Cigars/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Questions regarding trip to Cuba | 2/8/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: Hope all is well with you. I was wondering if you could help me with two questions I have.My first ... A: Of the three locations, the LCDH on 63rd Street has the best selection and a large selection but the ... | ||
| cigar boxes | 2/8/2012 | M J Robbins |
| Q: I just read the question and answer by Tony Hyman,dated 8/9/10, about a King Edward cigar box. I ... A: I am sorry but This is like a cardboard box of wine you bought at a garage sale. To the best of my ... | ||
| Bringing Cigars into the US | 2/6/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: Going to St Martin in a couple of weeks. Not so much worried about Cubans while i'm there, but ... A: In terms of Non-Cuban cigars, Padron, Padron Anniversario, Avo/Avo Domaine, Hoyo de Monterrey ... | ||
| Questions regarding trip to Cuba | 2/5/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: Hope all is well with you. I was wondering if you could help me with two questions I have.My first ... A: When travelling to Cuba, your Health card (the newer one with a photo, not the older red and white ... | ||
| Fake or Not? | 2/1/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: My co-worker went to the Pargegas factory in Havana last week and bought me 15 Cohiba Siglo IV's in ... A: I think your cigars are genuine and the bands were just not cut correctly. I have some Cohibas ... | ||
| Some proofs ! | 1/26/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: I'm very thankful for your kind response . I would like to attach you my humidor and those little ... A: If your cigars do not have any holes, the small insects are most likely tobacco mites which are ... | ||
| Urgent need of advice | 1/26/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: . But i do have a questions for you my cigar humidor is a wine cooler with temperature varies from ... A: Your humidity level is good. As you mentioned, your cigars feel cool, great and soft so you don't ... | ||
| Urgent need of advice | 1/23/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: . But i do have a questions for you my cigar humidor is a wine cooler with temperature varies from ... A: The white spots on your cigars means that the humidity is too high or you have too many cigars ... | ||
| Empty Cigar Tubes | 1/22/2012 | Bill Finck Jr. |
| Q: I am in search for empty cigar tubes (preferably Romeo Y Juliet 1875 Churchill)& can't seem to find ... A: Diane, I'm sorry about the delay in answering you. If you are looking for plain glass or plastic ... | ||
| Bringing cigars back from Cuba | 1/19/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: Hope all is well with you. I'm aware of the fact that when returning to Canada from Cuba,that I'm ... A: Sorry about that, I was in a rush and misunderstand your question. To answer your question, no, you ... | ||
| Bringing cigars back from Cuba | 1/19/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: Hope all is well with you. I'm aware of the fact that when returning to Canada from Cuba,that I'm ... A: According to Canada Border Services Agency, if you bring in more than your personal allowance (50 ... | ||
| On-line shop | 1/13/2012 | M J Robbins |
| Q: I'm just wondering about 25cigars.com? It looks nice and seems to be real. But I want to be sure ... A: The site looks good to me Ramon Allones Specially selected is one of the only consistent Cuban ... | ||
| Bitter Brown Residue | 1/9/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: James- From time to time I will notice a bitter brown residue on the head of a cigar while smoking ... A: The brown residue is actually caused by your saliva mixing with the tobacco. This is actually quite ... | ||
| Partagas Coronas Senior | 1/7/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: I smoked a Partagas about a week ago, and was warned that these are strong and spicy, yet the ... A: Don't mention it, I'm happy to help. :) If you like Vegas Robaina and San Cristobal, be sure to try ... | ||
| Cigar (Tube Caps) | 1/4/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: I was wondering, when I store my cigars in my humidor, should I leave the caps on or take them off? ... A: Cigar tube caps and cellophane wrappers are not 100% airtight so it's perfectly fine to leave them ... | ||
| Napoleon? cigars | 1/2/2012 | James Yee |
| Q: While in Canada years ago, I purchased some machine made lightly flavored cigars. These cigars were ... A: Unfortunately, I believe these cigars are no longer being made. I have not seen these cigars in ... | ||
| buying cuban cigars | 12/31/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: .. I am going to Cuba in a few months for a holiday and of course i will be buying some cigars. i ... A: If you're living in the UK, you have a customs allowance of 50 Cuban cigars, regardless of value. ... | ||
| Partagas Serie P No. 2 | 12/28/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: James- My retailer showed me a box of Partagas Serie P No. 2 today. The semi boite nature box of 25 ... A: I'll look into this some more for you. If it's OK with you, I'd like to look into this after the ... | ||
| Little black spots | 12/27/2011 | Bill Finck Jr. |
| Q: I'm new to cigars and got my first humidor a week before Christmas. It stays at about 70% humidity, ... A: Dale, Sorry about the delay in answering you, I've been on vacation for the last week. Black ... | ||
| Moldy cigar bands | 12/27/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: Hey James, I noticed that some cigars in a couple of boxes I have appear to have mold on the bands. ... A: The green colouring on cigar bands is usually staining from excessive moisture/cigar oils on the ... | ||
| Partagas Serie P No. 2 | 12/27/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: James- My retailer showed me a box of Partagas Serie P No. 2 today. The semi boite nature box of 25 ... A: The torpedo heads should be fairly uniform and identical to each other. After cigars are rolled, ... | ||
| Commercial Walk-in Humidor Odor | 12/20/2011 | M J Robbins |
| Q: I manage a walk-in humidor for a large Fine Wine and Liquor company. I've smoked cigars for over 7 ... A: Nice to have a real thought provoking question every now and then. First the problem - Standard tap ... | ||
| stuck pipe stem | 12/7/2011 | M J Robbins |
| Q: I have a pipe that I've used maybe 10 times at most. The stem used to come off easily once it had ... A: Force it out? Take it back to the store. They need to sand it down to fit. Or the store will heat up ... | ||
| curious odor | 12/7/2011 | Bill Finck Jr. |
| Q: what could possibly be wrong a cigar that give off a scent of burning plastic ? ... A: Ken, That's very difficult to determine without having the cigar in my hand, however there is a ... | ||
| authenticity of cubans | 12/5/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: been buying cuban cigars from cigar emporium on front st. in st martin. montecristo, hoyo's, and ... A: I have not bought from that store before so I can't comment on whether or not their cigars are fake. ... | ||
| Cuban cigars | 12/1/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: Hey James! Thanks for the advice on how to store my cigars during a move. The Tupperware worked ... A: It's good to hear from you again and I'm glad to hear your cigars survived the move! :) I would ... | ||
| mold on humidicant | 12/1/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: I have 2 humidors and use the same water and same foam type humidicant in both. The first one has ... A: I would recommend Heartfelt 70% beads. I use these and they work great. A lot of people that ... | ||
| mold on humidicant | 11/29/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: I have 2 humidors and use the same water and same foam type humidicant in both. The first one has ... A: 100% distilled water usually works great but I find that double-distilled water (aka bidest water) ... | ||
| mold on humidicant | 11/29/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: I have 2 humidors and use the same water and same foam type humidicant in both. The first one has ... A: Without visually inspecting your humidor, I can't be sure what the exact cause of the mold growth is ... | ||
| Are my cigars ruined? | 11/28/2011 | Bill Finck Jr. |
| Q: The other day I bought 4 very nice cigars: Padron - Family Reserve - No. 45 - Maduro Padron - 1926 ... A: Sorry Richard, trying to answer a ton of emails in too big of a rush. The No.9 is a 1926 Anniversary ... | ||
| Habanos Barcode | 11/28/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: James- I checked the barcode on a box of Cohiba Esplendidos at habanos.com and the result came up ... A: Yes, the box is still counterfeit as the code doesn't correspond with Cohiba Esplendidos. For ... | ||
| Half-Moon Cutout on Cedar Divider | 11/28/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: James, I have read that all genuine Habanos cigars have a half-moon cutout on the upper right hand ... A: I've seen both notch variations among genuine Cuban cigar boxes (mostly purchased at La Casa del ... | ||
| Humidor care | 11/27/2011 | M J Robbins |
| Q: I recieved an acrylic humidor along with cigars for my birthday. It came with an black disc and no ... A: A humidor is a wood box specially made to hold cigars and keep them moist. It would always be wood ... | ||
| Cohiba glass top box | 11/26/2011 | M J Robbins |
| Q: Ok so I know I have fakes I got them on a cruise to progresso. But I've decided I'd like to start ... A: Sorry I did answer this question but it did not go through originally and I just got notified. The ... | ||
| Habanos Barcode | 11/26/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: James- I checked the barcode on a box of Cohiba Esplendidos at habanos.com and the result came up ... A: Yes, that barcode is meant for a slide lid box (SLB) of Hoyo de Monterrey robustos (Epicure No. 2) ... | ||
| TV Crooks Cigars | 11/26/2011 | Bill Finck Jr. |
| Q: Could you please tell me if the cigars called TV Crooks are still being made. I can not seem to ... A: Gene, I've never heard of TV Crooks. There was a brand called Wolf Bros. Crooks, and a brand called ... | ||
| Cohiba glass top box | 11/26/2011 | M J Robbins |
| Q: Ok so I know I have fakes I got them on a cruise to progresso. But I've decided I'd like to start ... A: Some of the worst cigars I have ever smoked are the real Cohiba cigars. The fakes have to be better. ... | ||
| Cohiba Pyramide EL 2009 | 11/25/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: My cigar retailer showed me a box of Cohiba Pyramide Edicion Limitada 2009 today. I was not aware of ... A: Unfortunately, there are no Cohiba Edicion Limitada cigars released in 2009. In 2009, these were ... | ||
| Storing Cohiba Esplendido | 11/24/2011 | James Yee |
| Q: During a visit to Cuba I bought a Cohiba Esplendido to bring back home. Also bought a cedar wood ... A: On average, cigars stored in an un-humidified container such as a cigar box, plastic bag or cigar ... | ||
| Are my cigars ruined? | 11/24/2011 | Bill Finck Jr. |
| Q: The other day I bought 4 very nice cigars: Padron - Family Reserve - No. 45 - Maduro Padron - 1926 ... A: Richard, Sorry for the delayed response - just back from a Thanksgiving vacation. My favorite ... | ||
James Yee
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
My main area of expertise is Cuban cigars but I can also assist you with cigar etiquette, humidor maintenance and troubleshooting. Unsure of a certain cigar brand? Wondering what a certain cigar tastes like? Have any questions about Cuban cigars? Just let me know! I have smoked every brand of Cuban cigars and most reputable non-Cuban cigar brands on a regular basis so I know a fair bit about taste profiles, cigar etiquette and other fine nuances to cigar smoking. (NOTE: My main focus is on premium, hand-rolled cigars and not cheap, machine made, convenience store cigars.) IMPORTANT: PLEASE NOTE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE CIGAR OR CIGAR-RELATED APPRAISALS. If you have a vintage cigar item and you want to know if it's worth something, please contact an antique dealer that specializes in "TOBACCIANA".
Experience
I currently have 19 dedicated years of cigar smoking and counting. I have smoked every brand of Cuban cigars and most reputable non-Cuban cigar brands on a regular basis so I know a fair bit about taste profiles, cigar etiquette and other fine nuances to cigar smoking. For 5 years, I studied with Cuban torcedores (rollers), catadores (taste testers) and revisadores (inspectors) on every aspect involving the production of the Cuban cigar and I am currently writing a book that will help beginners understand everything they need to know about cigars and cigar smoking.
Publications
Maple Leaf Gardens: Memories & Dreams 1931-1999 (1999; ISBN: 0920445616)
50 Things Every Guy Should Know How To Do (2006; ISBN: 0452286654)
The [London] Times (October 8, 2009)
Education/Credentials
B.A. University of Toronto
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