LigSecVol

Do you honestly enjoy NCs as much as Cubans? Yes Did you go at it thinking “ok this isn’t steak, it’s chicken, and different is good too”? No. CCs aren't always steak. NCs aren't always chicken. Did you beat your taste buds into submission and made them love the turds you were lighting up? No. That would be a sad way to live. Are you just a tobacco addict and will do anything for a fix? No That said, there are loads of turds amongst CCs due to inconsistency Let's also face it, CCs have changed quite a bit in profile over the years/decades. Not all NCs are also garbage. The great ones (granted there aren't loads) leave CCs in the dust. In terms of mindset, I don't hunt NCs hoping they taste like Cubans. If you want/love Cuban, smoke Cuban.

Didn't know about this. Just looked it up online. I agree with the comments that fraud is fraud. I gotta say... aside from some detectable alignment, fake bands are getting closer and closer to the real deal. Heck if the small behike head inside the bigger was aligned properly, one could hardly tell. Especially in a bar environment.

Well done, congrats!! Hats off to you all! 🎩 @El Presidente, tip top suit!

FWIW, the article was originally posted on on CIgar as mentioned by Halfwheel:

The only reason that guy should be banned from the lounge is for smoking a 60x7. 😅

To me, it looks like HSA is purposely reducing supply to shake down a decades-long co-owner/partner to own 100% of it. Which begs the question: if successful, will HSA do the same with other distributors?

True, that guy's arrest in Macau was big news. I didn't connect the dots between him, Suncity and HSA until much later. I see there was an article dating back to 2020 about him: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-11/macau-gambling-executive-linked-to-1-billion-cohiba-cigar-deal#xj4y7vzkg I found the RFA article shed further light on who else is involved. Your second sentence all too perfectly summarized the article and the state of CC distribution, lol. It feels like racketeering. 😂

The whole thing and people involved seem 'rocky'! 😅 I didn't know it was extensively reported. Aside from an 'Allied Group' in HK in the initial stages of the deal (from main cigar sites) and later a 'SunCity' through some other scare financial-related sources, I couldn't find much until I stumbled upon this article (written a year ago).

Came across this interesting article on the latest Habanos S.A. co-owner(s)/group: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cigars-10072022161145.html

He misses the point completely. Cuban stocks have not started disappearing with COVID but about a decade ago before when China opened its door in circa 2010. It started slow and it accelerated in 2013-2015 until COVID hit and made it worse.

Is this guy for real? Nobody is "blaming" China. It's just reality. Cuban stocks all over the world were pilling dust before China opened its doors in circa 2010. Everything started disappearing since then. COVID just made things worse. Extrapolating that the US is #1 or 2 market in the world and/or that it would be the #1 WHEN the embargo end based on ONE article from 2009 based on the OPINION of ONE guy is irrelevant at laughable at best.

@ATGroom Thank you for the clarification Alex. I am looking forward to it.

Amazing! Thanks for sharing. @JohnS Are the Kickstarter and Retail Editions the same? Content, number of pages. etc? Also and out of curiosity, why is the Collector Edition in two volumes?

I would think it's true since importing them is illegal in the first place -- not just 'restrictions'. At least that's my understanding from this: https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-82?language=en_US

Edit: Didn't know there was a rule against politics.

Thanks for your responses all. It's likely just me. Same here.. I've bought from the same legit sources for over a decades and I've seen wrappers become darker. I don't know what's going on and wonder if there is a demand for darker wrappers like there is one for bigger cigars.

Waiter: Would you like pizza or breakfast Sir? Customer: Yes

Thanks for confirming. The old adage then: to let CCs sit for years before consuming.

Hi folks.. A question on nicotine rush. When I smoke a Habanos, I tend to get what I think is called a nicotine rush - leading to a bit of brain fog, the munchies, etc. It goes away with some time, food and drinking water. I had a Reyes, Monte 4, HdM PR this week and it was pretty much the same to different extent. When I smoke NCs, I rarely have such condition. I had a Padron 1964 natural robusto, Davidoff Nica Diademas, several Dominican farm rolled this week but no such rush happened. Do CCs have more nicotine in general and if so, do they need to rest more? What's causing this? Does Habanos rush production (fermentation, aging) while NCs don't or less? For what it's worth, I've smoked CCs and NCs for over a decade and it's been more or less the same. Just never gave it much thoughts until now. Maybe I am just getting old. Also, and I don't know if there is a correlation but non-limited edition CCs, for a major part, are getting darker and darker. I remember the old days when Partagas and Montes were a nice golden brown. Now, it's dark brown like NCs. I'd appreciate your feedback, thanks.

Congratulations to you both! Wishing you the very best. 🥂

@BrightonCorgi Thanks for the feedback.

@BrightonCorgi Why/how is the LCDH in Zurich awful? Curious.

Hi gang. John here. Wanted to say hi. Lurker of FOH for a while now. Thanks for having me.