"Cuban cigars are an infamous forbidden fruit for American buyers, but these predate the embargo so they're totally legal. You'll be able to get $2,400 for these."
-Expert
Facts[]
- Fact 1: The word cigar comes from the Mayan word for smoking, 'sikar'. It entered widespread use in English in the 1730s.
- Fact 2: Cuban cigars are widely regarded as the finest in the world; torcedores, or cigar makers, are highly respected artisans in Cuba.
- Fact 3: The United States has maintained a trade embargo against Cuba since February 7, 1962; then-President John F. Kennedy imposed the sanctions to protest Fidel Castro's Communist government.
- Fact 4: Due to the severe restrictions against imports, an estimated 95% of supposedly-Cuban cigars in the US are counterfeits manufactured elsewhere.
- Fact 5: Following the US embargo, many Cuban cigar companies moved to the nearby Dominican Republic. Cubatobaco, the Cuban state monopoly, continues to sell cigars under those companies' brand names.