Learn About Cigars

Partagas Black Label Maximo - $ 79.99 In order to create Partagas Black Label, Daniel Nunez and his colleagues spent 10 years perfecting the Medio Tempo wrapper and the La Vega Especial binder. Cuban-seed Medio Tempo wrappers are darker, heavier and richer than other wrappers because they are harvested only after they have been allowed to age on their plants 50% longer than other wrapper leaves. The La Vega Especial binder is sun-grown in the Dominican Republic to give it a deep, rich flavor of its own. To enhance the cigar's full-bodied character even further, the blend is a mixture of Nicaraguan Ligero and Dominican Piloto Cubano Ligero. These tobaccos and a larger ring gauge translate into a richer, fuller-bodied flavor. Partagas Black Label is an espresso of a cigar, extremely dark in color and extra rich in flavor.

As you probably know, Cuba has the reputation as the home of the best cigars in the world. Whether this is due to the tobacco friendly microclimates that exist there, the skill of the cigar makers or just a little bit of hype is kind of beside the point. The point is that they’re fine cigars but politics makes them hard to come by in the USA. This has given them a near “holy grail” status among American cigar smokers.

In 1963, soon after the communist revolution that brought Castro to power and the failed, CIA sponsored, Bay of Pigs invasion fiasco, the cigar embargo began. Ever since them it has been illegal to import Cuban cigars into the United States except under some very strict circumstances. Unfortunately, you can expect things to stay this way as long as Castro and his crew are in charge of Cuba and the US Presidential election can be decided by a hanging chad on a ballot in south Florida. It remains to be seen if Castro’s decision in February 2008 to no longer be the head of the Cuban government will affect this situation positively or not.

For now, the only legal way for someone to import a cigar from Cuba into the US is to bring them back from an officially sanctioned visit to the island nation. US law limits the returning visitor to only $100 worth of cigars and these cigars must be intended for personal use and not for resale on the open market. Reselling such cigars is illegal.

Of course, many a cigar aficionado is willing to take the risk of violating the law to get their hands on some of the world’s very best cigars. Now, I don’t want to tell you that you should violate the law but the way the law works is that it does not make it illegal to possess these cigars, only to trade, buy or sell them. So, coming by them in a legal gray area is the key.

What you don’t want to be caught doing is buying and selling them within the US. This can expose you to significant legal risks including hefty fines and even imprisonment. Don’t do this! If you’re going to skirt the fine edges of the law, do it for your own enjoyment. If that’s the case, usually the worst that will happen is that your cigars get confiscated as contraband.

I also don’t recommend buying Cubans from someone you don’t know. Many people take advantage of others by selling them replicas from elsewhere in world. Since you’re engaging in an illegal transaction there is no legal recourse if you are duped by a con man. And, believe me, there are plenty of con men ready and willing to take your money in exchange for a box of counterfeit cigars.

One of the easiest ways to get some genuine Cuban cigars is to take a little vacation to Canada, Mexico or another country where there is no embargo. There you can enjoy a fine Cuban cigar without violating US laws.

If you want to bring some back, well, be careful. Customs agents do inspect cigars and will confiscate any Cubans they find. Some are even savvy enough to detect repackaged ones. Don’t fall for the suggestion that simple repackaging will fool busy inspectors. Face it, anything more than a few cigars, even a single box, might bring unwanted customs police scrutiny upon you. You can probably slip a few back into the States if you’re careful and discrete but don’t try to line your pockets or supply all your smoking buddies. You may end up in more trouble than you counted upon.