lanzarote

[Lee Nub]

I have family going to lanzarote next week, is there anything I can tell them to bring back for me, le wise , or does anyone have any experience on pricing over there.

Thanks in advance guys

[eggopp]

Because there part of spain, the cigars are quite expensive, but still significantly cheaper than here.. when i was there a couple of years ago, i found they mostly sold Romeo y Julietas.. didnt really see much more

[EugeneSax]

Not been myself, but I've got the most beautiful looking box of RASS (their skins as dark as any LE Maduro that I've seen) sitting maturing in my cab. They were bought by an experienced cigar-smoker in the airport duty-free, but that was several years ago so this might not be a good indication of the quality of current stocks.

My folks used to have a place in Tenerife so I was a regular visitor & found the quality and choice of Havanas at the airport there noticeably better than in the few Estancos I was able to find. I think the whole of the Canaries are "duty free" in a similar way to the Channel Islands, so there shouldn't be any price difference twixt shop & airport, but it would be worth double-checking this.

The Canarians are (or were) famed for the quality of their cigar-rolling (many Cuban cigar makers fled there after the revoloution) & many of their premium "local" cigars - those made with imported Cuban & non-Cuban tobaccos -are a very decent smoke. These can obviously only be found kept in humidified conditions, which easily distinguishes them from the locally grown crap sold in every touristy flip-flop/postcard/souvenir shop.

I'm wracking my brains trying to recall brand names. Condal & Penamil I think are the big ones. I've had decent Condals, but the only Penamils have been way too mild for a Cuban smoker. However back in those days both brands made cigars with & without Cuban tobacco - the latter aimed for the US market, the former being better the ones for us to try.

Goya - were my favourite, had a box of No4's I think, a great small cigar with a coffee. I'd try them in bigger sizes too If I ever found them again (CGars used to sell them, but not sure they do anymore).

EDIT - Knew I'd previously posted about Canarian cigars, but couldn't find it. Have now (in "underated non-Cubans"):

CGars used to sell Goya, but I couldn't find them on their website when I just checked. I will enquire of them as the Goya 4 was my favourite ever smoke to accompany an early mornig coffee (Hoyo Deputes serve the same purpose quite well).

I think ST Duponts are still fairly easily available on line. I've not tried them myself but Rudman (does anyone read Rudman in these post MRN Encylopaedia days?) rates them variously at 5 & 4 stars.

Other brands I've enjoyed include Vikarios (superb lancero-sized Especials), Hacienda and Condal.

The only Penamils I've had were hardly worth smoking they were so mild but the blend might have been for the US market (ie no Cuban) so I wouldn't rule the brand out entirely as they were expertly made.