Would you know if any of these other four 8-5-8 selling at Neptune are just as good as the Rosado?

I was thinking to try all of them except the Candela.


@otm Neptune has a big selection of Honduran Punch.


I think I’ll just stick to the non-cubans for now, especially after seeing the big selection of Punch they have, I was like wow... 😲

All of the 858 are worth a try and age magnificently. The 858 is, I believe, Fuente's flagship cigar, at least until they got into the koolaid game and started churning out all sorts of rare iterations of the Opus.

I even like the candela, on occasion, but when it comes to the 858, Rosado and Sungrown are where it's at. I always keep Rosado around, but haven't had a Sungrown in years - they hiked the price and I just haven't bought any since then.

Somehow, the Rosado keeps flying under the radar based on its wide availability.
 

PipeIT

Lifer
Nov 14, 2020
5,238
30,884
Hawaii
I’ve been trying to find Rosado, from a WAYS cigar post you made having one, sounded great, I’ve never smoked them before.

But it seems like they are a limited production?

I thought the Hemingway or Don Carlos were suppose to be higher quality than the 8-5-8, simply by the band styles, which denoted the levels?

I’ll keep digging around online.
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,371
9,020
I’ve been trying to find Rosado, from a WAYS cigar post you made having one, sounded great, I’ve never smoked them before.

But it seems like they are a limited production?

I thought the Hemingway or Don Carlos were suppose to be higher quality than the 8-5-8, simply by the band styles, which denoted the levels?

I’ll keep digging around online.

They were quite the rarity until about 5 years ago. Since then, Fuente has been releasing them once or twice per year, it seems, and in good enough quantities that they can be found for MSRP online.

Hemingway and Don Carlos are certainly different blends and more costly than the Gran Reserva line (of which 858 is a member). Honestly, Fuente doesn't make a bad cigar and they all appear to age very well.
 
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Egg Shen

Lifer
Nov 26, 2021
1,187
3,960
Pennsylvania
Never smoked a Cuban that was worth the premium, and that was 10 years ago. Smoking cigars for 30+ years.
At today's pricing especially.
I never rated them highly 30 years ago when they weren’t a hassle to get. Perhaps I just didn’t try the right ones and am generalizing but my wallet is happy. Rarity isn’t a flavor.
 
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AJL67

Lifer
May 26, 2022
5,491
28,121
Florida - Space Coast
Asking for (i) cheap, (ii) genuine, and (iii) Cuban? You may only have 2 out of these 3. Take your pick.
No such thing as a cheap cuban anymore, the yard gar type cubans such as Belindas are now the same price as a quality box was last year, when from a $4 cuban to a 12 .. LOL and they are pretty god awful. That is if you can find them.
 

spartacus

Lifer
Nov 7, 2018
1,027
802
Mesa, Arizona
Top Cubans and Montefortuna are both good sites that sell singles if you want to go down the rabbit hole.

Honestly, don't waste your time. I went deep on a bunch of Cubans before the INSANE price hikes, and they weren't exactly cheap then. Now, they are just f**king ridiculous. Have I had some good Cubans? Sure. Are they significantly, qualitatively different from other cigars I can find more readily and at much lower prices?? No.

I smoke a ton of Honduran Punch London Club maduro, a 5x40 petit corona. They are very flavorful and super consistent, if you buy a box every single one will smoke perfectly. Cuban quality control is joke, it just doesn't exist. They roll cigars, put them in boxes, and could give a fook if not a single one of them smokes worth a damn.

But the tobacco, it's the best in the world, right? Because of the super-unique climate in Cuba that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world... right???? No, it's not. And even if it was the best, the BS QC would guarantee you'd never notice because 90% of their sticks are rock-hard and unsmokable.
Agree 100%!
 
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PipeIT

Lifer
Nov 14, 2020
5,238
30,884
Hawaii
It’s been many years since I’ve messed around with cigars.

Seems like all across the board there’s a lot of expensive too out of Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic.

I’m seeing some pretty costly Opusx. :(

Is there any particular online site, that has the best/better prices on Opusx?

Thanks
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,371
9,020
It’s been many years since I’ve messed around with cigars.

Seems like all across the board there’s a lot of expensive too out of Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic.

I’m seeing some pretty costly Opusx. :(

Is there any particular online site, that has the best/better prices on Opusx?

Thanks

Honestly, any place you find selling Opus online is going to charge you much more than MSRP. Your best bet is from your local B&M (if they have an Opus account and you can get there before they sell out). I've also had some luck on other boards buying boxes here and there from people who wanted the cash. With patience, much is possible.
 

PipeIT

Lifer
Nov 14, 2020
5,238
30,884
Hawaii
I would of assumed, like any business, a smaller local B&M with a smaller amount of volume, versus an online vendor, with an extreme amount of volume would be less expensive.
 

AJL67

Lifer
May 26, 2022
5,491
28,121
Florida - Space Coast
I would of assumed, like any business, a smaller local B&M with a smaller amount of volume, versus an online vendor, with an extreme amount of volume would be less expensive.
Never put all your eggs in one basket.

Volume volume volume. Business make more money taking small margins when they move many units, doesn't matter what business that's how it works. Small business needs to charge more because they are selling less.
 

PipeIT

Lifer
Nov 14, 2020
5,238
30,884
Hawaii
Never put all your eggs in one basket.

Volume volume volume. Business make more money taking small margins when they move many units, doesn't matter what business that's how it works. Small business needs to charge more because they are selling less.

Isn’t this what I just said; ‘Higher volume business can sell cheaper than lower volume.’ 🤔

Business buys more, gets a better deal to pass onto to the consumers.

If a large company buys hundreds of boxes of Fuentes, I’m assuming this is where the deal is, instead of a local B&M that only buys 10 boxes from their wholesaler.
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,371
9,020
Isn’t this what I just said; ‘Higher volume business can sell cheaper than lower volume.’ 🤔

Business buys more, gets a better deal to pass onto to the consumers.

If a large company buys hundreds of boxes of Fuentes, I’m assuming this is where the deal is, instead of a local B&M that only buys 10 boxes from their wholesaler.

You were asking about Opus. There's nothing high volume about those, especially as Fuente diverts more and more of their high-end tobacco towards new Opus spinoffs like the Oscuro Oro, Don Arturo, etc. Those new lines already seem to be affecting production of regular Opus.

Opus is shipped in the US twice per year, or at least that's how it's been for the last 20 years. My local stores have gotten less boxes of Opus because they are also getting boxes of the Opus spinoffs. Some have even not gotten their semi-annual shipments of Opus a few times due to "production quantities," or so I was told.
 
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PipeIT

Lifer
Nov 14, 2020
5,238
30,884
Hawaii
I’m starting to think, that the only way to make sure the Cubans are 100% legit, is to just stick with Habanos S.A authorized sellers.


I read online someone had been buying from this St. Kitts location.

La Casa Del Habano St. Kitts

I noticed too, if you type in ‘La Casa Del Habano Locations’ Google gives a nice list, which makes it easier to find places with websites, you could then cross reference with habanos.com to check if they are listed.
 

VirginiaMan

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 28, 2021
102
564
Elkview, WV
Nicaraguan
Cuban
Dominican
Honduran

I refuse to buy cubans at their current price and scarcity. I do love a Lusitania or serie D no.4 though.
 

PipeIT

Lifer
Nov 14, 2020
5,238
30,884
Hawaii

badbriar

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 17, 2012
812
1,476
Suncoast Florida by the Beach
I know of numerous online sites for Cubans but none that sell by the stick. These sites sell the real deal. But Cuban cigars aren't close to being worth the exorbitant price they're being sold for right now. And the cheap ones are cheap for a reason and aren't that cheap any longer.
The Hoos said it right! Why pay $450.00 to $700.00 per box for not so good Cubans When you could smoke Opus X for less? Yep - those prices are real. Have a look at some cigar online sites that sell real cubans.
Nicaraguans, Dominicans, etc are excellent cigars.
BTW - anyone that dislikes Dominicans must not like LFD's - one of the best cigar brands in the world.
 
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All of these discussed are within the Cuban seed range of flavors. All of them taste sort of the same (or within the same range). I do enjoy these from time to time... but, I also enjoy cigars made with other seed stock, Kentucky Fire Cures, Swamp Things, Tuscanos, Triple Ligeros... I know that the cigar purists would throw their noses up at these. But, as with pipe tobaccos, I enjoy exploring all of the different leaf varieties.
 
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PipeIT

Lifer
Nov 14, 2020
5,238
30,884
Hawaii
Neptune Cigar looks like a nice place, I’m going to buy some there, and just stick with Dominican and Nicaraguan.


P.S. But for now, since I have a WCC account, this will be my first stick, coming back to cigars.

 
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