Wednesday, 2 September 2009

Cuban Cigars Always The Best? Not So Fast!

By Jarrod Smith

It's rare to not hear about Cuban cigars when one is in a discussion about cigars in general. Why? Well, the method the Cubans use to roll cigars became known as the best method and the Cuban soil has long produced some of the finest tobaccos on the planet. Because these cigars were far superior to the way other countries produced cigars, Cuban cigars got a reputation for being the very best - and they were!

There's a big reason why Cuba was producing such fantastic tobacco. The tobacco farmers take extreme care of their plants and much pride and hard work is put into the crops. Cubans are a traditional people and tobacco is important to them. They use of fine fertilizers, abundant waters, and hard work has been overdone and this is why other tobacco producing countries are catching up.

Cuba is a very small island and it has been producing Cuban cigars for the majority of the planet for over 100 years. The soil has been overused and replenishing crops have not been planted because the demand for the tobacco is so high.

Because Cuban cigars have been on a decline, the agricultural techniques, seeds and hand wrapping have been exported to nearby countries. Today, you can find high quality, Cuban style cigars from Honduras and The Dominican Republic for a fraction of the price. Many cigar aficionados believe that these cigars offer superior value, with their finest products capturing the quality that once led Cuban cigars to be the finest in the world. In fact, Cigar Aficionado has consistently rated Cuban cigars in the highest regard, but since the early 2000s Nicaraguan and Honduran cigars have been crowned with the coveted No. 1 Cigar of the Year.

The question is ultimately a matter of opinion and tastes, as the Cuban cigar market has been highly fragmented under the trade embargo - some of the top Cuban cigar companies now produce in Little Cuba in Miami rather than domestically, while others have exported production to nearby Central American countries. To find a top quality cigar, it's best to seek out top production quality, basing the opinion on quality rather than labels alone.

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