Best Cuban Cigars Available NOW

[Toothpick]

I just looked at all my online sources for Cuban cigars. All the ”best rated” cigars are completely sold out. Everywhere. If they are not sold out and you happen to find a box they are well over $1000 per box. Which is just…no. I don’t enjoy cigars that much. So hell no.

So what are some other “best” cubans you can actually buy right now?

H Upmann Magnum 50 - sold out
Trinidad La Trova LCDH - gone
H Upmann Magnum 54 - doesn’t exist
Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure No 2 - simply a myth
Montecristo #2 - extinct
Partagas Serie D no. 4 - unknown to mankind
Cohiba Siglo VI - cost more than some countries entire GDP


I’m looking for the Cuban cigars that are good and cost no more than $300 per box of 15 or 25 Or whatever. I know prices have increased. But I’m just not willing to shell out more than that for a box of good Cuban cigars.

So what suggestions do y’all got? Keep in mind……something I can go online and buy right now

 

[Isaac]

I smoked Cubans pretty exclusively pre pandemic. The new pricing and supply issues has pretty much ended that chapter in my life. Boxes that would sell for 199 are now over 350.

Pricing is just insane.

 

[SharpieB]

Prices were hiked huge a couple of months ago. Unfortunately many top Cubans are now selling for insane prices. Robustos I was paying $10 each for a few years ago are now $25-30. Trinidad’s and Cohibas were increased by 150%+.

I am personally done buying Cubans. Thankfully I have hundreds stored away from trips to Cuba over the last decade.

I was just in Spain (cheapest prices globally for Cubans excluding Cuba) and only bought a 16 pack of smaller Vegueros For $60-70. Everything else was stupid expensive. Even at Duty Free.

 

[Multum in parvo]

I used to smoke plenty of Bolivar Robustos and R&J Cazadores but have pretty much switched to Nicaraguans by now.

Not sure how the availability and pricing looks on your end but I would look for Swiss online vendors after looking in Spain.

 

[BradWorld]

Same here. All of the Cubans that I had been buying pre-pandemic are now gone or astronomically expensive. I had a pretty good hookup where I was buying Partigas P2 and D4 for the same price range as Nicaraguan, but that’s gone now. Bummer. But not the end of the world. Some really great Nicaraguan cigars are around these days.

 

[Toothpick]

I figured this would be a lost cause. I posted the same on a different forum and am getting very much the same replies. Cuban cigars are for Billionaires now.

 

[SharpieB]

I figured this would be a lost cause. I posted the same on a different forum and am getting very much the same replies. Cuban cigars are for Billionaires now.

A lot of people from the US seem to buy from Canadian sources. Illegally obviously and thru companies I have never heard of (as a Canadian, even) but they seem to be legit and relatively cheap as there is no tax charged. They cater only to the US market and won’t ship within Canada.

The Cuban Cigar forum on Reddit is a good place to start as they talk about these orders all the time, but it seems that many shipments are being seized by customs as of late.

I am buying Fuente Opus X, Padrons and Davidoffs when I travel out of Canada now as they are cheaper. And as good or better.

A Partagas Serie D #4 as an example is now $40CAD ($29USD) a stick from a legit cigar store on the way to my cottage and they are the cheapest in Canada (Cigar Chief). My cottage is a few miles from Alexandria Bay, NY so I can drive across and mail some Cubans to help a few of you fellers out in the spring if you need overpriced Cubans that badly.

 

[Isaac]

I saw a site selling boxes of fresh Siglo IV for $1200. I feel like a fat cat smoking $50 cigars.

I cant even imagine what my Sir Winnies are reselling for.

 

[SharpieB]

I saw a site selling boxes of fresh Siglo IV for $1200. I feel like a fat cat smoking $50 cigars.

I cant even imagine what my Sir Winnies are reselling for.

Exactly. I have a stash of Cohiba Lanceros, Trinidad Reyes and a few others I bought 10-12 years ago. I am now officially a baller!

I love Cubans, but I refuse to pay much over $20US for any cigar.

 

[Isaac]

Exactly. I have a stash of Cohiba Lanceros, Trinidad Reyes and a few others I bought 10-12 years ago. I am now officially a baller!

I love Cubans, but I refuse to pay much over $20US for any cigar.

Thats actually how i ended up so deep on pipe tobacco. My lounge shut down during the pandemic. So i switched to pipes. Then realized how much cheaper it was over cigars. Then the nonsense of Cuban pricing popped up. Here I am

 

[Majmvt]

You guys are killing me. Living in CT my access is limited. But when I can the Cohiba maduro #5 is my favorite (the smaller Secretos should be be doable). Other than that I am ok with the Oliva V as a daily driver.

 

[SharpieB]

You guys are killing me. Living in CT my access is limited. But when I can the Cohiba maduro #5 is my favorite (the smaller Secretos should be be doable). Other than that I am ok with the Oliva V as a daily driver.

Funny you mentioned the Secretos as I had one a couple of weeks ago and am down to my last 5 (from 20). I recently looked into ordering a box and they are now $50 each which is nutty. It is not a $50 cigar.

I do wish I bought a bunch more when I was in Cuba years ago though…

 

[Borderboss]

I generally like Montecristo #2 and Partagas Serie D #4. However, I think that Cuban cigar quality has fallen off significantly since the 1990s when I started smoking them. The regime has messed up that industry as much as they've messed up other industries on the island. I'm just as happy, or happier, with smokes from the DR or Nicaragua, and don't have to pay more than $5 or so a stick online.

 

[alpster]

I may be the odd man out, but today's premium Nicaraguan, Honduran and DR cigars are as good or even better than the Cubans I've smoked. JMHO

 

[one2mny]

I may be the odd man out, but today's premium Nicaraguan, Honduran and DR cigars are as good or even better than the Cubans I've smoked. JMHO

This ^

 

[Toothpick]

I know i know there are many options better than Cubans
It’s just about the first thing anyone posts when asking about Cubans …”there are many better options”.

But I’m asking about Cubans specifically. Not because I like them any better. It’s simply because I want some. And I don’t like not being able to get what I want!

 

[BradWorld]

I may be the odd man out, but today's premium Nicaraguan, Honduran and DR cigars are as good or even better than the Cubans I've smoked. JMHO

You are not the odd man out. Most people feel that way. But some Cuban cigars, not all, have a little something extra in the flavor that makes them decidedly "Cuban". There is a distinct flavor profile that good Cubans have. Like the Partagas P2, D4, or the Monte 2.

And, yes, I notice a large drop off in quality. Especially with cuban R&J cigars. They have really gone down hill.

I know i know there are many options better than Cubans
It’s just about the first thing anyone posts when asking about Cubans …”there are many better options”.

But I’m asking about Cubans specifically. Not because I like them any better. It’s simply because I want some. And I don’t like not being able to get what I want!

Thats why we pay tons of money for vintage Gillette razors that cost less than $3 when new. Because we want them, and there is limited supply. They aint making any more.

Hopefully Cuban cigars will get on track eventually. They need to use science to sort out their growing issues asap, or there wont be any more Cuban cigars, period.

 

[Toothpick]

I figure it was something to do with the covid-19. I bought 3 boxes - in February 2020. Just readily available and regular prices. I asked for recommendations and went and got them. Easy peasy. But between 2020 and now….POOF, ALL GONE. So either every one just bought up the entire market with their extra income that was given to them or some how the supply chain just stopped shipping. IDK.

These are what I got, now they are unicorns.

 

[RazorbackFan]

The friends I’ve spoken to about this who are still buying Cuban cigars at these prices are now choosing smaller sizes/vitolae than before. A Robusto smoker has become a mareva/petit corona smoker. The guy who used to buy 50 cabs of Partagas Lusitania now has to settle for a Robusto.

To answer your question, smaller cigars seem to be a lot more prevalent than larger gauge. Perlas (Monte 5, Rafael Gonzalez), Minutos (Party Shorts), marevas (Monte 4) and Robustos (PSD4) are still around, albeit at premium prices.

I haven’t seen any unicorns (Upmann Sir Winston’s, Partagas 898s) in ages. Just regular production stock trickling in.

 

[Multum in parvo]

I really have to look at my usual brick and mortar sources for what is in stock. I mostly smoke cigars in Summer and nowadays less and less but still my impression was that the choices are plentiful. Perhaps this has changed in the last 6 months…