Are Non-Cuban cigars widely available in your country?

[SCgarman]

Since I reside in the U.S. and non-Cuban cigars are the only legal cigars here, how available are they in your country and how do they compare in price with their Cuban cousins?

[Puros Y Vino]

I'm up in Toronto Canada. Some are available but I find the prices are higher than CC's.

[Montaigut]

Since I reside in the U.S. and non-Cuban cigars are the only legal cigars here, how available are they in your country and how do they compare in price with their Cuban cousins?

Center of France.

Very limited availability of NC cigars where I am. Prices are about 30% lower than CC's but then again, CC's are way overpriced!

[laficion]

South of France.

Very very limited availability here too. My local had some Macanudo's and some El credito (La Gloria Cubana)

but because of legal rights, La Gloria Cubana name can not be used.

Anyway, my local got these so as to have a change of pace in his cigar stock , he stayed with his stock for

over 2 years but nobody wanted anything to do with these or any other NC marketed in the US.

Now since about a year, Pete Johnson's TATUAJE's are available in France, so he's interested in getting some

from the French importer EUROTAB because his clientele has shown interest in Pete's cigars.

As for the rest of CA's top notch, top 100, top 50 or top what have you NC's, the very large majority

can stay on the US market with no regret . However what is interesting is that here in Europe we have

Non-Cubans from NIC.or HON. but their blends or taste profils are different then what is seeked in the US,

these are sold mainly here in Europe and elsewhere in the world and do not aim for the US market where a

majority of cigar smokers look for cigars that are jawbreaker sizes today and mostly pepper spiced strength

more then complex flavours and aromas.

[maverickdrinker]

limited availability. Those that are are more expensive than cubans. A fuente fuente opus X costs $38.00/stick. Can buy a cohiba with that kind of money.

[Don Candido]

Here in California, unfortunately, NC's are very common. It is worth noting the good ones (which generally pale in comparison to CC's) are still more expensive to purchase here, than it is to "import" CC's.

[adic88]

Premium NCs only here in Malaysia. High end Padrons, Fuentes and Davidoffs.

Prices are about the same as CCs.

Usually people here smoke NCs to have "something different" every once in a while. CCs rule quite strongly.

[El Presidente]

Premium NCs only here in Malaysia. High end Padrons, Fuentes and Davidoffs.

Prices are about the same as CCs.

Usually people here smoke NCs to have "something different" every once in a while. CCs rule quite strongly.

Similar experience in Australia.

High ends available with a smattering of Perdomo. Pricing same as top end Cubans.

There are some lower ends but they have gained little traction in the market. Macanudo has a small following as do a few others.

[tmac77]

I'm up in Toronto Canada. Some are available but I find the prices are higher than CC's.

Agree prices for NC's here in Toronto are ridiculously high (mostly taxes) especially considering that one could drive 1 hour south to Buffalo and get them at a 1/4 of what you pay here.

[CBL]

Here in Taiwan they're only available in select stores like Davidoff. And like most places in the Asia Pacific only high-end.

In The Netherlands however there's a HUGE array of Non-Cubans available, many of which are preferred by cigar lovers over Cubans..... prices are much lower than Cubans (with the exception of some of the high-end brands)

The Netherlands, with it's long standing history of cigar smoking (dry cigars mostly) has only recently welcomed it's first La Casa Del Habano (the opening party is still in the works ) because non of the shops wanted to take the plunge into selling Cubans exclusively.

[Stalebread]

The last time I was in the Palais-Royal A La Civette (which was some time ago) there were quite a few Avo and Davidoff cigars available. Not surprising as they are now owned by Davidoff. On the other hand, when the shop at the Publicis Drugstore had a nice walk-in, they did not carry any non-Cuban cigars. I doubt if that has changed. In other shops like Le Lotus, I noticed a small selection of non-Cuban cigars including Flor de Selva, Avo, Davidoff, Oliva and others.

A couple of years ago I was in a German LCDH that had a seperate but adjoining shop for "other" cigars and I remember being surprised at the large selection of non-Cuban cigars they had on display.

If you take a look at some German and Swiss sites, you can see that they offer a pretty broad range of non-Cuban cigars. I have no idea how many they sell, but the non-Cubans are available.

[Holysmokes]

In ottawa, the cigar industry/shops are barely alive. We only have 1 real cigar shop and then we have random convenience stores who sell the most popular sticks. Anyways, before I start ranting about how sad and unfortunate this is, i will answer the original question.

Cubans are easier to get than non cubans. In regards to pricing, cubans are always a bit more expensive in general...

[Hemsworth]

Hahaha...the cigar shop in Ottawa sells the CAO Italia Ciao (NC) for $14 a stick. I picked up a 10 pack from the USA for $30. If it wasn't for the USA and the non Cubans...I would still only be a vary occasional smoker.

[cigarros]

Here in Russia NC widely represented, especially in Moscow. At least nearly half of those that are in the U.S. More than 100 brands from Nicaragua, Dom.Rep, Honduras, Mexica, Costa-Rica, Brazilia etc. Prices low than cubans. But people prefers CC more, aproximately 60\40.

[Habanos2000]

However what is interesting is that here in Europe we have Non-Cubans from NIC.or HON. but their blends or taste profils are different then what is seeked in the US, these are sold mainly here in Europe and elsewhere in the world and do not aim for the US market where a majority of cigar smokers look for cigars that are jawbreaker sizes today and mostly pepper spiced strength more then complex flavours and aromas.

Guy,

very interesting indeed! Have you tried any of these 'non-US, non-Cubans'? I'd be interested in hearing if they mimicked Cuban's in terms of flavor and complexity and if they were any good or not?

[laficion]

Guy,

very interesting indeed! Have you tried any of these 'non-US, non-Cubans'? I'd be interested in hearing if they mimicked Cuban's in terms of flavor and complexity and if they were any good or not?

Habanos,

There are in fact, a few good non-US-NC's that I'm not so sure if they sell in the US

but have faithful followers here in Europe and elsewhere. these cigars do not have the pretension

of being better then or more "cubanesque" then, neither are they trying to pass such a message,

contrary to their US cousins. These brands are proud to advertise their country, be it Nic, or Hon,

or DR. They don't shout & cry that they have a cuban style or cuban rollers, made from cuban seeds,

or that they make cigars with cuban tradition etc ,etc, etc,..... ...... These brands are proud to say

that they are Hondurian or Nicaraguan or Dominican, that they also have a long tradition of tobacco dating

back to the Aztecs or Incas and that their cigars are very different if you're looking for a change in taste.

These cigars have a subtle complexity, they are not pepper bombs, they have character but tamed.

They don't need to blow your mouth away with pepper & ligero. Here are a few,

Cumpay - Nicaragua

Nicarao NI22 - Nicaragua

Machetero,(short fillers) - Nicaragua

La Libertad -Honduras

Villa Zamorano - Honduras

Flor De Copan - Honduras

[SCgarman]

Flor De Copan is the factory that makes the US sold cigar called Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve. It is marketed as a "cubanesque" cigar, but does not compare to the real thing.

[bstarrs]

Where I live in Canada Cubans are more common but overall I would say NCs are pretty wisely available. I stay away from them because their prices arepretty much on par with Cubans and I'd rather continue to explore everything Cuban cigars can offer. The few NCs I have had have not really left much of an impression on me so I'd rather spend my money on Cubans.

[danclough]

An interesting corollary perhaps to the original question. If CC's were deemed legal in the U.S. tomorrow, would they drive the NC's mostly out of business within 5 years? 10 years? I think they would dominate very quickly.

[Hemsworth]

An interesting corollary perhaps to the original question. If CC's were deemed legal in the U.S. tomorrow, would they drive the NC's mostly out of business within 5 years? 10 years? I think they would dominate very quickly.

I don't know about that. I think that probably most of the people who demand Cubans already have access to Cubans. The others who maybe have never tried a Cuban I don't think would be so blown away by them as to drop the non Cubans. The whole Idea that you need to let the majority of them "age" for so long to reach their full potential is a fairly big big put-off.

Personally, I don't find that the good Cubans that I have smoked were really that much better an experience than some of the great non's that I have enjoyed. In fact...I am more often disappointed with a Cuban than a non. That might be because I don't have a vast collection of aged boxes to smoke from and they generally don't rest in my humi for more than a few weeks before I'm into them.

If I was forced to choose, at this moment my vote would be for the non's and I think many smokers would feel the same way after trying a few Cubans off the B&M's shelves.

[reliefdvm]

An interesting corollary perhaps to the original question. If CC's were deemed legal in the U.S. tomorrow, would they drive the NC's mostly out of business within 5 years? 10 years? I think they would dominate very quickly.

The only way for Cubans to dominate in the US is if they really step up on quality and consistency. Cigar smokers in the US tend to be VERY intolerant of plugged cigars. Quality control would have to become a real word in Cuba - not a joke. Now if the prices for CC were to greatly undercut the NC then they would sell well. Unless things change I don"t see many of the NC being put out of business.

[JY0]

The only way for Cubans to dominate in the US is if they really step up on quality and consistency. Cigar smokers in the US tend to be VERY intolerant of plugged cigars. Quality control would have to become a real word in Cuba - not a joke. Now if the prices for CC were to greatly undercut the NC then they would sell well. Unless things change I don"t see many of the NC being put out of business.

I find very few construction issues with CC. The occasional burn issue is annoying but to me, it's well worth the trade-off for the flavor and aroma. Most plugs I have encounter have been easily remedied by dry boxing.

[bc8436]

An interesting corollary perhaps to the original question. If CC's were deemed legal in the U.S. tomorrow, would they drive the NC's mostly out of business within 5 years? 10 years? I think they would dominate very quickly.

I, for one, think that a lot of the NCs will be here to stay. Plenty of American smokers believe that Cuban cigars are 'overhyped and overrated.' Others even go as far as saying that NCs are now superior to the Cubans. Check out this article here: http://www.cigarsinternational.com/html/cig101_29ccm.asp

When the embargo is lifted, I wonder if we'll start seeing 6x60 Cuban pepper bombs.

[laficion]

An interesting corollary perhaps to the original question. If CC's were deemed legal in the U.S. tomorrow, would they drive the NC's mostly out of business within 5 years? 10 years? I think they would dominate very quickly.

I don't really think that they'll be put out of business,on the contrary, the American cigar smoker

is used too a certain taste profil that they have created culturally and in a large way,

the NC manufacturers have understood this.There is nothing wrong with this, everyone's

taste is respectable, it's cultural, It's always been and it will always be.

All you need to do is look at the history of cigars in the States and the history with Cuba.

There again it's cultural. The US has a long history with tobacco and tobacco growing ,

just as in Cuba, but different ways of doing things. Cuba from the start, catered to the Europeans

and the tobacco in Cuba was developed by the Spainish for the European market. In the US, different

tobacco plants meant different taste and different habits. It's only when the Americans started to

find interest in the Cuban leaf that things began to change. They began to import the tobacco because

of it's high quality and started to blend it with the American varaities to give a different cigar more

suited to their tastes. These cigars were later called CLEAR HAVANAS, cigars with Cuban tobacco mixed

with other tobaccos. Factories were built in the US and these hybrid cigars became very popular.

Brands were created and thrived in Tampa and Key west and elsewhere. After the Spainish American War,

the US took over the Industry in Cuba and a majority of the Cuban brands were now owned by US trusts

and from there, Factories were making cuban cigars in the US and transformed to their own tastes. Havanas

made, rolled, boxed in Cuba from 100% Cuban tobacco was only smoked by the high society but not only

were they very expensive because of high taxes but also were never that popular with the average cigar

smoker. If you look at the sum of Havanas, not tobacco but the finished product, that was imported into the

US before the Embargo, there's really nothing to shout about. I'm sure that when the embargo ends, there will

be a large demand for Cubans but , I'm also pretty sure that it won't last. It's cultural, some drink coke

and others drink wine, some eat hambergers and others eat snails, it's cultural, Habanos have never been

the NEC PLUS ULTRA on the list of the majority of American cigar smokers.

There's nothing wrong with all this, sorry for being so long , It's just that I felt the need to put some

perspective on all of this Cuban vs Non-Cubans debate.

[JY0]

I, for one, think that a lot of the NCs will be here to stay. Plenty of American smokers believe that Cuban cigars are 'overhyped and overrated.' Others even go as far as saying that NCs are now superior to the Cubans. Check out this article here: http://www.cigarsinternational.com/html/cig101_29ccm.asp

When the embargo is lifted, I wonder if we'll start seeing 6x60 Cuban pepper bombs.

I have yet to find a NC with the same taste profile as a CC. in addition to that, I strongly prefer the CC taste profile. Nothing else seems to satisfy me. I've tried.