Toronto Pearson duty free

[Bijan]

Some CCs in stock.

Prices as usual...

On the plus side they had some Toscanos, with taxes not paid (i guess technically illegal to bring them back into Canada without paying taxes) and they're not too unreasonable.

Edit: the Toscanos ended up scanning in at $85.

[LLC]

I fly to the US regular and it hadn’t even occurred to me to look for cigars at the duty free. There are better ways to get cigars. 

[Bijan]

22 minutes ago, LLC said:

I fly to the US regular and it hadn’t even occurred to me to look for cigars at the duty free. There are better ways to get cigars. 

Hahaha, for sure. People posted when the plain packaging came in. And then when the shelves were bare.

This was more of a this is the current situation and not this is a good place to buy cigars post.

Edit: although the Toscanos i haven't seen cheaper online. $85 Cad is about $63 USD.

[Rhinoww]

I just drove through the Ambassador bridge in Windsor to US. They used to have some CC. Not a plain wrapper stick to be found from Cuba. 
lots of booze though

[jhalischuk]

2 hours ago, Bijan said:

Some CCs in stock.

Prices as usual...

On the plus side they had some Toscanos, with taxes not paid (i guess technically illegal to bring them back into Canada without paying taxes) and they're not too unreasonable.

Edit: the Toscanos ended up scanning in at $85.

How are the toscanos? I've never had one before. 

[Bijan]

8 minutes ago, jhalischuk said:

How are the toscanos? I've never had one before. 

I'll let you know when I land. Neither have I 😂

[Edicion]

12 minutes ago, jhalischuk said:

How are the toscanos? I've never had one before. 

They're excellent but different! Taste & smell more like pipe tobacco and very aromatic. I usually cut one in half and share with someone else. Yep. You can smoke from either end. I think you can find them in most tobacco shops across continental Europe for a 3-5 $  per 5-count box.

[Bijan]

6 minutes ago, Edicion said:

I usually cut one in half and share with someone else. Yep. You can smoke from either end.

Cool! I saw that, or heard of that:

https://www.italiansmokes.com/blog/14_how-to-cut-smoke.html

[Edicion]

Enjoy your trip and your Toscanos @Bijan ! They're little gems.

Btw you don't need to worry about putting them in a humidor or with humidity packs. Just put in your pocket and light up whenever.

I tend to prefer the more fuller versions, like antico or vecchio. Give them a try if you find one

[jhalischuk]

1 hour ago, Edicion said:

They're excellent but different! Taste & smell more like pipe tobacco and very aromatic. I usually cut one in half and share with someone else. Yep. You can smoke from either end. I think you can find them in most tobacco shops across continental Europe for a 3-5 $  per 5-count box.

Thanks! Will grab some next time I'm going through pearson. 

[BrightonCorgi]

12 hours ago, jhalischuk said:

How are the toscanos? I've never had one before. 

Dry cure cigars are great change of pace and do not need to be humidified.  Different curing process than Caribbean cigars. 

[Fugu]

On 9/26/2022 at 1:46 AM, Bijan said:

 

On 9/26/2022 at 1:37 AM, jhalischuk said:

How are the toscanos? I've never had one before. 

I'll let you know when I land. Neither have I 😂

 

Toscani sure aren’t for everyone. Due to the fire-cured Kentucky a bit remindful of Latakia pipe tobacco (English blends). Most of the tobacco still coming out of Italy. They tend to be a bit rough on the throat and may deliver a fair nic-kick. So make sure to cut them in half (you may always light up the other half if you’re not satisfied by then, haha 😂). But a decent full-flavoured smoke for 50 pence. And a true ‘change of pace’.  😉

[BrightonCorgi]

Toscanos have a fancier more traditional box pressed figurado that burns a snail's pace.  Amazing how much smoke they make for how little tobacco was burned.

[E4GNCCI]

Thanks for posting! Do you know if that box of Wide Churchills in the second photo was a 25 count? That’s a pretty good price compared to other B&Ms in the country.


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[Bijan]

3 hours ago, E4GNCCI said:

Thanks for posting! Do you know if that box of Wide Churchills in the second photo was a 25 count? That’s a pretty good price compared to other B&Ms in the country.

Based on the size it's either a 10 count or maybe a 15. The box doesn't look wide enough to be a 25 based on the RyJ and Partagas PC 25 counts in the next picture.

[BrightonCorgi]

How is the plain packaging done in Canada?  Is it the real packaging underneath?  If not, are they repackaged by the importer or by a national entity?   

What happens to the original packaging? 😉

[helix]

https://cigarchief.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/havana-house-statement.pdf

A counterfeiting dream come true.

[Puros Y Vino]

AFIAK from an ex LCDH employee.  Plain packaging is done in Cuba by Cubans, overseen by reps from Havana House.  Maybe during the Pandemic, tropical storms, mass exodus, etc, they've had to modify how the cigars get into the plain boxes. 

[Arabian]

47 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

How is the plain packaging done in Canada?  Is it the real packaging underneath?  If not, are they repackaged by the importer or by a national entity?   

What happens to the original packaging? 😉

if it's anything like here in SA, the whole thing is paper glued (nasty stuff). opening a box is a workout, those little screws underneath the paper wrap are pain in the a$$.

 

[BrightonCorgi]

5 hours ago, Arabian said:

if it's anything like here in SA, the whole thing is paper glued (nasty stuff). opening a box is a workout, those little screws underneath the paper wrap are pain in the a$$.

In KSA they do that?  How long has that been in place?

 

5 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said:

AFIAK from an ex LCDH employee.  Plain packaging is done in Cuba by Cubans, overseen by reps from Havana House.  Maybe during the Pandemic, tropical storms, mass exodus, etc, they've had to modify how the cigars get into the plain boxes. 

That makes sense since it would cost too much to have Canadians doing the work and no one to bitch to if Havana House damaged their cigars.

[Arabian]

28 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

In KSA they do that?  How long has that been in place?

2018 with a deadline early 2019

" The Food and Drug Authority addressed the companies importing tobacco products, to prepare to implement the "normal packaging of tobacco products" regulation, which prohibits the use of attractive colors, logos, images and promotional information. The Food and Drug Administration prepared a model for packs of cigarettes, molasses and other tobacco products, using an unattractive color and highlighting the health warnings depicted on it. The Executive Director of Communication and Awareness at the authority explained that the normal packaging of tobacco products aims to improve public health by discouraging non-smokers from starting to smoke or use tobacco products, in addition to encouraging smoking cessation, reducing the attractiveness of tobacco products and increasing the effectiveness of health warnings on their packages. And he indicated that the authority gave importers a deadline until January 5th 2019, after which it will take legal measures in the event of non-compliance with what was stated in this circular, and allowed the marketing of products that do not conform to the technical regulation that were imported before the mandatory date until 1/1/2020. . He pointed out that the Kingdom is one of the first countries in the world to adopt normal packaging for tobacco products, and the first Gulf /Arabic country."

[BrightonCorgi]

Even shisha tobacco needs plain packaging now?  My wife picked up some Al Fakher mint tobacco last week and packaging is now all black.

[patrickamory]

There can be a puritan mentality in Canada...

The Italian cigar thing blew my mind. I had no idea that existed. Will definitely be seeking one out.