Anyone going to Cuba?

[pardc87]

I've recently started smoking cigars and have instantly found a new expensive hobby. As a true RFDer I'm trying to find the cheapest possible way to attain cuban cigars. If you are travelling to Cuba sometime in the near future and are willing to pick up a box or two of cigars for me, PM me and wel will work out the details.

Cheers,
C

[woobie]

If your going to do this make sure you educate the person getting the cigars for you. Go to the official stores not the guy by the pool , Have the export certificates just in case etc etc.

Give them a list in descending order of what you would like. IF #1 is OOS then move down to #2 and so on.

My current list is for when I find people going is

romeo & julieta churchill shorts
Partaga Series D #4
monte #4 or #5
Bolivar #2 tubos
Super Partagas

and NO guantanameras lol.

If your a Cuban only cigar snob you can ignore this. But if you or any friends are crossing over at Niagara Falls and Have a duty free allowance they can use, Smokin Joe's on Witmer road has a HUGE walk in humidor and since it's on a reserve the cigars are sold with out the State or Federal taxes on them. All the big names are in stock, just not Cubans.

[pardc87]

If your going to do this make sure you educate the person getting the cigars for you. Go to the official stores not the guy by the pool , Have the export certificates just in case etc etc.

Give them a list in descending order of what you would like. IF #1 is OOS then move down to #2 and so on.

My current list is for when I find people going is

romeo & julieta churchill shorts
Partaga Series D #4
monte #4 or #5
Bolivar #2 tubos
Super Partagas

and NO guantanameras lol.

If your a Cuban only cigar snob you can ignore this. But if you or any friends are crossing over at Niagara Falls and Have a duty free allowance they can use, Smokin Joe's on Witmer road has a HUGE walk in humidor and since it's on a reserve the cigars are sold with out the State or Federal taxes on them. All the big names are in stock, just not Cubans.

Thanks for the advice. Other than LCDH are there any other places where they would be able to get legit cigars? Also what is an export certificate?

I think my list would be
Partagas Serie D #4 (2 boxes if possible :p )
Partagas Serie P #2
Cohiba Robustos
Por Larranaga Petit Coronas
Cohiba Genios

I will definitely check out Smokin Joe's next time I'm in the States.

[woobie]

I think they only give you the certificate if your buying more than 2 boxes, it has the shops name, your passport number and the cigar types and cost on it.

I forgot about Por Larranaga cigars, I had some and liked them, thanks those are going on my list lol.

[sandy_beach]

Downtown Havana there's a place or two but its a private residence. You have to have the right driver that takes u to Havana because he needs to know the guy. When I went to Cuba in December our driver brought us to buy some and the place was the sellers home, his wife and kids were there too. These kind of people work at the cigar factories so they steal product and sell them. I got a very expensive wooden box of Kohibas for a very good price.

[woobie]

I got a very expensive wooden box of Kohibas for a very good price.

Did you get the glass top Cohiba's?

[rf134a]

Downtown Havana there's a place or two but its a private residence. You have to have the right driver that takes u to Havana because he needs to know the guy. When I went to Cuba in December our driver brought us to buy some and the place was the sellers home, his wife and kids were there too. These kind of people work at the cigar factories so they steal product and sell them. I got a very expensive wooden box of Kohibas for a very good price.

Really?
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kzgp33zF901qz4gpro1_500.jpg

Purchasing cigars from non-approved sources is NOT recommended due to the stiff penalties imposed if you get caught. Anyone attempting to do anything similar must be fluent in Spanish to negotiate your way out of any legal situations that may arise.

[woobie]

It's buyer beware, Last year a foreman at work had her 2 boxes confiscated at the airport. A few years back a friend I used to do box splits with had his brother in law go down there, he grabbed cohiba's "off the beach" even after being repeatedly told to only get them at the shop. He cut one open after attempting to smoke it and found it was basically floor sweeping short filler tobacco.

I was offered a box of monte #4's at the resort by a gardener for $40(Pesos) I got the legit ones for 105 pesos instead, I'm all for a deal but I'd rather pay to get a known legit product. Besides even official prices are 1/4 to 1/3 what they cost here at home so it was still a huge savings.

[pardc87]

Yeh, I've heard that buying them outside of the official stores can actually be dangerous as they can put what ever they want in it. That being said, I have smoked some very good fakes before and some terrible tasting ones. Some of which came from the same box. Buying from the other sources is very unpredictable and you never know what you"re going to get. Even real looking cigars with real boxes can be fake at times.

[Flux]

And here's what you can expect to pay for legit cigars (in CUC)

http://sticksanddrinks.tumblr.com/cigar_prices_in_Cuba

[woobie]

And here's what you can expect to pay for legit cigars (in CUC)

http://sticksanddrinks.tumblr.com/cigar_prices_in_Cuba

Thanks, the site I had bookmarked was hopelessly out of date.

[Raikkonen]

It's buyer beware, Last year a foreman at work had her 2 boxes confiscated at the airport. A few years back a friend I used to do box splits with had his brother in law go down there, he grabbed cohiba's "off the beach" even after being repeatedly told to only get them at the shop. He cut one open after attempting to smoke it and found it was basically floor sweeping short filler tobacco.

I was offered a box of monte #4's at the resort by a gardener for $40(Pesos) I got the legit ones for 105 pesos instead, I'm all for a deal but I'd rather pay to get a known legit product. Besides even official prices are 1/4 to 1/3 what they cost here at home so it was still a huge savings.


I just came back with some extras....sealed boxes available with receipt and matching serial numbers (purchased at gov't store)
pm me if you wish, but they ain't cheap