Pre-Embargo Cuban Cigars

[nivanov]

Cigars are a personal journey, 30 years ago I started with Te-Amo, Pride of Jamaica and Optimo. I was gifted a 5 pack tin of Romeo & Julieta cigars and it opened my eyes to other cigars. I continue to learn something everyday about cigars and am glad to share some knowledge and some history along the way.

Generalizations about cigars are dangerous, simply because you can form an opinion about a single experience, good or bad that you had about a cigar and then we tend to say that this is true for all cigars, such as generalizing clear Havanas.

Clear Havanas run the gamut, strong, mellow, packed with flavor, one dimensional, dull, like smoking rope, etc; just like modern day Havanas, plugged, one dimensional, so strong it makes your throat hurt, inconsistent from one cigar to another or from one box to the next.

The same is true for certain vintage years, there were some superb Cuban cigars produced during the 2002-2008 time period, there can be good vintage years and poor vintage years, even then, some marcas could still turn our excellent cigars during years when the rainfall and climate was not ideal.

How do we know which vintage years were great form 1880-1950 ?? We really don't know because such a database does not exist,

It's all a personal journey, whether it's vintage clear Havanas, Jamaican, Dominican, Honduran or Cuban, Filipino, Dutch or German, forgot about the Italian DiNobili cigars, I personally don't like them but I have some Italian buddies who love them.

[CaptainQuintero]

Were there many (or any) totally hand made clear havanas? Most seem to be machine made, I know there was a big drive for low prices cigars for the everyman and MM met this demand.

[Professor Twain]

Were there many (or any) totally hand made clear havanas? Most seem to be machine made, I know there was a big drive for low prices cigars for the everyman and MM met this demand.

Quick answer is yes, there were hand made Clear Havanas. Here is a nice article about the history in Tampa. Machines came into the picture relatively late. http://www.cigarcitymagazine.com/articles/history/item/hecho-a-mano I'm sure Nick can tell you a lot more about the history in other parts of the country.

[CaptainQuintero]

Cool thanks!

I've a friend who loves visiting Miami for the cigar culture there, I don't know if the demise of it is being exaggerated or not, by his tales it certainly seems not.

[CaptainQuintero]

I've always wondered if the 'spanish method' created a cigar that tasted or drew different then that of a mould-made cigar, all tobacco used being equal.

[nivanov]

In relation to the question of hand made clear Havana cigars, most (60-70%) clear Havana cigars after 1930 were machine made.

However, the big name marcas like La Corona, A&C, Benson & Hedges, Bering, Garcia & Vega, Gold Label to name a few still made their top of the line vitolas by hand.

[nivanov]

You can see the "rolled by hand of long filler" on the US Customs stamp on the above La Corona circa 1935 cigar box.

[rbelcastro]

My local B&M had pre-embargo cubans for at least 3 years(as long as I have been going)and just ran out a couple months ago. They were not my cup of tea, but an extreemly good seller. They sold for $10 a stick when I started and went up to $12 about a year ago. They were unbanded, and in a bulk box of about 200. The box did have all the markings that indicated they were rolled in Cuba, not just cuban tobacco.

[dememihel]

Here is the list of cigar that they were able to give me at Vendetta. Unfortunately my cousin didn't buy any, we just didn't know which was better than the other, so we decided to pass on these.

1950 Partagas lonsdale $175

1955 Montecristo #2 torpedo $300

1954 Partagas corona gorda $250
1955 Montecristo for Dunhill robusto $165

1956 Montecristo for Dunhill panatella $145

1955 Montecristo for Dunhill corona $ 150

1956 Bolivar corona gorda $200

1958 Romeo y Julieta Churchill $285

[Professor Twain]

Here is the list of cigar that they were able to give me at Vendetta. Unfortunately my cousin didn't buy any, we just didn't know which was better than the other, so we decided to pass on these.

1950 Partagas lonsdale $175

1955 Montecristo #2 torpedo $300

1954 Partagas corona gorda $250

1955 Montecristo for Dunhill robusto $165

1956 Montecristo for Dunhill panatella $145

1955 Montecristo for Dunhill corona $ 150

1956 Bolivar corona gorda $200

1958 Romeo y Julieta Churchill $285

Thanks for sharing this list. For my money I'd rather invest in new boxes and age them myself!

[sactochris]

I've always been a little suspicious of the cigars at Vendetta.

[nivanov]

One of the oddities of the above price list is the exact year of each box, dating pre-embargo cigar boxes is tricky, without proof of some sort like an original bill of sale the best I can do in most cases is narrow it down to the decade!!

However, there were pre embargo boxes that were produced in the 1930-1940 time frame that would identify the exact year of the tobacco production crop as in "crop of 1942".

Clear Havana cigars we much easier to date precisely as you can see by the above La Corona box you can see that it says series of 1932 and then the perforation below that has 11 35 (the perforated 35 is below the word "in").

[nivanov]

Here are some examples of precise identification of crop production in the 1930's.

During the decade of 1950's this practice was not as commonplace (does not mean it never happened).

[nivanov]

Couple more examples of boxes that indicate the tobacco crop year.

[dememihel]

Those Ramon Allones look delicious

[El Presidente]

Great stuff Nick! I hope you are well mate

[El Presidente]

I've smoked a good number of Clear Havanas that are pre-embargo. Clear Havanas were rolled in the US from bonded Cuban tobacco. I have a friend who is a member of this Board, Nick from Gotham Cigar Museum. I bought a box of Clear Havanas, made in Tampa in the 1940s, from Nick a few years ago and shared them with FOH members, including Rob, who visited Tampa a few years ago. Here is a link to an FOH writeup about that get together with extensive pics of these Eden cigars. http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=82555&page=2&hl=eden#entry86670

That was a great time Bill! One of the highlights of my cigar life

[nivanov]

Great stuff Nick! I hope you are well mate

Getting a bit older mate, but still kicking!!

[Jay Hemingway]

Excellent thread!

Also, good to see gothamcigarmuseum (Nick) around again. I learned so much about Bonded Clear

Havanas from you back in the day at ICC. During ICC's heydays you could say, lol.

As a matter of fact, I still have a Clear Havana in my desktop that you sent me back then.

If I recall, it was in a package along with a few others that you had sent me as a gift

for correctly answering a quiz you had posted up there.

I will have to look into it tomorrow and see which one I still have....I should also probably

smoke the thing already....I mean, it's definitely not getting any younger!! Ammirite? ha ha

[nivanov]

In my opinion, cigars that are 50 years old or more should be consumed early in the day and probably not after a heavy meal.

A disclaimer, before I continue, the above varies and is not true 100% of the time since some 50+ cigars retain their strength for one reason or another, storage conditions, sealed box, tobacco blend etc.

Vintage cigars tend to be very nuanced, with wonderful flavor undertones that can be masked or not picked up if paired with a strong drink or smoked after a heavy meal.

At various times when smoking a vintage cigar I say to myself, ahh, now I understand why the call it "La Flor de........" it truly is the flower of the tobacco plant.

The ICC days were wonderful 10 years ago, and I enjoyed my time there as the curator of the rich Pan - American cigar experience.

So go ahead, fire up that old stogie and tell us how it was!