Cuban Cigars

[veggieburger]

First of all....I don't want to break any laws! However, I travel to Cuba at least once or twice a year, and always come back with a box of Montecristos or Romeo y Julietas. Going over my current inventory and I have a couple of the latter left. Is there a way to legally get these into the hands of some cigar lovers south of the CDN border? I figure I could supplement one good habit with the proceeds of a bad one. :cool:

[dave thompson]

As a fellow stogie lover, I've had the same questions regarding Cubans. I go the Mexico every year for vacation and those cigars are available most everywhere. Sadly each time I've asked Customs about bringing some back with me, the answer is still no.

[William]

You two just need to follow this guys lead....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR_firhtoPM

Have someone pick it up on the other side.;)


All kidding aside, I don't think there is a way to do it legally. That said, no discussions about illegal alternatives can be condoned here on the Paceline....if they were to come up. :)






William

[veggieburger]

I have heard of folks taking off the bands, mailing the cigars as Hondurans, then mailing the bands seperately. Again, not sure of the legality of all of that.

Or I may have to just smoke em.

[crownjewelwl]

send em to me and i'll figure it out

i love me a montecristo no. 4

[MattTuck]

I honestly don't think the customs folks will care if you bring one or two across the border. If your plan is to sell them in the US, that is probably totally illegal.

I remember when I went to London in high school, we bought cuban cigars and brought them back. That was before 9/11, so rules may be stricter now.

[DRZRM]

I think personal use when traveling back to the US, directly from Cuba, or from any destination abroad, is generally condoned. I always bring a bottle of Cuban rum back with me when I travel abroad, often in from the airport duty free, never lost one yet. It's up the the customs agent, but the worst that will happen is confiscation.

That said, I think mailing them is distinctly illegal, though if I understand correctly, possession of the cigar or a bottle of rum is not. If they stopped you driving an 18-wheeler full of them, it would be a different story.

Anyone should feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

[Jaq]

Any good cigar shop generally has a few boxes of Cubans on-hand. They're just not that hard to get.

The other trick used to be to call the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, the Athenaeum in London, the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris, or any number of other high-end hotels and have them ship you a box after removing the bands (and mailing them separately.)

[Dave B]

I am going to blame complete ignorance here.

I dont' get the point of the cigar. What are you supposed to enjoy or appreciate? The "flavor?"

Seriously I don't know about this.

I smoked (cigs) my freshman year in college. other stuff as well.

I just don't get what you are supposed to enjoy. help a brother out.

[crownjewelwl]

um...you get a wicked buzz...nicotine through the palate not the lungs


I am going to blame complete ignorance here.

I dont' get the point of the cigar. What are you supposed to enjoy or appreciate? The "flavor?"

Seriously I don't know about this.

I smoked (cigs) my freshman year in college. other stuff as well.

I just don't get what you are supposed to enjoy. help a brother out.

[yngpunk]

I am going to blame complete ignorance here.

I dont' get the point of the cigar. What are you supposed to enjoy or appreciate? The "flavor?"

Seriously I don't know about this.

I smoked (cigs) my freshman year in college. other stuff as well.

I just don't get what you are supposed to enjoy. help a brother out.

Simplest way to put it is that it's an "acquired" taste, similar to drinking scotch/bourbon/beer/your choice of alcoholic beverage. Some people enjoy the taste/flavor/aroma wheras others don't

As an aside, best place to buy Cuban cigars outside of Cuba is in Spain, where the price of the cigars is actually regualted by the government. You can go into any cigar shop in Spain and pay the same price for the same cigar.

In regards to importing Cuban cigars (or other material of Cuban origin), the Treasury Department has the following to say:

"No goods of Cuban origin, other than information or informational materials, may be transported out of Cuba or brought into the United States. There are no limits on the import or export of informational materials. Such materials –
including books, films, posters, photographs, CDs – are statutorily exempt from the prohibitions of the Regulations and may be purchased, sold, and transported freely. Blank tapes, CDs, and other media are not considered informational materials. Please see §§ 515.206(a) and 515.332 of the Regulations."

I suspect that most customs agents are willing to look the other way if you are respectful, polite, and aren't trying to bring in an excessive amount. Yes, officer, I realize that those are Cuban cigars, but they were a gift from my hosts, and I didn't want to be impolite in declining their nice souvenier gift.

I once tried to declare several cases of wine from a trip abroad and got waived through since the customs officer didn't want to deal with the paperwork and I was up front with it.

YMMV

[veggieburger]

I am going to blame complete ignorance here.

I dont' get the point of the cigar. What are you supposed to enjoy or appreciate? The "flavor?"

I just don't get what you are supposed to enjoy. help a brother out.

Think of a booze you really like - scotch, tequilla, etc. On a very base level, few of them taste good, but after time, they are a wonderful treat. Cigar - same thing. I don't think anyone ever puffed his first Cuban and said "this is fantastic!", yet after a while....the smell, the taste, the buzz, and all the other stimuli that go with it...they are all part of the experience.

I have a friend in Holland who treats himself with a $20 cigar after every century. Nice.

[dave thompson]

Smoking a cigar is very often an act of conviviality; like-minded folks sitting after a good dinner, sipping a 'special' beverage, talking about what needs discussing. It's not like cigarettes at all, you 'have to' smoke a cigarette because you are most likely addicted. A cigar is smoked because you can, the time and place are the 'event'.

[CaptStash]

Smoking a cigar is very often an act of conviviality; like-minded folks sitting after a good dinner, sipping a 'special' beverage, talking about what needs discussing. It's not like cigarettes at all, you 'have to' smoke a cigarette because you are most likely addicted. A cigar is smoked because you can, the time and place are the 'event'.

Yes


CaptStash....

[Jaq]

I am going to blame complete ignorance here.

I dont' get the point of the cigar. What are you supposed to enjoy or appreciate? The "flavor?"

Seriously I don't know about this.

I smoked (cigs) my freshman year in college. other stuff as well.

I just don't get what you are supposed to enjoy. help a brother out.


The Betrothed

Open the old cigar-box, get me a Cuba stout,
For things are running crossways, and Maggie and I are out.

We quarrelled about Havanas -- we fought o'er a good cheroot,
And I knew she is exacting, and she says I am a brute.

Open the old cigar-box -- let me consider a space;
In the soft blue veil of the vapour musing on Maggie's face.

Maggie is pretty to look at -- Maggie's a loving lass,
But the prettiest cheeks must wrinkle, the truest of loves must pass.

There's peace in a Larranaga, there's calm in a Henry Clay;
But the best cigar in an hour is finished and thrown away --

Thrown away for another as perfect and ripe and brown --
But I could not throw away Maggie for fear o' the talk o' the town!

Maggie, my wife at fifty -- grey and dour and old --
With never another Maggie to purchase for love or gold!

And the light of Days that have Been the dark of the Days that Are,
And Love's torch stinking and stale, like the butt of a dead cigar --

The butt of a dead cigar you are bound to keep in your pocket --
With never a new one to light tho' it's charred and black to the socket!

Open the old cigar-box -- let me consider a while.
Here is a mild Manila -- there is a wifely smile.

Which is the better portion -- bondage bought with a ring,
Or a harem of dusky beauties, fifty tied in a string?

Counsellors cunning and silent -- comforters true and tried,
And never a one of the fifty to sneer at a rival bride?

Thought in the early morning, solace in time of woes,
Peace in the hush of the twilight, balm ere my eyelids close,

This will the fifty give me, asking nought in return,
With only a Suttee's passion -- to do their duty and burn.

This will the fifty give me. When they are spent and dead,
Five times other fifties shall be my servants instead.

The furrows of far-off Java, the isles of the Spanish Main,
When they hear my harem is empty will send me my brides again.

I will take no heed to their raiment, nor food for their mouths withal,
So long as the gulls are nesting, so long as the showers fall.

I will scent 'em with best vanilla, with tea will I temper their hides,
And the Moor and the Mormon shall envy who read of the tale of my brides.

For Maggie has written a letter to give me my choice between
The wee little whimpering Love and the great god Nick o' Teen.

And I have been servant of Love for barely a twelvemonth clear,
But I have been Priest of Cabanas a matter of seven year;

And the gloom of my bachelor days is flecked with the cheery light
Of stums that I burned to Friendship and Pleasure and Work and Fight.

And I turn my eyes to the future that Maggie and I must prove,
But the only light on the marshes is the Will-o'-the-Wisp of Love.

Will it see me safe through my journey or leave me bogged in the mire?
Since a puff of tobacco can cloud it, shall I follow the fitful fire?

Open the old cigar-box -- let me consider anew --
Old friends, and who is Maggie that I should abandon you?

A million surplus Maggies are willing to bear the yoke;
And a woman is only a woman, but a good Cigar is a Smoke.

Light me another Cuba -- I hold to my first-sworn vows.
If Maggie will have no rival, I'll have no Maggie for Spouse!

- Rudyard Kipling

[SpokeValley]

Smoking a cigar is very often an act of conviviality; like-minded folks sitting after a good dinner, sipping a 'special' beverage, talking about what needs discussing. It's not like cigarettes at all, you 'have to' smoke a cigarette because you are most likely addicted. A cigar is smoked because you can, the time and place are the 'event'.

Absolutely.

I just got back from Dubai and had the pleasure of enjoying a couple of 'events', right in a great hotel restaurant. I'll usually partake when I go to Canada, as well.

[rugbysecondrow]

Smoking a cigar is very often an act of conviviality; like-minded folks sitting after a good dinner, sipping a 'special' beverage, talking about what needs discussing. It's not like cigarettes at all, you 'have to' smoke a cigarette because you are most likely addicted. A cigar is smoked because you can, the time and place are the 'event'.


man o man...I need to stop by the cigar shop on the way home. I love a good cigar and scotch.

[redir]

I have absolutely nothing against my fellow Cuban neighbors to the south. I don't give a rats azz what my government thinks about them. PM me if you are coming to Virginia ;)

[rdparadise]

Once you take the bands off nobody will know the difference and you can bring them across the border and even declare them as Hondurans or domenican cigars. They all look and smell the same. The customs guys won't bother you.

I've done this a few times and had no problem at all. I didn't take the bands with me though as they were for me and I knew they were cuban.

Cuban cigars are the bomb. Smooth and tasty, what's not to like?

Bob

[PBWrench]

I actually travel to Cuba several times a year and NEVER bring cigars through customs in Miami -- I have been searched, and often inspectors will just shake your bag listening for the sloshing of rum. Having said that, I often bring back several Cubans from visits to Israel, but that is coming through JFK and it has never been an issue. I'm not an afficiando, but I certainly enjoy the Monte Christos.

[dave thompson]

If you're coming from Cuba, you can bet that you and your baggage will be inspected. If, on the other hand, you're coming back for someplace else, it will be a crapshoot whether or not things will be checked. I just returned from a week in Cabo and our port of entry was San Jose, California. The whole planeload of us were merely walked through customs with no inspections at all! Nobody was checked.

[verticaldoug]

So many cigars so little time is my motto. I rarely smoke anymore but one of the best cigar memories was when my father was on a visit in Japan. We were at the mountain house and driving back to Tokyo in my car. My wife, kids and mother were in the other car so of course, my father and I could enjoy a cigar on the long drive home. I had 2 Partagas Lusitanias for the drive home. We had windows cracked and it was a lovely drive. The trip was 3 hrs, I think the cigars lasted for about 2. It is a great way to spend quality time with the old man.