Think ya could fool 'em?

K

kzm007

ChestBeater
I've heard you people, other people, hell *lots* of people shout high the praises of that ever-so-forbidden leaf from the ISOM.

My question to you fine folks then, is this: understanding fully that there aren't many things that can ever replace an original jewel (the Cuban cigar), have any of you found a Non-Cuban cigar that has a:

-similar, exact, or (gasp) ever-better flavor than something from the Island? That is, something special that gives a 'legal smoke' the extra oomph, a bit of something that, were it not there, you'd 'mistake' the NC for a Cuban?

Details are always welcome, strength, flavors detected, cigar type/size/time to smoke, general price range, etc. Pictures help.

This post, I'm hoping, is for newbies like me who've never has a Habano; I'm thinking maybe finding something similar would a) prep us for the day when we can get ahold of one or b) give us a decent substitute we can legally have now.

c) would be I just enjoy the pretty pictures. :ss

What'll you all think though, think this is a worthwhile test? If there's similar thread, mods I beg thee not to smite me, and kindly point the way. I didn't see any in my admittedly quick search.

Kegan :cb
 
You'll never be able to duplicate the flavor of any given Cuban cigar with non-Cuban tobacco. Cuban tobacco, as any, takes on its characteristics from the soil and geographical location it is grown in. Tobaccos grown is other nations whose soils impart different characteristics thusly will not taste the same.

Certain nuances from various NC cigars may be reminiscent of a CC, but it will never be a duplicate. There are plenty of times I've heard guys compare NC's to cuban sticks but its never exact because its always based on experience and memory.

Tastes are subjective. What may remind one person of a PSD4 or Bolivar may remind someone else of a cremosa. How cigars are tasted has so much to do with huge variables such as your personal palate, your environment while you smoke, your mood, etc. etc. that it is impossible to definitively say this cigar taste like cigar and that cigar tastes like another cigar.

And lastly, even if you get recommendations, you don't have a basis for comparison. So you might try a recommended stick and it could be great, but you can't tell if it tastes like a certain CC because you've yet to try any.

My suggestion is hang tight, dive into the boards, find some cigars you think are great and smoke them. Don't complicate things by trying to over analyze. If you stick around and let everyone get to know you and contribute, doors will open eventually. Until then, enjoy the ride down by finding some cigars that you love and smoke them.

EDIT: I know I didn't exactly answer your questions, but I'll at least give you a stick suggestion. Perdomo Cabinet Reserve Cameroon, HdM Excalibur V maduro, 5 Vegas A series, and the Fuente King B. Give those sticks a try if you ever come across them. They're some of my favorites and all offer unique flavor profiles and reasonable price tags. They're great sticks even for someone just starting down the slope, not CCs but its the best suggestion I got.
 
Last edited:
A lot of my same sentiments, congratulations. I just like raising debate where I can, the convo occupies me.

Good work! And I appreciate the suggestions, thank you.

Kegan :cb
 
I am a noob to this hobby as well, but I do have a basis for comparison. I can safely say that you aren't going to find a similar kind of flavor in an NC cigar. Not to say CCs are superior for any reason, as I love my NCs, but the Habanos I've smoked had a flavor I haven't taken from any NC cigar I've smoked (the "Cuban twang"). My new palate can't really tell you what it was, it was just different.

Having said that, I'm going to just say don't worry about it. You aren't missing out on the greatest of pleasures do to a universal injustice imparted by your tyrannical government, just a different kind of smoke that many people prefer. Buy some good NCs and enjoy them without the worry over what you're missing. Some Cuban-smokers and grizzled cigar vets might disagree with me, but NCs these days are just as good as CCs, they just have different kinds of flavors. Just enjoy the hobby - one of these days you'll smoke a CC, but for now don't fret. Explore what you can and have a good time doing it.
 
Snake Hips said:
I am a noob to this hobby as well, but I do have a basis for comparison. I can safely say that you aren't going to find a similar kind of flavor in an NC cigar. Not to say CCs are superior for any reason, as I love my NCs, but the Habanos I've smoked had a flavor I haven't taken from any NC cigar I've smoked (the "Cuban twang"). My new palate can't really tell you what it was, it was just different.

Having said that, I'm going to just say don't worry about it. You aren't missing out on the greatest of pleasures do to a universal injustice imparted by your tyrannical government, just a different kind of smoke that many people prefer. Buy some good NCs and enjoy them without the worry over what you're missing. Some Cuban-smokers and grizzled cigar vets might disagree with me, but NCs these days are just as good as CCs, they just have different kinds of flavors. Just enjoy the hobby - one of these days you'll smoke a CC, but for now don't fret. Explore what you can and have a good time doing it.
Click to expand...

:tpd:

I am not a huge CC fan......i believe it is more the hype of the fact you aren't supposed to have them. They are just OK to me....give a PAM 64 anny or an good RP decade over a CC any day...IMHO....:D
 
To your original question, think you can fool Em'? It's allready been done, many times, folks that have smoked many Cuban cigars have made the claim that they could blindly pick a cuban cigar from a non-cuban, only to be surprised.

I'm no cigar expert, and especially with Cuban cigars but I've smoked quite a few, and usually keep a few boxes of Cubans in the cooler, and just like any cigar some Cuban cigars are better than others, but to say that all Cuban cigars have a similar flavor based on just the fact that the tobacco was grown in Cuba, Im not sold yet.... I've enjoyed Cuban Cigars and Non Cuban cigars, so just take your time enjoy what you smoke now, you'll have your chance to smoke some of the forbidden leaf soon enough, just dont be to surprised if it dosent rock your world, after all it's still tobacco.
 
The only non-Cuban cigar I've had that could have been mistaken for a Cuban was a Camacho, when the line was first introduced. I had one from one of their very first batches and it was a very good, young Cuban-tasting cigar.

Honorable mention would have to go to the Tatuaje Noella, which have occasionally reminded me of a Cuban cigar.
 
Last edited:
rck70 said:
:tpd:

I am not a huge CC fan......i believe it is more the hype of the fact you aren't supposed to have them. They are just OK to me....give a PAM 64 anny or an good RP decade over a CC any day...IMHO....:D
Click to expand...

I used to be in the same boat....until...I had a quality aged CC and let me tell you, nothing on the NC side of the house can come close the taste, smoothness, and appreciation I had. Now I'm trying to find NCs that I like enough to store and smoke on occasion...most of my stock is being switched.
 
IMO, the cigars that come the closest to cubans, that i have tried, are tatuaje's. specifically the havana VI line. they have done an exceptional job at copying the taste,aroma and look of a habano.
so well i think, if someone were to expose johnson and pepin of using actuall cuban leaf in the tatuaje's, i would not be surprised (tee hee!).
just my opinion of course, they are very, very close to cubans. if one were to do a blind taste test, they might say it was of cuban origin.
 
Jay Hemingway said:
IMO, the cigars that come the closest to cubans, that i have tried, are tatuaje's. specifically the havana VI line. they have done an exceptional job at copying the taste,aroma and look of a habano.
so well i think, if someone were to expose johnson and pepin of using actuall cuban leaf in the tatuaje's, i would not be surprised (tee hee!).
just my opinion of course, they are very, very close to cubans. if one were to do a blind taste test, they might say it was of cuban origin.
Click to expand...

I have also heard the same thing about some of their Cabuguan line, excluding the Guapo.

Some CC's are out of this world with the proper age and others are just another cigar.

Two of the same cigars, with three years difference in age can be so different that you wouldn't think they were the same. Three years on a party short made one nirvana down to the nub and the other (which cost 15 Euro or about $25 USD) got tossed half way through.

Enjoy your trip.
Ken
 
croatan said:
The only non-Cuban cigar I've had that could have been mistaken for a Cuban was a Camacho, when the line was first introduced. I had one from one of their very first batches and it was a very good, young Cuban-tasting cigar.

Honorable mention would have to go to the Tatuaje Noella, which have occasionally reminded me of a Cuban cigar.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I was thinking, the Tatuaje Cabinet Noella really stands out. Now I have only had a handful of real Monte's, but that Noella comes off pretty damn cubanesque. I bet quite a few people could not tell the difference.
 
perhaps "cubanesque" is the best way to describe some nc's. to me, some of the tatuajes are the only ones i'd put in that category.
but if you think about it..... are there any hondurans that taste like dominicans? or any nicaraguans?
 
I will preface this by saying, when it comes to cigars, I am still learning (and being taught by many here) and consider myself a newbie.

That being said, I am steadily increasing my box stock off CCs and trying as many different kinds as I can, and to my newbie palate, I enjoy the Illusione line as much as the CCs I have been experimenting with (not in any way shape or form an aged expert yet, that is my next step..lol).

Last night I had an Illusione ~hl~, and it compared very favorable to a Monte Especial I had a few days before (again, newbie palate here). I rave about this line daily.

I hope my input was in some way valuable.
 
Costa said:
Last night I had an Illusione ~hl~, and it compared very favorable to a Monte Especial I had a few days before (again, newbie palate here). I rave about this line daily.
Click to expand...

I had another ~hl~ two nights ago. They are very good.

Another one that is interesting and simular to some CC's is the Tatuaje Especiale.
 
It is my opinion then, after reading each and every post carefully, that any similarities found between a CC and an NC lie within the smoker's own perception. We are all different, and therefore hold different values as to what constitutes a good smoke. One man's steak is another man's fish, that sort of mentality.

I stepped into this thread looking for a substitute for a Cuban, a cigar I feel is good, yet possibly overhyped due to its status in the American land. Instead, I came away with words of wisdom that can be summed up fairly well; live for yourself and none other. Only by staying true to yourself can you hope to truly see yourself, as you really are.

Time and again, I have read the standard definition of a cigar, touted as a delicacy: honey-drenched notes of fine English leather, sweetened by drops of chocolate overtones and drizzled with nuances of the oldest aged cognac brandy. It's all marketing, people. Go dip a saddlehorn in honey, drip chocolate on it, and let it soak in brandy for a week. How's it taste?

Beauty is truly within each beholder, be it art, music, or cigars.

Kegan :cb
 
kzm007 said:
It is my opinion then, after reading each and every post carefully, that any similarities found between a CC and an NC lie within the smoker's own perception. We are all different, and therefore hold different values as to what constitutes a good smoke. One man's steak is another man's fish, that sort of mentality.

I stepped into this thread looking for a substitute for a Cuban, a cigar I feel is good, yet possibly overhyped due to its status in the American land. Instead, I came away with words of wisdom that can be summed up fairly well; live for yourself and none other. Only by staying true to yourself can you hope to truly see yourself, as you really are.

Time and again, I have read the standard definition of a cigar, touted as a delicacy: honey-drenched notes of fine English leather, sweetened by drops of chocolate overtones and drizzled with nuances of the oldest aged cognac brandy. It's all marketing, people. Go dip a saddlehorn in honey, drip chocolate on it, and let it soak in brandy for a week. How's it taste?

Beauty is truly within each beholder, be it art, music, or cigars.

Kegan :cb
Click to expand...
Read this thread. It is an educational experience:
http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=130048&highlight=floydpink
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top