Are CC's a bit in danger of 'falling behind'

[tippexx]

IMHO CC's are mostly great. But in many respects it seems to me that the factories are not developing their brands or adding new selections at the same pace as their NC counterparts. All snobbery aside, I'm finding that a lot of NC's are every bit as good tasting and lets be honest better constructed and Cubans.

I was just wondering is the Cuban Cigar Industry not in danger of doing what the British MotorCycle Industry did in the 60's, which was to more or less stand still, resting in the belief that their bikes were the best in the World and churning out the same old formula year on year ? while the Japanese stole the market?

[shuckins]

it seems to me the cc industry is focusing more on releasing re's and le's and just assembly lining their regular issues. of course the nc industry has been doing the same thing lately...

[Lee Nub]

Its that very reason why i go for Nc's over CC's. They both have there place in my humi, and i love them both, but Nc's have a much larger variety , i seem to buy and smoke many more Nc's than CC's.

[bigbarneyhotdog]

cc's taste better

[Dencappo]

CC's definitely have a more recognisable taste and aroma IMO. In other words, if you smoke or smell a CC, you KNOW it's a CC.

That said, I agree NC's are generally better constructed. There are some outstanding brands such as CAO and Oliva (specifically Serie V) and these are often easily as good as the best of the CC's I've smoked and better than many.

It's a real shame the NC market here is a fraction of the variety in the US market, but hey, that's what the web is for.

[Habana-Habanos]

Yeah here is my opininon, I am 100% for CC's, they look better (to me), they smell WAY better (to me), they taste WAY better (to me),they are just better..

[Habana-Habanos]

Butt if anyone reads this, who sells the Bahias on this forum? They are so NICE!!! If they were cuban I would believe it.

Cheers.

[captain duff]

Well choice is good, variety is good, but sometimes I think in our modern consumer society we haave choice for the sake of it, and often, particularly when I am in the supermarket and I have to stand in front of an aisle for minutes on end trying to work out what the best variety of something is amongs the dozens on offer, I think we verge on what has been aptly described as the terrorism of choice.

And so back to cigars. If you have a winning product, a good product, then why change it just for the sake of change? It seems to me that we have lots of different cuban brands all with their own characteristics (despite as we know all being owned by the same state company), and even within the brands lots of different choices in terms of size etc that also have their own distinct flavours etc. Plus of course we have the EL's and regional additions each year.

So I really have to ask, whast more do you want? It seems to me that the choice is more than adequate, particularly as you tend to find what you like and stick with it (while at the same time having the odd change to keep things interesting). And I for one would rather have a stock range that I can get to know over time and that I will know what to expect than the ever changing 'this years model' of some non-cuban brands where often it seems to be more about marketing than the product. With cubans the product sells itself, and change isn't always good (monty opens anyone?!)...

[Lionhound]

Know what you're saying Arf but wonder if it could be looked at a different way.
I was brought up with CC's as "the" real cigars. Cuba's a small place, limited resources etc, so we have had a chance to sample most of their wares, pick our favourites and enjoy.
Thats where your motorcycle analogy is flawed in that the cigar industry is not really affected by advances in technology. If I want a Trini Reye in 10 years, I want the same Trini Reye as I get now, not a sleeker faster one or one with a new blend of GM tobacco.
I think part of the NC thing is that we are only now starting to get the wide variety coming through to this country. Yes I agree that the consistency of quality is probably better, and yes there are some damn good ones about. However, I like my CC's, I know the ones I like, I know their profiles, I know which one I like on which occassion.
With NC's I've found a few that I like, and a lot that I'm not so keen on, but my problem is that there's such a vast array of different ones. Where do you draw the line.
I'm being rationed at the moment by the good lady for health reasons, but when I smoke a cigar, unless its particularly vile, I like to give it a chance and smoke it all the way through.
My problem is I don't feel I've had my smoke unless I've enjoyed it, relaxed and chilled out.
Here lies my NC problem. Too many cigars, not enough time...........well, that and trying to sneak a small cuban in without the wife finding out if I've had an NC that I wasn't so keen on.

[tippexx]

[QUOTE=Lionhound;102351]


Thats where your motorcycle analogy is flawed in that the cigar industry is not really affected by advances in technology.

Not quite what I meant, but I see nothing wrong in trying to improve blends and production techniques where possible.

[G-man]

Stuck in the 50s tonight ! And Castro's crops seem to have stalled ! It would be like only being able to eat plain pasta every night 24 7 365 it would get old. But with CC if you find one you enjoy then you've got it until next crop then maybe U have to move on.

[Pipe Dude]

I'm not sure the CC industry needs to move on (in terms of its product). If I ever had enough money to be able to smoke only the non-LE/RE production CCs as often as I wanted to, I'd probably never smoke an NC again - even considering that the best cigar I ever had was an NC. That's not snobbery - there's just something about CCs that I find deeply satisfying.

Maybe if I was ever in that position my thoughts would change (familiarity breeding contempt and all that) but I can't see it happening unless I win the lottery... if I do, I'll let you know

[Magicseven]

I would agree 100%.

And the issue with burn and construction with cc's are also a issue for me. I am lucky to get a hour to relax. I don't want to spend it lighting and re-lighting and trying to pull a plug loose.

[Kdot]

if it aint broken dont fix it....i feel there is plenty o variety when it comes to cc and as said before the RE and ELs keep things interesting.

I'm glad there are not thousands of CC brands like NC, as the majority of NC suck! When trying to find that diamond in the rough its almost not worth it.

[monkey66]

I think this is a valid but probably academic discussion.

Does anyone really believe that the Cuban industry is ever going to adversely suffer in the foreseeable future. If anything I would imagine the US market will go wild with demand if the embargo is ever dropped. I am sure some BOTLs will not be so influenced but many others will still crave what they perceive as the 'real deal'.

The NC products have come a hell of a long way but with a market the size of the US (and now world-wide) there should be sufficient cash for great product development.

I think that there appears to be great value in the low to mid-market NC's but the top end stuff seems as rare and expensive as the CC's. For me this is the fundamental issue, as I only average 1 stick per week I am only really looking at the top end and here the NC offering is not so competitive IMHO (still happy to have my mind changed on this though )

To be clear I am not trying to sound snobby about CC vs NC just share my experience so far at the top-end of the ranges (I think that in most cases a ?20-40 CC beats a ?20-40 NC pretty much every time).

So why is this relevant to this discussion (just remembered what this thread was about ...doh). I guess product development is only one part of a subjectively valued item like a cigar. Compared to wine there are some great new world products, fantastic advances in production methods and consistency but there is no change in site to the top-end domination of the Grand Cru's and their intangible, unmeasurable, invaluable terroir, history and romance (sound like Cuba?). So for this reason I don't see any significant danger of falling behind within a global market.