RICKAMAVEN
"you say you would pay 2 to 3 times for isoms then someone else would. I don't understand that statement."
I didn't say I would, I said I do. Wow $5, that's like $7 CAN. Before our taxes went up in 2002, a Monte #5 was $11, now it's $19, Monte #4 $24, Monte #3 $29, all in CAN $ which is 0.74 now, yahooooooo. I went on to say that for this reason I am looking for an alternative. I used to smoke Cuban’s 2x per week now it's 1x per month. I have been mostly smoking C-bid smokes since Oct. 2002, T Day, that's Tax Day. Smokes are up to 25% cheaper in other provinces, but if you buy online or over the phone, by law they have to ad on the extra tax and with shipping it can be more.
I recall reading many times that most of the Premium cigars before the embargo was Cuban or had Cuban tobaccos in them. Maybe more $0.25 sticks were sold before 1963 and maybe the premium market was much small than. But I have to go with you old timers, if you say it's so. Makes me want to read my stack of mags again.
I know that in Canada, before T-Day, if money didn't matter so much and you weren't a newbe you smoked Cuban cigars, all the shops I went to sold mostly Cuban's. Most af the cigars sold in Europe are Cuban. However I have noticed that in the past 5 years more and more shelf space has been opened for the Domestic variety and now that taxes are so crazy I'm sure more Domestic’s will get smoked in Canada, I'm already proof.
My whole point from before, and supported by a few others was. If you take the U.S market out of cigar sales, there is a particular cigar that gets sold more than all others. It's been that way up until now. Why?? It's very possible that as the U.S domestic variety develop more markets this may change.
eleltea - "limoric, have you tried the CAO Brazilia?"
No I haven't. As I admitted before I've only tried about 20 domestics and have not found them to be as good as an average Cuban. Don't worry guy's I will some day soon smoke a domestic that's better than a Cuban, trust me I want to.
My biggest point is. I think an average Cuban beats out an average domestic. Premium for premium may be a different story