Dominican vs. Cuban Brands
- So, uh, What's the Difference Between Dominican and Cuban Smokes?
The following is a comment I received and the subsequent repsonse. I thought that the comment brings up a few important points, even though it seems very simplistic.
"I've been comparing some of my favorite Cuban cigars with their non-Cuban counterparts and even though I live in Canada, I end up getting many of my cigars from vendors in the US. For example I could pay upwards of $20 Cdn. (approx. $17 USD) for a Montecristo #3 or I could pay $4 USD for it in the US. There is very little difference between the quality of the two. I doubt very many people would tell the difference in a blind smoke-test." - jkira
Well, my rule is that if you enjoy something it is good enough, no matter where it is from. Many people do enjoy non-cubans over cubans, and I am not one of those. But I must admit that since I have not smoked the 'Montecristo' brand that is available in the US I cannot really judge those particular cigars. Instead I will point out that the Non-Cuban Montecristo is not related to the Cuban brand, they merely stole the name because it is was not in use in the USA after the embargo. Imagine if you could start selling something called "Coca-Cola" in some other country where Coke didn't exist, and use all their branding power, that's kind of what's going on. So when you said you paid "$4 for it", the 'it' in question is not the same product.
You didn't make clear if the Cubans you have purchased were bought in Canada or in the USA, but I will assume, for educational purposes, that they were bought in the US. My opinion on this is that if you are buying cubans in the US you might be geting fakes. Even the people selling them to you may not know it because in the USA there is no legitimate supplier of cubans so there are literally no guarantees. Even in Canada there is only one supplier. So beware.
I do agree that very few people could tell the difference between cuban and non-cuban brands, because most people have no idea. Most people drink, eat, wear, drive and smoke things for reasons beyond the actual experience, it's called being pretentious. I can't claim to be free of all pretension myself but I will say that I smoke cigars for the taste, and that reason alone. And I smoke pretty much cubans exclusively. Like I said before, if you enjoy a particular cigar over another than that is what you should be smoking.
As for this question, if you ever get the chance and if you want to improve your knowledge and palate, try smoking one cigar directly after the other. I guarantee you will notice a difference (not saying which you will like more, but they will not be identical). And if you don't notice any difference you may not have enough experience smoking or you have smoked so much that you have no working taste buds!
The following is a comment I received and the subsequent repsonse. I thought that the comment brings up a few important points, even though it seems very simplistic.
"I've been comparing some of my favorite Cuban cigars with their non-Cuban counterparts and even though I live in Canada, I end up getting many of my cigars from vendors in the US. For example I could pay upwards of $20 Cdn. (approx. $17 USD) for a Montecristo #3 or I could pay $4 USD for it in the US. There is very little difference between the quality of the two. I doubt very many people would tell the difference in a blind smoke-test." - jkira
Well, my rule is that if you enjoy something it is good enough, no matter where it is from. Many people do enjoy non-cubans over cubans, and I am not one of those. But I must admit that since I have not smoked the 'Montecristo' brand that is available in the US I cannot really judge those particular cigars. Instead I will point out that the Non-Cuban Montecristo is not related to the Cuban brand, they merely stole the name because it is was not in use in the USA after the embargo. Imagine if you could start selling something called "Coca-Cola" in some other country where Coke didn't exist, and use all their branding power, that's kind of what's going on. So when you said you paid "$4 for it", the 'it' in question is not the same product.
You didn't make clear if the Cubans you have purchased were bought in Canada or in the USA, but I will assume, for educational purposes, that they were bought in the US. My opinion on this is that if you are buying cubans in the US you might be geting fakes. Even the people selling them to you may not know it because in the USA there is no legitimate supplier of cubans so there are literally no guarantees. Even in Canada there is only one supplier. So beware.
I do agree that very few people could tell the difference between cuban and non-cuban brands, because most people have no idea. Most people drink, eat, wear, drive and smoke things for reasons beyond the actual experience, it's called being pretentious. I can't claim to be free of all pretension myself but I will say that I smoke cigars for the taste, and that reason alone. And I smoke pretty much cubans exclusively. Like I said before, if you enjoy a particular cigar over another than that is what you should be smoking.
As for this question, if you ever get the chance and if you want to improve your knowledge and palate, try smoking one cigar directly after the other. I guarantee you will notice a difference (not saying which you will like more, but they will not be identical). And if you don't notice any difference you may not have enough experience smoking or you have smoked so much that you have no working taste buds!
posted by Adam Henderson @ 11:39 a.m.
7 Comments:
At 11:12 a.m.,
Anonymous said…
Upon first reading your article, I did believe you in that the US sold, Dominican line of Montecristo's were in fact a fraudulent variant of the Cuban line. However, after running it by someone I know who has been in the cigar industry for many years, he told me that while both variants are separately run, they are still owned by the same umbrella company and thus, both share rights to the name and logo.
I just thought I'd pass that info along...
At 1:42 p.m.,
Adam Henderson said…
This is news to me. Not necessarily incorrect, but as I understand it Habanos S.A. does not own any non cuban brands. And they are the company behind the Cuban Montecristo, and all brands cuban for that matter. If your friend has more info though I would love to hear it.
At 1:29 p.m.,
Anonymous said…
There is quite a difference in the taste of Cuban versus non-Cuban grown cigars, particularly when you open a box and smell the cigars. The ones from Cuba, which are sold without cellophane, have more pungent aroma compared to their counterparts. Only those that have experienced the best of both will be able to tell the difference. What is sad is the fact that many people believe that only cigars grown in Cuba taste good when their are so many great blends from DR, Honduras, and Nicaragua, etc. I appreciate a good cigar regardless of were it is grown. As for copyright infringement with the company names, it serves Cuba right to not have copyright laws when they stole the cigar factories from the orginal owners and forced them out of the country. I believe that the original families that own the factories should own the name and rights as they were stolen from them during the revolution to create nationalized company. In being displaced people and having to restart their business in another country, I believe their cigars are not frudulent nor counterfit as both parties own the same name to the cigars. The orginal family has made a US version of their brand name and the Cuban government stole their brand names during the revolution.
At 1:34 p.m.,
Adam Henderson said…
Great point
At 6:26 p.m.,
Anonymous said…
I have many different boxes of cubans from Cohiba, Romeo Julieta and Montecristo. I recently bought dominican montecristo from the US and they are superb maybe a little different but extremely good.
At 6:52 p.m.,
Anonymous said…
The dominican Monte Cristos and romeo y julietes are made by the orginal creators of the brand who were forced out of the country during the revolution. They are good, but not the same as the cubans. Just to clear that fact up with people who call dominicans "fakes" which they deffinitly arn't. The cuban versions are more fake then the dominicans considering they are not made by the original founders of the companies. Both are very good though.
At 9:47 p.m.,
Anonymous said…
I have heard that a lot of the big names that were once cuban but moved because of the revolution used cuban seeds so they are pretty much the same brand. I think you exaggerated and made it seem like some random person just stole cigar brand names and didn't worry about quality or anything.
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