With cuban cigars to me, it's all about the aging. I have a half box of Upmann Corona Majors that have been sitting for more than 4 years, I bought them with 2 years age according to the box code, and also a 10 pack of newer ones from about a year ago - the older ones are obscenely better than the newer ones. I cannot even smoke the newer ones as a matter of fact, I get a very vegetal poignant acrid flavor of a young cigar.
Party shorts are the only habano I have been able to smoke fresh, and they are extremely tasty, but i still prefer the flavors profile of the Tatuaje Petites much more. Every Illusione cigar I have smoked has been relatively fresh, and always an enjoyable smoke with a heavy presentation of the
flavor of certain spices instead of a spicy feeling, which to me is fantastic, and I would prefer most tats and Illusiones to most cubans I have smoked. It's just a matter of taste, as has been mentioned soooo many times before this...
