Expert: James Yee - 3/12/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I live in small town about 2hrs north of North Bay with no local cigar store, do you have any recommendations on where to purchase Cuban Cigars this far north?

ANSWER: Hi Craig,

What you can do is purchase cigars whenever you're in North Bay.  I'm not familiar with the North Bay area but a quick google seach for cigar retailers in North Bay listed four retailers:

Smoke 'N' Lotto
(705) 474-9795
180 Shirreff Ave, North Bay, ON

Wingate Lottery
(705) 495-2199
Northgate Square, North Bay, ON

CJ's Variety
(705) 476-0223
148 Main St W, North Bay, ON

Car Import Export Ltd
(705) 475-1666
191 Booth Rd, North Bay, ON

If these retailers do not sell Cuban cigars, what you can do is contact Havana House and they will be able to provide you with a list of Habanos retailers in or near your area.  Havana House is the official distributor of Cuban cigars for Canada so all the retailers they supply carry genuine Cuban cigars.

Here is Havana House's contact info:

Havana House Cigar and Tobacco Merchants Ltd.
9 Davies Avenue, Suite 112
Toronto, ON
M4M 2A6
Tel:(416) 406 6644 - 1 800 465 1941
Fax:(416) 406 3340
cuserve@havanahouse.com
www.havanahouse.com

What you can also do is speak with shop owners in your town and see if they would be willing to stock and sell Cuban cigars.  If yes, they could place an order with Havana House and be an authorized Habanos retailer.

I hope this helps.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi James,

My wife and I are going to North Bay this weekend, I'm assuming they won't have a big selection of Cuban cigars, are there any non-cuban cigars you can recommend we try, as I mentioned in another post our favorite is the Cohiba Siglo II, we also like the RyJ as well.

Thanks again for the great service you provide

Answer
Hi Craig,

Keep an eye out for these cigars:

Cuban:
Montecristo (#4, 5)
Romeo y Julieta (Mille Fleur, Exhibicion #4)
Romeo y Julieta (Tubos; #1,2 or 3)
Romeo y Julieta (Cedros De Luxe; #1,2 or 3)
San Cristobal (La Fuerza)
San Cristobal (El Principe)
Fonseca (KDT Cadet)
Vegas Robaina (Classicos, Famosos)

Any of the smaller corona-sized Cuban cigars will be mild-to-medium bodied so if you see a cigar that looks good, give it a try.  I recommend cigars that have dark and oily (you can see a glistening sheen on the cigar) wrapper leaves as they have a richer flavour and longer aging-potential.

Non-Cuban:
Padron 2000/3000, Executive
Padron Anniversario Serie
Avo Domaine (Maduro)
Arturo Fuente Curly Head
Oliva

I hope this helps!

Have a good weekend,
James.