I went to Varadero Cuba a few years ago (US$ 1,200 bucks a whole week in a suite, all included even airplane ticket is a bargain) and the first thing I asked for was Cohiba Cigars, but the mother fu**ers of the hotel sold them at US$ 120.00 the medium class 20 cigars box.

An employee of the hotel saw that I refused to pay the price and told me he could sell me better cigars at a cheaper price.

So I rented a motorcycle (2 bucks per hour) and went to his house a bit far from Varadero (Depressing, all the family grandparents included lived in a two rooms apartment with a salary of 20 bucks a month) he took a case from bellow the bed and there they were, all the Cohiba boxes with official seal (You can't take the cigars out of Cuba if the box doesn't have the seals).

I bought 2 of the most expensive De Luxe Wooden Boxes at US$ 25.00 each one (plus two 3 Kilograms Coffee bags), he told me that the official price is 20 bucks, but the resorts have bought the rights to sell them to idiot tourists so they raised the price.

I had doubts of the authenticity of the cigars, but the clerk at the customs open my luggage, took the coffee and cigar boxes , checked the seals with ultra violet light and a magnetic sensor detector, then I  knew it was the real deal.

Really excellent cigars and even better coffee.

Iván

Being 50% Cuban (My father was born grew up in Cuba and left when Castro went first into power, he was about 16 at the time), and living in America, the first thing that people ever say to me when I thell them that I am Cuban is, "You got Cigars?"

It get's old.

ivan_2068 wrote: I went to Varadero Cuba a few years ago (US$ 1,200 bucks a whole week in a suite, all included even airplane ticket is a bargain) and the first thing I asked for was Cohiba Cigars, but the mother fu**ers of the hotel sold them at US$ 120.00 the medium class 20 cigars box. An employee of the hotel saw that I refused to pay the price and told me he could sell me better cigars at a cheaper price. So I rented a motorcycle (2 bucks per hour) and went to his house a bit far from Varadero (Depressing, all the family grandparents included lived in a two rooms apartment with a salary of 20 bucks a month) he took a case from bellow the bed and there they were, all the Cohiba boxes with official seal (You can't take the cigars out of Cuba if the box doesn't have the seals). I bought 2 of the most expensive De Luxe Wooden Boxes at US$ 25.00 each one (plus two 3 Kilograms Coffee bags), he told me that the official price is 20 bucks, but the resorts have bought the rights to sell them to idiot tourists so they raised the price. I had doubts of the authenticity of the cigars, but the clerk at the customs open my luggage, took the coffee and cigar boxes , checked the seals with ultra violet light and a magnetic sensor detector, then I  knew it was the real deal. Really excellent cigars and even better coffee. Iván

When I went there was a fellow who sold wooden boxes of Romeo and Juliet for 20$us a box. I was sceptical but he insisted I smoked one before I bought any. They were real, i brought them home and sold an entire box for 5$ canadian a cigar, which is less than 1/3 of the stand price for the cigars i had in canada (about 16$ a peice). Quite a tidy profit that was.