Is the mystique of a Cuban cigar all smoke?
DECEMBER 19, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY JOHN PETRICK
STAFF WRITER |
WIRE SERVICE
Ridgewood cigar salesman Gary Kolesaire thinks he knows what it is about Cuban cigars and rum that Americans find so alluring, so romantic, so sexy. It’s not their exquisitely cultivated flavors, made for the sophisticated palate and deeply rooted in cultural tradition.
It’s that they’re illegal.
“We always want the forbidden fruit. There’s your demand,” said Kolesaire, co-owner of The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood.
Enzo Lentini, maitre d’ at Grissini restaurant in Englewood Cliffs, agreed. “The rum is basically all the same, if you are talking about the distilling process,” he said. “Everything is great and wonderful – until it’s made legal. The fact that they are prohibited is what makes it so coveted.”
Local tobacco and liquor procurers on Thursday seemed cynical — or, at best, cautiously optimistic — in the wake of recent news that the United States and Cuba were reestablishing diplomatic relations.
President Obama intends to open an embassy in Havana and loosen travel and trade restrictions. At least initially, American visitors to Cuba still won’t be able to bring back more than $100 of Cuban rum or tobacco for personal use. Not everyone will be allowed to travel to the Caribbean island, either, as generalized tourism is still banned.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/cuban-cigars-cut-down-to-size-1.1169683
