David Savona
 |
David Savona
Most Recent Posts:
-
May 3, 2013
A Politician Who Embraces A Smoky Room -
Apr 17, 2013
An Unforgettable Night -
Apr 15, 2013
The TAA Show -
Mar 22, 2013
The Labors of the Land
See Also:
Hidden Gems
Posted: May 20, 2011 12:00am ET
On my latest trip to Cuba, I was reminded of my first visit to the island, back in 1996. I was a relative cigar rookie back then, and the first time I stepped into a Havana cigar store I was awed at the sight of all those great Cuban cigars staring at me when I walked into the humidor. To me, it looked like paradise.
I was with a couple of Cuban cigar
veterans on that trip, and I paid attention. The first thing they did
was flip the boxes over, to take a look at the codes on the bottom. They
were hunting for older stock.
Today, cigars in Cuba
have easy-to-read dates on their boxes, but in those days, the dates
were coded with a system known as NIVEL ACUSO. We broke that code in the
February 1996 issue of Cigar Insider (and boy,
were the folks at Habanos mad, but that's another story). That code is
no longer used, but if you happen to stumble across some old Cuban boxes
it's good to know, so I'll repeat it here.
NIVEL ACUSO
12345 67890
So the letter N
stands for 1, I is for 2, and so on down the line. S stands for 9, and
the letter O is the number zero. Back in those days I remember flipping
boxes of my own and uncovering a box of Sancho Panza coronas with the
code NSSO-1990. They were six years old, and were priced at all of $55
for the box of 25. And they were absolutely delicious.
I visited
every Casa del Habano in Havana during my one-week visit to Cuba in
early May, and while there's nothing left from 1990 that I could find, I
did uncover several boxes with a few years of box age on them. Cigars
tend to get better with age, so it pays dividends to flip your boxes and
take a look for something that's a little old.
I did a little
video at the superb Casa del Habano at Club Habana, the fabulous cigar
shop run by Enrique Mons, to illustrate this point. Take a look.
Sometimes you even get lucky and find
something with a little age from one of Cuba's big names. Gordon went
digging in the very large and well stocked Casa del Habano at the
Nacional Hotel. He called me over, excited, and showed me a cabinet of
50 Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas from 2008.
Not all age is
good age when it comes to cigars, of course. There were some darker
times for Cuban cigars. A lot of the cigars from the very late 1990s
through about 2002 are prone to problems. Cuba had tons of construction
issues (particularly tight draws) and there seemed to be a shortage of
ligero on the island.
That said, I couldn't
resist an open box of Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo des Diex from 1999 I saw
at the Casa del Habano at Quinta Avenida. At first I thought they were
Jose Piedras due to what was written on the box, but after a second
glance I saw it read "no se pierda," which means "do not miss." It was
about six bucks, so I figured I'd take a shot and see what it was like.
I clipped, lit
and puffed, and it was my first cigar of the day. Not a blockbuster by
any means, but mild, tasty, elegant, sublime, in all a fine morning
cigar.
Flip your boxes. You'll be happy you did.
Comments 8 comment(s)
Jeremiah Wood — Athens, GA, — May 24, 2011 1:56am ET
stantine972 — May 24, 2011 8:03pm ET
Do you think they would ever raise the price of the box of cigars, due to the age? Or are they just happy to sell the older boxes and restock with new.
David Serna — Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, — May 28, 2011 9:59am ET
They sure do raise the prices of vintage Cuban's at Harrods in Knightsbridge London.
Bradley Froling — May 30, 2011 9:05pm ET
David,
I have been reading Cigar Aficionado since its first publication, and am a discerning cigar lover. I was wondering if you could email me as I have some private questions I'd like to ask about Cuba. My email is bfroling@schwartzbradley.com. I'd most sincerely appreciate it.
David Savona — May 31, 2011 9:53am ET
Stantine, in Cuba the older boxes sell for the same price as the recent boxes. Quite the bargain.
Taylor Franklin — June 5, 2011 3:49am ET
Indeed, quite the bargain.
However, in Cuba you'd be very hard-pressed to find boxes from the 80's or early 90's unless you had a serious hook-up.
The heritage of laying-down boxes or bundles is more of a British or European custom. The nice part is, many Americans are doing the same.
Patience and cigars go hand-in-hand.
Narey Ramos — Miami, FL, 33165, — June 11, 2011 10:47pm ET
David, do you have any suggestions as to where to find older cigar boxes in Cuba? I am asking because Habanos, SA is opening many new Casas de Habano inside Cuba and perhaps they supply new boxes to those places, whereas the older stores keep a wider and older selection of cigars that have been part of their inventory for a long time.
James Hankins — June 23, 2011 8:30am ET
Mr. Savona,
I am currently serving in the military in South Korea. I have been to a cigar shop here and saw they had "Cubans". Korea is notorious for producing knock of merchandise and was wondering if you knew a way to tell a real Cuban from a Dominican with a Cuban label based on the cigar alone? (if that’s possible).
Please log in to post a comment—registration is FREE.
RSS
For all of us in America (and still keeping it legal)...maybe one day.
I do suggest doing something similar in American shops as well. I used to work at a retailer near Atlanta and some of the best cigars I ever smoked were those I knew weren't selling and had been on the shelf awhile. Ask the owner, "What's good and been sitting on the shelves awhile?" They don't want to keep it secret, because they want to move those cigars. I remember an El Rey de los Habanos torpedo that was on the sales shelf to be one of the tastier cigars I had ever smoked (for those fans of medium bodied Don Pepin stuff).