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IMHO, Cubans now adays aren't any better than many of the premiums from other locations. Plus, from what I have learned, Cuba exports to the rest of the world, except us, and everyone else exports to us and not much to the rest of the world, so Cubans have less time to properly age. In other words, and from personal experience, fresh Cubans are harsh and not really a very pleasant smoke.
If you get some, leave them in the humidor for several years, just to put some nice age on them. I have about 40+ left in my stash and most have been there quite a while. After they age a bit, they can be really good experience.
Enjoy.
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Not necessarily true. At one point in time Cuban cigars were sold green. The fermentation of the leaf was not complete, and there was a lot of off flavors due to the ammonia production and degassing of the tobacco leaf. Buying and aging Cuban cigars was indeed a required thing. Today Cuban tobacco is matured just as it is done everywhere else.
Today, smoking one right off the truck after being delivered yes you may have issues. Most times they are generally shipped over humidified to survive the 30-45 day transit so laying them down to rest is always a good rule to follow. I generally always try one ROTT, but I hold low expectations. Most CC being sold today are ready to smoke right now, however they will improve greatly with age. Depending to the cigar it might be 2 years, or 10 it depends. Some may be just ok fresh, but after several years they go to WOW! Also, one can get custom rolled cigars that have zero age from custom rollers located in Cuba. These custom rolled cigars are known to be outstanding fresh off the roller's bench and they only improve with age.
Habanos s.a. has even begun to old and age leaf for 5-8 years on certain cigars as well as the holding back of rolled boxes then revising the date stamp and labeling the boxes "Revisado".
Getting a dud from any cigar maker is a certainty, it happens. Cuban cigars suffer from a lot of issues due to construction i.e. too tight, too loose. Certain rolling houses have better quality control than others but it isn't uncommon to have boxes missing bands, inserts from other brands, cigars inverted, too much glue on the bands, ect. Cubans also have the issue of being counterfeited to a high degree. When was the last time you saw a counterfeit Rocky Patel or Arturo Fuente ?
I am not saying that CCs are better than all other cigars as that would not be true. There are great cigars being rolled today from all over the world. Cuban cigars are not all premium cigars either. One can find peso cigars, cheap and cheerful CCs that cost only a few dollars each such as Jose Piedra Brevas that are just great . They may not be as complex and nuanced but they still have that twang that underlines all CCs These are not the cigars lauded by most. Who brags about buying a box of Jose Piedra? People do not fly or take cruises to Cuba to pack suitcases with peso cigars to bring back. No, they buy top end cigars and brag about being gifted Cohibas, ect. The same goes with non Cuban cigars. There are crap, okay, great, fantastic. Just because you are more acquainted with these brands/lines do not make them any better, equal, or worse. Just different.
Cuba does have lean years on production but the only thing that happens is the price is driven up. What also happens is Habanos s.a. will prune lines to lessen the amount of cigars line being produced. Since all Cuban cigar production is .gov controlled the .gov looks over brand lines and periodically cuts out similar lines in a bid to streamline production and to better allocate resources to better selling lines. China is the largest buyer of Cuban cigars today. If the US would open up to Cuban imports there would be huge issues as the demand for CC would explode.