I do not doubt Pepin one bit--the quality control in Cuba is OBVIOUSLY worse off nowadays (as is most everything about the whole country) but you gotta take what he says about the subject with some caution; after all it's in his best interest to downplay Cuban cigars and promote his own. I'm positive that if he could get Cuban raw materials and be able to sell cigars made from them here in the US where his market is, he'd be all over it in a damn heartbeat--and I bet they'd be kickass.
Poor Cuban quality control mostly affects the draw and burn of the cigars (at least in my experience) but the flavor, when it's "on", is still outta this world. Is it better than everything else? I dunno, that's pretty subjective. But a good Havana cigar is certainly unique and incomparable to everything else.
BTW, if you haven't noticed, take a look at the OFAC "settlement" numbers nowadays. They've dropped down to really, really low numbers. They don't have the time/budget/backing to chase after tons and tons of folks. Plus, it's not like there aren't ways to be extra cautious when purchasing. Duh, just don't be dumb.
But hey, don't listen to me. I'm certainly not advocating TRADING WITH THE ENEMY.
I'm just saying, we used to talk about Cuban cigars around here. :razz: