Posts Categorized: Tobacco-Cigars

Spice, complexity, balance, strength; these are just some of the terms used to describe the flavor of cigars.  There are an infinite number of variations to these features and all cigars, even the bad ones, have these in common.  We cigar smokers have individual preferences when it comes to choosing cigars, and how we perceive… Read More

Cigar smoking is great, and a good cigar can provide enjoyment on many levels.  We often talk about flavor, construction, aroma, and burn, but there is one element of cigar flavor that we tend to take for granted.  One that is at the heart of why we like certain cigars. Choosing… But let’s start at… Read More

In October 2010, I had the opportunity to visit the Plesencia factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.  While there, I was fortunate enough to sample a very unusual cigar that was still in development.  Named the Punisher, this stick took me by surprise.  Its wrapper appeared to be infused with a chili-like substance that, upon placing in… Read More

Fifteen years is a long time. If we look back to 1996, we would see a world where cell phones were simply telephones, and the “War On Terror” was still a naive five years in the future.  Looking through the Summer 1996 issue of Cigar Aficionado, one can see that in the world of cigars,… Read More

If we had based our early cigar purchases solely on the reviews in Cigar Aficionado, we may never have started smoking cigars. All their highly rated cigars seem to be nicotine powerhouses with the potential to level any newbie cigar smoker.  To understand why this is so, we must remember that the reviewers at Cigar Aficionado smoke cigars… Read More

Buying cigars on the Internet affords us smokers many advantages.  With the lure of unlimited selection and prices below MSRP, online cigar vendors are harvesting customers and prospering.  But what does that mean for the future of our local cigar stores?  Is it their end or can they survive in the age of Internet commerce? … Read More

New Yorkers have a lot to be proud of.  Having grown up in the Big Apple, I can understand why it’s considered to be the greatest city in the world.  With its storied past, historic monuments, and proud population, New York breeds a certain “state of mind”.  And now New Yorkers have something else to… Read More

April 17, 2010 marked a sad milestone in the world of cigars.  On that day, Alejandro Robaina passed away, and we cigar smokers lost the soul and conscience of the Cuban cigar industry. Sr. Robaina was not only the greatest grower of the best tobacco in Cuba (his family had been growing tobacco there since… Read More

Somewhere in an unknown location, a group of masterminds is hatching a plan so bold, so ambitious, and so daring, that only a select few know of it’s existence.  Well, maybe the location isn’t exactly unknown (Nestor Plasencia’s blending room in Esteli, Nicaragua, and the select few will grow in numbers as this notice gets… Read More

Cigar smoking is a great equalizer.  Rich or poor, the pleasures of smoking a good cigar are shared equally among us all, and almost anyone can afford to have a supply on hand for future enjoyment.  But along with this enjoyment comes something else we cigar smokers share… the anxiety and frustration of keeping our… Read More