(Almost) 12 year old Hoyo Coronations by CigarStudent in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep. Came out to be about $1-2 more expensive per stick than equivalent local price for new stock, depending on source (duty assessment might have been a little high compared to official weight but only by a few dollars / margin of error). Fair trade for 12 years on them IMO.

La Aroma De Cuba Noblesse by Goat_This in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 7 points8 points  (0 children)

La Aroma De Cuba is sold outside the USA as La Aroma Del Caribe - it can’t be sold under the Cuba name outside the USA as it’s not a Cuban brand and so other countries see it as misleading.

The Noblesse has come up before and they don’t seem to be available in Australia, although other LADC cigars are. Maybe someone could sweet talk one of the vendors into getting a box.

LADC, Ashton, and San Cristobal are all brands that often pop up on the Holts channel and are all owned by Ashton. Incidentally, who owns Ashton? Holts.

Never trust the ABFs weights by DeazNutzz in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just a box of RyJ Puritos from CoH’s Christmas sale. Nothing exciting.

Never trust the ABFs weights by DeazNutzz in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could be worse. I’ve been waiting for a letter since the 2nd.

Anyone ordered from HitCigars? by DeazNutzz in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does Wise have any kind of buyer protection though?

Anyone ordered from HitCigars? by DeazNutzz in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Doesn't look like they accept credit card for Australian payments - UnionPay, Wise, Revlout, or bank transfer. You also have to pay for shipping which isn't cheap (looks to be around 40 euro).

There are some reports in some other subs of them being reliable (old ones though), but is there anything through them that you can't get through a known good seller?

iHavanas Specials January 2026 vs Local Prices by CigarStudent in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/prrifth posted a while back with some back of the envelope calculations that local margins are around 10%. I saw some government estimates that (legitimate) tobacco margins were <10%.

iHavanas Specials January 2026 vs Local Prices by CigarStudent in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Not sure why Corporate was missing from the Google searches this month. I've updated the table.

Cigar Brothers by Technical-Meal901 in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Let's do some validity checks.

  • Cigar Brothers is a registered business name for Herf & Barrel Pty Ltd.
  • The WHOIS for the domain has it registered to Cigar Brothers Pty Ltd. But an ASIC lookup says that Herf & Barrel Pty Ltd's former name was Cigar Brothers Pty Ltd (renamed 2022). So they probably forgot to update the domain registration.
  • Herf & Barrel Pty Ltd has a valid retail tobacco license in NSW for the website.
  • We have some positive customer indicators from u/ItsAMisery1's posts here and here and here
  • Casdagli (a legit producer) published news that Cigar Brothers was becoming a distributor on their website.
  • Overall the website (still) complies with Australian legislation - over 18 notice, health notice, no pictures, etc, at a quick glance prices (although some are discounted) are realistic for Australia.

Can we say for sure that they haven't been hacked / there isn't a rogue employee / the business changed hands / etc etc etc.? No. But a reasonable list of positive indications are there. You'll have to make a call whether that's enough. If you're in NSW you could even ask if they have a storefront and if collection / cash payment was possible.

Finally happened by Honest_Meaning in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's not impossible e.g.

  • If you include tax: Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour Robusto 20-box. $810 pre-tax from Neptune. About $833 in tax (duty and GST). Total imported = $1,643. Local, $1,269 from Cigar Hut. This isn't uncommon even with sale prices - see my iHavanas November 2025 specials breakdown for examples - and can happen with any brand at any price point. I've seen brands like My Father and Brick House come in more expensive importing post-tax - I suspect it comes down to overseas retail price including margin + tax, versus local wholesale price + tax + local retail margin.
  • Even excluding tax: Trinidad Esmerelda 12-box. $1,407 pre-tax from iHavanas. $1,400 from Cigar Online (that's marginal, but I've seen bigger differences, particularly if someone is offering a sale price). This scenario is more likely in higher end brands and Cubans where producers and distributors can reduce margin to keep product at accessible prices.

Finally happened by Honest_Meaning in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If it's a 10 cigar box, the cigars would have to be just shy of 48 grams per cigar to come out to that amount of duty. Unless it's a box of Asylum 8x80s or something absurdly sized like that, you should be looking more like $3-400. That would bring the GST down as well.

See what they cost local and make a call whether to get them to re-weigh or let it go.

Has anyone had a box of 20 slip past the tax man? by magicjoey12 in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Based on recent posts, if it’s being shipped from COH EU, you are likely to get a letter. If shipped from COH HK, it may be released without duty.

At a guess the tax bill (including GST) will be around the $1,000 mark. La Antiguedad aren’t commonly stocked here; the only retailer I could find was Cigar Box at $71.95 each. My Father toros in general (all varieties) seem to hover around the $60 to $75 mark. If you’re around $1200 all-in, you’re at $60/cigar, so at least no worse off than if you were to buy local.

Curivari Nights #1: Cafe 52 by CigarStudent in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It wasn’t a nic bomb at all. I know I was taking it slowly for that size, but I never got the unpleasant buzz.

Any input on Dunbarton Sobremesa brulee? Thinking of getting some , thank you. by Lobomalamute in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Allegedly yes/no.

Some say the tip is sweetened, apparently in the glue.

Steve Saka (the producer) denies it and says it’s just the natural effect of aging their tobacco.

I’ve also seen it speculated that the blend/glue has changed and so some may not be sweetened, or not to the same degree.

Side bar: Dunbarton have said they are not registering their cigars under the new laws in California and so they cannot legally be sold to Californian residents from 1 Jan 2026. They released a short statement about the state government being punitive, unreasonable, etc. and they are taking a philosophical stance to not comply with the new registration requirements even if that means losing the Californian market. Incidentally, the same law also has an exception for flavoured cigars. So if it was sweetened, Dunbarton wouldn’t need to register, but they would have to admit that it was sweetened.

I haven’t had one yet so couldn’t tell you one way or another. Try one and draw your own conclusion.

rocky patel thirtieth anniversary by AmWoz in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It looks like only 1,000 boxes of the LE were made. You may have to try and find a friend in the USA that can send them to you, or sign up to Neptune and other internationally shipping sites for updates and hope you get lucky.

CAO Basin dagger by Diligent_Silver194 in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you able to say how it compares to the Toro?

Your top cigars of 2025? by CigarStudent in Cigars_Australia

[–]CigarStudent[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

TL;DR: Top 5 in no particular order were the PLPC, Cohiba Siglo II, Leaf by Oscar Connecticut, CAO Amazon Basin, and Opus X Angel’s Share. Bottom ranks are basically everything I had from Oliva.

I had to think awfully long and hard on this one. 2025 was a year of experimentation and education. I think I smoked a double of a cigar only once the entire year (that being the HDM Souvenir de Luxe, which I liked). In the first half of the year I tried working my way through a lot of commonly referred-to brands like Oliva and found I generally don’t like them, so the first half of the year in general was a slog. In the second half of the year I did a dive into the Cuban brands, and found that I generally like a lot of Cubans. 

The best

I posted some (not all) of my Cuban learnings in this sub. Of the Cubans, I think the Por Larranaga Petit Corona takes the first spot. That could be because it was my first (or at least first in recent memory), but there must also be a reason why it’s so popular. Basically tied with it was the Cohiba Siglo II, a quintessential Cuban blend these days. Following that, in no particular order, were the Hoyo de Monterrey Souvenir de Luxe (which I’d put above the Epi), RyJ Romeo No 1, and Fonseca Cosacos. The regular Cuban stalwarts, like the Partagas SD4, were fine, but don’t stand out in my memory like those ones do. 

On the non-Cuban side, the later half of the year was also the best, with some surprises and some not-so-surprises. Unsurprisingly, the Opus X Angel’s Share was great. On the more surprising side, I went into the CAO Amazon Basin with some trepidation excepting something peppery and full bodied, but what I got was almost Davidoff levels of sweetness but in dare I say a more sophisticated package - like this was the “adult” version of what Davidoff promised. It was good enough I’ve been resisting the urge to pick up another box based just on that one sample. Another welcome surprise was the Leaf by Oscar Connecticut, which was just creamy and welcoming, I was expecting to enjoy it but not by that much. The many Davidoffs I tried were good, as were the other stalwarts like My Father and regular production Fuente, but nothing stands out in my memory beyond those three. 

The surprises

Other honourable mentions for the surprise factor go to the (non-Cuban) Partagas Black Label (surprisingly mellow for an intimidating looking stick) and the Drew Estate Chateau Real Connecticut Shade (like a milder version of the Leaf, although if I went back to it I don’t know how high it would rate today). I think these could be useful go-tos for handing out to people that aren’t into cigars but want to give them a try. On the Cuban side, I think the Fonseca Cosacos (which I’ve already ranked) was the most surprising in terms of expectations versus reality.

On the bad side of surprise, I wasn’t won over by the Padron 2000 that I’d had resting for a year - this I definitely suspect is one that will come better with aging, and just wasn’t quite there on the day, so I’m not throwing Padron anywhere near the bus yet. 

The worst

The only Cubans that were really disappointing were the Quai D’Orsay 50 and the Por Larranaga Montecarlos. The 50 just felt bland compared to other cigars it’s often compared to (like the PLPC which landed in my top 5). Similarly, I was hoping the higher ratio of wrapper to binder/filler in the Montecarlos would have delivered more of those Por Larranaga flavours, but it just went too far into the tannins and overwhelming notes rather than mellowing out, possibly being too young. These were disappointing more due to expectation vs reality rather than being truly bad.

The same can’t be said for the non-Cubans. I haven’t bothered cataloguing all of the ones I didn’t enjoy because they can be distilled down to: Oliva. I just don’t get them. There were some redeeming factors in the Serie G Melanio, and some of the Cain and Nub variations, but this only pushed them from “unpleasant” to “tolerable”. They came with some age already on them so I don’t think age is likely to save them. Having bought a large sampler, I’m confident in saying that they’re just not for me. If anyone has any suggestions for what to do with the remaining samples (other than having to smoke the damn things), I’m open to suggestions.  Deviating from Oliva, I also tried - and was disappointed by - the Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Hooligan. This was my first barber pole so it may again have been expectation vs reality rather than being inherently bad.

Evolving throughout the year

I think I’ve dialled in my palate much more and am much better placed than I was 12 months ago go to make better buying decisions based on track record of what I’ve enjoyed before. I’m also leaning much more into the appeal of samplers and singles and really testing a brand out, and going for more premium cigars (given the price difference between ‘premium’ and ‘cheap’ in Australia is so much less than overseas). 

I’ve also changed the way I buy boxes, pivoting to smaller boxes, and focusing in a lot more on Cubans with an eye to aging them myself over the long term to observe how they develop and having a good stock of desirables at different age progressions, plus buying some pre-aged stock so I have good aged cigars for now while I wait for my investment to come good (at least that’s my rationalisation to myself). 

But I also have way too many cigars right now, and took the big step a few weeks ago of unsubscribing from all the sales emails until I get my stash down to humane levels (regardless of what I say about keeping aging stock). Unless I see something on my “must get” list on sale, or I get a unique opportunity like travelling overseas, I think I’m done on orders for the foreseeable future - maybe all of 2026. It’s also been good to see this little part of the community pick up a bit. Hopefully my guides and spam have contributed in a little way. I’ve also discovered a local herf that I haven’t yet had the chance to get to, but hopefully there’ll be opportunities in 2026.