 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The quality of Cuban cigars continues to improve and some excellent new cigars continue to be created, according to Suckling. He told the story of being hung up at customs when leaving Cuba as agents put his tobacco to close scrutiny in the spirit of a new policy aimed at preventing the sale of counterfeit cigars to tourists. "Everything was fine until he saw my blue passport with an eagle, stamped United States of America," said Suckling. The new policy requires purchasers to show receipts that prove any cigars removed from the country were bought at legitimate stores. Boxes must also have a new hologram sticker affixed to their bottom right-hand corners. (The full story of Suckling's travails will be told in his Cigar Diary column in the February issue of Cigar Aficionado.) Suckling, who reports regularly on Cuban cigars for the magazine, laid the improvement in Havana cigars to influence from the Spanish company Altadis S.A., which now owns 50 percent of Habanos S.A., the company that exports Cuban cigars to the rest of the world. "After buying Habanos," Suckling said, "they knew they had to change things. They had to add value to their investment." The editor, who had regularly reported a decline in Cuban cigars during a push a few years ago to double production, recommended checking box codes and purchasing cigars made after June 2002, which would provide the best quality.
He also reported that limited-edition cigars and humidors are a big trend in Cuba, although he remarked that the Cuban cigar industry has a tendency to overdo it. "You get to the point where they're creating a limitado to celebrate the fourth anniversary of some roller's dog." Suckling allowed that of the cigars launched in Cuba in the last couple years, his favorite is the Cohiba Siglo VI. On the downside, the Cuban industry hasn't addressed problems in the countryside where tobacco is grown, he said. Troubles still exist in getting adequate supplies of gasoline as well as fertilizer and chemicals for disease resistance where they are needed. "The government isn't very good at running a business." In stating that he felt Cuban and non-Cuban cigars are becoming closer in quality, Suckling noted that Cuban cigarmakers also seem more impressed these days with the cigars created for the American market. He agreed with the assessment: "I'm just as happy to smoke a great Cuban as to smoke a great cigar from Nicaragua or the Dominican Republic." Suckling also offered some insight into his personal cigar odyssey, commenting that he first smoked tobacco through a pipe as a college student. He was converted to cigars rather quickly. "After I got tired of trying to light the damn thing all the time, I quit." Filed by Jack Bettridge |
Aside from relating the story of a dodgy departure on his last trip to Cuba, James Suckling, Cigar Aficionado European editor, reported very good news on the subject of Havana cigars during his Cuban report at the Big Smoke Las Vegas.
According to Suckling, efforts toward quality control include consolidating production in certain factories. For instance, now Partagas cigars will be made only in the Partagas factory and Ramon Allones in the La Corona factory. In recent years, smokers had to become fluent in the Cuban box codes to tell where their cigars had been rolled, despite the label on the bands. "Less and less of the excellent cigars are being made in provincial factories," said Suckling.