Cuba thumbs its socialist nose at us foreign policy by exporting between 150 and 200 million cigars a year, mainly to Europe, but also to Asia, the Middle East and Canada. The only reason you’ll find
cigar shops all over Vancouver is American visitors. They may come to Canada for this item alone, and they obviously buy — big time.
Churchill’s Fine Cigars (1062 Mainland Street, Yaletown, 604-662-4427) is a typical outfit. Beyond the old duffer’s cigar-stuffed mug, you’ll find a friendly proprietor and popular brands like Cohiba ( a twenty-five-cigar box of Cohiba “esplendidos” goes for more than US$500 in bargain-basement Cuba — so be warned). The store also sells Monte Christo and Romeo y Julieta, each beautifully dis¬played in glass-fronted humidors, along with a few of the 200 other varieties produced in the factories and backrooms of old Havana. Churchill’s, like all the cigar vendors, “ships” (read into this what you will).
Several city outlets offer more, among them La Casa del Habano (980 Robson Street, Downtown, 604-609-0511). Here, for a monthly membership fee, you get your own locker in which to store your bottle of high-end scotch or port, and the opportunity to hang out in a well-appointed rear lounge with like-minded aficianado.
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