I have smoked cigars for over 35 years and have never bought off on the "none finer" or "you'll never go back" dictums. When the handwriting went up on the wall that Castro was most likely going to overthrow the existing government (Fulgencio Baptista?), a lot of savvy independent businessmen knew what was coming. A lot of them were cigar makers. Many fled before Castro took power, well before Cuba was closed to US trade.
They wound up in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras and half a dozen other small countries where climate and topography closely mimiced Cuba. Using seeds literally smuggled out in the seams of their trouser cuffs, they began growing their own strains of tobacco and marketing them to the world.
IMHO, the best of these expatriate cigars far surpass the run-of-the-mill Cubans, and a select few can go head-to-head with the best Cuba has to offer, depending on what kind of mood I'm in when I smoke them.
The smuggling / contraband / "Mission Impossible" approach taken by many trying to kite Cubans into the US is not only risky but can be a sure key to microscopic-like scrutiny going through customs on a slow afternoon. Take my word for it, nowadays, they search EVERYTHING.
I recently made a trip to Bermuda where one afternoon I made a special trip into Hamilton to purchase a couple of the cigars Castro used to smoke before he gave them up. They were Bolivar Presidentes, and the Bermuda price was $22.50 each. After dinner that evening I smoked the first one and, while yes, it was rich, smooth, and satisfying, I began to recall the days when Coors beer was unavailable East of the Rockies. Students, roadies, and others "smuggled" cases back in their luggage, etc.
I came away with the same impression from the Presidentes as I did the fist time I tasted Coors beer - what was all the fuss about? And at the current exchange rates, there are no bargains - at the duty free shop in Buenos Aires, a box of 25 Presidentes sold for almost $900 USD when I went there in 2004. Thanks but no thanks - I'll stick with Arturo Fuentes, thank you. KBM
