Simple question we all know that once upon a time you could get Cubans legally (and the embargo dosnt seem to be stopping you yanks either way) but i wonder what was the non-cuban market like before the embargo i doubt it was as big as today but there must of been some well known non cuban brands out there that have fizzled out these days.
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There was a healthy domestic market of brands made in the USA, some with domestic tobacco and some with imported Cuban leaf. But the Caribbean and Central American makers of today began almost exclusively from ex-patriot Cuban exiles who established what we now consider to be the NC market.

That's the simple answer to your simple question.
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Interestingly enough I was just reading an article about this yesterday. The NC market before the embargo was pretty lousy, lots of one family operations using home grown tobacco in the states, only good ncs were rolled in Florida out of Cuban tobacco. The embargo created the market for NCs and helped put Nicaragua on the map. It also helped to create the Maduro cigar and alot of other things Cuba didn't really do. The history of the cigar is very interesting.
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Yeah, I was going to mention that the NC market probably wasn't much to write home about pre-embargo as the Embargo made the NC market what it is today.
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Kennedy was having "relations" with Monroe and America was actually a superpower.
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It seems as though there would be no NC market had the Cuban Revolution and Embargo never occured.
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We're definitely still a super power.

I actually smoked a cigar with my grandfather recently. He was a regular cigar smoker back in his days before health problems. He told me that all his cigars used to come in boxes with the Cuban seal. He dug one out for me. He said the Oliva V I gave him was bland compared to what he used to smoke.

I would imagine it would have drastically effected the prices of NC's?

I've never had a Cuban, so I don't understand the hype. In time, I guess
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How is America not a superpower?

But on subject. This thread intrigues me. I wonder if anyone has a stash of pre embargo NC's that have been properly kept throughout the years. It's a loooooong shot in the dark, but who knows. Would be interesting to smoke one, especially an all American brand, which is pretty hard to find nowadays in the mainstream market.
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Many people do, I have several in my humidor now. Several usually make the rounds in puff-puff-passes at some of the big herfs.
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:-) Image
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I have a pretty good stash of pre-embargo NC's. They taste much like old cigars. You'll find a number of reviews here, as a matter of fact. :-)
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Apparently far more common than I would have thought. :-)
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