Cuban goods (Rum? Cigars?) in HCMC?

I lived in Mexico for a couple of years and it was difficult to get the real thing even there. Actually I was also in Havana and they sell counterfeits to the tourists also. Reason is that they steal the bands and boxes then roll their own cigars and sell them as the real mccoy. So if you do find them in HCM try one first!

Good point, Solo. THe days of the 25 cent Upmann's down from Laos are over. Fidel and Raul needs all the hard currency they can get. Even in the mid-90s they were exporting low grade local five cent cigar stuff, marking them up and selling them at premium prices.

As for rum, Caribbean and Latin rums have greatly improved over the past two decades. I'm not sure Cuba has. The Havana Club brand had some very good upmarket rums in the 70s and 80s, but these days they get a lot of competition, particularly from the spiced rums.

The Cuban embassy and consulate should know where the genuine artticles, if any, are sold in Vietnam.

Cateater, my opinion only, if you want the world's greatest rum, try the Barbancourt 5 star and up from Haiti. HALICO must make a rum that matches Bacardi's bar brand. I like their vodka. No comment on Mekong Rhum.

And as long as I'm ranting on my favorite beverage. The dumbest Rum distiller in the rum world is Bundaberg. They have a good product and a small ready market in Asia, and TBMK they have never attempted to pitch rum to the emerging Asian middle class as the cool sophisticated drink it can be. Their only interest is the Aussie market. They could have put up a distillery anywhere in Vietnam, Cambodia, or Thailand or found a licensee. Asians tend to be brand loyal. Once you build a niche, you're generally there for quite a while. I believe Bacardi is already in the region. Wrong on yer, Mates. You've bloody failed.

There is a good cigar outlet in D1 genuine Cubans. Can't recall the name, but it's at the bottom of the Sun Wah tower in Nguyen Hue.

Hello,

Cheers for the Sun Wah info, just reached them, it's called Humidor and they claim to have a large stock of Cuban cigars.  It's actually not for me and the person who wants them fancies Cubans, whether or not they are not as good as they were back in the day.  Maybe more of an American "forbidden fruit" thing then the actual quality? 

Bundaberg is great, but agreed, priced a bit extravagantly.  My favorite is Myer's Jamaican Dark.  Haven't run into that in these parts.  I've seen Havana Club around, was hoping their might be more options.

laidbackfreak wrote:

There is a good cigar outlet in D1 genuine Cubans. Can't recall the name, but it's at the bottom of the Sun Wah tower in Nguyen Hue.

Do they stock Arturo Fuente's by chance? I really enjoy the short stubby ones.