I buy quite a bit....have to becareful, lots of fakes, don't buy anything Cuban, even the Dominican sticks are faked....negotiate there are some very good deals to be had and don't be affraid to walk out the door and come back another day, but if its to good to be true then probably is a lot of people think because they are in the motherland you won't pay quality dollars for quality sticks not the case....don't buy from the airports very overpirced of course and they won't negotiate, they don't need to, too many suckers getting on and off planes...if you are ever in Cabarette area or Puerta Plata I can tell you where to go...if you want a real expert on where to buy just about anywhere in DR, check out DR1.com and post a message asking Hillbilly for help, he'll set you up the right way...last time I was there in October found a really nice place in Peurta Plata, definately designed for tourists not in the know...I went in and was in paradise lol....found a box of Anejo Sharks for $18/stick which is pretty good considering most times you'll pay close to double that unless you get a ccom deal or something...anyways full box had a look at them and they had mold on them, broke my heart....everything else I looked at in the place was in good shape not sure why these were bad....had tons of boxes of La Aurora 100 Anos which I really dig but they were over priced, I didn't bother trying to negotiate as I already blew my cigar budget out the window...I'm going back Jan 28 though with a new and improved budget lol...One of these times I'd like to tour Fuente...
When I go back to the DR, I will be following two simple rules.
1. Don't buy cigars on the beach....
2. Don't buy cigars in souvenir shops
I bought a box of Romeo Y Julieta in a souvenir shop when I was there a few years ago. When I opened the box, there were 24 cigars (it was labeled as a box of 25) and the cigars smelled like horse manure.
In Bavaro, I found this small cigar roller in the mall. He rolled his own smokes there and they were amazing. He opened a new box and let me smoke a sample from that box before buying. It was called Diego Cigars... Highly recomend him.
The other place I recommend is Don Lucas Cigars. Our resort organized a trip out to the factory where we were given a sample and shown around. Large walk-in humidor on the second floor with an amazing selection of sticks.
Downtown Santo Domingo, the commercial district. On Mella Avenue, near the Modelo Market there are several tobacco shops. I know everyone here is saying stay away from the Cubans. But the boxes looked legit, the prices were excellent--$8-$12 for Fonsecas, RyJ's, Bolivars, and H Upmans. So I loaded up. No doubt in my mind they were the real thing. No glass top Cohiba's for me, thanks! Just goes to show one can always get lucky.
How were the prices at Don Lucas? My wife and a few friends and I are going to be going in May. Any other suggestions in Punta Cana?
Prices were good depends on your budget I bought two boxes from Don Lucas for about $400 they're a really good smoke an I've had them a little over a year and still enjoy them very much. Not very complex just smooth and clean smoke. His passion for cigars and making cigars is cool, great guy to chat with.
Comments
1. Don't buy cigars on the beach....
2. Don't buy cigars in souvenir shops
I bought a box of Romeo Y Julieta in a souvenir shop when I was there a few years ago. When I opened the box, there were 24 cigars (it was labeled as a box of 25) and the cigars smelled like horse manure.
In Bavaro, I found this small cigar roller in the mall. He rolled his own smokes there and they were amazing. He opened a new box and let me smoke a sample from that box before buying. It was called Diego Cigars... Highly recomend him.
The other place I recommend is Don Lucas Cigars. Our resort organized a trip out to the factory where we were given a sample and shown around. Large walk-in humidor on the second floor with an amazing selection of sticks.
Mostly his brand, but he did have a decent selection of other Dominican sticks. I do remember seeing RyJ in sampler packs.