Pre-embargo cuban cigars on google shopping?
 

Has anyone purchased pre-embargo cubans online? What brands are a good value?

Pre-embargo, like 1961?

Yeah...I was wondering the same thing. But then I googled the term and saw where Christie's auction off a 50+ year old box of Monte-Cristo's for $16K. Who woulda thunk it?

Yeah some on there from the 1950's...I know a local cigar store has them also and they claim that old tobacco can be sometimes considered even "better" tobacco because it has aged and mellowed. Storage becomes vital when you're talking about 60 year old cigars I assume. I bought a Connecticut wrapped cigar that can't be more than a couple years old and the wrapper was so cheap it started flaking in a humidor that is keeping other cigars alive and well. It was a cheap cigar.

There are two varieties of "pre-embargo" cubans being peddled: genuine pre-embargo cigars (i.e. box date before the embargo) and newly rolled cigars with pre-embargo tobacco.

Cigars can (and often should) be aged, so it's not crazy that there are some on the market which have box dates from way back when. I have had a pre-embargo cigar which was gifted to me from Lew Rothman, who owns the largest cigar empire in the world. It was ok, not great.

Cigars that claim to have pre-embargo tobacco in them generally do have actual pre-embargo tobacco included, as 10-15 years ago there were some legitimate "discoveries" of bale tobacco that had been stored in warehouses for decades. However, the key word is "included." Most corona sized long filler cigars will include three leaves of filler tobacco, but I think in this case it is very unlikely that any full leaf is pre-embargo... probably more like a dusting of small pieces. That being said, I have also had the opportunity to try a cigar of this ilk and it was actually quite good... but who knows if any of that goodness could be attributed to the cuban tobacco.

+1 what Tish said.

The Comacho pre-embargo has pre-embargo tobacco included. From what my tobacconist tells me, in his opinion it is a scam to part Americans from their money. He said nowhere else in the world would somebody pay such a premium for the cuban warehouse crumbs that go into the otherwise ordinary cigars. (other opinions may vary) Camacho Pre-Embargo - Cigar.com

So, can you buy Cuban cigars (normal current production) on the internet and have them shipped to the US? I have seen web sites that seem to indicate this is possible, so is it a case of nobody's paying that much attention, or are they legal?

Have the Cubans been going downhill in quality?

JR

You certainly can, but it is illegal of course. The sender doesn't care... the US gov. is not going to go after him as he is in Switzerland or Hong Kong or whatever. From what I hear, if your cuban cigars are discovered in shipping (at customs I suppose?) they will be confiscated and you will get a nasty letter, but generally will not be prosecuted. Of course then you're out the money for the cigars... unless you buy from one of the few shops that guarantees shipment, but you will pay a hefty premium for that.

IMHO cuban cigars have actually gone up a bit in quality since the end of the cigar boom. In general each country will have good years and bad years based on climate etc, just like wine.

I tend to agree. The tobacco that was shipped in bales to the US from cuba pre-embargo wasn't necessarily the greatest stuff to begin with... cuba did then and still does produce cigarettes for example. Add to that several decades of storage in who knows what environment and you definitely have some question marks around that tobacco. In the US there is a lot of "forbidden fruit" mystique to cuban tobacco IMHO.