Having only started with Cohiba in 2007, it sounds like you may have gotten a bum batch - the cigar boom was a detriment to quality control, especially in Cuba
Possibly. For sure, quality went to hell by the latter '90's with the frenzy that the cigar press worked up. Cigar nights became a thing in LA, where a high end restaurant would close for a special cigar event and some celebrity blender would host a presentation of his range of cigars, accompanied by a multi course meal prepared by one of LA premier chefs.
I attended a few of them and they were kinda fun. People would enjoy free cigars and also show off their cellars, by bringing something from home, usually accompanied by a bit of bragging. Of course, the 900 lb gorilla at that time was the Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona that had scored a 100% rating with Cigar Aficionado. So I brought one of mine.
Very few smoked Cohibas back then because it was widely accepted that they were fakes. Sucking on a Lancero could cause your head to implode.
After the dinner and the presentation, when everyone was pulling out their cigars, I pulled out the Hoyo and the table literally fell silent, all eyes on the cigar. I kid you not. They were all staring at the fucking cigar. I was lighting up, unaware of the effect it was having and when I looked up the entire table was staring at the cigar. It was not a little unsettling, so after a few puffs I decided "what the hell" and handed it off. Everyone shared the fucking cigar. It was amazing and not a little bit nasty, and by the time that the soggy remains were returned to me, I just put it out.
I haven't smoked cigars much since the early 2000's and the last Cubans I bought were in Canada when I was working on a film in Vancouver, and they were all pretty bad smokes, not stored properly, over humidified. I tried at a couple of different tobacconists and found the same problem.