Boutique cigars/House Blends

Diver43

I am still learning the fine points of good cigars and came to a realization this weekend.

Cuban Crafters is known to be Cigar makers and distributors.  Living near Miami I have access to the origins of a few well known makers. I happen to enjoy the Cuban Crafters house blends along with Perdom's Nicks Sticks. When purchased in their stores they are sold by bundles, many have no band or labeled in any way.

Over the last few days I have gone to a few B&M shops and enquired about the unbanded/named sticks.  I purchased one at each place and hace discovered by my sense of taste, smell and observation that I purchased three of the same cigars. If I was a betting man I would bet 100.00 that each was rolled in the Cuban Crafters shop and put in baskets/boxes in the other stores and sold at a slight mark up and in one case huge mark up.  Each time I asked I was told that "it is our house blend, we only make a few at a time"

Is this business as usual in the Cigar world, or have I experienced a little more of the world called Miami, called by some North Havana

edelrionyc

You are correct in assuming that different cigar shops buy the same unbanded cigars and push them as their own house blend and pretend that these are specially made and rolled for them.  Do you think a small cigar shop will be able to buy out a whole plantation, have a factory, hire rollers, and make their own cigars.  Even if they are buying the tobacco leaf loose and rolling their own they are most likely buying the same loose tobacco.  @Diver43

Diver43

edelrionyc said:

You are correct in assuming that different cigar shops buy the same unbanded cigars and push them as their own house blend and pretend that these are specially made and rolled for them.  Do you think a small cigar shop will be able to buy out a whole plantation, have a factory, hire rollers, and make their own cigars.  Even if they are buying the tobacco leaf loose and rolling their own they are most likely buying the same loose tobacco.  @Diver43

I believe you are correct, but one would think they would just call them house specials or something. Not insinuate that they a special blend created by them.