Lounge Lizards This Week: Monte 2 + 18 year Flor de Cana, "Golden age of Cigar quality", State of Cuban cigars, Smoking in Singapore

[El Presidente]

 

 

The lizards pair Montecristo No. 2 with eighteen year aged Flor de Caña rum. The guys revisit a Cuban classic, they discuss if we're in a "golden age" of cigar quality, and Gizmo provides an update on the state of Cuban cigars on this podcast. PLUS: Smoking in Singapore, Bam Keeps Spilling Rum, Is Change Coming for Cuba?, Gizmo Messed Up the Liquor Pairing & Why Don't the Lizards Smoke More Edicións Regional & Limitada?

 

 

 

[MagicalBikeRide]

Got a good laugh hearing my handle called out - it’s so ridiculous..! My name is James btw 👍. Great outcome too - glad you’re getting some support and can keep doing what you’re doing. 

To add a little more on sourcing and the cost of NC here (and other parts of the world will be similar). Ireland has plain packaging, so without discussing shipping (delete / edit if needed pls mods) - I can’t order from those retailers that Chef mentions - as when the shipping is inspected, I can’t just pay the duty, but the box is destroyed in its entirety - as they cannot comply with country packaging laws - which is plain packaging yes, but it’s more than just bare cigars. It needs to be a specific green label, specific warnings in two languages, etc etc. 

And on costs, lots of the price here is tax and mark up due to the supply chain / method of procurement. And so so many NC’s are big RG / big weight sticks, so the tax is crazy. And procurement routes for CC are long established, so cheaper in this regard. Some examples below that I can find from a local B&M - and then compare them to a Party E2 which can be found for ~$60 (all converted to USD). Might help understand the perspective.

 

LA ESTANCIA EXCLUSIVA 56 ~$60

Davidoff WSC Churchill ~$60 

Davidoff Nicaragua Toro ~$55 

Plasencia Reserva Original Cortez ~$48

Meerapfel Meir Masterblend Churchill~ $65 

Perdomo 10th Anniversary Epicure ~$50

 

@LizardGizmo

[El Niño]

On 7/2/2025 at 6:58 AM, MagicalBikeRide said:

Perdomo 10th Anniversary Epicure ~$50

This genuinely hurts me.

[barrygoodvibes]

@LizardGizmo Excellent episode. Excellent cigar. Excellent news that we will still have plenty of Cuban cigar reviews. I concur that you should put the box code and year of the Cuban cigars you are reviewing in the ratings on the website. I’d also like to say that you should review any and every Cuban cigar, no matter how attainable it is. People can live vicariously through you, they can decide if they want to pursue it or add it to their wishlist, whatever it may be. How many people watch reviews and videos about Ferraris that will never own one? 

[JohnInCleveland]

On 7/3/2025 at 8:45 AM, barrygoodvibes said:

@LizardGizmo Excellent episode. Excellent cigar. Excellent news that we will still have plenty of Cuban cigar reviews. I concur that you should put the box code and year of the Cuban cigars you are reviewing in the ratings on the website. I’d also like to say that you should review any and every Cuban cigar, no matter how attainable it is. People can live vicariously through you, they can decide if they want to pursue it or add it to their wishlist, whatever it may be. How many people watch reviews and videos about Ferraris that will never own one? 

Barry hit the nail on the head with that one. I have some cigars that I got in the good ol’ days that you’ll never be able to track down.  ’m sure you guys will track down some gems I’d love to get my hands on but never will.  

I enjoy your reviews as I enjoy your cigar experience, whether it’s something I can get my hands on or not.  I totally understand the procurement dilemma, but don’t think for a second anything you smoke needs to be readily available.