Post-Embargo Havanas: Normalizing Cuban Cigars

Source from:  Barron's 01/04/2015

Normalizing trade relations with Cuba has stoked cigar lovers' dreams of getting their hands on the country's prized export more easily. But if looser trade rules trigger a Cuban cigar bonanza, smokers may end up longing for the bad old days.

Cigars boomed in the '90s, and imports of premium cigars exploded from around 100 million annually in 1992 to over 400 million in 1997. To meet demand, cigar makers ramped up production, including in Cuba. The result: the stogies stunk. "A lot of connoisseurs tend to avoid cigars made in those years because a lot of them just weren't as good as what they were used to smoking," says David Savona, executive editor of Cigar Aficionado. "Cigars are a product that take a lot of time to make well," he says. He worries that quality will go up in smoke if Cubans become readily available.

Cuban cigars are already feeling the competitive heat. This year's Cigar Aficionada No. 1 cigar was Nicaragua's Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado; Nicaraguan cigars took four of the top 10 spots, compared with just one Cuban, the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial (Tubo) at No. 4. "Cuba is to cigars what France is to wine," says Savona. "But I don't think everyone who smokes the great cigars made outside of Cuba are going to give up on those brands." Enditem