Where are customs price in Cuba heading?

[El Presidente]

Custom cigars are what many of us head for when in Cuba. 

For those recently there, have you seen much movement in pricing as yet? 

Cigar tourism in LCDHs may be on its knees but there must be a roaring trade going on farmside. The few remaining guides I know are booked until February taking people Habana/ PDR/San Martin.  Outside of the farms, what is the situation with customs at the LCDHs?  How are they priced?  How is availability?  

 

[Corylax18]

On 12/5/2022 at 9:58 PM, El Presidente said:

Custom cigars are what many of us head for when in Cuba. 

For those recently there, have you seen much movement in pricing as yet? 

Cigar tourism in LCDHs may be on its knees but there must be a roaring trade going on farmside. The few remaining guides I know are booked until February taking people Habana/ PDR/San Martin.  Outside of the farms, what is the situation with customs at the LCDHs?  How are they priced?  How is availability?  

Up Up Up. The few custom rollers still in action have had very good stock. The recent hurricane has certainly dented the flow of Farmies though. 

The increase in cost is pretty much correlated 1:1 with the sellers access to tourists. The Partagas Shop is in a much higher traffic location now. Consequently, La Chine's custom rolls have more than doubled in price since 2016. You won't get anything off her table for less than $15 a stick now, most Vitola's are $20-25. The number of Cigar shops selling customs has also decreased drastically. Reynaldo left and I'm still not sure they've reopened Conde Villanueva, Alex left Commodoro, Melia Cohiba has been closed for over a year for renovations, I haven't seen a roller at Hotel Nacional since Cuba reopened. (They where never my favorite though.)

However, some of the more "backdoor" stuff that comes from the factories and other nooks and crannies of Havana hasn't jumped nearly as much. The supply has so far way outstripped the demand. That appears to be changing though. Most customs I'm getting this way are maybe a dollar or two more per stick, depending on Vitola. 

As Rob said, the best drivers are busy into February right now, I don't know anything about hotel room prices, but Casa pricing/availability is still good, but there are still hundreds of homes/apartments that still haven't gotten back into the potential rental pool. Some of my Favorite Casa's still aren't renting again. 

I'm about to place my custom roll order for an upcoming trip in February. I'll provide an update when I get more details. 

[Blackham]

Was there in Nov

I don't think there is much of a price increase for customs. For reference, around 4-6 USD for a petit corona, 10-15 USD for something bigger like a BHK56 size. 

Quality? Here's a photo, you be the judge. Personally I am extremely happy with it.