I have to say back in the day I smoked more Cubans than I have of recent, in fact it's been a long while. What's produced now like Padron's, Tituaje, Ashton, Liga Privadas, Davidoff, Illusione, EP Carrillo, Dunbarton, My Fathers, Drew Estate, Oliva etc... I could go on and on with how many fantastic options there are now compared to 25 years ago.

I don't know if many of you are fan's here of the above lineup i listed but for those that smoke cubans alongside the brands listed, which cubans compete for quality? I'm wondering if some of this is pure novelty or the Montecristo No 4, Partagas Series D line still proves itself to be a superior cigar?

For those that dabble with both what's your take here?

Do you compare California wines directly with French wines, Single malt Scotch with bourbon?

Montecristo #4 I believe is the most produced Cuban cigar on the market I wouldn’t look to it for consistency. With Cubans the flagships are generally cared for most in QC.

And you can’t compare any past year with present day, it’s an agricultural item with a massive input from how it’s labored. Generally speaking people who care to compare Cc And non CC want to justify something more than discuss the pros/cons

[quote=ZRX1200]Do you compare California wines directly with French wines, Single malt Scotch with bourbon?

Montecristo #4 I believe is the most produced Cuban cigar on the market I wouldn’t look to it for consistency. With Cubans the flagships are generally cared for most in QC.

And you can’t compare any past year with present day, it’s an agricultural item with a massive input from how it’s labored. Generally speaking people who care to compare Cc And non CC want to justify something more than discuss the pros/cons[/quote]

Great input. I'm here to try and learn more instead of buying into the novelty that comes from something that's harder to obtain. I'm definitely not here to justify but learn from those who compare both I guess. Again, you make a great point that some years a specific cigar may be an amazing stick and other years it might not measure up the same. Thanks for chiming in.

You bet, Cuban brands have their “profile” and there’s obviously variance with the different vitolas and blends under each “brand”. That’s the part that’s hard to get to discussing this topic and you can either taste the difference (often referred to as the “twang”) or you can’t and you like it or you don’t. But being price conscience and getting a broad idea about Cuban tastes just simply doesn’t go hand in hand. Not like the way one can buy a sampling from their local shpo or a sampler online.

It’s not a novelty IMO unless you don’t like Cuban tobacco, and saying that after having had just a few isn’t a fair final decision to me. That’s why this can be a frustrating convo for many. Also tastes are subjective and they change over time, I went trough a couple periods of only buying CCs…..now I don’t (mainly because of rising prices and my desire to not chase simple pleasures like cigars and whiskey).

I could recommend a few Cubans but my preference may not line up and then you spent money that might frustrate you and lead to an overall negative opinion when maybe you didn’t hit the profile that strikes your fancy. I don’t care for Partagas CC or most Cohibas, I do generally like RyJ and most H Upmann, Trinidad, PL, Bolivar and Monty’s when they’re on. All for each of their profile aspects that I enjoy from them, PLPCs or a Trinidad Reyes in the morning great! HUp Mag 46 or a Boli PC in the afternoon? Wonderful. Time, place mood, all kinds of environmental aspect effect your enjoyment too. I love having a nice cigar with some of the azzhats here more in person or on the interwebs from time to time.

[quote=thomasben86]I have to say back in the day I smoked more Cubans than I have of recent, in fact it's been a long while. What's produced now like Padron's, Tituaje, Ashton, Liga Privadas, Davidoff, Illusione, EP Carrillo, Dunbarton, My Fathers, Drew Estate, Oliva etc... I could go on and on with how many fantastic options there are now compared to 25 years ago.

I don't know if many of you are fan's here of the above lineup i listed but for those that smoke cubans alongside the brands listed, which cubans compete for quality? I'm wondering if some of this is pure novelty or the Montecristo No 4, Partagas Series D line still proves itself to be a superior cigar?

For those that dabble with both what's your take here?

[/quote]

Most Cubans need to be aged for 5 years to begin to be compared to Illusione, Liga Padron or Ashton. And even then, most are just okay. Seems like more care is taken to blend the different vitolas of one brand than most CC factories.

Cuba can't afford to QC nor age. They've got one small island worth of crop and have to ship it out as I understand it.

Flavor is generally good though the strength is often lacking for my tastes compared to the NCs. I wouldn't say overrrated. I'd say tastes differ and they appeal to some more than others