Havanas anyone?

[olkayc]

I'm a bit of a Habana nut; one of my favourite cigars (although not the one of the most well know brands) is the Sancho Panza Belicosos; when aged it has a truly wonderful after taste and is a very gratifying smoke.

For a less liesurely smoke when time doesn't permit I have always found the Romeo Y Julieta Cedros de Luxe set of cigars a great smoke.

[Aristide]

It appears that the age of "Post-Castro" habanos may be at hand....

[whyescalar]

Montecristo No. 3's, nothing better post-dinner, your favorite tipple, good conversation and views of beautiful women [bonus if she is the one you love]. I have fond memories of both of my grandfathers, one hailing from eastern Europe, the other from South America. They were divided by language, however shared a bond in family and reinforced with their life-long cigar habit.

During the nineties, a newspaper cartoon appeared here in the states, showing Fidel seated in a sparse room with a view of palm trees, enjoying a cigar while listening to the radio. The announcer's caption read "Saddam Hussein has persisted being a thorn in the side of three consecutive American administrations..."

[Fidel, between puffs]: "...amateur"

[dopey]

I miss cigars. One of their best qualities is that they require you to sit in one place and do nothing. Perhaps that they no longer fit well with my life may be a sign that it is my life that needs to change.

[Guille]

Its interesting how our prefrences often concurr. My favourite cigars are the Montecristo n.4, the Cohiba Siglo II, and (when I have time for it) the Romeo y Julieta Cedros de Luxe No.2 (all of which have been mentioned in this thread). I've never been to Cuba, but will definatelly go sometime in my lifetime (once the regime has gone). However, I've been to the Dominican Republic many times, and our house there is being build. I have taken Dominican cigars and I must say that whiles they are not like Habanos, they are of a very good quality. I also have Montecristo Mini (in packages of 20, similar to Uppercase's partagas), for rare smoking during the week.

In reference to what Alden wrote before, I think I read or heard somewhere that it was JFK himself who told his secretary to buy thousands of Habanos just before passing the law of the embargo...

Anyway, here in Spain Habanos are probably at the cheapest (or should I better say least expensive) of all prizes out of the Carribean (but I don't about prizes in Asia). If I eventually go to study to NY (which is my intention), I'll be taking as many as I can (without going too far), and, in case I'm registered, I wil have to remove what we call in spanish the 'vitola', I don't know their name in english, but they are the ring around the cigars that states their brand, type and place of origin. So I can simply say they are Dominican, but I hope police dogs don't differentiate between them...

PS: I know I know... I'm underage, but please don't comment on that. You are not going to convince me that the majority of smokers (even cigar smokers) start underage. Plus, I'm not 'adicted', as what I (we) smoke is not really for the addiction, but for the pleasure. Furthermore, what I smoke is better than what people my age are taking... And I think that if you are going to do something, do it right: if you are going to smoke, smoke cigars and not the cigarettes full of chemicals which are adictive and destroy your lungs; if you are going to drink, drink a good single malt or something, but not the cheapest vodka mixed with the crappiest rum and the worst whisky you can find...

[RWS]

"Vitola" = "cigar band".

I don't know why I'm even reading this thread, as cigars hold no allure for me.

I must be bored.

[Guille]

"Vitola" = "cigar band".

I don't know why I'm even reading this thread, as cigars hold no allure for me.

I must be bored.

Thanks. I have also seen now on the forum that they also call them 'rings', which I simply guessed before.

By the way I've found the JFK story here: http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA ... 62,00.html it is very interesting, or so I find it.

[Twain]

Vitola means size. There are two different vitolas, Vitola de Galera and Vitola de Salida. In a Havana cigar factory no one knows what a Lusitania is. To them it is simply a Prominente. That is the Vitola de Galera, or work name for a double corona. This Prominente is then marketed to the public under a Vitola de Salida, in this case Lusitania, if we are talking about Partagás or Gigantes for Ramon Allones.

Best,

Twain