Varadero Wrapup

[bigfunkyg]

I recently returned from a week in Varadero, Cuba and wanted to provide a summary as some others have done and I found useful.

We stayed the week and the Paradisus Varadero, which I would highly recommend. We had upgraded to the Royal Service which was well worth it. The rooms, food, and other amenities were great. The most memorable point had to be the service. The employee of the resort were extremely friendly and a pleasure to be served by. They were especially warm to my 2 year old son which made things feel very comfortable. The Paradisus had a very well stocked humidor. The staff was not overly friendly in regards to being helpful and would not allow me to look at boxes on the “other side” of the humidor. On my day before leaving I wanted to pickup a few singles before leaving but they said they didn’t open the humidor until the afternoon. I didn't make the trip to Havana unfortunately. Travelling with my 2 yr old son and 7 month pregnant wife didn't allow for that! Oh well, next time.

Here is a list of what I smoked day by day:

Day 1

H. Upmann Half Corona

Cohiba 1966 2011 LE

Day 2

Partagas Serie D No. 5

Cohiba BHK 54

Day 3

Ramon Allones Small Club Corona

Day 4

Trinidad Fundadores

Cuaba Generosos

Day 5

Ramon Allones Allones Extra LE 2011

Bolivar Gold Medal

Day 6

Cohiba Siglo I

Cohiba Esplendidos

Day 7

Cohiba Siglo IV

Good – RA Allones Extra LE was very good, definitely worth a box

Cohiba BHK 54, very nice much more manageable size than the 56

Partagas Serie D No.5 - great size, ice quick format

Bad

Cohiba Esplendidos – I’m forever lost on these. I have tried them 3 or 4 times now and don’t get them.

Trinidad Fundadores – I guess I’m not a long skinny guy, just didn’t get much from this.

Here is the list of boxes that I brought back:

Cohiba 1966 LE 2011 (should be very good in not too long)

Ramon Allones Allones Extra LE 2011 (very good now)

Cohiba BHK 54 (like the size much better than the 56)

Cohiba Robusto (a staple in the humi)

Cohiba Siglo VI (new staple in the humi)

Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios (wanted to really like my last box, so I tried another 10)

H. Upmann Magnum 46 (09 box, another staple)

Punch Royal Selection No. 11 (good find, had to grab it)

Punch Churchills (story to follow)

Ramon Allones Specially Selected (another staple)

Most of the cigars came from the La Casa Del Habanos in the Plaza Las America and the 61st Street location. Very impressed with the Plaza store, very big humidor and they were happy to let me go in and hand pick boxes. The 61st street location was nice but didn’t quite have the selction. The 39 location had a lot of singles but low on the boxes. The 31st Street location was small but had some gems (aged and rare).

My only regret is the box of Punch Churchills. There was an 05 box at the 31st Steet location that I kicked myself for not getting. I found a box at a duty free in the Varadero airport that was an 07 box that I figured was a close second. This particular box was actually in a humidor that read 70% on the hygrometer so I figured it would be OK. Unfortunately I was wrong. I opened the box up when I got home and noticed the fine brown dust on the box and was horrified to find that 10 of the 25 cigars had beetle holes. I separate the good from the bad and put what was salvageable in the freezer.

Lesson learned; don’t buy from the duty free at the airport in Cuba.

All in all a great trip, hopefully some picks to follow soon.

G

[bstarrs]

Sounds like you had a nice trip, I'm planning on going back to Cuba in March and I'll be hitting the La Casas with reckless abandon now that I am far more experienced with Habanos than the last time I was there.

[bolivr]

Good info, thanks BFG!

[CBL]

Great recap! Shame to hear about those Churchills

Quite the pick-up btw!

[CptKloss]

Ha! someone publicly admits to liking PSD No.5 (after the video review)!!! Just kidding...nice to see these cigars are inconsistent (in a good sense, so you can find a good one too!)

[kcheek]

Very nice!

[Colt45]

Welcome back - thanks for the notes.

[kiwiman911]

I will be going to varadero in feb. are all the locations you mention in varadero? will mostly be at the RIU witch seems close to were you stayed any more info on all the casa would be greatly appreciated you can PM me if you want

[bigfunkyg]

I will be going to varadero in feb. are all the locations you mention in varadero? will mostly be at the RIU witch seems close to were you stayed any more info on all the casa would be greatly appreciated you can PM me if you want

There are four LCDH's in Varadero. I will list them from most Easterly to Westerly

31st Street - Just behind the 1st Avenue towards the beach. Decent selection of singles and a small but well stocked humidor. Found some aged and discontinued Gems here.

39th Street - very good selection of singles. Didn't let me in the humidor and didn't seem like there was much there.

61st Street - Nice location and a well stocked humidor, not much in the way of singles here if thats what you were looking for.

Plaza Las Americas - Nice big humidor and very well stocked. Did most of my shopping here and found the staff pleasant and helpful.

The Paradisus where I stayed had a nice humidor. It was the only place I was able to find the Cohiba 1966 and hte RA Allones Extra's. The staff at the shop there were a pain in the arse to deal with. Lots of singles and some aged stuff too.

Hope that helps!

G

[Quint]

Sounds like a fantastic trip my wife and I would love to visit but have no idea how to pull it off as an American citizen. I hope this is not to tacky a question but are the prices for boxes of cigars in Cuba cheaper or more expensive than web prices?