Local cigar shop owners are singing hallelujah to the easing of restrictions between the United States and Cuba more than 50 years after the embargo banned its most famous product, but they’re unsure of how long it will take to get the cigars into their stores.
Cuban cigars have been the forbidden fruit of the tobacco world since 1963 after the Kennedy administration severed ties with the island and expanded its embargo to include all goods.
Phil Hunter Jr. owns Ye Ole Tobacco Shop, with two locations in Savannah, and said he’s had hundreds of inquiries since the announcement was made Wednesday.
“That’s all we’ve been talking about … just the fact we’d be able to get Cuban cigars is fabulous,” he said.
At Exotic Cigars on River Street, clerk Deborah Asiya said she’s also been inundated with questions from customers.
“That’s going to be great for our business, but there are a lot of other good cigars besides Cubans,” she said.
The new policy by President Barack Obama will allow licensed travelers to import $100 worth of Cuban tobacco and alcohol products, although the details are still fuzzy. Congress would have to approve the lifting of sanctions and trade embargoes for wholesale imports, so it might mean few cigars will trickle in at first.
“We’d love to be able to sell them, but if this action is to where we can’t sell them and people are just bringing cigars in themselves, I’m not really excited about that,” Hunter said.
He said other people he’s talked to in his industry were also taken by surprise. Many believed the embargo was going to be lifted during the Clinton administration, and he said manufacturers had made plans for this day years ago.
“Our major companies have planned to deal with this and still manufacture in the Dominican Republic but blend it with Cuban tobacco,” he said.
In fact, many of the most popular brands in the U.S., such as Montecristo and Cohiba, are made from Cuban tobacco seeds grown in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua or Honduras. Even so, aficionados insist there is a clear difference.
“It’s like looking at a Burberry bag versus a Coach bag,” Asiya said. “It is different.”
Hunter used the analogy of Vidalia onions, the southeastern Georgia staple whose exceptionally sweet flavor is attributed to the soil found in that region. He said Cuban cigars have a “nice, light taste and a tremendous sensation of nicotine.”
Aside from the curious, Asiya said, the availability of Cuban cigars could mean they lose their allure.
“The biggest thing, and I can’t speak for everyone, is we like things that are forbidden,” she said. “Now that the doors are open, the cigars are not going to have the same appeal they had before.”
Many travelers can already acquire a Cuban if they really want one. Tourists in Cancun or the Bahamas, for example, can pick up a Cuban for $10-$25 apiece and smuggle it back in a suitcase.
“Cuban cigars are the one cigar people couldn’t find unless you traveled and even then you could only get one or two,” said Carolyn Johnson, a clerk at Savannah Cigar Inc. in City Market.
Johnson said she expects a demand because of their high quality. Asiya said she was unsure right now what the cigars would cost in local stores.
Cuban rum
Of course, the lifting of the embargo would have an impact on more goods than just cigars.
Bubba Rosenthal, owner of Habersham Beverage, said he could probably get Cuban rum in stores in about three or four months once restrictions are fully lifted.
He said there’s a version of the famed Havana Club rum made by Barcardi in Puerto Rico, but many customers are asking for the genuine product.
“I think it will help our business and add some excitement,” he said. “I’ve had customers say they would buy it if it starts getting made in Havana again.”
He said because Savannah is a port city, Cuban products are not exactly that foreign.
“A lot of people do travel to Cuba, and so they’re familiar with that lifestyle,” he said.
The enduring appeal of the Cuban cigar and other Cuban vices really comes down to taste, Hunter said.
“It’s a unique flavor that no other manufacturer has been able to master,” he said. “It will be sought after for years.”