My favorite humidor in Houston is the one inside Spec's Liquor Warehouse downtown. I prefer smaller cigars. My favorite is the Macanudo Ascot.
For Domestic cigars, there is a huge company called J&R Cigars...they carry just about any type you could ever want. I don't know what the website is (i never used it because there was a J & R shop 5 moinutes from my home in NJ)...but they have an 800 # where you can have them shipped. The better domestic brands, IMO , are: Dunhill (smooth) Gloria de Cubana (rolled in Miami...but have a decent taste and a mild kick) Bolivar (not as good as the Cuban Bolivars, but the torpedo are still my favorite) Montecristo (old stand by - type...the torpedos are good....as are the #2's and robustos) Punch...(see Bolivar)
Good point. I knew another guy who actually hired real Cubans and brought them to America to roll his own cigars. Turns out though, they were really Puerto Ricans.
Thats the worst place to get them....they are more expensive there than anywhere. You are better off getting them in Mexico if/when you go. There are a few places in Geneva/Madrid that will sell them to you and then pack them up as "Gents toiletries" and send them over....but once they leave the shop, they are your problem if they get seized.
The nationality of the people who roll the cigars don't have an effect on whether they are Cubans or not. We have the same rollers, and probably better technology than Cuba does as far as rolling goes. It is the climate in which the leaves are grown that makes the cigars better
A close friend of mine who regularly travels to Europe on business brings me back a box when I ask him to. Very convenient. All I have to do is take him out to lunch or dinner every so often.