Cuban Cigars on the Horizon?

The cigar world is buzzing lately with the new developments in the American-Cuban relationship.  Looking for “a new beginning,” President Obama has opened the door to Cuba to move in a new direction.  Obama has already started moving in that direction by dropping restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba.  He now looks to Raul Castro to continue the move in that direction, hoping that Cuba will make some allowances too.

As expected, this has sent the cigar world, well at least the American part of it, into frenzy.  Cigar forums everywhere are already talking about access to Cuban cigars, and what other changes will come with the end of the long-standing embargo.  I’d caution cigar smokers, though, to not get their hopes up too quickly.  I think the end of the embargo is still quite a ways off, and even when it ends, I don’t think Cuban cigars will be as accessible as everyone hopes.

Unless Cuba has been rolling and stocking cigars in preparation for the embargo’s death, I think we’ll have a true test of the economic supply v. demand theory.  Prices will most likely skyrocket because the supply, at first, won’t be able to meet the demand that American smokers will create.  So, unless you’re willing to pay outrageous prices (I’d go so far to say that many of today’s current Cuban cigar prices are already ridiculous), it might be awhile before you get to partake in today’s forbidden fruit.

That leads to another thought… Will Cuban cigars be so desired if they’re no longer forbidden?  I think that part of the appeal to many smokers in America is that they aren’t easily accessible so it creates a hightened experience when one can partake.  I hear about it often when someone goes abroad and is able to find a Cuban cigar to enjoy.  They don’t know anything about cigars in general, but I’ll be damned if that Cuban cigar wasn’t the best thing in the world.

So, what do you think?  Will the embargo end soon?  If and when it does, will you be part of the frenzy?

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   Se7en_Vandalay says:

   April 20, 2009 at 11:02 am

   Excellent post Ricky. I think you hit the nail on the head in so many ways. 1st – Marketers will tell you that the ‘limited/restricted’ availability of a product will help drive sales. If the embargo end, there will be an influx of smokers trying these once restricted cigars. But I imagine most will stick with the smokes they already enjoy after the fascination has worn off. I would also agree with the basic economics if the embargo ends. Prices as you said will ‘skyrocket’. Will manufacturers try to compensate for the demand by producing more cigars than they have in the last 50 years. What will that do to quality? Can they support the influx of consumers? If the embargo ends, I don’t think it’ll be as soon as some would like. And if it does I will not be apart of the immediate frenzy. Too many other high quality sticks that I enjoy or still need to.