OK, in addition to all the fine suggestions made above, I would like to interject a thought (borne out by personal experience). As much as we all love handmade cigars, a good blend is not a total waste just because it's machine made. Many people think that some cubans have draw problems, possibly more so than the "legal" ones. Many people think that machine made cigars draw too loosely, and thus burn hotter, and thus harsher. If you take the idea that some ISOM fans keep their humis at 60-65% RH to improve the draw characteristics. Lets roll all this together and say that if you get a decent cuban blend in a machine made cigar, and keep the RH at 70% you ought to eliminate all of the foregoing considerations. Further, as much as I LOVE Montes, and Bolivars, The last box of Montes I picked up (in Gibraltar, not Canada, Sorry!) was $140, and the last bundle of Jose La Piedras was about $38, and I while I think that the Montes have an edge in taste, it's NOT MUCH! I definately don't believe it's $102 worth! (Not that I wont pick up a box of Montes given the chance) But in addition to the La Piedras, the other choices include H. Upmann Especiales, and Quintaros, but I personally didn't much care for the Quints. They all run between $38-50 a box in Gibraltar. Monte #2's I've seen advertised for $22/ea in Canada, so you do the math. I enjoy the Upmanns, and the la piedras, and until I got some clue as to what were some decent smokes available on here (my previous experiences were with Ashton Panetelas, Cuesta Rey Centanarios #5's, and AF Brevas) The La Piedras were my daily "go to gars" alas, I'm starting to run low on them, and have started going to Free Cubas for my regular smoke, but I get to try something new from my BOTL every night and find more and more that I like! ISOM's are not even my favorites anymore, but they ARE good!
