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yuda

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 28, 2017
149
391
I remember during my second pump(deployment) I was a the cigar club in kuwait and one of the guys went to KCIA and brought back some kind of Montecristo cigars and was generoud enough to share one with me. I must say it was very nice, though frankly I've yet to get the hang of properly seasoning a humidor and I have a harder time justifying a cigar purchase when I have a whole cellar of pipe tobacco to get through. Still, maybe I'll go pick one up for a special occasion.

 

taildraggin

Might Stick Around
May 25, 2019
62
0
I worked in Havana temporariy in the late '80s and early '90s, before there were many good cigars anywhere. Today, there are many that match the Cubans for "goodness", but a good Cuban still has a certain flavor... The best rolled, then, came from the Jose Marti factory and most brands (nearly all made in the same place) had "JM" in blue ink stamped on the bottom of the box. The fakes then, as now, were indiscernible from the genuine until you smoked them. (The fakes weren't that bad, either...)
I'd get some fine, current brands going so you can tell the difference. I'm not current with the myriad of new brands -- so many are good -- but, I do seem to prefer Nicaragua wrappers. Once you know those flavor, you'll catch the difference. (They were $25 a box for all but Cohiba, which were $40 - $50 a box.) I'd smoke a couple now, too.
In the lower level of the Nacional hotel they had a lonely old "roller emeritus" sitting all day, with few people walking by. He'd roll whatever you wanted and I could not resist smoking it immediately on a walk. Wet, green, whatever, they were wonderful.

 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,385
26,440
41
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
I actually prefer my Habanos on the younger side.
Aging will soften the rough edges, but I think you lose something too. So if you try them and like them young, don't feel you must continue to age them or that they will become inherently better with age. If you find them to be a bit rough, by all means let them age. But it's not mandatory for all Cuban cigars. Particularly with Hoyo Epicures and Monte 2s, both of which can be excellent when young

 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,385
26,440
41
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Trinidad Fundadores get my vote for Cubans.
Yo, have you tried the Trinidad Reyes? I think they're the best of the regular production Trinidads (only one I haven't tried is the Vigias), but they're also the smallest. The Cubans really excel at making excellent small cigars, IMO. I wish the larger Trinidades had the same flavor intensity and body, but then again, I've only had 3 Fundadores from one box.

 

5star

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 17, 2017
727
2,018
PacNW USA
Bolivar and Partagas in habanos. That said, there is such variety in flavor profiles among cigars that I don’t stick to only one brand. The H Upmann Mag 46 is one of my favorite cigars too
Tatuaje and Joya de Nicaragua offer cigars that are among my current favorites in NCs, though there are many different Nicaraguan cigars that I like

 
Jan 28, 2018
12,955
134,673
67
Sarasota, FL
I remember being in Windsor Canada in 1998 (I believe it was 1998) when the Trinidad Fundadore was launched. I bought the very first two sold at Casa Habana. Watched the guy put the first box out for display. I seem to recall, $18 each at the time. Danimalia, I share your opinion on Trinidad. I believe Trinidad and Cohiba are the two brands the tobacco goes through a triple fermentation process. They are superb and generally require no aging.

 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,385
26,440
41
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
The H Upmann Mag 46 is one of my favorite cigars too
Oh, hell yes. Magnum 46s are wonderful, and my favorite size. A truly full-bodied Cuban, which seems to be pretty uncommon these days. Well, at least compared to what's available outside of Cuba.
I remember being in Windsor Canada in 1998 (I believe it was 1998) when the Trinidad Fundadore was launched. I bought the very first two sold at Casa Habana. Watched the guy put the first box out for display. I seem to recall, $18 each at the time. Danimalia, I share your opinion on Trinidad. I believe Trinidad and Cohiba are the two brands the tobacco goes through a triple fermentation process. They are superb and generally require no aging.
Nice. The price makes me want to cry. Have you tried the newer Trinidad La Trova? It's massive by Cuban standards, but it's kind of velvety in how smooth and creamy it is. I've smoked half of a box and am letting the rest age. I really want to try the two Cohiba skinnies, the originals. I suspect I might find the Cohiba flavor profile to work better in thinner formats. Not that it's bad in robusto or churchill size.

 

Davesax1965

Lurker
Sep 30, 2019
15
31
Macclesfield
I've got a few (believe it or not) 15 year old Habanos. They sit in a very expensive Gentili humidor - I gave up smoking cigars years ago. However. A few months back, I lit up a Monte #2 which had been lying there, perfectly humidified, for about 10 years.

And guess what ? It had taken on the flavour of all the other cigars in the humi. Davidoffs, St Luis Rey's, Jose Piedras.... it no longer smoked or tasted like a Montecristo. Now, Monte 2's are famous for being "variable" in quality, but this just no longer had that classic Monte taste.
 

cohibajoe

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 2, 2018
722
1,165
Branchburg, NJ
I purchased few Cuban cigars to try (3 Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure N. 2 and 3 Montecristo N 2).

I know that being current production they need to rest a little bit before being smoked but what is the minimum I should wait, 3, 6, 12 months? Also I sealed them in food saver bags with Boveda packs as I would prefer avoid purchasing a humidor for just few cigars I don't know I will like them. Is it ok doing so, should I use instead Mylar bags and should I open the bag and ventilate them every while?
So here is my take since 79' (40yrs) on Cuban cigar's. My first Cuban was Montecristo No. 2. That launched my quest for Cuban cigars. Luckily I was able to have a steady supply from Canada for $80 a box of Montecristo No. 2 (friend worked at a Smoke shop and the owner went twice a month to Canada). He would wrap the box in newspaper and in the store humidor would put then on the top shelve...And yes a code word was used if a kid was working the store when the owner was out to pickup a box. Fast forward to present...I use for overstock and box's a Humidor Mylar Bag (Boveda Humidor Bag or Fuente -Large) with 1 or 2 Boveda 72% pack. I like to squeeze my smokes. For a humidor this would be a bit tricky as I found out thru the years....I like the larger humidors since I can control (Fan units) the humidly. Stay away from Gel or florist foam solution base systems in a Small humidor as these will Leak over time, plus over humidly will grow Mold on your dear cigars...Boveda packs are Perfect with No mess. About aging, have 2 dozen from 89'-94' with no issues. Again, proper humidly is the key. I also like to buy Cuban box's at least 2+ years old then I can put in the humidor for another 6-12 months...When I went to Cuba last August, I asked the question about if the tobacco is aged at the Farm or Factory....The leaf's are aged at the farm and trucked to factory to be rolled. So one can smoke the cigar right from the box. Were to purchase Cuba cigars...Never buy from Street, Beach, or Convenience store/person...FAKE!!!! Look for La Casa del Habano or Habanos Specialist window sticker on the store, in Airport and Factory (Cuba) are the Only official places for Cuban cigars. Check out the link and click on Buy/Smoke for store finder. I hope this helps as I could write pages on my cigar journey....Let the questions, comments begin.
My trip to Cuba was last August on NCL(cruise) and took a tour at the H.Upmann factory...the store was in the factory and stock was Good!!! BTW...H.Upmann factory makes most of the main brands also.

My latest purchase last month was Pappy Van Winkle Humidor(truly a work of Art) which I had signed...Not sure if I will be using this yet. Still smelling the Fresh cedar....HaHa

Cuba Price List: YUL Cigars - http://yulcigars.blogspot.com/
Offical Cuba Habanos site: Habanos s.a - Sitio Oficial | Habanos S.A. es la empresa líder mundial en la comercialización de puros premium. - http://www.habanos.com/en/
Cuban cigar's ship to US: Cuban Lou's Cigar Company | Since 2004 | Free Worldwide Shipping - https://www.cubanlous.com/

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