What are we going to do about Cohiba. Is this situation Cohiba worthy?

[El Presidente]

I received the following overnight. 

"So Rob I have recently been handing our Nudies to the Thursday night card crew. They bring the drinks + dinner and this has gone on for 15 years. They love the Nudies but want a thicker ring gauge cigar and your canonazos and Petit 109 won't be ready for a few months yet. I have other NC that I can provide but I was taken aback by a comment that "John doesn't believe that we are worthy enough any more for Cubans." 

WTF? I was pissed for about a day but when I got to think about it, he was right!  I am a blue collar guy who now looks at my Cuban collection like LOR Smeagle. It is worse for Cohiba. I feel like Elaine from Seinfeld and the contraceptive sponge episode.. At the front of my thoughts, every time I open the humidor , "is this situation Cohiba worthy?" It is driving me mad. Rob what is your everyday affordable Cuban cigar?"

My everyday Cuban cigar would be a Punch Punch. It works for me. It is no longer cheap but it is in my wheelhouse and I would proudly hand out 20/21 examples to anyone. 

 

However the statement on Cohiba is an interesting one and this question is only for those who smoke Cohiba regularly and not those who never saw any utility in them. 

How does the pricing changes affect the way you look at your Cohiba stash? 

 

[JohnS]

Just to be clear, I am not the John referenced in the e-mail above.

I don't intend to smoke them any more or less than I used to in the past, but I have been steadily rationing over the years due to incremental price changes and annual increases in Australian Federal Government tobacco duties. In the last five-and-a-half years Cuban Cigar Website lists 12.5% (or one in eight) of my Habanos cigars smoked or gifted as been Cohiba. Last year it was around 9%. This year it's been a whopping 25%! Maybe I'm getting sentimental? (Remember HabanaMike's old adage, "smoke 'em while you've got them!")

For the future, I don't see myself acquiring further boxes. Perhaps a few singles here and there...we'll see!

[El Presidente]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

Just to be clear, I am not the John referenced in the e-mail above.

I don't intend to smoke them any more or less than I used to in the past, but I have been steadily rationing over the years due to incremental price changes and annual increases in Australian Federal Government tobacco duties. In the last five-and-a-half years Cuban Cigar Website lists 12.5% (or one in eight) of my Habanos cigars smoked or gifted as been Cohiba. Last year it was around 9%. This year it's been a whopping 25%! Maybe I'm getting sentimental? (Remember HabanaMike's old adage, "smoke 'em while you've got them!")

For the future, I don't see myself acquiring further boxes. Perhaps a few singles here and there...we'll see!

Sorry John. 

Different John people!   

[NSXCIGAR]

Cohiba was already overpriced from a value standpoint. I think for the majority of smokers Cohiba was too expensive for regular smoking but still priced low enough for a box-a-year type purchase. 

At the rumored proposed prices most Cohiba buyers will be those for whom money is no object. Since there are limited numbers of those people it will only work if supply is as limited as it has been the last 18 months. 

As I've pointed out several times we all saw Cohiba gather dust on shelves for two, three and sometimes four years at prices much lower than today. As late as 2020 any Cohiba (except Siglo V 25s) was available at expected prices with a few clicks. 

I can't wait to see HSA try and blow out the rapidly piling up stock of Siglo I, Exquisitos and Panetelas for $450/box. 

[Tdm_86]

I don’t buy/smoke a ton of Cohiba as it is (but still smoke them semi-regularly, maybe 1 every week or so), so will continue buying them at the low rate I am currently. 

[99call]

I'm not au fait with the hay...........I don't see the sass in the lemongrass.........Ill keep my money and forgo the honey 

[NSXCIGAR]

2 hours ago, Tdm_86 said:

I don’t buy/smoke a ton of Cohiba as it is (but still smoke them semi-regularly, maybe 1 every week or so), so will continue buying them at the low rate I am currently. 

Just curious--you will continue to buy them at the same rate if hypothetically the price were to double?

[Chibearsv]

I guess I haven't really thought of rationing my Cohibas (I certainly haven't yet) but I probably should.  I love my Espys but I can't reasonably justify buying them at $80 or more a pop.  Fakers and Flippers are going to have a heyday!  Pricing on all cigars is getting so ridiculous that it may be time to just ride out my inventory and slow down my consumption.  

[Tdm_86]

34 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Just curious--you will continue to buy them at the same rate if hypothetically the price were to double?

Probably, yes. Depends on how much more expensive the more regular smokes get. 

[TobaccoRoad]

No change at all for me. I've got one Cohiba in my humidor from a trade and there it will stay for now. They were already too expensive for me to justify purchasing, now it's even further beyond consideration. I'll smoke the one I've got sometime and enjoy it for a one-off. 

[inter4alia]

At the current prices I always had to debate with myself whether to drop the coin. At the new expected prices there will be no internal debate, it will be easy for me to not buy Cohiba anymore. 

[MPhillips]

I was already rationing Cohiba, I’ll probably still occasionally grab a box or two when I see them. 

[joeypots]

Cohiba has always been a special occasion cigar for me.  It looks like I've slowed down my consumption of them to about one a month as the price has risen and I'm not going to buy more at current prices. One can acquire, if available, two boxes of Mag-46 or PP for the price of one box of Siglo IV. That says it all for me.  To paraphrase Gilbert Shelton through his character, Freewheelin' Franklin, " Cigars will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no cigars." 

[ElJavi76]

I’ve got about 10 Espys left from a box of petacas i bought in Havana. Couple of boxes of Siglo IVs, IIIs, a box of IIs, one box of VIs, and about 8 boxes of Medio Siglos. I can still recall when I would buy the MS boxes here at $299 and we would comment that the MS was pricey for a petit robusto. We should all pool our money together… not to buy Cohibas but to invest in that time machine. 
 

Unfortunately, i think my Cohiba/Trinidad buying days are coming to a close. I’ve managed to put together a really nice collection but I won’t pay $2500 for a box of Esplendidos or $850 for a box of MS. Can’t justify it. I find myself turning to friends and sending messages at odd hours about such and such vendor with a good deal on RyJ Petit Royales or Cazadores. Buying regular production non Cohiba has become a problem. I will have to baby my Cohiba stash and enjoy it when I can. 
 

Reading the above email also struck a chord cause I’m not the nicest guy in the world but I certainly share my cigars with my friends. I find myself thinking like no way can I keep sharing at this carefree pace. At a given cookout with family we’d rip thru 15-20 cigars in an afternoon. Friends come over and we each take down 2 or 3. I hate to be having these selfish thoughts but this hobby has gotten crazy expensive and very few friends and zero family collaborate to buy or share more cigars. Maybe I’ll just tell folks I quit and find myself sneaking around to have my cigars. lol 

[dominattorney]

I wouldn't give a Cohiba out for a weekly poker game, that's for sure. I have a few siglo III boxes and smoke one every mow and then. That's how it will probably stay until they're gone. I like that size a lot, but monte tubos are not a poor substitute and can still be found for substantially less. I will not buy more Cohiba anything if prices double. I am also one of the lucky ones who could afford to do so, however being raised conservatively, I don't see the utility in pouring money down the drain for what appears to me as a poor value proposition. 

[Nevrknow]

Luckily I stocked up on my exquisitos and Reyes. Love them. But also my PLMC which really gives them a run for the $$. Those and my PLPC’s are my mainstays anyway.

Because of the way I work, bigger cigars aren’t smoked as often. Smaller vitolas fit my lifestyle better. 
 

My gifting won’t change. I don’t look at it as smoking $$ with friends. I see it as making memories. Can’t buy those. And if we go down swinging  on some RG perlas for the last cigar, so be it! 😁
 

My ll, lll boxes ( several of each ) will have to last. As my lone 10er of vi’s. 10 espys and piramides. 
 

Diminishing return is what will stop me. Like Rob’s comparison of the HDM petite robustos vs medio Siglo. That’s me in a nut shell. Not going to be THAT much better for more $$ ? I’m out of the buying game.

Atleast until we see how this pans out.

[Shrimpchips]

Spongeworthy is such an apt way to think of it.  Every time you want to have a Cohiba or Trinidad, you have to consider “is it really worth getting F’d by HSA for this?”

[Puros Y Vino]

Over the years I socked away some nice Cohiba and Trinidad boxes.  With this news, I must admit I look at these boxes as $$$ now.  There are a few I've cracked open which I will continue to enjoy but there are others that may be leveraged for future sale.  I was looking forward to trying the new releases, Novedosos, Ambar, etc.  But there is no way in hell I'm paying jacked up prices for new releases.  I'm fortunate to have put together a collection with a wide variety of Marcas and cigars to pull from for years to come.  It seems to me that Habanos is chasing the money and somewhat abandoning their longtime customers.  I'll save some of my Cohiba's for special occasions going forward.

[dangolf18]

I used to smoke Cohiba Siglo II and CoRo on a somewhat regular basis as they're the most readily available (not anymore obviously). As of now, I'm down to only a few boxes and I'm likely going to start only smoking them once a month. So many other great cigars that are just as or more enjoyable. 

[DaBoot]

So many other great cigars. And Trinidad are my favorite by far. But I’m not going to be smoking a $20 Reyes. Or a $25 siglo ll. 
 I get the ultra premium brands they want to build, but I smoke to enjoy the product, not the flashy label. 

[coug28]

So disheartening this conversation, but it’s our reality now sadly. On my last golf trip with my friends I handed out CoRos to share. It was a small group & they were close friends, so that likely will continue. But certainly not without at least some hesitation. Probably 50% of my purchases (and i don’t buy much compared to most) over the past 12 months have been Cohiba. I often thought I was crazy paying those prices for the same tobacco I’d paid less than half for just 3-5 years prior. Now, I just don’t see paying what Cohiba will demand. 
 

Ration certainly, but I’ll still share….just only with those closest to me now (and I can count those individuals on 1 hand 🤣), as sharing cigars & moments with those you love is still, at its core, what this hobby is all about. 

[dominattorney]

31 minutes ago, DaBoot said:

So many other great cigars. And Trinidad are my favorite by far. But I’m not going to be smoking a $20 Reyes. Or a $25 siglo ll. 
 I get the ultra premium brands they want to build, but I smoke to enjoy the product, not the flashy label. 

I pull the bands off before I smoke most of the time anyway these days. 

Then there's always the guy who has Cohiba sublimes that he got from a friend of a friend who's a pilot. Love that guy. Wonder how he'll handle the new developments. 

[jakebarnes]

23 minutes ago, dominattorney said:

I pull the bands off before I smoke most of the time anyway these days. 

Then there's always the guy who has Cohiba sublimes that he got from a friend of a friend who's a pilot. Love that guy. Wonder how he'll handle the new developments. 

I hear glass tops are gonna get hit the hardest by the price increase.

[MrBirdman]

3 hours ago, dominattorney said:

I am also one of the lucky ones who could afford to do so, however being raised conservatively,

Exactly how I feel. I wouldn’t exactly say I was raised conservatively, but I was raised to be humble and eschew frequently wasting money on extravagances, especially if I’m not sharing them with others (which I can’t because none of my friends or family smoke cigars; in fact they all hate it). 

Being able to “afford” Cohiba doesn’t mean I have a limitless budget - extra money spent on cigars is money that comes out of wine or other pleasures than I CAN and do regularly get to share with others. Spending $60-$80 on a cigar feels selfish, especially when I don’t think it’s worth anywhere near that much. So this price hike makes those cigars less enjoyable for me, even if I acquired them at much lower prices.

I’ve taken this entire situation to reassess my spending on cigars in general, and spend more of my discretionary budget on building out my wine cellar. 

[MrBirdman]

1 hour ago, DaBoot said:

I smoke to enjoy the product, not the flashy label. 

Amen.