El Presidente Posted January 20, 2020 Posted January 20, 2020 I received this one yesterday and to be honest, I have limited experience in Clear Havana cigars outside of smoking a cross section of them. I would love to get your advice for him. What would be your "Golden rules when purchasing Clear Havana cigars?" Hi Rob I would like to embark on a journey of buying vintage clear havana cigars. They appear to be readily available here through specialty retailers. I was hoping you can help me with maybe some "golden rules" in purchasing Clear Havana cigars? I don't have any experience here.
NSXCIGAR Posted January 20, 2020 Posted January 20, 2020 Pre-Revolution is a specialty unto itself, and the only "golden rule" I adhere to is if you buy vintage to smoke, don't buy what you don't know. Unless I was a pre-Rev CC expert or had a very good relationship with one I wouldn't be messing around in that arena. 1
bbguardsp Posted January 20, 2020 Posted January 20, 2020 If they are candela wrappers then that is a flavor profile one generally likes or dislikes. Not met many people in the cigar world in between. I personally cant stand the added grass flavor. But speaking objectively I know there are a few fine candela cigars around even if they don't suit my flavor preferences. IIRC Nat Sherman NY has some pre-revolution clear havanas. Maybe a member who has been there recently can fill in.
99call Posted January 20, 2020 Posted January 20, 2020 When cigar boxes and their content become pass into true antiquity or close to 100yrs, I would say the balance of how you value the items shift. This value becomes less about the cigars, and more about condition, i.e how MINT the condition is, or whether it has picked up any extra signs of social history. i.e extra stamps, signatures etc. I would say boxes of this age, begin to have a great deal more common with how collectors of rare first edition books/ceramics/stamps operate. I.e if it's in mint condition, that is the value, and the smoking value of the cigars becomes a bit more of a side show.
joey rockets Posted January 20, 2020 Posted January 20, 2020 I am assuming that a clear Havana is akin to a candela in the NC world? I've never been a fan of these green cigars although I will admit that the color is the most distinguishing feature as well as the main reason I've never given them a fair test.
Fugu Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 Not much to do with "pre-revolution" (while they are made in times prior to...), and not related to a particular wrapper shade (not to confuse with claro or clarisimo). 'Clear Havana' technically is a term for non-Cuban cigars made with Cuban tobacco outside Havana (mostly Tampa), in order to save import duties. That's why the name - "clear" as in clear of customs and excise. There has been a long-standing fight between Cuba and Tampa about the use of the term "Havana" in those products.... 2
El Presidente Posted January 21, 2020 Author Posted January 21, 2020 For those in the know. What should you be paying these days for a "clear havana" cigar? singles/boxes etc. Is fakes an issue in these?
SenorPerfecto Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 Are there any pre-rev cigars that are still worth smoking? I thought they were for show.
The Squiggler Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 7 minutes ago, SenorPerfecto said: Are there any pre-rev cigars that are still worth smoking? I thought they were for show. ever watch this guy on youtube?: Dave Dude ---- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRa0XG2TH14xQYqS7xQPugg He smokes all things vintage. Some that seem to old to hold up do, but I'm not sure if that extends as far back as pre-rev (though he does smoke a pre-rev cigar or two). Worth a watch either way. 1
Puros Y Vino Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 I've reviewed a couple of Clear Havanas. Do a search for them. WM Penn and Peter Schuyler. Probably the most unique smokes I've ever had.
NSXCIGAR Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 5 hours ago, Fugu said: Not much to do with "pre-revolution" (while they are made in times prior to...), Correct--I should have stated pre-Embargo in this case. Although I'm not sure what kind of controls Castro had on raw leaf exports between the Revolution and the Embargo I'm sure some amount of raw leaf continued to flow. I do know the vast majority of all CCs consumed in the US were Clear Havanas. Puros were thought of as unnecessarily expensive due to both duties and finished product markup and had virtually no market in the US. The advent of Connecticut and Sumatra wrapper was specifically designed to avoid the costly Havana wrapper.
SenorPerfecto Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 16 hours ago, The Squiggler said: ever watch this guy on youtube?: Dave Dude ---- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRa0XG2TH14xQYqS7xQPugg He smokes all things vintage. Some that seem to old to hold up do, but I'm not sure if that extends as far back as pre-rev (though he does smoke a pre-rev cigar or two). Worth a watch either way. Never heard of him ?
Nino Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 16 hours ago, SenorPerfecto said: Are there any pre-rev cigars that are still worth smoking? I thought they were for show. Yes indeed - had the pleasure of smoking 1930's Sol Aromosos with good friends and they were amazing cigars. Have smoked a few and still have some intact boxes. Still going strong... http://flyingcigar.de/startseite/201208-1930s-sol-aromosos-imperiales-review/
The Squiggler Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 3 minutes ago, SenorPerfecto said: Never heard of him ? Los Angeles is a small town ? (I was born there, actually, but I rarely visit).
SenorPerfecto Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 2 hours ago, nino said: Yes indeed - had the pleasure of smoking 1930's Sol Aromosos with good friends and they were amazing cigars. Have smoked a few and still have some intact boxes. Still going strong... http://flyingcigar.de/startseite/201208-1930s-sol-aromosos-imperiales-review/ The magic of Cellophane, no doubt. Anything more than 15-20 years old really benefits from cello, tubos, or some secondary barrier against the loss of oils. I've just recently started to ziplock any boxes I plan to age. 3
Chas.Alpha Posted January 21, 2020 Posted January 21, 2020 Coming from Ybor city/Tampa, there were some folks that I know that were holding on to “Clear Havanas”. In my opinion, you are buying art more than science. Some of these old boxes are truly magnificent, but I don’t know that I would ever smoke one...
Derboesekoenig Posted January 22, 2020 Posted January 22, 2020 6 hours ago, Chas.Alpha said: Coming from Ybor city/Tampa, there were some folks that I know that were holding on to “Clear Havanas”. In my opinion, you are buying art more than science. Some of these old boxes are truly magnificent, but I don’t know that I would ever smoke one... Shoot. Point the way good sir. I would be honored to smoke some of these. I'd def donate one and make you smoke one if you found them! Haha
Popular Post Puros Y Vino Posted January 22, 2020 Popular Post Posted January 22, 2020 A couple of pics. Clear Havanas are definitely worth chasing down. 1926 Peter Schuyler Perfectos Stunning box design. They smoke fantastic too. Mid 1940's W.M. Penn Panatelas. The only cigar I get a "lemon zest" tasting note from. 8
Professor Twain Posted February 2, 2020 Posted February 2, 2020 Great topic! I do not have any rules of thumb, I have only gotten them from one source, Nick, who has had various web sites for Gotham Cigar Museum. Nick has an account here on FOH but I can't find it. See @gothamcigarmuseum on Instagram. Rob when you visited Tampa in 2008, Nick got me a box of 1944 Eden cigars, clear Havanas rolled in Tampa. I gave those out to everyone when you came to town and we had a great visit. There was an extensive link with photos posted here at FOH. I also bought some Peter Schuyler cigars (after Nick had shared some at a sit down) from 1929, he recorded a video of us opening the box. Nick has shared other sticks with me on occasion. I have smoked 8 or 10 of these Clear Havanas, ranging from the 1920s to 1950s, and all were great tasting. But I got them from Nick, they were all in great shape. All had interesting flavors, they often have flavors of spice and tea, I don't know how true they were to their original flavors. Anyone who enjoys cigars and history will enjoy at least dabbling in these. I would suggest that people interested in these see if they can get some singles, Nick always let me try one out before making a decision on buying a box. I never paid over $10 a stick. I would be careful about paying high prices, you can't know if they are dried out or otherwise in poor condition. The links before are a bit off topic to your question about rules of thumb, but here they are for those who are interested. Here is the link to the prior thread about the Tampa Sit Down, including the Eden cigars. Unfortunately many pics were posted using PhotoBucket and resolution is not good. It was an incredible event. Here is video of us opening and tasting these cigars. The first one is pretty long, the second one is a bit short, but you can sense our excitement and enthusiasm. 4
El Presidente Posted February 2, 2020 Author Posted February 2, 2020 Great trip Bill! I hope you are well mate. 1
Professor Twain Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 3 hours ago, El Presidente said: Great trip Bill! I hope you are well mate. All is well, I need to stop by here more often. Have a shipment of your custom rolls on the way, very excited.
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