Cigar smokers - what makes Cubans so revered?

[Ns1]

Evidently they should start flowing to the states beginning on Friday...

Yes, I know our cold brethren up north can import Cubans no issue, thanks.

 

[smackababy]

I've asked the same thing and have yet to find an answer that doesn't amount to: forbidden fruit. I imagine some are of high quality, but high quality cigars can be had from other regions as well, right?

 

[Newell Steamer]

They taste like shit.

No, really, they have a manure like taste to them, that aficionados refer to as 'earthy'.

 

[Oyeve]

It's the high lithium content.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Pretense.

Cubans > all is the same idiocy that gets people to drink Grey Goose and 18 year old single malt, eat food with truffles and buy Monster Cable for their stereo. In blind tests Cubans fare poorly.

 

[preslove]

It's a pre-castro thing, as Cuba was the cigar capital of the world before the revolution. Most actual aficionados don't revere them because many of the firms, much of the social capital, and the seed stock fled during/after the revolution to the rest of the Caribbean. Today, a decent dominican will be a much better smoke than most cubans. This wasn't the case in the 1950s.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

They're supposed to be better because the soil/growing conditions in cuba are ideal/unique to the region.

But 75% of it is because the supply of them is so restricted.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Cubans are also stuck in the past.

As 'great' as some people say they are, they don't have the wide array of flavor profiles that non-Cubans do. Like spice, chocolate, oak, Spanish cedar, etc.

 

[Ns1]

so what ya'll are saying is, not worth the hype.

thx!

 

[Kneedragger]

I've smoked a lot of Cubans and they are very different. I wouldn't say they beat a non cuban hands down though... There are a lot of good non cubans also they are just a little more expensive to buy.

 

[shortylickens]

They fact we werent allowed to have them until recently. They arent special.

When I was in the Navy we went down to Saint Maarten and got cubans. They werent any better than the cigars you can buy here in America.

 

[PenguinPower]

Pretense.

Cubans > all is the same idiocy that gets people to drink Grey Goose and 18 year old single malt, eat food with truffles and buy Monster Cable for their stereo. In blind tests Cubans fare poorly.

Actually, most 18-year's are noticeably smoother than their 12/15 year counterparts. A better example would have been 21-year or 30-year.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Pretense.

Cubans > all is the same idiocy that gets people to drink Grey Goose and 18 year old single malt, eat food with truffles and buy Monster Cable for their stereo. In blind tests Cubans fare poorly.

I agree with you about Grey Goose and Monster Cable, but 18 year old single malts and truffles are both unique and rare, hence the relatively high price assigned to both. You may not like the flavor, but it's not like you can replace an aged single malt scotch with Cutty Sark and get the same experience like you can with a Monster cable versus Monoprice. Personally, I don't get the love for truffles; they taste like dirty mushrooms. But some people like that sort of thing, and it's not just because they've been told to because it's expensive.

 

[MongGrel]

I've smoked a lot of Cubans and they are very different. I wouldn't say they beat a non cuban hands down though... There are a lot of good non cubans also they are just a little more expensive to buy.

I agree, YMMV.

I've had a couple Cubans I bought in Mexico that weren't that great, compared to even a few local ones here in the Tampa area.

I'm not even that big of a cigar smoker.

But at one of my wifes Christmas parties at the Don Cesar someone many years ago had a very nice box of Cubans that I can't even recall the name of, and it was the best cigar I've ever smoked.

 

[smackababy]

Personally, I don't get the love for truffles; they taste like dirty mushrooms. But some people like that sort of thing, and it's not just because they've been told to because it's expensive.

They are dirty mushrooms!

 

[Markbnj]

There's a definite difference, even though the Dominicans and Hondurans have gotten much better over the years. Unfortunately the overall build quality of habanos is so variable these days that you can get a box of crap, too, but the tobacco is definitely special. There are also tons of counterfeit habanos on the market, especially in border towns in Canada and Mexico.

 

[Puppies04]

Pretense.

Cubans > all is the same idiocy that gets people to drink Grey Goose and 18 year old single malt, eat food with truffles and buy Monster Cable for their stereo. In blind tests Cubans fare poorly.

Not a very good analogy TBH, grey goose is better than almost any other vodka I have tried. 18 YO single malt is generally better than younger whiskies and truffles are a rare delicacy.

Completely agree with the Monster cables though lol

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I agree with you about Grey Goose and Monster Cable, but 18 year old single malts and truffles are both unique and rare, hence the relatively high price assigned to both. You may not like the flavor, but it's not like you can replace an aged single malt scotch with Cutty Sark and get the same experience like you can with a Monster cable versus Monoprice. Personally, I don't get the love for truffles; they taste like dirty mushrooms. But some people like that sort of thing, and it's not just because they've been told to because it's expensive.

It amuses me to no end how people will agree that other pretentious idiots are pretentious idiots, but zealously cling to the belief that the thing they're pretentious idiots about is really different. Audiophiles laugh at scotch drinkers, but claim they have golden ears and truffle eaters laugh at audiophiles while claiming that they can pick out out truffles that grow on north-facing slopes as opposed to south-facing slopes. And scotch drinkers are just as clueless. In legit double blind tests people who claim to be able to pick out the smoothness of their favorite 18-year old do no better than audiohpiles who can't tell the difference between Monster Cable and coat hangers and gourmands who can't differentiate between real truffles and 100% artificial truffle oil. Show me the results of a legit double blind scotch tasting that demonstrate that you guys are different.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Not a very good analogy TBH, grey goose is better than almost any other vodka I have tried. 18 YO single malt is generally better than younger whiskies and truffles are a rare delicacy.

Completely agree with the Monster cables though lol

Grey Goose is swill that gets its ass handed to it in legit double blind test and it is routinely placed at the bottom of the pack by people who claim to be GG drinkers.

 

[BurnItDwn]

the ones made by the skilled rollers using good aged habano are awesome. That said, there are awesome rollers and great tobacco in other countries as well.

I dont think most serious smokers like having all their options on the table. They are earthy from the manure smell, but many cubans are also creamy (Partagas are super good), but, they may not be "better" per say than any quality gar from elsewhere, they just are "different" and good.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Its like, I love steak, I love prime rib, I love rack of lamb. I love goat curry.

I also love Jambalaya.


Same thing with cigars

 

[Atomic Playboy]

It amuses me to no end how people will agree that other pretentious idiots are pretentious idiots, but zealously cling to the belief that the thing they're pretentious idiots about is really different. Audiophiles laugh at scotch drinkers, but claim they have golden ears and truffle eaters laugh at audiophiles while claiming that they can pick out out truffles that grow on north-facing slopes as opposed to south-facing slopes. And scotch drinkers are just as clueless. In legit double blind tests people who claim to be able to pick out the smoothness of their favorite 18-year old do no better than audiohpiles who can't tell the difference between Monster Cable and coat hangers and gourmands who can't differentiate between real truffles and 100% artificial truffle oil. Show me the results of a legit double blind scotch tasting that demonstrate that you guys are different.

I think part of the problem is that you're talking about two different types of pretentious people. One is the people who claim to be afficionadoes of a type of thing (be it Scotch or truffles or wine or cheese or whatever). The second is people who claim to be afficionadoes of a specific brand (Grey Goose, Monster, etc.). I think you'll find pretentious twits who don't know what they're talking about in both groups, but in my experience, people who claim to be fans of a specific luxury brand (particularly one with a massive advertising budget) are far more likely to be full of shit than people who just claim to like a particularly expensive indulgence in general. So if someone extols the virtues of single malt Scotches and can speak to the differences in Scotch styles by region, I'm less inclined to think he's full of shit as compared to the person who extols the virtues of Johnnie Walker Blue Label because he knows it's expensive. And anyone, even someone who has never tried a drop of Scotch in their life, would be able to tell the difference between Laphroaig and Ballantine's; they might not prefer Laphroaig, but it's about as distinct a difference as the difference between vodka and rum.

I've always been more of a bourbon guy than a Scotch guy, and I'm fairly confident I could identify something like Booker's versus Evan Williams in a double blind taste test. And, hey, if I can't? You just saved me a shitload of money; cheers.

 

[lxskllr]

Show me the results of a legit double blind scotch tasting that demonstrate that you guys are different.

What's this double blind bullshit? Whisky changes in the barrel. That's a fuckin' fact you can take to the bank. Every year in the barrel changes it, and if you let it get too old, it can go off, and taste woody.

Older whisky is more expensive because it costs more to store, and more is lost from the cask. After you get to around 10yr, it's neither better nor worse, but different. Some whisky needs more time in cask. Glenfiddich tasted like shit for years. It was sold at an undeclared age, but was thought to be around 9yr. The quality improved when they went to 12yr for the base, and it reaches ages that would ruin other whisky.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Havana Club rum is amazing compared to Barcardi.

 

[Puppies04]

Grey Goose is swill that gets its ass handed to it in legit double blind test and it is routinely placed at the bottom of the pack by people who claim to be GG drinkers.

Perhaps I should have prefaced my post with the fact that I am not and never have been a vodka drinker. I have tried several and found GG smooth and crisp. No idea if there are better ones out there.

Whiskey on the other hand I do drink on a regular basis. I don't go in for all the "oh this bottle costs £1000 so it is amazing" I simply like what I like but my favourite tipple to drink at home so far just so happens to be the most expensive. We are talking just under £100 a bottle here so nothing majorly extravagant. I was given a bottle worth £150 as a gift and TBH I really didn't like the stuff although a house guest who was staying with me for a while couldn't believe I was letting him drink so much of the stuff as it was "the best he had ever tasted".

Same with wine, my favourite is about £30 a bottle i have tried much more expensive wines but I can take or leave them.

All comes down to personal taste at the end of the day.