Cuban vs Non-Cuban

[KB24]

Do any of the pple that post on this forum that live outside the US smoke anything other than Cuban or do they stick strictly to habanos? Would you ever buy a box of non-cuban cigars such as Opus X or is the belief that why spend that money on non-cubans when you can get cubans. Just curious. I am pondering buying a box of non-cubans but keep going back to the thought of why when I have access to Habanos? I would either try to get a box of Opus X Perfection #5 or Ashton VSG. Thoughts? I think I know what a majority of you will say but I thought I would ask any ways.

-Patrick

[litehedded]

» Do any of the pple that post on this forum that live outside the US smoke

» anything other than Cuban or do they stick strictly to habanos? Would you

» ever buy a box of non-cuban cigars such as Opus X or is the belief that why

» spend that money on non-cubans when you can get cubans. Just curious. I

» am pondering buying a box of non-cubans but keep going back to the thought

» of why when I have access to Habanos? I would either try to get a box of

» Opus X Perfection #5 or Ashton VSG. Thoughts? I think I know what a

» majority of you will say but I thought I would ask any ways.

»

» -Patrick

opus and VSGs are tasty smokes

not sure what those living outside the us will say but I wouldn't hesitate to smoke them.

[winelover]

» Do any of the pple that post on this forum that live outside the US smoke

» anything other than Cuban or do they stick strictly to habanos? Would you

» ever buy a box of non-cuban cigars such as Opus X or is the belief that why

» spend that money on non-cubans when you can get cubans. Just curious. I

» am pondering buying a box of non-cubans but keep going back to the thought

» of why when I have access to Habanos? I would either try to get a box of

» Opus X Perfection #5 or Ashton VSG. Thoughts? I think I know what a

» majority of you will say but I thought I would ask any ways.

»

» -Patrick

I've tried a couple of VSG's and really liked them. Also had a few Opus X but thought they were overrated. I am always happy to try a cigar once, but I have never bought a box of NCs.

[Stalebread]

» Do any of the pple that post on this forum that live outside the US smoke anything other than Cuban or do they stick strictly to habanos? . . . -Patrick

I may be alone on this but I smoke and enjoy both (Living in Paris). It seems like I alternate every couple of weeks -- Habanos, then cigars from other growing regions. The non-Habanos are, among others, VSG, Padron, Luis Martinez Silver Selection and, just recently, the Davidoff 100 Robusto. I like to try many different cigars so I can come to my own conclusions and learn for myself what I like and don't like. I've subjected myself to some nasty cigars doing it this way -- like the Bossner Rolando. What a harsh, unbalanced cigar. Also, since I smoke maybe, two cigars a week, I buy a lot of single cigars. I just started buying Habanos by the box. I can't imagine buying non-Habanos by the box, at least not now.

[korryp]

» I would either try to get a box of

» Opus X Perfection #5 or Ashton VSG. Thoughts? I think I know what a

» majority of you will say but I thought I would ask any ways.

»

» -Patrick

Both are good choices. I have many boxes of non Cubans. I like the variety of profiles you find in them.

[rafa]

Whithout doubts habanos are the better cigars over the world for me. But i love try new cigars from any country. Is true that is difficult for me to pay the same high price for a non habano that an habano , because a premium habano will be better than a a non premium habano, but sometimes i find some interestings cigars from other places with a good price . For example sometimes i buy cigars from Canary Islands ( Spain), like Condal, with a good price - flavour ratio

[ccsmoker]

I my self do smoke non-cubans,I like the Padron Anniversary series.I also like Opus x. Perdermo Edicion de Silveo is also very good if you can find them..;-)

[COJ]

» Whithout doubts habanos are the better cigars over the world for me. But i

» love try new cigars from any country. Is true that is difficult for me to

» pay the same high price for a non habano that an habano , because a

» premium habano will be better than a a non premium habano, but sometimes i

» find some interestings cigars from other places with a good price . For

» example sometimes i buy cigars from Canary Islands ( Spain), like Condal,

» with a good price - flavour ratio

There are many good cigars made elsewhere then Cuba.

I personally smoke way more non Cuban cigars then Cuban...even if I'm a Swede living in Sweden and access to cubans is easy...

To me taste and quality/consistently is everything....orgin of the cigar is absolutly not a factor

[Colt45]

I live in the US, but will throw in my two bits anyway. I use a music

analogy. My personal opinion is that in general, many NCs are like

a single note - they can be tasty, but have a single layer of flavor, and

often don't have much behind them, leaving me wanting.

I've found Havanas, in general, to more like a full chord, in that they

tend to have depth and fullness even when lacking flavor. Of course,

a chord can also be dissonant.

This is just my general opinion, and of course might not apply to

every cigar.

One more opinion, with regards to opus x - I think this is one of the

most over-rated, over-hyped cigars known to man.

[rafa]

» » Whithout doubts habanos are the better cigars over the world for me. But

» i

» » love try new cigars from any country. Is true that is difficult for me

» to

» » pay the same high price for a non habano that an habano , because a

» » premium habano will be better than a a non premium habano, but sometimes

» i

» » find some interestings cigars from other places with a good price . For

» » example sometimes i buy cigars from Canary Islands ( Spain), like

» Condal,

» » with a good price - flavour ratio

»

» There are many good cigars made elsewhere then Cuba.

»

» I personally smoke way more non Cuban cigars then Cuban...even if I'm a

» Swede living in Sweden and access to cubans is easy...

»

» To me taste and quality/consistently is everything....orgin of the cigar

» is absolutly not a factor

For me , cigars are alike wine : Each region have their peculiarities. And everyone have their preferences. For me , habano characteristic flavor is the best. For me the origin is important, because with the same seed and techniques , the habano flavor is only in cuba (particularly in Pinar del rio)

But you know, this is like colours, one prefer black , other white , and another gray...

Some dominicans cigars are good for me, but for the same price i prefer an habano

[Mark Twain]

I think you have to figure out what your tastes are first.

I really enjoy the thin ring Opus like the #5, but the gouging is terrible and finding a full box at anywhere close to MSRP is next to impossible for most people. The VSG line is soild and a faviorte of mine and a steal for around $200 a box. I don't think I'd buy either of there by the box compared to Cuban cigars. I've tried almost all NC cigars that I've been interested in, I've not been able to do the same with Habanos.

If it were me, I'd buy a cab of Cuban cigars that I enjoy or want to try verses buying an overpriced box of Opusx.

[anacostiakat]

Fuente Opusx, Anejo and Hemingway, Padron Anni Maduros, Davidoff Double RR, Special R and Mellenium Blend, Ashton VSG and Heritage, Tatuaje and Cabaiguan. LG Diez Small Batch and Limitado I.

These are all good cigars IMHO. I smoke a lot of them as I like diversity. Especially as my aged stock is limited. :cool:

[kjellfrick]

Like COJ I am from Sweden, and I do smoke non-cubans as well. I get so much more satisfaction from smoking cubans, though, so recently I've only bought cuban brands. I still have more than a thousand NC that I'll have to smoke, give away, sell off or throw away in some cases. They vary from very nice cigars to absolute dog rockets...

[VigorishSLC]

Like anacostiakat, my aged stock is thin so I supplement my daily smoking routine with top quality NC's. I don't mess around with a lot of crap out there, but I do keep boxes of Padron, Padron Anni, Camacho, Tatuaje and a couple of Toranos around.

[El Presidente]

Patrick, I enjoy non Cuban as a change of pace; Padron Anniversarios, Cuesta Rey Maduro No 7, Arturo Fuente Hemmingway/WOA. I purchase boxes of these for my own enjoyment and would smoke 1-2 per week as a change up cigar.

I struggle with Opus and would not go out and purchase a box directly.

[Black Plague]

For the longest time, after I discovered Habanos, I wouldn't touch NCs anymore. I recently started to re-evaluate this prejudice of mine and started trying some different brands. Padrons are a good cigar, but don't do it for me like Cubans do. OpusX is over-rated, IMHO. But Pepin Garcia is making some absolutely astounding cigars! I really like Tatuaje and I just finished smoking a Padilla 8 & 11 Miami (made by Garcia for the Padilla Cigar Co.) Lancero that just blew my mind. The taste was evocative of Partagás and Por Larranaga, but unique and different, with a lot of black pepper, toasted tobacco, caramel, and green bell pepper flavors.

[smokum]

I enjoy The Edge Missiles and VSG's from time to time at my local cigar shop. Over the years the only NC cigar that I actually bought boxes of were Patagas. I like a cameroon wrapper. I still have a box of Partagas Limited Reserve Royales from 1998.

[KB24]

I don't think I ever would ever spend the $700 on a box of FFOX but I was just wondering what everyone thought. Thanks fellas!

[Loki]

I've always been a fan of La Flor Dominicana and still buy and smoke them from time to time. I probably have some that date back to 1998.

I am always amazed by how Litto Gomez seems to always reinvent his brand with new styles and lines of cigars but stays true to his boutique roots.

Plus Ines (his wife) is IMO pretty hot.

[COJ]

rafa, send me your snaily, e-mail in my profile.

And I'll set you up with a few nicely aged non-Cubans...

Not inteding to convert you....just like to widen your horizon

[Claudius]

» Do any of the pple that post on this forum that live outside the US smoke

» anything other than Cuban or do they stick strictly to habanos? Would you

» ever buy a box of non-cuban cigars such as Opus X or is the belief that why

» spend that money on non-cubans when you can get cubans. Just curious. I

» am pondering buying a box of non-cubans but keep going back to the thought

» of why when I have access to Habanos? I would either try to get a box of

» Opus X Perfection #5 or Ashton VSG. Thoughts? I think I know what a

» majority of you will say but I thought I would ask any ways.

»

» -Patrick

Hi Patrick

I live in Europe and can buy any cigar I like. In most cigar shops in Europe, you get either only Cubans or a small selection of "the best" NCs. Davidoff has a strong marketing position and is well represented in a lot of cigar shops. In Geneva, the Davidoff shop have several boxes of Opus X sitting on the shelves. They told me that US-Americans go crazy when they see whole boxes of the stuff (due to limited availability in the USA, appearently?), but they dont seem to sell lots of them. Not to Europeans anyway.

My personal opinion is that NCs taste like hot air. I have smoked about 20 NCs (units, not boxes) and all were tasteless hot air in comparison to habanos. I smoked "high end" NCs (mainly Davidoffs) all over $20 USD a piece. I simply cannot justify forcing myself to smoke these things until I MAYBE find one I more or less enjoy just for the hell of it, so I stick to habanos. To me, smoking NCs when you dont have to is like trying to like Beaujolais Nouveau when you can get excellent Bordeaux everywhere (except that with the wines, there is a price difference, whereas with the cigars, there isnt, or not in favor of the better product anyway).

From observing 2 major European cigar markets, it becomes obvious that there are local cultural differences: in France, for example, the NC market is tiny and trying to find NCs outside of Paris is close to impossible unless you're looking for the Vega Fina brand the main importer is pushing or go to a Davidoff franchise; in Germany, people are more rational about their buying behavior and buy lots of NCs that are "good value for money" (ie. cheap NCs that taste ok).

[Claudius]

» I am pondering buying a box of non-cubans but keep going back to the thought of why when I have access to Habanos?

My friend Tom from Switzerland (Tom Bolivar, I think he posts here from time to time) smoked a Davidoff Robusto last weekend when we had a mini get-together in Zurich. What he said is that smoking a NC from time to time is good because it reminds you of how good the habanos are. I guess that could maybe justify having a box of NCs sitting somewhere. But really, to me, it's a bit masochistic nonetheless. :-D

[CoryOllis]

First of all, it's hard to lump all non-cubans into one category. There are so many flavor profiles and then you have super-premiums vs premiums vs bundles.

But that being said, there are few super-premiums I would buy over cubans that I've tried. For the same price, you get more for your money with cubans. Of course, there are exceptions. VSGs have been mentioned. I adore the complexity of the La Aurora Cien Anos Belicoso.

There are also times when I enjoy a yard gar, so to speak. Some have a very unusual flavor profile that put them in a class by themselves like the CAO Brazilia line.

So it's a question of taste, IMO. But I like to find new flavors in a cigar that is well-made just because it's a journey of discovery! :-P

[Mel]

»

» To me taste and quality/consistently is everything....orgin of the cigar

» is absolutly not a factor

This is perfect clarity and reason! I have discovered that the Cuban tobacco is my favorite most of the time. I have had my share of boring one dimensional Cubans.

Colt you think your opinion is worth two bits? That must be comforting.;-)

[Cam]

God help me for saying this but i think my favourite smoke currently is the Zino platinum Robusto.

But of course i love my Monte Edmundo and A

please dont hurt me..