Truthfully Cuban Cigars are overrated. I was in Montreal for a Whalers-Candaians game, so I was in a cigar shop and they were selling Cuban cigars. I bought one, however, it was fine, not worth the price...
Cuban cigars are not newbie friendly.
They can be inconsistent—some of the farmers use oxen in their fields—even now. That means there is variation year to year, box to box, and even within a box.
In addition many of them need years of age to reach their peak.
I collect them—and when they are “right” they are off the charts amazing.
That said—I have had my fair share of duds.
These days the prices have exploded (doubled, tripled even more just in the last two years) so it is hard for me to recommend that others smoke them at current prices.