«If one of them was a Cuban, you’d never know which one it was»
Der Daily Herald hat die neuen Direktflüge zwischen O’Hare in Illinois und Havana zum Anlass genommen, um die möglichen Folgen des Embargo-Endes für den amerikanischen Zigarrenmarkt zu untersuchen («As Cold War Thaws, might Cuban cigar market heat up?»). Im Artikel kommt ein Händler aus Naperville zu Wort, der die Situation folgendermassen beurteilt:
«If cigars from Cuba were made legal, (cigar store owners) would have a line around the block on Day One of people waiting to get them,» says Hal Elmore, 55, owner of the Bull & Bear Tobacco Shop in downtown Naperville, envisioning throngs of people willing to pay $50, $75 or more for a single Cuban cigar. «And then, on the second day, there would be no one in line.»
At one time, Cuba was the only place making cigars, Elmore says. The island had the perfect climate, the right soil, the best tobacco and the most-skilled wrappers. Then people started taking Cuban tobacco seeds to the Dominican Republic, Honduras and other places with good soil, fine weather and people who had learned how to make excellent cigars.
«I guarantee you that, if I laid five cigars on the counter and one of them was a Cuban, you’d never know which one it was,» Elmore says.
