Newbie in a jam. Any thoughts?

[demiurgic]

Aloha! FOH,

It's great to be here.

In a bit of a soup at the moment and am asking for your help.

The reason?

A single aged Monte #2 a few months ago has now led to this porridge of confusion.

That ethereal and aged bunch of tobacco completely destroyed my Honduran and Nicaraguan cigar shopping habits!

It left me wanting more and embarking on a wild goose chase for an online vendor with integrity. So far, everyone wants me to believe them. And few frauds have been exposed. Since that fateful Monte, I have smoked fakes, and they taste like burnt stew.

The plot (ahem) broth, thickens.

I began looking everywhere for solid leads. 3 or 4 online cigar forums, allexperts, several cigar review sites, cigarcylopedia's Havana Vendor Ratings, etc. etc.

Now I understand what cigar veterans mean when they say that they need ONE good merchant, who maintains a solid trustworthy bond. Couldn't agree more!

So, after calling/writing to over a dozen or so online shops, it was a relief to find 2 vendors who could deliver to Hawaii in original boxes (a bandless/boxless cigar does not deepen the appreciation of the hobby, and I can't bring myself to make a first box purchase without the box!)

RIGHT BEFORE the first purchse of some singles so I could try different profiles, I thought of confirming with an online source in Cananda I trust.

I asked James Yee of Allexperts.com if he had any thoughts on my guys.

To my surprise, he rejected them for "obivious reasons" and left me no leads except to search the Altadis and Intertabak sites for approved vendors. By the way, Does anyone know of a list of approved vendors who buy from Altadis? I can't find that list anywhere and Altadis has not written back.

This is why the Newbie is in such a pickle. A real pot sticker!

And All I see right now is eager promises of real Habanos being delivered in perfect shape in a few days by a real torcedor knocking on my door.

It would be great to see thru the smoke and to smoke in peace.

Aloha to all the Friends of Habanos,

Demiurgic

[yossie]

It sounds you wanna know authentic cigar shops but asking it here is prohibited without czar.

The czar is a shop which hosts this forum. They ship their cigars to even US.

[Mel39]

Hi Demi.

not 100% sure of what you are asking here but if you are looking for an online supplier of fine, genuine Habanos at a good competitive price, just click on the "INTERNATIONAL SHOP" link in the top right hand corner of this page.

Sorry if I have misunderstood your post.

Mel39

[demiurgic]

» It sounds you wanna know authentic cigar shops but asking it here is

» prohibited without czar.

» The czar is a shop which hosts this forum. They ship their cigars to even

» US.

AH, I see now.

They Do the Czar ship to the US? Well, now! That's news.

I was hoping to clarify with someone thru email if these sources I mentioned but did not name are legitimate. It's a burning question since it's taken me months to dig them up, research them, etc, etc. I said email because >>"No mentioning of sources or prices. This can always be done through internal e-mail between members which the forum supports."

thanks!

demi

[Tampa1257]

FOH, FriendsOfHabanos Cigar Forum is sponsored by Rob Ayala, who is the owner of Cigar Czar, an Australian based Cuban Cigar Merchant of Authorized Habanos. Cigar Czar's inventory is only sourced through Pacific Cigar Company out of Hong Kong, which is the single Authorized Habanos Distributor for the Far East including Australia. You can click on the International Shop for current Inventory and prices. You can email either Rob or Lisa at [email protected] for even more information, including shipping info.

If you still have a burning desire to know if your own due diligence has found legitimate vendors, please email me at [email protected] . I will assist you as much as possible. I highly recommend that you take some time and READ this forum, including all the sticky threads, get to know the members and allow them an opportunity to get to know you, your quest is IMHO at the end and the Golden Rays of Sunshine are shining brightly now that you have opened this door.

Tampa

[avid toker]

Your first mistake was asking James Yee from Allexperts. He's an absolute twit and I've read his reasons for calling certain established and reputable online vendors purveyor of fakes. Pure rubbish. Buy from Czar with confidence.....enough said!

[Ginseng]

» Your first mistake was asking James Yee from Allexperts. He's an absolute

» twit and I've read his reasons for calling certain established and

» reputable online vendors purveyor of fakes. Pure rubbish. Buy from Czar

» with confidence.....enough said!

I'm in complete agreement on all points. Czar. You need only spend some time here reading the threads and you will see why.

Wilkey

[Don Candido]

First of all, Aloha. Hawaii is my favorite place on the earth I know of to spend my time. The island of Hawaii is my favorite.

So you want to get some good smokes? I read what you and everyone else said. There are a few retailers you can count on, but none are quite as friendly and willing to be sure you (their customer) is happy as Rob and Lisa at Cigar Czar. They are the reason this site exists, and they are the reason most of us cigar nuts stay happy.

Whatever you ask of them, they will NEVER steer you wrong. They may not give the answer you are looking for, but that is because they are honest.

Try them out and let us know if you have any issues once you have experienced their service.

I am guessing you will not.

Cheers,

DC

[demiurgic]

» First of all, Aloha. Hawaii is my favorite place on the earth I know of to

» spend my time. The island of Hawaii is my favorite.

»

» So you want to get some good smokes? I read what you and everyone else

» said. There are a few retailers you can count on, but none are quite as

» friendly and willing to be sure you (their customer) is happy as Rob and

» Lisa at Cigar Czar. They are the reason this site exists, and they are the

» reason most of us cigar nuts stay happy.

»

» Whatever you ask of them, they will NEVER steer you wrong. They may not

» give the answer you are looking for, but that is because they are honest.

»

» Try them out and let us know if you have any issues once you have

» experienced their service.

»

» I am guessing you will not.

»

» Cheers,

» DC

DC,

We live in Kalapana, on the Island of Hawaii. Right now the Volcano is going off with lava shooting 300-400 feet in the air, just a few miles from home.

It's amazing how many people from around the world are here.

We will be trekking out tonight after dinner to watch the show.

Personally, I have been seeing rivers of lava turning the night sky orange, for years now. I love going out there with visitors, like tonight and it never fails to awe. Truly mind blowing, it's so close to us.

thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. If you ever need to reach me for any reason, for a herf or something, my door is open to a lover of this aina, Hawai'i.

[email protected] if you ever need to reach me.

Aloha,

demi

[SmokinAl]

Welcome Demi,

There can no doubt about the honesty and integrity of Czar. You can always trust their integrity. Mind you, last time I spoke to Rob he was trying to get my fiancee onto his couch. Trust him for cigrars, keep him away from your women!

[Don Candido]

» Welcome Demi,

»

» There can no doubt about the honesty and integrity of Czar. You can always

» trust their integrity. Mind you, last time I spoke to Rob he was trying to

» get my fiancee onto his couch. Trust him for cigrars, keep him away from

» your women!

My post was about cigars only.

That being said, I like Rob's taste, so Al's Fiance must be a hottie!

Cheers,

DC

[Ken Gargett]

i am able to vouch for the legit of this site, simply becaue rob sells the cigars to me, then comes around and smokes them so i have to buy more - and i know he wouldn't smoke duds, so it must be legit. right? does that make sense? more spitting needed.

[mailman]

i was chatting to lisa the other night about their sale that is going on right now, and i told her it's very difficult to beat their prices and besides when you have lisa taking your orders you know you're getting the best care.

[Miami101]

I agree with Tampa you need to do the time. You should check out the site, and get to know how things flow around here...

With that said from what I understand you have to also get an old member to sponsor you.........In order

Also on the topic on Cuban cigars they are great, and my top pick....but these days I found some great smoke out side of Cuba.

When it comes to cigars outside of Cuba they are very different types of smoke. I can say they also have something to provide, and bring to the table.

(Control vs. Open Market);-)

[Colt45]

» I agree with Tampa you need to do the time. You should check out the site,

» and get to know how things flow around here...

» With that said from what I understand you have to also get an old member

» to sponsor you.........In order

Bingo, Carlos.

[SmokinAl]

:ok:

[armedak]

You may want to re-think shipping banded in original packaging habanos to Hawaii. Due to the Ag inspections, it is very difficult to avoid confiscation on shipments to the Hawaiian Islands. If you want to take the risk of fines and confiscation, I would use a vendor who guarantees delivery. In fact, some vendors will not even ship intact to the islands for this very reason. My .02...