No Grasp of Your Reality

Wow. I snagged a great deal from Cigars International, thanks to my new friends at the Club Stogie Forums. The first one I tried tonight was a 5 Vegas Gold Robusto, and it was a nice surprise. After spending my time recently smoking through my rather strong Fighting Cocks, I was ready for a nice, mild smoke, and this was one of the milder smokes I’ve had in a while.

It was a short guy, but I wanted a relatively quick smoke. Even taking my time with it, I was through it in about a half-hour. It did start to get bitter earlier than I’ve seen in other mild cigars, but it really was an enjoyable, if brief, time on the front porch. It lit easily, and burned evenly.

This cigar would be perfect for a beginning cigar smoker. As I said, it’s not much of a time commitment, and easy on the taste buds, but really was a surprising gem.

I picked up a pretty good deal this week at Cigars International. They had a cigar called, oddly, a Fighting Cock, which is a cigar made in Nicaragua, and possessing an extremely strong flavor. My typical cigar is oftentimes a mild cigar like the Macanudo Gold or an Arturo Fuene, and since it’s been a while since I’ve smoked a strong cigar, and since I was able to pick them up for less than $1 apiece, I put an order in. (A plug here for CI… it got to me in two days, even with normal ground shipping.)

My first impression is that it is a well made cigar. It’s solid, with very little give when you squeeze. When I lit it, I was immediately greeted with a strong, thick flavor. After a while, not only were my taste buds affected, but I started to get a little light headed. It didn’t burn perfectly even, nor did I manage to keep it lit, but I think that was due to the fact that I needed to set it down every few minutes to allow my head to stop spinning.

Once I got beyond the strength, I did enjoy the interesting spicy flavor that was clearly present. I think it needed a good strong ale to go along with it. This isn’t a golf course cigar, but more one for sitting down and enjoying for its own sake. For a dollar cigar, I think it ends up being a good deal.

I’m flipping through the latest copy of the Cigars International catalog this morning, and I found a surprisingly honest review for Fat Cat cigars.

Remember this brand from the boom? At that time with the severe shortages, cigar smokers would resort to just about any cigar available on the shelf. Even despite those circumstances, it’s still amazing anyone actually bought a cigar with a name like this. Worse yet, the cigar itself was marginal - acrid tasting with a foul aroma and unappealing wrappers. No surprise then that a closeout just came my way. I guess it beats a machine-made… if only barely.

BTW, the “boom” refers to the big cigar boom from about 1992 to 1997. I started smoking them in 1995, but stuck with them even after the “boom” was over, much to my wallet’s relief.

In Akasaka-Mitsuke, right down the street from the New Otani hotel, is an area where there are many small, expensive restaurants. Since it’s not far from the Japanese Diet (their seat of representative government), many Japanese politicians take their guests to the area for some classy wining and dining.

On one of my first evenings in the area, I noticed a cigar bar with a walk-in humidor in the front. My eyes lit up as I saw the boxes and boxes of Cohibas, Montecristo, and Romeo y Julietas lined up on shelfs along the wall. It was a cigar lovers heaven.

So, my coworkers and I got into a big debate as to the legality of bringing back Cuban cigars into the United States. We all knew that you couldn’t buy them in the U.S., but could you purchase them and bring them back from Japan? After doing the research on the U.S. Treasure website (they’re in charge of the embargo), we discovered that you may not bring cigars back from Japan, Canada, Spain, or any other country where Cuban cigars are sold. The only country you can bring them back from is Cuba, and good luck finding a flight there.

But, what amazed me in my research is that it’s illegal for an American to purchase a Cuban cigar, even outside the country! There are very few crimes in the U.S. that, while legal in the host country, are illegal for United States citizens. But right there in black and white is the ruling that the U.S. embargo against Cuba is binding to U.S. citizens anywhere they may be in the world.

The question is often asked whether United States citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States may legally purchase Cuban origin goods, including tobacco and alcohol products, in a third country for personal use outside the United States. The answer is no. The Regulations prohibit persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States from purchasing, transporting, importing, or otherwise dealing in or engaging in any transactions with respect to any merchandise outside the United States if such merchandise (1) is of Cuban origin; or (2) is or has been located in or transported from or through Cuba; or (3) is made or derived in whole or in part of any article which is the growth, produce or manufacture of Cuba. Thus, in the case of cigars, the prohibition extends to cigars manufactured in Cuba and sold in a third country and to cigars manufactured in a third country from tobacco grown in Cuba.

As any cigar affectianado knows, Cuban cigars are considered the ultimate in forbidden fruit. Since the embargo was enacted on Cuba in the 1960’s, their cigars have been severely restricted from entering the United States. Since then, many people have done backflips and risked felony conviction to smuggle bundles back into the U.S.

Since that’s the case, I found the following quote on Holt’s Cigar’s website to be especially interesting:

Before the US embargo Cuban cigars were considered to be the very best in the world by virtually all cigar smokers. Pungent and full-bodied without excess strength, the smoke of a Cuban led to rapturous descriptions in prose and verse. Slowly though, more and more is heard that the fabled Cuban cigar is no more; the land is not fertilized properly; the master cigar rollers are gone; there is no quality control; and so on. It is not for us to become involved in this discussion, but we will throw a word of caution into the pot - most Cuban cigars sold in the US today are high-priced fakes. Beware!

Wow… I am smoking the strongest cigar ever. “Buzzing” is too weak a word for what I’m going through right now. It’s called a “La Aroma De Cuba“, which, with even my broken spanish, is “The Smell of Cuba”. Now, my understanding is that, under it’s current dictatorial regime, Cuba really stinks. This cigar, however, is amazing. My friend, Dave Dimmick, works for the company that produces this beast, and I’m impressed.

Sarah gave me a humidor for my 27th birthday this past July, and it’s the best present, ever. No longer do I need to smoke a cigar within a few days of purchase… instead, I can simply reach into my box anytime I so desire a smoke a perfectly seasoned cigar.

My appreciation for my wife will never be fully realized or expressed, but she’s an amazingly thoughtful woman, and one I will never deserve. The pressure is on to get her a present even half as thoughtful. Thanks, love!