Cigar Shops/Sources in Spain/Portugal?

[ChanceSchmerr]

Hey Everyone,

At my fiancee's behest (to see her Portugese Grandparents sooner, rather than...later), I'm planning to make a trip to Portugal sometime in early Summer 2010, probably July-ish. We'll be in Arcos-de-Valdevez, about 40 Mi/60 KM north of Porto.

Anywho, being the cigar hound that I am fast becoming, I am very interested to go to some stores in Portugal/Spain to see what kind of boxes of unique/RE/Discontinued/Sancho Panza cigars I can find......so, does anyone know any excellent, well-stocked tobacconists in the following areas?

- Porto, Portugal

- Lisbon, Portugal

- Santiago de Compostela, Spain

- Madrid, Spain

- Sevilla, Spain

- Gibraltar

This is not to say that I'm not a big fan of purchasing from Czar! I just like to do a bit of Cigar touristing, and Spain has the rep of being a huge market for Habanos, so I can't not have a look around.

Thanks for any advice/info!

[Colt45]

Chance, if you do a search for Spain clicking on search titles only, you'll find a few threads. I don't recall if they pertain to the areas you

are visiting or not. Personally, I'd probably be wine drinking my way through both countries .

Safe travels!

[Ryan]

Try this link.

Estancos In Santiago

Any Estancos (Spanish tobacco shops) that say "Cava de Puros" (eg. the third one in the list above) will have a cigar humidor, most are almost solely cigarettes.

Estancos will have a deep red and yellow "t" sign outside.

The Cohiba Gran Reserva is €45 per cigar in Spain, probably the best price outside Cuba. The Ramon Allones Grandes RE 2008 is a very good cigar, there may well be some boxes left. The VR Maestro from 2007 is also very good, you might have a harder time finding them.

If you see a cigar/box you want, buy it. You won't find it cheaper anywhere else, prices are government controlled in Spain and I've never seen a shop sell a cigar for anything other than the official price.

Spanish Prices, scroll down a bit for "cigarros" prices, make sure you are looking at the "peninsula" list. Cigars are cheaper in some areas outside mainland Spain. Prices on the left are in estancos, prices on the right are in "second channel" outlets such as restaurants, hotels etc. Second channel outlets can charge 15% more, they always do.

As for wine, you're in Albarino country there. I think it goes very well with cigars, nice appley/peachy flavours.

For Seville, do a search for "Cava de Betis". This is a decent little shop with a walk-in. There is another shop in Seville around the corner from it, the name of which I can't remember. Not much choice in Andalusia.

Check ahead for opening hours for shops, many are closed all weekend and will close for siesta from 2 - 5 pm, though shops often stay open all day for tourists in the summer.