Cuban vs. Dominican Cigars Part II

I have decided to expand on previous posts about the difference between cigars from Cuba and those from elsewhere (primarily Dominican Republic, because it is most popular 'other' country).

First of all, differences I might suggest are merely generalizations. They cannot be true for all cigars, cuban or not. That said, I think I have a segway to some myths....

MYTH #1 - Cuban Cigars are stronger. This is probably the most commonly accepted thing that clueless people think they know about cigars. While I will say that Cuban cigars are generally stronger, or more full bodied then non-cuban cigars, it simply isn't true of all of them. There are some Dominican smokes that completely put me on my ass if I'm not prepared to be smoking them. However there are others that I could smoke before breakfast because there is nothing to them.

*One DIFFERENCE in this regard is that just because cubans are strong doesn't mean they are not smooth. For the most part, I find terrible balance in some NCs. It is very rare that a NC is both full bodied and smooth smoking. With Cubans, some very flavourful cigars with a lot of power can be quite smooth and elegant - Like a well balanced and well aged Bordeaux.

MYTH #2 - Cubans are better. This is not true. They are not higher quality, or more consistent, in fact someimtes the opposite is true. I personally find that they are better tasting though, to me...and that is a generalization. I smoke 10 cubans to every 1 NC cigar. They suit my taste better than NC's do. But that doesn't make them better, you have to like them for them to be better. If you don't like them it really doesn't matter what I think. There are some NCs that I simply love to smoke, and would choose them over most Cubans anyday. But I devote no time to learning about them, they simply taste good. There is much more to a Cuban.

I find that the smoke from a Cuban cigar is much more elegant and rich than NC's. The smoke is full of depth and the taste evolves throughout the cigar. The tobacco is simply different than that of other Countries.

Some other differences that I believe are present are the following (all of which could be gone into with much more depth, perhaps on another post)

- There is no mystic to NC cigars. They are basically the exact same all the time. But the taste, wrappers, and overall experience of habanos cigars vary from box to box and year to year. Slight generalization here, but just look at the depth of content and analysis on most good forums; they show you how different and mysterious a cuban can be.

- Cubans are mystical. There is so much heresay, BS, folklore, and science to these cigars. One can devote their entire life to studying them and still not know everything. Part of this is of course that Cubatobacco, Habanos S.A. and the Cuban Government disclose little about their cigars.

- Cubans do not make Maduro cigars. Dominican smokers often look for cuban maduros, frankly I think Maduros are a marketing ploy anyway, they look great, but in a blind tasting I would say that they don't matter. My opinion. (Some cubans do have dark wrappers though)

- NCs are a product, Cubans are a living entity. Sounds cheesy, but thats why they are so sought after.


Stay tuned for more later. There are plenty more myths and plenty more facts.