When Castro Dies...

J

Jason762

Joined Oct 2005

130 Posts | 0+

San Francisco, California

Discussion Starter
• Aug 17, 2006

• #1

Will communism in Cuba die? The embargo lifted?

Will Cuban cigars be freely available in the US? More importantly, will they taste the same pre-embargo?


Thanks!

 

K

kuzi16

Joined Apr 2006

2K Posts | 1+

on the grass

• Aug 17, 2006

• #2

short answers:
no, no, no, and no.


long answers:

the communist party in cuba is strong. Fidels brother will take over. As long as there is an opressive communist leader in cuba there will be an embargo.

even if it was lifted cubans would be hard to come by. they dont have the ability to fill the demand. the price on cubans will go up.

they would not taste pre embargo. all the good cigar families left cuba. there would be a long recovery time. the potential is there but castro killed cubas tobacco industry

 

G

Guest

• Aug 17, 2006

• #3

Look at what Castro has done to the Cuban sugar industry and you can extrapolate what has happened to the Cuban tobacco and cigar industry.

 

I

Inland44

Joined Nov 2002

1K Posts | 0+

• Aug 17, 2006

• #4

I've heard it said lately that the best Cubans are now being legally imported from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, etc., because the art of cigar making/tobacco growing there has surpassed that of even the old Cuba. The expatriot Cuban cigar masters have had 45 years to re-establish their craft in new lands, and they've been successful. Like they say, the magic is dead in Cuba and won't be coming back anytime soon. Unfortunately, those great new cigars they're talking about are way too expensive, so they may as well be embargoed Cubans as far as I'm concerned. The best things in Cuba now are 1957 and earlier American cars and thousands of U.S. small arms (if they have been stored properly) - M1 Carbines, M1 Rifles (Garands), M1911 and M1911A1 pistols, M3 sub-guns, Thompsons, Browning machine guns - in short, everything that Batista had plus everything we sent Castro before he turned Commie.

 

C

cutter

Joined Feb 2006

285 Posts | 0+

• Aug 17, 2006

• #5

Hmmmm.........M1911 pistols..............Thompsons..................BAR's................NICE to DREAM about!

 

P

Prof Marvel

Joined Aug 2006

40 Posts | 0+

Fishkill, NY

• Aug 18, 2006

• #6

Newbie question:
Isn't part of the Cuban flavor part of the soil? Based on what I have read etc. it sounds like the master blender can do wonders for a cigar and that the plantations in DR, Nic, Hon etc have great earth but it is missing something that Cuba has?

P.S. I have never smoked a Cuban stick of any era.
I also don't believe my palet is developed enough to notice.

 

B

Barcochris

Joined Feb 2006

2K Posts | 3+

Kelvin's House

• Aug 18, 2006

• #7

You would notice, but you may not be able to fully enjoy it.

Yes part of a great Cuban Cigar is the soil itself, the enviorment everything that goes into it. The cigars being producewd in othe palces are grown from Cuban seed. The flavors are not the same.

 

W

webesmoked

Joined Feb 2006

488 Posts | 0+

Far. Nor. Cal.

• Aug 18, 2006

• #8

From what I have read is that the soil in Cuba has a high level of lithium that is unique to that region. That is also what cause the euphoric feeling that some say they get from smoking a true cuban. I personally have no experience as I have not smoked a cuban as of yet.

 

I

iminaquagmire

Joined Jun 2005

2K Posts | 0+

McHenry, IL

• Aug 18, 2006

• #9

It is the soil, growing region, storage, a lot of things go into making a cuban a cuban.

The soil is a big one though that could come into play should the embargo lift. Some of the former tobacco fields have been converted to sugar cane fields by Castro. The problem is that production can't be upped because sugar cane removes all the nutrients and puts none back. It would take a while for those fields to be rehabilitated should the need arise for tobacco production to be increased.

 

C

Carduus

Joined Jul 2005

588 Posts | 0+

Nebraska

• Aug 19, 2006

• #10

I have smoked Cuban cigars and have not been all that impressed. Were they good? You bet! However, they were not as good as some of my favorites that I can buy legally in the good ol’ USA.

I have also read that the cigar industry in Cuba is dead. I find that hard to believe considering all the talk I have encountered in my 11 years as a cigar smoker. I hope that Cuba sheds its pinko commie skin and that we can get some Cuban cigars in the US.

 

I

iminaquagmire

Joined Jun 2005

2K Posts | 0+

McHenry, IL

• Aug 19, 2006

• #11

I have also read that the cigar industry in Cuba is dead.

Click to expand...

So have I. I don't believe it. Cigars from Cuba are purported to have changed significantly from their roots. All the ones that I have had are relatively young, so I wouldn't know. But to the same tune, so have NC's. It sounds more to me like the people that claim this are just resistant to change.

 

C

chrisguinther

Joined Aug 2005

2K Posts | 0+

Gahanna, OH

• Aug 20, 2006

• #12

I think if you really want to smoke a good Cuban cigar, you would have to smoke one of the older Cuban Davidoff's or Dunhill's. Many of the cigars from today simply don't have the age on them to really separate them from non-Cubans. That being said, I'm sure the anniversary Cohibas would be something really special. While everything happening now in Cuba anything we say would be pure speculation. The day will come when the embargo ends, families will go back to reclaim their lands, and with time, Cuban cigars will become what they once were pre-revolution.

 

C

CyberPsyko

Joined May 2006

59 Posts | 0+

Clinton Twp, Michigan

• Aug 21, 2006

• #13

Personally, I think he is already dead. When I saw on the news the picture of him holding the news paper, it looked so fake. I am not a graphic designer and I could tell that it was doctored... badly.

 

I

Inland44

Joined Nov 2002

1K Posts | 0+

• Aug 21, 2006

• #14

Maybe the best thing of all about Cuba, if it opened up again, would be as a tourist/vacation destination. It could be the jewel of the Carribbean. It was before, when only the rich could go. Now, when most everyone could, the market would be unimaginable. It would still take decades to make it into what it could be - there are huge problems associated with Cuba transitioning to a free economy. I don't see it happening peacefully or quickly, even if it started tonight. But, we might start to see the cigars trickling in within weeks of normalization of relations.