cigar-cigars-cigar.com

The number of cigar aficionados has been steadily increasing with cigar becoming chic once again. Many celebrities and social icons can be seen enjoying a stick of their favorite cigar in public gatherings adding to its ever growing popularity. Cigars are made in many parts of the world but the most sought after types of cigars are Cuban cigars or Havana cigars as they are widely called. Authentic Cuban cigars undergo multiple sets of intricate processes during production, giving them a unique taste and aroma that won a large number of enthusiasts.

After production, Havana cigars are distributed to selected authorized dealers around the world. The remaining portion will be divided among local cigar shops which are mostly located in Havana. Though there is a large demand for Cuban cigar around the world, its availability is very limited especially in western countries where a significant percent of cigar aficionados belong. The inability of producers to meet the demands for Cuban cigars has urged opportunists to produce counterfeits which of course taste poorly compared to its authentic counterpart and are made of low quality materials, degrading the name of genuine Cuban cigars. With the large number of fake Cuban cigars running around the market, here are certain things to take note of when looking for genuine Cuban cigars.

* Probably the safest way to buy genuine Cuban cigars is to travel to Havana where Cuba distributes most of its Habanos for local sale. Be wary however of locals that would approach and try to sell Havana cigars. Seeing how profitable the cigar business is, there are a number of locals that would sell fakes to foreigners at a cheaper price claiming that what they sell were stolen from cigar factories or other stories proving how genuine their goods are.

* Only buy cigars from well established cigar store, a number of cigar shops in Spain, Canada, United Kingdom, and other countries are famous for selling genuine Cuban cigar and have good reputation.

* If the price is too good to be true, then it probably is. If you’re new to cigars, find out the market price for different classes of Cuban cigars, anything sold with a big reduction in price is most probably counterfeit.

* Examine the box, make sure it is tightly sealed and has a warranty seal marked on it. Avoid buying Havana cigars that come in boxes that appear to be damaged or tampered.

* If you’re allowed to open the box, examine the cigar by smelling it, genuine Cuban cigars have very rich and strong aroma, and if you have a bit of experience with cigars you would easily identify which is genuine and which is counterfeit.

* If you’re planning to buy cigars online, examine the website first. Most well established businesses would make sure that they have a formidable website set up for online customers. You may search for customer reviews about them as well.

Remember however, displayed above are only general tips on how to avoid counterfeit Cuban cigars. Experience is the best teacher, once you get a hand of how cigar enthusiasts do their business, finding and buying genuine Cuban cigar will become easier.

Among cigar smokers Cuban cigars are always abuzz.  However, legalized Cuban cigars aren’t as close as you might think.  Though there are many out there that suspect the embargo could be lifted in 2010, you can bet that there are other things that will have to happen before coveted Cubans are going to be legal in the USA.

Since the new administration has taken over, Barack Obama has discussed lifting the Cuban embargo and Cuban cigar lovers have salivated at the chance to get all the Cubans they can at reasonable prices.  It’s not likely, unfortunately, that this can happen overnight.  It is going to have to happen in stages and to quote Rush Limbaugh –“…you have no clue what is ahead of us as cigar smokers. What will happen is that the domestic manufacturers, defined by those who are in the Dominican and in Honduras, Nicaragua, Cameroon, all of the places where elements of cigars are grown, and all the places where they’re assembled, these people have in many cases marketed the brands of the Cuban cigars you’re talking about Hoyo De Monterrey, Punch, Simon Bolivar, all of these great Cuban brands have been marketed by other owners in the United States, and they are going to go to the Commerce Department, and they’re going to say we have made these brands popular, we have invested in the product and in the brand in this country, and they’re gonna ask the Commerce Department to ban the import of competing brand-name cigars from Cuba.”

Though it’s likely that we’re going to have to wait a while for Cuba cigars to be legal in the US I think that once Cubans are legal there will be a huge surge of cigar smokers and cigar smoking.  Much like the storm of online poker websites and poker players hit once Texas Hold’em became popular the cigar world will see the biggest cigar boom it has ever seen if Cuban cigars are legalized in the US.

There are also other economic factors that come into play when you’re talking about legalizing the most coveted cigars on the planet.  The economies of Honduras, The Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua will be severely affected once legal Cuban cigars are available to the masses. But, as I stated before, these economies will eventually come back to life stronger than ever once everyone realizes that Cuban cigars aren’t really that much different than the cigars produced in the above mentioned countries.  Not to mention that once Cuba has to produce cigars for Americans its production will be so overdone that the likelihood of the quality control diminishing is quite strong.

So, if you’re crossing your fingers for 2010 to be the year that you’re able to get all the Cuban cigars you want without having to sneak them in – keep dreaming!  We’ve got a long way before stocking up on Cubans will be legal in the US!

If you wish to use cigars as a gift we have great cigar gift ideas. Visit texcigars.com which offers the high quality cigars to choose from a collection of premium cigars, Cuban cigars, accessories and cigar samplers.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/cuban-cigars-legal-in-2010-close-but-no-cigar-1692299.html