Customs in havana

[Viva Vegas]

Has the price went up on customs in Havana in the past few years as boxed cigars did ?

[Corylax18]

Yes and no. The desirable ones have, the less desirable ones haven't. For example, La Chine, at the Partagas shop has raised her prices quite a bit. Most sizes are going to run between $12 and $25 bucks. I still think its worth it to pick up a few, but less than I used to. They are still very good from a construction and flavor (to my palate) standpoint. 

From what I saw, the price for customs at the Hotel Nacional LCDH are still the same as they've been for years. But I've never really liked the cigars from there and that roller doesn't have much of a following. I'm not even certain if its the same guy that's been rolling there for years. 

More in the middle would be the woman that replaced Alex at Hotel Commodoro. Her prices are in the same range, maybe a bit higher than Alex's where, but the cigars just aren't as good. They aren't bad, but they just aren't at the same level as what Alex used to produce. 

I would recommend buying a few from any rollers you are interested in at the beginning of your trip to sample before you go deep on anything. If you are there long enough, you may be able to place an order for them to complete and you can pick it up before you head out of town. 

 

[El Presidente]

15 minutes ago, Corylax18 said:

From what I saw, the price for customs at the Hotel Nacional LCDH are still the same as they've been for years. But I've never really liked the cigars from there and that roller doesn't have much of a following.

 

Ditto 

[Tstew75]

Honestly I'd fade the Cuban customs thing altogether. They used to be quite the bargain, but now are much in line with some nice RP offerings. I mean, $25 per stick? Come on...

I've just never found ultimate complexity to be there, regardless of roller.  

[NSXCIGAR]

5 hours ago, Tstew75 said:

$25 per stick?

That's insane. I actually didn't know since Juanita and La Chine just give them to me and I give them $10. They were always $6 or $8 so I figured $10 was really taking care of them! They still give them to me so I figured that's what they were. 

You can get almost any regular production single for less than $25. And quite frankly even the best customs I've never been a fan of.

[Corylax18]

15 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

That's insane. I actually didn't know since Juanita and La Chine just give them to me and I give them $10. They were always $6 or $8 so I figured $10 was really taking care of them! They still give them to me so I figured that's what they were. 

You can get almost any regular production single for less than $25. And quite frankly even the best customs I've never been a fan of.

Yeah, that's how I found out. The first time I went to Partagas La Chine was rolling pyramids, I grabbed a couple and dropped a twenty on the table. We went back to the smoking room and lit them up. It was really good, so about halfway through I walked back out to buy some more. La Chine had left by that point, but there was a price tag in front of the Pyramids that said $20 and a pile of lanceros was priced at $15. Salomones and DCs are apparently $25 now. I don't know if that's the price for everyone, but it appears to be the price for someone just walking in off the street. I had already bought too many by the time I thought about stopping by the Riviera.