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古巴是雪茄客的天堂，至今仍出产全世界最好的烟叶和最著名的雪茄。有机会踏上古巴土地的人都不愿意错过在当地淘雪茄的机会，“胖子”孙炎也不例外，但是久居哈瓦那的他渐渐找到一条与众不同的雪茄之路。
As the paradise for cigar lovers， Cuba still produces the world’s best tobacco and cigars. Anyone who has the opportunity to set foot on the land would not miss the opportunity to look for cigars. “Fleshy” Sun Yan is no exception. A long time resident in Havana， he has discovered a unique road in the pursuit of cigars.
雪茄掮客Raul
炎热的正午时分，空旷的哈瓦那街头，孙炎独自漫步在老城的城区里，穿过几条弯弯曲曲的小巷，轻车熟路地来到一家雪茄店门口。推开大门，和里面的员工挥手示意后就径直上了二楼，老朋友Raul早早地就在这里等着他的到来。
孙炎接过Raul递过来的水杯，大口地喝了两口，顾不得擦干额头上的汗就让Raul赶紧拿出他这次来最想见到的东西——一个印着中国和古巴国旗的白色坛子。打开坛子，一股属于玻利瓦尔雪茄的独特浓郁香味飘散出来，白色坛身上印着一行英文小字“50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relationship”，无需Raul介绍，这正是孙炎梦寐以求的玻利瓦尔雪茄中古建交50周年的特别纪念款。孙炎擦了擦已经出汗的手，小心翼翼地从坛子中抽出一支雪茄，仔细观察整支雪茄的做工，又将雪茄放在鼻子下面深深地嗅了一下，脸上才露出满意的笑容和Raul说：“我要了”。
一直站在旁边微笑不语的Raul这时才张口和孙炎说这款50周年纪念雪茄的报价，孙炎毫不犹豫地支付了这笔不菲的费用，然后又塞给了Raul 20古巴比索的小费，告诉他“下次有货记得早点通知我”。又顺利地完成了一笔交易，Raul也显得比孙炎刚刚上楼时放松，一边数着手里的美元和比索，一边示意孙炎下次有新货一定会最先通知他。
一场看似普通的雪茄交易，其实并不像表面看来的那么简单。孙炎购买的这款玻利瓦尔雪茄中古建交50周年特别纪念款自从2010年推出就十分抢手，现在市面上在售的已经寥寥无几了。收藏这款雪茄一直是孙炎的心愿，这次得以实现，全靠他的古巴老朋友Raul的帮忙。Raul是一家雪茄店的店主，私下里又是一名雪茄掮客。在古巴，人民革命政府会把一些高档雪茄当作福利分发给党政干部供他们享用，但在人均月薪也不高的古巴，即使是党政干部收入也不过几千古巴比索，于是很多人会私下里把雪茄交易出去，换钱贴补家用，于是就衍生出了Raul这样的雪茄掮客。对于纪念款雪茄的主人，孙炎猜测他可能是古巴革命委员会的委员，也可能是古巴外交部的工作人员，但只要是真正的好雪茄，它的背景、来源对孙炎来说都不重要。
赛门·玻利瓦尔是19世纪伟大的浪漫主义人物之一，鼓吹南美国家脱离西班牙的统治，在1901年，玻利瓦尔死后的71年，哈瓦那的 Rocha 公司制作雪茄来纪念他，玻利瓦尔特别的肖像及特殊的身份地位，也就自然出现在雪茄标签及木盒上。这些雪茄结构丰富、浓郁并保有一致的高品质，在风味及口感上，茄衣颜色较深味道强烈，非常不建议初学者享用，除了口感较为顺畅温和的皇家可乐娜 （Royal Corona） 。
Cohiba 雪茄创立于1966年，当时只作为哈瓦那首相外交上的礼品。 直至1982年，Cohiba 雪茄才提供3种雪茄尺寸可售卖予大众，分别是 Lanceros、Coronas Especiales 和 Panatelas；Cohiba 雪茄拥有非常丰富及顺畅的口感，在哈瓦那雪茄中，高希霸系列被归类为中等浓郁到浓郁口感的雪茄。
“胖子”的秘密
一起玩雪茄的朋友都喜欢叫孙炎“胖子”，虽然他本人已经在古巴闷热的气候下变得又黑又瘦。每次从古巴回来，大伙口中的“胖子”都会带回来一些正宗的古巴雪茄，其中还常有一些市面上并不多见的顶级雪茄。但是不管朋友们怎么问孙炎如何找到这些雪茄的，孙炎总是笑着不肯回答，因为他一直想在朋友面前保留一些神秘色彩。
在古巴买雪茄有两种渠道：一种是正规渠道，即在正规的国营雪茄店和机场的雪茄店里买，购买的雪茄都配有正规的发票，那样的话，一盒25支精装高希霸雪茄就要花600美金；另一种渠道就是黑市。在黑市上卖雪茄的人一般是当地雪茄厂的工人或者工人家属，他们通过特殊渠道从雪茄厂里偷出来一些雪茄，或者出售自己加工的雪茄。黑市上的雪茄出售价格极便宜，一盒25支精装高希霸雪茄可能才要25～40美元。而“胖子”孙炎的秘密，是他在这两种渠道之外还通过熟识的雪茄掮客搜罗心仪的雪茄。
有人觉得从Raul这样的人手里买雪茄和在黑市上买雪茄没什么区别，但在孙炎眼中，这和黑市上买雪茄根本不是一回事。“黑市上的雪茄绝大部分都没有正规的发票或者干脆就没有发票，雪茄虽然便宜，但质量和做工也没什么保证。黑市上的雪茄好的少，差的多，买的时候全凭买家的辨别力。而Raul他们出售的雪茄有些是政府官员放在这里代卖的；有些是大买家从古巴带不走，放在这里二次出售的；有些则是配有正规发票的。除了质量更有保障外，买家还可以从中淘出一些精品”，孙炎解释说。不可以讲价是掮客雪茄和黑市雪茄的另一个差别。如果在黑市上买雪茄，觉得做工和质量一般，可以和卖家砍价。而掮客们手里的雪茄，绝对不接受砍价。
购买的难度上，黑市雪茄更容易入手。孙炎开玩笑说：“住在酒店，只要问起去哪买雪茄，几乎每个酒店服务员都会告诉他有个朋友在雪茄厂工作，偷出了一批非常不错的雪茄，价格很便宜。”而雪茄掮客出售的雪茄并不会随便卖给一个陌生买家，出于对自己的保护他们会选择一些比较熟识、值得信任的老客人，就像孙炎。 实际上，孙炎在知道Raul是雪茄掮客前已经在这家雪茄店里消费两年了。回忆起第一次从Raul手里买来4盒帕塔加斯雪茄的时候，孙炎坦诚自己“还挺紧张，又怕高价买了假货，又怕出海关的时候会被扣下”。孙炎并不是Raul唯一的客人，为了确保能买到自己心仪的雪茄，每次交易之后孙炎都会给Raul几十比索当作小费。即使这样，孙炎也不能保证自己每次都捷足先登，Raul手里曾经有一批非常值得收藏的雪茄盒，但等孙炎接到消息赶来时，这些雪茄盒都已经被一位新加坡买家全部买走了。
小心古巴雪茄
“雪茄店在古巴也不是随处可见，但是雪茄倒真的是任何地方都有”，这是孙炎对雪茄在古巴现状的评价。在雪茄最著名的产地古巴，伪造雪茄的行为从来都没有停止过。行走在哈瓦那街头，总有古巴人神神秘秘地对外国游客推荐手里的雪茄，而这里面几乎绝大部分都不是正规厂制出的雪茄。孙炎认为“如果就是想尝下雪茄的味道，雪茄价格又合适，其实买这种雪茄也无所谓，有时或许还有惊喜。但如果想买好一点的雪茄带走，最好的方法就是去国营店里买带有正式发票和出关报关单的雪茄。”看外包装，检查品牌商标和火印印刷等辨识雪茄的方式，在孙炎看来都是针对真正雪茄客的，对于初学者和游客，最简单的区分方式就是看卖家能否提供正式发票。
据孙炎介绍，外国人从古巴带出有发票的品牌雪茄不受限制，带出那种黑市上的无发票雪茄则不能超过50根。雪茄黑市在古巴是公开的秘密，很多游客去古巴买雪茄都不免从黑市上买一些。因为黑市贸易的猖獗给古巴造成了巨大的外汇损失，所以出海关时，机场工作人员查得特别严。孙炎提醒每个到古巴购买雪茄的买家，“千万不要相信网上那些所谓运气好的游客，古巴海关人员当面会一根一根地清点每个人行李里的雪茄，所以不要抱着侥幸心理夹带更多雪茄出去。”
Cigar Broker Raul
In the heat of noon day， Sun Yan rambled alone on the deserted streets of Havana. He zigzagged through several alleys and arrived at the doorstep of a cigar shop. He pushed the door open， waved casually at the staff， and went straight upstairs where his old friend Raul was waiting for him.
He took the cup from Raul， downed two mouthful of water， and urged Raul to show what he had came for before he had time to clean the sweat on his forehead. Raul produced a white jar painted with the national flags of both China and Cuba and a line of words —“50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relationship”. Once opened， a unique aroma of Bolivar cigar came out of the jar. Without introduction， Sun Yan knew this was what he had been craving for—the special release in celebration of 50 years diplomatic ties between China and Cuba. He gingerly draw one cigar out with sweaty hands to observe the make， sniffed at the cigar deeply， and smiled to Raul， “I will take this”.
Waiting patiently beside him， Raul told him the price. Without hesitation， Sun Yan handed Raul the payment and a 20 peso tip. “Next time you have something good， inform me earlier.” Satisfied with the deal， Raul counted the dollars and pesos， and signaled to Sun Yan that he got the message.
This seemingly common deal is not as simple as it seems. The cigars he bought has been very sought-after since 2010， with very few still on the market. It had been his wish to collect these special release. Thanks to his old Cuban friend， his dream had came true. Raul is the owner of a cigar shop and privately a cigar broker. In Cuba， the People’s Government often distribute top quality cigars to party cadres. But with their meager income， usually several thousand pesos a month， most cadres would choose to sell the cigars for money， which is how Raul got his source of cigars. Sun Yan guessed that the original owner of the cigars may be a member of the Cuban Revolutionary Committee， or a staff in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， but as long as he had the cigars， the background or source does not matter much. The secret of “fleshy”
Fellow cigar lovers like to call Sun Yan “fleshy”， though he has turned black and slim in the hot and humid Cuban climate. Every time he is back from Cuba， “Fleshy” would bring some authentic cigars for his friends， sometimes very rare top quality cigars. But no matter how his friends probe about how he get those cigars， he would reply with a enigmatic smile.
There are two ways to acquire cigars in Cuba： legally from state-owned cigar shops or airport shops where cigars come with official receipts， or illegally from the underground market， where cigar factory workers or their families steal or make their own cigars to sell at very low prices， i.e. a box of 25 well-packed Cohiba cigars ranges from 25 to 40 US dollars. The secret of “Fleshy” is that he has discovered a third channel， cigar brokers.
You may think there is no difference between buying from Raul and buying from the illegal market， but Sun Yan sees it differently. “Cigars on the illegal market has no official receipt. Although cheap， there is no guarantee for its quality and make. It takes discernment to tell the very few good cigars. On the contrary， the cigars sold by Raul are either placed there by government officials， or other bulk buyers who could not bring them out of the country， therefore often come with receipts. Quality aside， buyers could sometimes get some really nice cigars，” Sun Yan explains. Bargaining is another difference telling brokers apart from the illegal market. You can bargain in the illegal market if you think the cigar is not so good in quality or make， but brokers do not accept bargaining.
But illegal market cigars are easier to acquire. Sun Yan said jokingly. “In any hotel， if you ask the staff where you can buy some cigar， nearly everyone would tell you that he or she has a friend who works in a cigar factory and who has stolen some very nice cigars and would sell them at very low prices.” Out of self protection， cigar brokers would not sell to any random buyer， but only to frequent and trusted buyers like Sun Yan.
In fact， Sun Yan had been purchasing cigars in Raul’s shop for over 2 years before he was aware of Raul’s secret identity. The first time he bought 4 packs of Partagas from Raul， he was very nervous， worrying that he “may have paid too much for fakes， or the cigars would be confiscated by the Customs.” As he is not the only customer of Raul， Sun Yan would give Raul tips during every transaction to ensure he could be informed of the cigars he want ahead of others. Even so， he is not always the first one to get the news. Once， Raul had a batch of very collectible cigar boxes， but when Sun Yan got to him， the boxes had already been sold to a Singapore buyer. Beware of fakes
“In Cuba， you may not see cigar shops everywhere， but you can buy cigars anywhere”， commented Sun Yan. Counterfeit has never ceased to exist in Cuba. On the streets of Havana， there are always Cubans who would secretly market their cigars to foreign visitors， although most of these cigars are not made by official cigar brands. “If you just want to have a taste of cigar and the price seems OK for you， you could as well buy this kind of cigars， which sometimes may bring you surprises. But if you want to bring home some proper cigars， the best way is to go to a state-owned cigar shop to buy cigars with receipts and customs declaration forms.” Cigar aficionados would tell cigars by looking at the pack， the brand， and print. For starters， the easiest way is to check if the seller could provide authentic receipt.
According to Sun Yan， there is no restriction for foreigners to bring cigars with receipts out of the country， but the number of cigars purchased on the illegal market could not exceed 50. The illegal cigar market is an open secret in Cuban where many tourists would go to. But because it has caused huge foreign exchange loss， the Customs are very strict in examination. He reminds buyers of cigars “never believe those so-called lucky tourists， because the Customs would count the number of cigars in your baggage one by one. Don’t purchase more than you can bring with the hope of getting away without being caught.”
As the paradise for cigar lovers， Cuba still produces the world’s best tobacco and cigars. Anyone who has the opportunity to set foot on the land would not miss the opportunity to look for cigars. “Fleshy” Sun Yan is no exception. A long time resident in Havana， he has discovered a unique road in the pursuit of cigars.
雪茄掮客Raul
炎热的正午时分，空旷的哈瓦那街头，孙炎独自漫步在老城的城区里，穿过几条弯弯曲曲的小巷，轻车熟路地来到一家雪茄店门口。推开大门，和里面的员工挥手示意后就径直上了二楼，老朋友Raul早早地就在这里等着他的到来。
孙炎接过Raul递过来的水杯，大口地喝了两口，顾不得擦干额头上的汗就让Raul赶紧拿出他这次来最想见到的东西——一个印着中国和古巴国旗的白色坛子。打开坛子，一股属于玻利瓦尔雪茄的独特浓郁香味飘散出来，白色坛身上印着一行英文小字“50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relationship”，无需Raul介绍，这正是孙炎梦寐以求的玻利瓦尔雪茄中古建交50周年的特别纪念款。孙炎擦了擦已经出汗的手，小心翼翼地从坛子中抽出一支雪茄，仔细观察整支雪茄的做工，又将雪茄放在鼻子下面深深地嗅了一下，脸上才露出满意的笑容和Raul说：“我要了”。
一直站在旁边微笑不语的Raul这时才张口和孙炎说这款50周年纪念雪茄的报价，孙炎毫不犹豫地支付了这笔不菲的费用，然后又塞给了Raul 20古巴比索的小费，告诉他“下次有货记得早点通知我”。又顺利地完成了一笔交易，Raul也显得比孙炎刚刚上楼时放松，一边数着手里的美元和比索，一边示意孙炎下次有新货一定会最先通知他。
一场看似普通的雪茄交易，其实并不像表面看来的那么简单。孙炎购买的这款玻利瓦尔雪茄中古建交50周年特别纪念款自从2010年推出就十分抢手，现在市面上在售的已经寥寥无几了。收藏这款雪茄一直是孙炎的心愿，这次得以实现，全靠他的古巴老朋友Raul的帮忙。Raul是一家雪茄店的店主，私下里又是一名雪茄掮客。在古巴，人民革命政府会把一些高档雪茄当作福利分发给党政干部供他们享用，但在人均月薪也不高的古巴，即使是党政干部收入也不过几千古巴比索，于是很多人会私下里把雪茄交易出去，换钱贴补家用，于是就衍生出了Raul这样的雪茄掮客。对于纪念款雪茄的主人，孙炎猜测他可能是古巴革命委员会的委员，也可能是古巴外交部的工作人员，但只要是真正的好雪茄，它的背景、来源对孙炎来说都不重要。
赛门·玻利瓦尔是19世纪伟大的浪漫主义人物之一，鼓吹南美国家脱离西班牙的统治，在1901年，玻利瓦尔死后的71年，哈瓦那的 Rocha 公司制作雪茄来纪念他，玻利瓦尔特别的肖像及特殊的身份地位，也就自然出现在雪茄标签及木盒上。这些雪茄结构丰富、浓郁并保有一致的高品质，在风味及口感上，茄衣颜色较深味道强烈，非常不建议初学者享用，除了口感较为顺畅温和的皇家可乐娜 （Royal Corona） 。
Cohiba 雪茄创立于1966年，当时只作为哈瓦那首相外交上的礼品。 直至1982年，Cohiba 雪茄才提供3种雪茄尺寸可售卖予大众，分别是 Lanceros、Coronas Especiales 和 Panatelas；Cohiba 雪茄拥有非常丰富及顺畅的口感，在哈瓦那雪茄中，高希霸系列被归类为中等浓郁到浓郁口感的雪茄。
“胖子”的秘密
一起玩雪茄的朋友都喜欢叫孙炎“胖子”，虽然他本人已经在古巴闷热的气候下变得又黑又瘦。每次从古巴回来，大伙口中的“胖子”都会带回来一些正宗的古巴雪茄，其中还常有一些市面上并不多见的顶级雪茄。但是不管朋友们怎么问孙炎如何找到这些雪茄的，孙炎总是笑着不肯回答，因为他一直想在朋友面前保留一些神秘色彩。
在古巴买雪茄有两种渠道：一种是正规渠道，即在正规的国营雪茄店和机场的雪茄店里买，购买的雪茄都配有正规的发票，那样的话，一盒25支精装高希霸雪茄就要花600美金；另一种渠道就是黑市。在黑市上卖雪茄的人一般是当地雪茄厂的工人或者工人家属，他们通过特殊渠道从雪茄厂里偷出来一些雪茄，或者出售自己加工的雪茄。黑市上的雪茄出售价格极便宜，一盒25支精装高希霸雪茄可能才要25～40美元。而“胖子”孙炎的秘密，是他在这两种渠道之外还通过熟识的雪茄掮客搜罗心仪的雪茄。
有人觉得从Raul这样的人手里买雪茄和在黑市上买雪茄没什么区别，但在孙炎眼中，这和黑市上买雪茄根本不是一回事。“黑市上的雪茄绝大部分都没有正规的发票或者干脆就没有发票，雪茄虽然便宜，但质量和做工也没什么保证。黑市上的雪茄好的少，差的多，买的时候全凭买家的辨别力。而Raul他们出售的雪茄有些是政府官员放在这里代卖的；有些是大买家从古巴带不走，放在这里二次出售的；有些则是配有正规发票的。除了质量更有保障外，买家还可以从中淘出一些精品”，孙炎解释说。不可以讲价是掮客雪茄和黑市雪茄的另一个差别。如果在黑市上买雪茄，觉得做工和质量一般，可以和卖家砍价。而掮客们手里的雪茄，绝对不接受砍价。
购买的难度上，黑市雪茄更容易入手。孙炎开玩笑说：“住在酒店，只要问起去哪买雪茄，几乎每个酒店服务员都会告诉他有个朋友在雪茄厂工作，偷出了一批非常不错的雪茄，价格很便宜。”而雪茄掮客出售的雪茄并不会随便卖给一个陌生买家，出于对自己的保护他们会选择一些比较熟识、值得信任的老客人，就像孙炎。 实际上，孙炎在知道Raul是雪茄掮客前已经在这家雪茄店里消费两年了。回忆起第一次从Raul手里买来4盒帕塔加斯雪茄的时候，孙炎坦诚自己“还挺紧张，又怕高价买了假货，又怕出海关的时候会被扣下”。孙炎并不是Raul唯一的客人，为了确保能买到自己心仪的雪茄，每次交易之后孙炎都会给Raul几十比索当作小费。即使这样，孙炎也不能保证自己每次都捷足先登，Raul手里曾经有一批非常值得收藏的雪茄盒，但等孙炎接到消息赶来时，这些雪茄盒都已经被一位新加坡买家全部买走了。
小心古巴雪茄
“雪茄店在古巴也不是随处可见，但是雪茄倒真的是任何地方都有”，这是孙炎对雪茄在古巴现状的评价。在雪茄最著名的产地古巴，伪造雪茄的行为从来都没有停止过。行走在哈瓦那街头，总有古巴人神神秘秘地对外国游客推荐手里的雪茄，而这里面几乎绝大部分都不是正规厂制出的雪茄。孙炎认为“如果就是想尝下雪茄的味道，雪茄价格又合适，其实买这种雪茄也无所谓，有时或许还有惊喜。但如果想买好一点的雪茄带走，最好的方法就是去国营店里买带有正式发票和出关报关单的雪茄。”看外包装，检查品牌商标和火印印刷等辨识雪茄的方式，在孙炎看来都是针对真正雪茄客的，对于初学者和游客，最简单的区分方式就是看卖家能否提供正式发票。
据孙炎介绍，外国人从古巴带出有发票的品牌雪茄不受限制，带出那种黑市上的无发票雪茄则不能超过50根。雪茄黑市在古巴是公开的秘密，很多游客去古巴买雪茄都不免从黑市上买一些。因为黑市贸易的猖獗给古巴造成了巨大的外汇损失，所以出海关时，机场工作人员查得特别严。孙炎提醒每个到古巴购买雪茄的买家，“千万不要相信网上那些所谓运气好的游客，古巴海关人员当面会一根一根地清点每个人行李里的雪茄，所以不要抱着侥幸心理夹带更多雪茄出去。”
Cigar Broker Raul
In the heat of noon day， Sun Yan rambled alone on the deserted streets of Havana. He zigzagged through several alleys and arrived at the doorstep of a cigar shop. He pushed the door open， waved casually at the staff， and went straight upstairs where his old friend Raul was waiting for him.
He took the cup from Raul， downed two mouthful of water， and urged Raul to show what he had came for before he had time to clean the sweat on his forehead. Raul produced a white jar painted with the national flags of both China and Cuba and a line of words —“50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relationship”. Once opened， a unique aroma of Bolivar cigar came out of the jar. Without introduction， Sun Yan knew this was what he had been craving for—the special release in celebration of 50 years diplomatic ties between China and Cuba. He gingerly draw one cigar out with sweaty hands to observe the make， sniffed at the cigar deeply， and smiled to Raul， “I will take this”.
Waiting patiently beside him， Raul told him the price. Without hesitation， Sun Yan handed Raul the payment and a 20 peso tip. “Next time you have something good， inform me earlier.” Satisfied with the deal， Raul counted the dollars and pesos， and signaled to Sun Yan that he got the message.
This seemingly common deal is not as simple as it seems. The cigars he bought has been very sought-after since 2010， with very few still on the market. It had been his wish to collect these special release. Thanks to his old Cuban friend， his dream had came true. Raul is the owner of a cigar shop and privately a cigar broker. In Cuba， the People’s Government often distribute top quality cigars to party cadres. But with their meager income， usually several thousand pesos a month， most cadres would choose to sell the cigars for money， which is how Raul got his source of cigars. Sun Yan guessed that the original owner of the cigars may be a member of the Cuban Revolutionary Committee， or a staff in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， but as long as he had the cigars， the background or source does not matter much. The secret of “fleshy”
Fellow cigar lovers like to call Sun Yan “fleshy”， though he has turned black and slim in the hot and humid Cuban climate. Every time he is back from Cuba， “Fleshy” would bring some authentic cigars for his friends， sometimes very rare top quality cigars. But no matter how his friends probe about how he get those cigars， he would reply with a enigmatic smile.
There are two ways to acquire cigars in Cuba： legally from state-owned cigar shops or airport shops where cigars come with official receipts， or illegally from the underground market， where cigar factory workers or their families steal or make their own cigars to sell at very low prices， i.e. a box of 25 well-packed Cohiba cigars ranges from 25 to 40 US dollars. The secret of “Fleshy” is that he has discovered a third channel， cigar brokers.
You may think there is no difference between buying from Raul and buying from the illegal market， but Sun Yan sees it differently. “Cigars on the illegal market has no official receipt. Although cheap， there is no guarantee for its quality and make. It takes discernment to tell the very few good cigars. On the contrary， the cigars sold by Raul are either placed there by government officials， or other bulk buyers who could not bring them out of the country， therefore often come with receipts. Quality aside， buyers could sometimes get some really nice cigars，” Sun Yan explains. Bargaining is another difference telling brokers apart from the illegal market. You can bargain in the illegal market if you think the cigar is not so good in quality or make， but brokers do not accept bargaining.
But illegal market cigars are easier to acquire. Sun Yan said jokingly. “In any hotel， if you ask the staff where you can buy some cigar， nearly everyone would tell you that he or she has a friend who works in a cigar factory and who has stolen some very nice cigars and would sell them at very low prices.” Out of self protection， cigar brokers would not sell to any random buyer， but only to frequent and trusted buyers like Sun Yan.
In fact， Sun Yan had been purchasing cigars in Raul’s shop for over 2 years before he was aware of Raul’s secret identity. The first time he bought 4 packs of Partagas from Raul， he was very nervous， worrying that he “may have paid too much for fakes， or the cigars would be confiscated by the Customs.” As he is not the only customer of Raul， Sun Yan would give Raul tips during every transaction to ensure he could be informed of the cigars he want ahead of others. Even so， he is not always the first one to get the news. Once， Raul had a batch of very collectible cigar boxes， but when Sun Yan got to him， the boxes had already been sold to a Singapore buyer. Beware of fakes
“In Cuba， you may not see cigar shops everywhere， but you can buy cigars anywhere”， commented Sun Yan. Counterfeit has never ceased to exist in Cuba. On the streets of Havana， there are always Cubans who would secretly market their cigars to foreign visitors， although most of these cigars are not made by official cigar brands. “If you just want to have a taste of cigar and the price seems OK for you， you could as well buy this kind of cigars， which sometimes may bring you surprises. But if you want to bring home some proper cigars， the best way is to go to a state-owned cigar shop to buy cigars with receipts and customs declaration forms.” Cigar aficionados would tell cigars by looking at the pack， the brand， and print. For starters， the easiest way is to check if the seller could provide authentic receipt.
According to Sun Yan， there is no restriction for foreigners to bring cigars with receipts out of the country， but the number of cigars purchased on the illegal market could not exceed 50. The illegal cigar market is an open secret in Cuban where many tourists would go to. But because it has caused huge foreign exchange loss， the Customs are very strict in examination. He reminds buyers of cigars “never believe those so-called lucky tourists， because the Customs would count the number of cigars in your baggage one by one. Don’t purchase more than you can bring with the hope of getting away without being caught.”