I've Smoked Cuban Cigars for 20 Years. Here's the Truth.

I sharpen my cigar palate with The Cigar Trilogy: https://stantonhankins.com/ After 20 years of smoking Cuban cigars, I put two near-identical robustos through a careful band-off test: one from Havana and one from Nicaragua, rolled by a Cuban family. I remove the labels, strip away my expectations, and follow the smoke from the shop counter to the final verdict. I show how I choose a fair pair, check the cold draw and triple cap, spot possible fakes and rolling faults, taste for Cuban character, and read the ash without letting the band make the decision for me. Most importantly, I explain how I use a blind-test result—not as a shortcut to declare a winner, but as a way to understand what I actually taste. 0:00 The band-off cigar test 0:39 Choose a fair cigar pair 2:25 Check the cold draw 3:15 Spot fake Cuban cigars 4:00 Blind the cigar test 5:46 Inspect the triple cap 6:57 Taste the Cuban twang 8:32 Spot cigar rolling faults 10:17 Read the cigar ash 11:33 Expectation changes the tasting 13:04 Use the blind-test result 14:51 Recap and run the test #CubanCigars #CigarTasting #BlindTasting #CigarSmoking