Cigars from Spain Recommends?

[Aircooled]

Hi Brothers:

My wife is heading to Spain next month for a conference (Valencia, and another coastal town). I know, tough gig, and on top of that, I can't go with her.

The great part is she is willing to bring me back a few cigars, and while I know Spain is one of the biggest importers of Cuban cigars, I have more of an interest in cigars that are produced in Spain. Sort of the "when in Rome" thing, but lamer, I guess.

Any suggestions? Brands, series, vendors, price ranges, things to avoid-- anything appreciated. Doing an internet search yielded results about what Cuban cigars to get, and I could find very little on the Spanish makers.

As they say, Gracias in advance.

AC

 

[Aircooled]

Anyone?

 

[mdwest]

there is a "tobacco" shop on every corner in most Spanish cities.. but most are more like our "discount tobacco" type outlets.. theyll have a ton of cheap, machine made cigars and cigarellos, cigarettes, etc.. and typically just a few "premium" options..

finding an actual "cigar shop" is pretty difficult to do.. there arent a whole lot of them..

the good news is.. Spain regulates tobacco prices.. so it doesnt matter where you buy a cigar... whether a really nice premium cigar shop, or a gas station.. the price is the same..

the bad news is.. they tax the shit out of tobacco.. and prices are not very good.. whether you buy at a really nice premium cigar shop.. or at a gas station...

there are no LCDH's in Spain.. but the threat of fakes is pretty minimal (I never saw an obvious fake when I was there)..

I havent spent any time in Valencia.. but I have spent time in Barcelona, Pamplona, and Majorca.. finding something along the lines of a traditional US cigar shop/lounge isnt all that easy to do (I spent a lot of time checking out tobacco estancias.. and never did find one that was what I would define as "good" by US standards..

 

[AlohaStyle]

If I were you, I'd have your wife look for Cuban Spanish Regional Editions. If you want something unique, get those as they are great quality, cuban tobacco and can only get them in Spain. As Dave mentioned, there aren't many "nice" cigar shops, a lot of them look like basic tobacco stores. But don't be fooled by those, you can find some gems in there. And be careful about high end cigars, there are actually a lot of fakes in Spain.

Click on this link and look at the Espana region to show your wife what to look for.
http://cubancigarwebsite.com/list.aspx?specialtype=Regional_Edition_Series;&sortorder=region

 

[D Quintero]

another standard finding is to look and dig for aged stock boxes - the economy there has been hellish and thusly reg. production stores accumulated .

 

[Aircooled]

Thank you all for your posts! Not sure what way this is gonna go, but having your information is so valuable!

 

[ChefBoyRG54]

I too vote the Espana Regional CC route