Tonight, I have a craving for something very illegal.

[DemoTex]

I need a Cuban Montecristo #5, and I need it quick. Haven't had a MC-5 in years. Not since that last batch I smuggled in from London in 1995. Almost got busted on that run. The dog found the Cuban cigars in my camera bag at the Philly baggage claim area. Fortunately, it was the Department of Agriculture dog .. not Customs. The Ag guy laughed and said that his beagle was often thrown off by pungent Cuban cigars.

My question: What is a good approximation of a Montecristo that is available in the US?

[burythehatchet]

1. I know very little about ceegars DemoTex, but for what its worth

I absolutely love LaGloria's. And they're 100% legal.

:smoke:

[DemoTex]

6. Are they like ... er ...

Swisher Sweets? Tampa Nuggets? Just kidding. I'll look for them. This is a once-in-five-years craving. A dozen seegars over a few days will cure the itch.

[iconoclastic cat]

2. Oh, I thought you were coming on to us.

Still...

[Marvelous_Smarty]

5. We used to smuggle them through Mexico.

Just buy a case of Mexican cigars, switch bands on them, put them in the Mexican cigar box.

[iconoclastic cat]

8. That's it, Marv. You've posted one post over the line.

I'm buddy-listing your ass.

[Cuban_Liberal]

3. Joya de Nicaraguas are good.

100% Cuban seed, all natural wrapper, etc. .

:D

[jmowreader]

4. Try a Genuine Pre-Embargo Counterfeit Cuban

These are supposed to be reminiscent of the cigars Havana turned out before JFK filled his humidor for the last time. Seeing as how I wasn't smoking cigars when the embargo was imposed, I can't vouch for the authenticity of this vitola, but it's a good cigar nonetheless.

Another interesting stick is the Montecristo Afrique, the only cigar I know of that has African filler tobacco. There are cigars out there that have Cameroon wrappers, but only one with Tanzanian filler--and that's the Afrique.

Now, if you want your ass kicked hard, try http://www.marscigars.com/category.html?UCIDs=1218618 which is a cigar containing some Perique tobacco from Louisiana. Perique is too powerful to make a puro from, so they have to add some South American fillers to buffer it out.

[DemoTex]

12. Is Perique what Picayune cigarettes are made from?

In college in the mid-60s we used to smoke the dreadful Picayune weed. Four musicians in a car, headed for a gig in Biloxi, all huffing Picayunes with the windows up. Severe IFR in the car and irredeemable damage to the upholstery. I quit smoking in 1968 (after 3-months and a collapsed lung), but I do have a craving for a good seegar.

[jmowreader]

23. Doubtful but possible

I found a picture of a pack of Picayune cigarettes, which are billed as "extra mild" (a description that would NOT apply to anything with Perique in it!) and "the Pride of New Orleans." Perique, of course, is grown in Louisiana and, I'd assume, had a larger range than it has now. Maybe there was enough to put some in cigarettes.

I checked Perique out last night. There's only one guy down there who still grows it and he only has 50 acres set aside to it. (The only place they have the right soil is in St. James Parish in Louisiana.) To cure the Perique, they first hang it for two weeks. Next, they strip the hard veins, put it in a barrel that excludes air from the product, and start applying pressure from this big oak screw device. Every day they tighten the screw a bit, and every month they "turn" the tobacco. Six months later, the tobacco is ready to be used.

[Hoping4Change]

7. No you really do not want it. Read on.

Last year the CBC did a big expose on cigars. Something like 90% are knockoffs and not harmless knockoffs. They were found to contain all sorts of unpleasnand unsanitary things like bugs. CBC found fraudulent cigars in the most exclusive cigar stores and it nigh impossible to tell. Why not have an apple, instead?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

22. There's nothing wrong with smoking bugs.

I used to smoke roaches all the time.

[greatauntoftriplets]

9. Oh, duh, I thought you meant one of these.....

:hippie:

[burythehatchet]

11. damn! I haven't seen a fatty like that since like

last week.

:)

[soothsayer]

10. Go with a Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur

Or if you can find a PG (Paul Garmirian), those are great cigars, too.

Lucky me, I actually have some Cuban Montecristos...!

[indigobusiness]

13. Try a Rafael Gonzalez from Famous Smokes

I was surprised.

Or get a real MC through Canadian Cigars.com

I'm partial to Sancho Panza Quixotes, but that's me.

[DemoTex]

14. I see Montecristos on the internet.

Can I get shipment of MCs, legally?

[indigobusiness]

15. They discuss that on the websites

but I'm not sure. It confuses me.

[DemoTex]

16. When Kerry is President, things will be different.

Right. Trade with Cuba normalized. Montecristo cigars in 7-11s. Right?

[indigobusiness]

17. Maybe so,

but I like Cuba with all its old cars running like tops and the innocence of the ordinary people...not to mention the puros.
I hope it never changes in some respects, but those people need a break. And we need their cigars.

[DemoTex]

18. On invasion day of Iraq (Shock-'n-Awe) I listened to Radio Habana on SW.

They had the best English language coverage of the US invasion of Iraq.

[indigobusiness]

19. No kidding?

Why doesn't that surprise me?



George Bush in search of a clue.

[2Design]

20. the guy who won apprentice had an online cigar store......of expensive

cigars

[Arwennick]

21. Partega's

I bought a box of Cuban Partegas in Montego Bay in May.No problem bringing them in through customs in Atlanta.I still have 21 of them,and no, you can't have one.I also smoked some rightious ganja while there,it was cheaper than the puro's.