Purchasing Cuban cigars in Havana can mean good bargains

(Cigar Aficionado) I’ll never forget the first time I bought a box of cigars in Cuba. It was back in 1996 at the end of a weeklong tour of the island—my first. After spending a day visiting Cuban tobacco farms, my colleagues and I pulled up to a cigar store in Pinar del Río on a mission to procure the finished product.
The shelves were loaded with Vegueros, a brand that was rolled locally, and new to all of us. A domestic brand at the time, it would become export-only the following year. I smoked one, and found it interesting, but not intriguing enough to warrant a box purchase. I wanted something better. Continued