Are they really as good as the hype? Very expensive, some more than isoms, but are they better than those even?

david

tampa

those are the ones that cost around 800 bucks for 10 right?

ehh... nm im thinking of the Partagas 150 Don Ramon

Some are better than alot of ISOMs I've had....IMHO

I only had a few ISOM's that were better.

IMHO there isn't a better cigar on the market.

They are great cigars. Great tobacco, excellent construction, very consistent from cigar to cigar, and very smooth. I rated it @ 89/100.

bandityo --- I, for one, don't think ISOM's are the 'Holy Grail' of cigars.

I have found many domestic lines out there that FAR surpass the Cuban cigar. Personally, I think that what sells Cuban cigars, is all the 'Cuban mystic', and the fact that they are illegal and hard to get that makes most want them so much ...

... me ...

I don't see what all the big 'hoopla' is about ... and I find it's just another cigar, in the many that are out there to choose from.

Then why do cubans sell outside the US? Why does cuba export so many if the only reason we buy them is because they are hard to get?

I dont smoke them exclusively as I find I really enjoy a good cigar that fits my flavor profile no matter where its from. But overall I see a lot of people who don't "get" cubans havn't smoked more then a small handfull, and those who have smoked more and still don't get it, well thats why some people have different tastes then others and why nobody likes the same cigars.

The Padrons are very good, but they tend to cost quite a bit. I smoke them every chance I get. I also prefer the maduro considerably more than the natural.

J

I'm with Cal I perfer the Maduros. Mmmmmmmmmmmm

Then why do cubans sell outside the US?

What kind of question is that? All the other countries sell outside the US also ... but I would venture to say that becasue we can't have them, we try harder to get them. Just ask any of the poople who live outside the US, or any of our military men. Sure, there are those who like them, but I've heard many that post here and elsewhere say they are no big deal ... and cost too much.

I am just one of many who think Cubn cigars are overrated. I'm not saying they are bad, it's just that I've found too many other cigars I like better.

You might want to read this:

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,219,00.html 

It was published May/June 2001, but I can't see that it has gotten any better since then ... being that such a small island is trying to produce cigars for the entire world, and that we come last.

They can only grow so much tobacco ... and trying to keep up with the demand has been the steady decline of the Cuban cigar, as I see it.

Which is better, California wines, Texas wines, Ohio Valley wines or European wines? It's a subjective question with no right answer but they are all measured against the European wines. It's the same with Cuban cigars, they are what all other cigars are compared and marketed against. Smoke what you like and what you can afford and that's all there is to it.

If I could afford to smoke Padron Anniv. as a daily smoke, I surely would. So instead I smoke from the regular Padron line an a daily basis. There are some Cuban cigars that appeal to me just the same, but the same cost factors apply to them also. There are some excellent Cuban cigars that are very inexpensive and some that will break the bank.

There's no "mystic" to Cuban cigars if you know what you're doing and who you're dealing with.

Remember, it's all subjective. Smoke what you like and like what you smoke.

Barry

Slim wrote - "I... just...think Cuban cigars are overrated. I'm not saying they are bad..."

Yes, yes, yes! Just smoked a PSD4 and that was exactly what I was thinking. Good cigar, but not "the best made."

Back in the 70's, when I was much less experienced (and very, very young-2 or 3 years old), you could not buy Coors beer here in Washington. Guys would drive to Idaho to buy it and then sell it by the can to the rest of us. Now, you could not pay me to drink the stuff. There IS a mystique about things that are difficult to obtain. Sometimes we might overestimate their relative value.

Oh, and by the way, the PAM's and PAN's are TERRIBLE. Just awful. Do not bid on them. 😉

JMHO

Kazama

Having said that, it's not stopping me from looking forward to the Cohiba churchill that is waiting in my humi, or from completing the trade I have working for some more ISOM's.

Kazama

To me, ISOM's are just cigars -- There are some I enjoy, some I dislike, and there are some that I want to try.

ISOM's are more expensive, and harder to get, but they're just cigars.

Kazama, good point about the Coors. Couldn't get it in the Northeast, and of course, everybody wanted it. They even made a movie about it (Smokey & the Bandit).

Nowadays, most people I know wouldn't drink it on a dare. . . . .

Having smoked many cigars, I have to agree with Slim on one point, Cuban cigars are not the greatest things in the world.

However, you have to realize that Cuba is a really unique climate that is perfect for growning tobacco. Their tobacco will also have a different taste than others just like Nic tastes different that DR or Honduran tobacco even using exactly the same seeds. Cuba has an advantage of most of the competition in that they have the island that nobody else has access to at this time.

One site that I respect above all others when it comes to ratings lists the following for its top 25.

1. Padron 1964 Anniversary Exclusivo M

2. Padron 1964 Anniversary Pyramide M

3. Padron 1964 Anniversary Imperial M

4. Montecristo (Cuba)Limited Edition 2001 Double Corona

5. Padron 1964 Anniversary Monarca M

6. Padron Serie 1926 #1 Maduro

7. Arturo Fuente Anejo Res Shark #77

8. Padron Serie 1926 #9 Maduro

9. Partagas (Cuba) Limited Edition 2001 Series D #3

10 C.A.O. L'Anniversaire Churchill

11 Partagas (Cuba) Shorts

12 Padron 1964 Anniversary Exclusivo N

13 H. Upmann (Cuba) Magnum 46

14 Arturo Fuente Don Carlos #4

15 Cohiba (Cuba) Limited Edition 2001 Pyramid

16 Ashton Virgin Sun Grown Spellbound

17 Montecristo (Cuba) Limited Edition 2001 Robusto

18 Vegas Robaina (Cuba) Famosos

19 Montecristo (Cuba) #1

20 Padron 1964 Anniversary Principe

21 Partagas (Cuba) Lusitania

22 Arturo Fuente Hemingway BS

23 Diamond Crown Robusto #5

24 Juan Lopez (Cuba) Selection #2

25 Opus X Perfecxion A

Two years ago, there were not many non-Cuban cigars on the list. Five years ago there were just a couple.

The reason for the increases of non-Cuban cigars on the list comes down to:

1. Many non-Cuban manufacturers have really stepped up their work and have made cigars to match the tastes of their customers (stronger, bigger, etc)

2. Non-Cuban brands have significantly increased their quality to never before seen levels.

3. Non-Cuban brands have been experimenting with blending many high quality tobaccos from around the world and the art has become so well developed by these blenders that they have really changed the flavor profiles of cigars around the world.

4. Cuban cigars experienced a mis-guided time where they felt that quantity was more important than quality. Quality did fall during this time.

5. Cuban cigars are still trying to meet unrealistic quality levels and do not put enough time into aging and properly fermenting.

While the Cuban cigar world is improving in quality, they have also started to spend more time working their blending (still all Cuban) to provide new tastes and are making a large number of limited editions to meet the desires of the market. The Cuban cigar industry is recovering and coming back strong.

Wow, that was fun to write. Can I do it again? Please?

Russ, awesome list.

I'd have to put some Bucanero's on there somewhere though, and knock the 1926 Padron off of it. Oh, it's a good cigar, but to me...it's not in the ballpark of the other cigars that are on the list.

Nice list. Proud to say I've had them all. There's bound to be a few that'll post taste is subject to the taster and there's some truth to it, but there's some mystique on the domestic side as well!

This is a great thread. Everyone should read it, because it has some good input on Cubans and legals by experienced smokers. I feel much the same way. I like an ISOM occasionally. But once I got past the mysterious part, they fell into rank with some of the high-end legal cigars. Opus was a Holy Grail until I obtained and smoked a few. Now that I can get them regularly at retail, I only purchase a few for my "high end" humidor, and walk past the box the rest of the time. I smoke what I like, and some of those are $1 cigars I get by the box full right here on CBid.

I haven't had any truly memorable Habanos, although a Monte #2 one night in Paris was pretty good. My first Siglo VI was great, but not the 2nd or 3rd, and my PSD#4's are good, but not really that good for what I spent on them. The Diamond Crown maximus #5 beats every Cuban I personally have tried. I haven't tried a Partagas Short yet or a Lusi. I am smoking a Habano right now, and it is pretty good, but unbanded and I cant remember what it is or where I got it, and who knows whether its counterfeit anyway, so what's the use. This is my roundabout way of saying I agree with Slim.