Best City to Buy Habanos?

[gweilgi]

3 hours ago, beparrish said:

I was there two years ago, and the only shop I would trust is Fincato. It had a decent selection, but no REs/LEs when I was there. The prices weren't terrible, but they weren't giving them away either. I think I paid about 25 EUR for a CoLa and 32 EUR for an Cohiba Espy.

I popped in last month; quality was good but the selection was rather limited.  It's not helped by the fact that the premises are a bit cramped so they clearly do not have the space for a larger walk-in.

In the end, the only thing I picked up other than a random handful of singles was a dress box of the Italian RE La Escepcion for 300-odd euros.  

But do not let that put you off from visiting Fincato!  Cigar shops are pretty thin on the ground in Rome, and there are some very decent and not overly touristy restaurants within 5 minutes' walk...

[Elvis]

3 hours ago, jschrader510 said:

Do a search for "London" on the forum, I know I did when I first moved over there and found some useful information on spots to smoke and places to visit. I never made it to the LCDH which is outside of central London, but with what is in central, you don't really need to. 

The LCDH is in Teddington, just outside of London. It's well worth the trip, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[BrightonCorgi]

No one has mentioned any Asian cities, wonder why?  

I thought for sure many would say Singapore as the best selection  and "decent" prices.  I know one cigar store that has every Habanos ever made since Castro including all the humidors, books, special editions, etc...  Can't find much of that in Cuba.  Seen a few other stores that had as many or even more extensive selections than any LCDH I've been to....

Hong Kong has been known as great place to find rare Habanos and Beirut is known as an epicenter of Habanos for the Middle East...  Not one mention on two pages of any three of these locations...  

[NweakO]

Outside of Canada, I can only speak of Beirut and Riyadh. Beirut is great, one can find rare stuff there and the prices are quite reasonable. Above all, you get the impression they know a lot about Cuban cigars. I get most of my stuff from there.

Now, I have been living in Riyadh for 4+ years and I can safely say the cigar scene here is garbage. First of all, the tobacconists over here have very poor knowledge of what they  are selling. Most would not know the difference between a Robusto and a Corona Gorda. The selection is quite poor as well. For instance, besides the PL Picadores, the PL marca is nonexistent. I have never seen Partagas 898. In terms of Vitolas, it is extremely difficult to find petite coronas/coronas. They focus on big ring gauge cigars. Nothing beats the price though, a box of 25 D4s costs about $500 US.

[JohnInCleveland]

2 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

No one has mentioned any Asian cities, wonder why?  

I thought for sure many would say Singapore as the best selection  and "decent" prices.  I know one cigar store that has every Habanos ever made since Castro including all the humidors, books, special editions, etc...  Can't find much of that in Cuba.  Seen a few other stores that had as many or even more extensive selections than any LCDH I've been to....

Hong Kong has been known as great place to find rare Habanos and Beirut is known as an epicenter of Habanos for the Middle East...  Not one mention on two pages of any three of these locations...  

I think it's more about the smaller percentage of people on here that travel extensively in the Middle East.  Were I to make it to that part of the world, I'd be all over it. 

 

There's a lot of European and American forum members.  Just my guess.

[Drguano]

16 hours ago, jschrader510 said:

I never made it to the LCDH which is outside of central London, but with what is in central, you don't really need to. 

I always like to go straight from Heathrow to Ajay's LCDH in Teddington to burn off the jet lag with a mighty smoke. Take the X26 express bus from Hatton Cross and the first stop will put you a five minute walk away on High Street. Prices are high in London but see Ajay if you are looking for RE's. He always has an old box (or two or three) of something interesting open for singles. The Teddington rail station is right around the corner and a train will take you into Waterloo Station in 30-40 minutes.

 

[El Presidente]

$736 a kilo Duty + 10% GST doesn't give much leeway in Oz for domestic buyers. 

That duty tate is scheduled to go up another 45% in the next three years. 

[Dave O)))]

$736 a kilo Duty + 10% GST doesn't give much leeway in Oz for domestic buyers. 

That duty tate is scheduled to go up another 45% in the next three years. 

C##ts. Pardon me.

[Pierre]

Imo, definitely Andorra, the place is a giant duty free and they have 3 or 4 very nice cigar shops.

[YOM'$]

8 hours ago, El Presidente said:

$736 a kilo Duty + 10% GST doesn't give much leeway in Oz for domestic buyers. 

That duty tate is scheduled to go up another 45% in the next three years. 

That just makes me sad.  Over stepping the role, it is.  Sure it's been covered here before. 

[gweilgi]

On 2/24/2017 at 2:55 AM, JohnInCleveland said:

I think it's more about the smaller percentage of people on here that travel extensively in the Middle East.  Were I to make it to that part of the world, I'd be all over it. 

 

There's a lot of European and American forum members.  Just my guess.

There are a fair number of Americans, Aussies and Brits who have been travelling and staying in the Middle East for extended stays ... but they typically do not get to visit the big cities to sample and evaluate the cigar scene, being stuck out in forward bases .... and those good men (and women) usually make do with "care packages" of cigars sent to them from back home by supportive members of the public.  

[gweilgi]

On 2/24/2017 at 4:27 AM, Drguano said:

I always like to go straight from Heathrow to Ajay's LCDH in Teddington to burn off the jet lag with a mighty smoke. Take the X26 express bus from Hatton Cross and the first stop will put you a five minute walk away on High Street. Prices are high in London but see Ajay if you are looking for RE's. He always has an old box (or two or three) of something interesting open for singles. The Teddington rail station is right around the corner and a train will take you into Waterloo Station in 30-40 minutes.

 

Given the eye-watering prices of cigars in the UK, getting an Uber out to Ajay's place and back is also an option.  

Also important for those of us who follow the Rugby: the Teddington LCDH is less than 3 miles/5 kilometres from Twickenham Stadium (15 minute drive).  So on match day, it is easily possible to combine the two!  

[rhcolbert]

53 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

There are a fair number of Americans, Aussies and Brits who have been travelling and staying in the Middle East for extended stays ... but they typically do not get to visit the big cities to sample and evaluate the cigar scene, being stuck out in forward bases .... and those good men (and women) usually make do with "care packages" of cigars sent to them from back home by supportive members of the public.  

Lcdh Doha will be visited this go round by god! ?

I sub out cigars for the hookah over there given the ease of access 

[Guest robertsccr5]

There are a fair number of Americans, Aussies and Brits who have been travelling and staying in the Middle East for extended stays ... but they typically do not get to visit the big cities to sample and evaluate the cigar scene, being stuck out in forward bases .... and those good men (and women) usually make do with "care packages" of cigars sent to them from back home by supportive members of the public.  

Yeah I didn't see any La Casa del Habanos in Iraq while I was there. Djibouti had a decent humidor at the Kempinski Hotel, although anything genuine was drastically over humidified. It's so humid there, they could have been left out in the open and stayed in perfect shape but for some reason they were in glass case humidors with active humidity control. I had a RyJ Wide Churchill that was forgettable and cost about 20 USD. I did see a humidor at the Sheraton in Bahrain but never got a chance to make a purchase.

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[Lucifer Morningstar]

On 2/24/2017 at 6:34 AM, El Presidente said:

$736 a kilo Duty + 10% GST doesn't give much leeway in Oz for domestic buyers. 

That duty tate is scheduled to go up another 45% in the next three years. 

 

It's shocking. The government likes their taxes.
B&M (and online) stores are going to have a hard time, works out cheaper to import a lot of the time for us Australians.

[s1911]

On February 22, 2017 at 6:31 PM, PHL425 said:

How are the prices in Italy? Anyone know?

Not cheap, but not the worst either..depending on where you go the selection may not be incredible.

[el chino]

On 2/23/2017 at 5:38 AM, BrightonCorgi said:

No one has mentioned any Asian cities, wonder why?  

I thought for sure many would say Singapore as the best selection  and "decent" prices.  I know one cigar store that has every Habanos ever made since Castro including all the humidors, books, special editions, etc...  Can't find much of that in Cuba.  Seen a few other stores that had as many or even more extensive selections than any LCDH I've been to....

Hong Kong has been known as great place to find rare Habanos and Beirut is known as an epicenter of Habanos for the Middle East...  Not one mention on two pages of any three of these locations...  

How are the prices in HK compared to Havana?  Is the markup considerable?

[Lotusguy]

How are the prices in HK compared to Havana?  Is the markup considerable?

Huge

[adler_yeo]

In Singapore b&m they will at least mark it up 100%, prices are similar to Australia's prices. One of the major store selling here are selling with barcodes cut off too.


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[canadianbeaver]

I vote Madrid and Barcelona. No LCDH, red signed various "Tabac".

[tomhsu]

I'm curious about Rome? I'll be there end of May for a week.

I was in Rome 3 months ago. A real disappointment. The shops did not blew me away. Hardly any place to smoke inside (best at the 2 Michelin star restaurant of the Walldorf Astoria).


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[Stoyan]

I vote for Andorra. There are more than 10 cigar shops very near to each other. They all have different rare or aged stuff. With the strong dollar nowadays prices are almost the same as in Cuba. They don't mark up the aged stock. The only negative is that some of the shops don't have a English speaking staff.

[dageshi]

On 22/02/2017 at 11:48 PM, jschrader510 said:

Having spent some time living in London, I agree that it is a great place to buy cigars, although I don't know if it is "the best". In my experience, a combination of the rich cigar history (Hunter's & Frankau) brings along with storied cigar shops and places to smoke (e.g. James J. Fox, Sautter's, Edward Sahakian lounge at the Bulgari) made it a thoroughly enjoyable experience for a cigar smoker. I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time rummaging through aged stock and speaking with people who were unquestionable experts. That being said, prices are really steep due to taxes and if you are buying aged stock, you pay the premium for it. 

Spain is also pretty good, I've never been to Andorra but feel like it has a mythical aura about it. 

Taxes are a part of it, but in London it's mainly a combination of H&F markup and having cigar stores in some of the most expensive real estate in the world.

[Lucifer Morningstar]

1 hour ago, dageshi said:

Taxes are a part of it, but in London it's mainly a combination of H&F markup and having cigar stores in some of the most expensive real estate in the world.

 

 

Reminds me of the duty-free shops in Sydney Airport. Due to the prices they are charged - it's generally cheaper to buy from B&M.
From any decent place, it'd be stored better, too. So many shops just don't store sticks correctly.

[Frozen North]

15 hours ago, tomhsu said:

 

I was in Rome 3 months ago. A real disappointment. The shops did not blew me away. Hardly any place to smoke inside (best at the 2 Michelin star restaurant of the Walldorf Astoria).


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That's where we are staying for a week. At least you can smoke there, thanks.