четверг, 28 июня 2007 г.

Cigar Country: Honduras"

Honduras

Honduras, the original "banana republic," has been a tobacco source and cigar manufacturing region since at least 1765, when the Spanish crown established a royal tobacco trading post near Santa Rosa in Copan. This area is now a major coffee growing area, but tobacco and cigars are still an industry here. The Spanish stimulated the growth of the cigar trade here partly as a way to encourage settlement in the area. The northwest and western parts of Honduras are also home to a type of wild tobacco called "copaneco," and it may be that this is what the natives, and perhaps the Spanish colonials, originally rolled into their cigars.

In addition to the Copan region, there are two other areas famous for tobacco cultivation and cigar manufacturing. The first and foremost is the area around Danli in El Paraiso. Danli is to Honduras what Esteli is to Nicaragua- the capital of the cigar business in their respective countries. Similarly, it could also be said that the Jamastran Valley is to Honduras what the Jalapa Valley is to Nicaragua. Jamastran and the surrounding areas are the primary locations for cigar tobacco cultivation in South Honduras.

More centrally located in the country is the third major cultivation area- the Talanga Valley in the Francisco Morazan provice, about a two hour drive northwest from Danli. Here tobacco is grown using the encallado method. Because Talanga is windy, tents are erected around the crop to protect the sun grown tobacco from wind damage. Rows of thick king grass are also grown around the tobacco plots as additional protection. This is typically why cigar tobacco, especially sun grown tobacco, is grown in valleys - the natural barrier helps to protect the delicate leaves from the wind.

El Paraiso

The major players in Honduras, like those in Nicaragua, arrived here as Cuban exiles. By the time of the U.S. embargo, Honduras had a head start over Nicaragua because the government had been sponsoring growth in the development of cigar companies. This advantage was offset by an almost complete lack of infrastructure in Honduras; roads being one of the major amenities missing here. But Honduras was given another boost when the Sandinistas took over in 1979. Just as Central America benefited from the Cuban revolution, so did Honduras benefit from Nicaragua's coup as tobacco farmers and cigar rollers emigrated to Honduras for work.

The similarity of the regions of Jalapa in Nicaragua and Jamastran in Honduras made this transition an easy one. Both have been described as very similar to the Pinar del Rio region of Cuba, by people who certainly know their business. And in the same way that Nicaraguan cigars were made to satisfy the American market for Cuban cigars left vacant by the embargo, Honduras tried to do the same thing. Heavyweight and serious cigars with a good bite became the goal for at least some producers.

Among these, the most successful have been the Plasencias, the Eiroas of Camacho Cigars, Frank Llaneza and Estelo Padron of HATSA (Villazon), and Rolando Reyes of Puros Indios. All of these men and their families are major players on the Honduran cigar scene, blending cigars that are unique and emblematic of Honduran flavor.

The types of cigar tobacco grown in Honduras are mostly Cuban seed. In fact, a test crop grown with Cuban seed smuggled into Honduras by Juan Bermejo became the basis for a great deal of the cigar tobacco grown in Central America after the revolution. Both Cuban criollo and shade grown corojo are cultivated for their strong heady flavor. Both require careful fermentation and curing to mellow the tobacco.

Connecticut shade is also grown for wrapper, sometimes called "Honduran Shade." But most interesting to me is the "true corojo" being grown by the Eiroa family for their Camacho Corojo cigars. Corojo is named for the Cuban farm on which it was first cultivated by the Rodriguez family. The Eiroas obtained some of the original seed from the Corojo farm and now grow it in the Jamastran Valley. It is a delicate tobacco, extremely vulnerable to blue mold (which is why the genetically pure variety is no longer grown in Cuba) but the Eiroas have been successful with it in Honduras. The Camacho Corojo is also one of my favorite cigars.

Honduran cigars tend to be heavy, full bodied smokes. My recommendations for the cigar novice are that you start with lighter cigars from the Domincan Republic and work your way up to the Nicaraguans and Hondurans. There are lighter bodied Hondurans, of course, but he best ones exhibit the rich leathery flavor you'll be looking for in full bodied smokes. Among my current favorites are Villazon's El Rey del Mundo and Punch Gran Puro, as well as the Camacho Corojo and Havana lines. Rocky Patel's Indian Tabac and Vintage lines, as well as Rolando Reyes' Puros Indios are also favorites in the medium-bodied range.

CAO Sopranos "Associate"

Each time we turn into The Sopranos we get to see Tony Soprano in his car, lighting up a cigar as the opening credits roll. So it is fitting that HBO should extend a meaty palm to CAO and license the Sopranos edition of cigars. In 2005 they did just that, and at the RTDA that year CAO unleashed three sizes of pricey Sopranos smokes.

This is the smallest of the three sizes, the Associate, a standard robusto at 5 x 52. Also available are the Soldier (toro) the Boss (double corona) and the just released "Tony Soprano Signature," an extra-large toro with a 60 ring gauge.

The wrapper used for the Sopranos series is Brazilian mata fina. I was interested for this reason to see how it would compare to CAO's Brazilia line, which uses a Brazilian arapiraca leaf rather than mata fina. The cigar is completed with a Honduran binder and an interesting combination of Nicaraguan, Dominican and Columbian filler. Columbian leaf is a rarity as well, but CAO has used it before in their CX2 double-cameroon sticks.

I was frankly quite surprised by the Associate. I was expecting something along the same lines as the Brazilia Gol! - something rich and spicy. Instead, the Associate turns out to be a sweetheart.

The wrapper on this cigar is an attractive shiny maduro, and the roll is flawless. It fired up without a hitch and burned straight all the way. It forms a solid white ash that wants to spend some time with you before hitting the ashtray.

The first flavor is a delicate sweetness, a smoky maple syrup. The smoke is surprisingly light and smooth, and at no point did it develop any kind of bite. There is a hint of licorice, but that's it from the spice cabinet. The base flavor is earthy, but even this is fairly muted. Mostly this is just a very relaxing easy-going cigar. Toward the end it turns up the chocolate. After removing the band and nearly burning my fingertips I laid this one to rest.

The Sopranos "Associate" is a refined and relaxing cigar that took me by surprise. It's not the powerhouse I expected, but considering the fact that my expectations were based on a fictional family of mobsters on television, perhaps I get what I deserve.

Unfortunately the price on this limited edition from CAO is a little bit prohibitive. But I would recommend it anyway as a special treat, especially for tough guys with a soft spot.

Padron 1964 Anniversary Imperiales

Ask any experienced cigar smoker anywhere in the world what are the best non-Cuban cigars, and inevitably two brands will make every list: Fuente's OpusX and Padron's Anniversary line. And if they don't make the "best" list, they will certainly make the most-hyped list. Unfortunately, they also make the most expensive list.

But for special occasions, only the best will do.

The Anniversary 1964 line celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the Padron cigar company. The Padron family has been in the tobacco farming business since the 1850's, originally in the famous Vuelta Abajo region of Cuba. Like so many other cigar patriarchs, Jose Orlando Padron came to the United States from Cuba in the early 1960's with little more than a few dollars and a dream. That dream would germinate in 1964, eventually growing into one of the most successful and highly respected cigar companies in the world.

In speaking of their company, the Padrons are fond of the term "vertically integrated." By this they mean that their cigars are purely Padron, from bottom to top. They own their own farms, grown their own tobacco, control the fermentation, storage and aging processes, oversee the many stages of rolling the cigars, and finally distribute the cigars themselves. This level of control allows very strict quality management, and quality and consistency is what Padron is all about. Padron makes about 5 million cigars each year, but only about ten percent of those are Anniversary cigars. When a product sells this well at a premium price, it is a mark of honor that Padron does not increase production at the expense of quality. It's also remarkable that the standard Padron line still sells for less than 5 dollars a stick despite the huge popularity of the brand. That's integrity.

The Padron 1964 Anniversary, like all Padron cigars, is a Nicaraguan puro. All sun grown tobacco is used. Frequently sun grown tobacco is associated with power, but with the Anniversary it should really suggest great flavor rather than sheer strength. The tobaccos are carefully aged for four years before they are selected for the Anniversary blend.

The Anniversary is square pressed to resemble the Cuban cigars patriarch Jose Orlando remembers smoking in Cuba, the H. Upmann Number 4 in particular. It comes dressed in a double band - the trademark band overlaps a counterfeiting control band bearing a serial number to guarantee authenticity. Yes, this is a highly valued cigar.

At 6 inches in length and a 54 ring gauge, the Imperiales are the toro entry in this line. Padron Anniversary cigars are also available with a maduro wrapper. Aficionados of this dandy cigar often use the acronyms PAN (Padron Anniversary Natural) and PAM (Padron Anniversary Maduro) to refer to the different species.

The construction of this PAN is perfect. An easy draw allows a nice volume of smoke with each pull, and the ash held for as long as I cared to admire it. I had to be careful not to smoke this one too quickly. It's much milder than I expected, and yet full of delicate flavor, so my natural reaction was to draw on it more often than necessary. Its distinguishing characteristic is superior balance, not strength, so I had to consciously slow down a little when it started to get a bit hot.

A mild but flavorful woody base serves as the 1964's foundation. Above this floats an elegant aroma that always reminds me of the first days of fall when my neighbors stoke their fireplaces with juniper logs. This is a serene smoke, to be enjoyed without distractions and appreciated like an unexpected holiday.

I wish I could describe with better precision what this cigar tastes like, but in this case my inability might be a good thing. Descriptions of sensual pleasures are often elusive, and always subjective. For various reasons I don't grade cigars, but I do keep a short list of my favorites, and right now this one is sitting comfortably in the top five.

La Flor de Murias Sovereign

Allow me to introduce La Flor de Jose Suarez Murias y Ca, or to be a little less formal, Flor de Murias. This is a long defunct Cuban label that Cigars by Santa Clara appropriated and is now using for a mild blend made in the Dominican Republic.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I have a thing about smoking the last cigar in a box. For some vague reason I always hesitate when it comes to smoking that last stick, as if it were the last of the tribe, which of course it isn't. For this reason I tend to have a few finalists hanging around the humidor, so despite myself I always have a few aged sticks. This Sovereign was one of those.

Flor de Murias are available in natural (Connecticut Shade) and maduro (Connecticut Broadleaf) wrappers - the naturals come wrapped in white tissue paper, the maduros in black.

The very fine print on the band says: "Tabacos Superiores de las Mejores Vegas de Vuelta-Abajo Hechos Espresamente Para Personas de Gusto." Presumably this is from the original Cuban lithography, but who knows. In any case, this particular cigar is certainly not from the Vuelta-Abajo; it is in fact from Santiago, made with a Mexican-Dominican blended filler, a Mexican binder, and a Connecticut Shade wrapper.

The Sovereign is a long corona measuring 6 3/4 by 45. Prelight, the wrapper smells slightly sweet, with a very mild spicy tang to it. I last reviewed this cigar in April 2005, when I said it was "a smooth and mild smoke with a good draw, subtle aroma, and decent price." This particular cigar has been resting in my humidor for close to two years, so I was eager to see if I could detect any change in how it smoked, for better or worse.

The wrapper on this cigar is a fine example of Connecticut Shade - light spice and a pleasant floral aroma are in abundance. This is a very mild cigar with a grassy, somewhat papery flavor, and a touch of tannin. Very little aftertaste. I don't think it has benefitted greatly from the humidor time; it performs pretty much the way I remember it did in late 2004, early 2005.

There were no construction flaws to speak of - a perfect draw and an even burn lasting a good 45 minutes. It forms a long ash and needs no special care. You could have your morning coffee and read the paper without a second thought while puffing away on this one.

Overall, this is a pretty decent morning or mid-day cigar. I can taste the Mexican leaf in this one, but it's not overpowering. A nice blend, and that's coming from someone who doesn't care for Mexican cigars. One of the better sticks from Santa Clara.

Bolivar Coronas Gigantes

I am new to the Bolivar brand, I received a box of Coronas Gigantes a little while back and now I'm cracking into it. Nearly perfect construction, I am truly amazed that this cigar was made my human hands, a real work of art. I have never seen a cigar that was flawless in manufactur until now. The cigar has a nice box press with a fairly dark color, about the shade of milk chocolate. The cigar seems much longer that a churchill, there is a very slight taper which is visually enhanced while smoking.

The flavor on this cigar is right in your face, right away. The flavor is not spicy at all but is just a very well rounded smoke. I smoked a few in the last couple of days and I can say definitively that this is a cigar for the evening. Its richness is brought out by liquor. The flavor overall is very smooth and goes well with something to kick it up a notch. I had one after a spicy meal and the flavor is very soothing after a habenero salsa. I would not say this is my favorite cigar, but I will certainly keep a box of these on hand. I can't think of a more well rounded Cuban cigar, although this cigar is not especially exciting it is very high quality and is great when you just want a damn good Cuban.

P.S. The manufacturing is so good that the ring can be easily removed without any issues at all.

Romeo y Julieta Short Churchills

A relatively new cigar from RyJ, but being a bit fan of some of the others from the brand, I thought I'd give them a try. I started smoking some a little while back, I bought a 3 pack of tubos from my local shop. They were quite good, but they were also my first experience with the Robusto format, which smoke quite a bit different that the corona size range that I am used to. So I purchased a few boxes, mostly based on the merits of the flavor and overall experience.

Here is a review of the one I smoked last night.

I was on a dinner outing with my wifes company, after dinner I excused myself and found a quite place outside, carrying both a cup of coffee and a glass of cognac. Some cigars are quite well matched with either or both of these drinks. My experience yesterday tells me that this is not the case with these cigars. Coffee a resounding YES. The flavor is perfectly matched, bringing out more of the richness of these Robustos. These cigars are the perfect RyJ, not too big or small, not too miid or too strong, but just right. These cigars are a little young and have a slightly amonia flavor if smoked too quickly. The amonia taste is really brought out by the cognac, so I would steer clear of brandy or probably whisky as well while smoking this cigar.

After sitting for a while with my drink and my cigar, just after the first third, others start to come outside to enjoy the midnight sun, the first three men to come out mention how good it smells. This is something I don't often here while smoking cigars, as the taste of a cigar is largely the smell anyhow, of course I enjoy it, my wife also mentioned that she liked the smell of these. She even took a few puffs.

I wouldn't say this is the best cigar ever, but it is really fun to smoke. You can get through one in a bit over an hour if you draw big. A word of warning, don't draw too large on these near the end as you may burn you lips.

The manufacturing is excellent, presented in a box of 25 with a very attractive box press. I plan on smoking one box now and keeping the other box to age for a while. I would imagine that after 6 months or so, the slightly young taste will be gone leaving nothing but pure RyJ.

Inexpensive Cubans

Recently I began the search for an inexpensive cuban that I actually liked. The goal is a machine made cigar of decent size and quality that I can smoke every day, and especially 3 or 4 during a BBQ or other backyard event.

Here is a review of three I tried this week all are machine made and cost $1.50 - $3 a stick.

Quintero y Hermano - Nacionales. The manufacturing is actually pretty decent, no problems with unravelling, relatively even burn, good draw. You really need to smoke this slow otherwise it get BITTER as hell and tastes like burning pine. The first third has some flavor a little tobacco flavor and some coffee, the middle third starts to get a more pronounced flavor but quickly turns bitter like over cooked espresso. I smoke this one once after work with a beer and once in the evening after dinner with water, both times I had a relatively similar experience with these. Overall I don't think this cigar really tastes Cuban. I won't buy these again.

Ok decent try but not exactly what I am looking for, I would really wrather smoke 4 cohiba mini than one of these.

Lets move on to another brand.

Guantanamera - Decimos, Holy crap this is horrible cigar, it has no redeeming qualities of any kind. I had to smoke the entire pack to make sure I wasn't missing something. This cigar taste roughly like a cigarette or a cheap gas station cigar. The cigar burned OK and had an OK draw but all you get is smoke, no Cuban flavor at all. I definately will not buy this cigar ever again, I probably wouldn't even smoke it if was offered to me free, In fact I think you would need to pay me to smoke one of these. If you like the taste of burning leaves these are for you, but other than that stay away.

Ok I'm starting to get a little restless, may there is no such thing as a good cheap cuban or maybe they are so ellusive that you must know a guy who knows a guy to get ahold of them. One more try.

Jose Piedra - Cazadores, Back to basics with this cigar. The cigar is very well made, has an excellent draw and I swear if I didn't know better that it was hand made. A very direct flavor which starts almost immediately after lighting, this cigar has the quinisential cuban flavor, mostly tobbacco flavor with just a hint of spice and chocolate. It is not exactly lip smacking good, but the cigar leaves you very satisfied. I smoked 2 back to back on the first sitting to make sure I wasn't kidding myself. Second day I had a BBQ and smoked the other three while grilling and drinking. This cigar easily competes with some of the less expensive hand made cubans. I am definately going to be smoking these on a regular basis, this cigar just feels good to smoke. I recommend these to anyone looking for a good daily smoke with that cuban flavor.

Now that I have found at least one cheap cuban which I like to smoke, I will try more of that brand, keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of the line from JLP is just as good as the Cazadores.

See you in few days:

I'm heading out of town for a week and will not have internet access. I've requested that a couple people post some guest reviews while I'm gone so I hope you enjoy those. I've got three or four cigars I've been wanting to review that I'm taking with me so hopefully I'll have a couple new reviews for you when I get back.

Greatest Father's Day Present

My wife dropped this book, The Dangerous Book for Boys, in my lap after a trip to the bookstore yesterday. Simply put this book rocks and I wish I'd had it when I was a kid. It has everything from famous battles to building a tree house, to courting girls! Even if you don't have any boys still get this book. In fact I think I know what my brother and a few other friends will be getting for Christmas this year.

Smoke Notes: Ashton VSG Wizard

I plan to give the Ashton VSG another chance, but so far I'm not impressed. They are spicy and have nice flavor, but come across as kind of a one trick pony. I just can't see spending this much for a cigar that doesn't have some complexity. Maybe my taste was off last night so I'll try a couple more, but for the money if I want a peppery spice bomb I'll stick with a Partagas Black.

Cigars

Sabor Cubano Petite Torpedo

Sabor Cubano is a product of La Tradicion Cubana, owned and operated by Luis Sanchez in Miami's Little Havana. Sanchez comes from a family with roots in Cuba's pre-revolutionary cigar industry, and his tabaqueros are veterans of Havana's galeras, some with more than twenty years experience rolling cigars in the traditional Cuban fashion.

La Tradicion Cubana got its start in 1995 using blends that were inspired by Sanchez's grandfather. Sabor Cubano - La Tradicion's maduro entry - was first released in 1997.

Sanchez is obviously very proud of the maduro used in this blend, repeatedly noting (on La Tradicion's website and elsewhere) that the wrapper is processed in an entirely natural fashion. (Some of the maduro cigars I've smoked recently have made me wonder, like Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel, "How much more black could it be? And the answer is: None. None more black." And while these cigars haven't stained my lips or fingers, they have raised some suspicions: but I digress.)

The maduro wrapper employed here is from Mexico's San Andres valley. By the time it is used in the Sabor Cubano it has been aged for five years, and is accompanied by a binder from Ecuador, and filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. La Tradicion makes some huge cigars; the standard La Tradicion line includes a gigantic pyramid that comes in at 8 1/2 inches by 80 ring gauge, and they are also the makers of The Big One, perhaps the largest cigar made for non-Guinness breaking purposes. It measures 12 inches long by a whopping 192 ring gauge. Wow.

At only 5 inches by 54, the Petite Torpedo is a veritable dwarf by comparison. The wrapper is not quite oscuro, but most definitely maduro. It has a rough texture, glistens with oil, and prelight the scent is bright and grassy. It smells very much like the few fresh rolled cigars I've had the pleasure to smoke. After snipping the tip I found a perfect prelight draw and a touch of pepper on the tongue.

This little guy smokes like a champ. Trails of white smoke wisp from the head of the cigar after every puff. I love that. It doesn't burn perfectly evenly (what maduro does?) but otherwise I'm very impressed with the construction here. It starts up with a peppery flavor that has a slight bite to it without being truly sharp. The texture of the smoke is smooth and rich, and the aroma is sweet with woody spices.

I'd characterize this cigar as medium in both body and strength. It's full flavored, but with a short finish and little aftertaste. What really sends me over the edge is the aroma from the wrapper - it's far more complex than the last two double maduros I've reviewed. There's a bit of char towards the end of the cigar, which is what typified the MX2 and the SLR Serie G, but the Sabor Cubano offers the sweetness of maduro without that carbonized flavor overtaking the softer notes. It's a more balanced aroma, and in my opinion, a superior smoke overall.

La Tradicion is a boutique brand, but their prices don't reflect that. Boxes of the Petite Torpedo go for around 75 dollars - well worth it; in fact I'd call that a steal. With a recent expansion to the Dominican Republic the company may be looking to go big, which puts fear into my stogie loving soul. I have a few other blends from the Calle Ocho shop to try, and if they're as good as the Sabor Cubano I'm going to be eying a certain closet in my house for its humidor potential.

Partagas Black Maximo

It seems fitting to follow up a review of Macanudo with a review of a Partagas cigar. In a lot of ways Partagas is the rougher tougher sibling of Macanudo, but they share a common heritage. Cuban master Ramon Cifuentes was the man who developed both of these cigars, though he will always be remembered for Partagas in particular because he and his family before him owned the Partagas factory in Havana before the revolution.

Fidel Castro offered Cifuentes command of Cuba's nationalized cigar industry in 1961, but for obvious reasons he refused. (Let's see here. You take away my property and my livelihood and then you offer me a job managing it for your government? No thanks.) Instead Cifuentes went to Connecticut where he was soon working for Edgar Cullman and General Cigar. Cullman put him in charge of General's operations in Jamaica, where Cifuentes would raise Partagas again, like a phoenix from the ashes, in a new Jamaican form.

In the mid-1970's General released its Cifuentes engineered Partagas with a Cameroon wrapper. But the extra load placed on the Jamaican factory where Macanudos were also being produced resulted in friction with the labor unions there and a move to the Dominican Republic was soon in the works. Today Partagas (as well as Macanudo) in all their various forms are manufactured by hand in the Dominican Republic.

The Partagas Black Label is a relative newcomer to the General family of cigars. Released in 2001 in response to the demand for full-bodied cigars, Cifuentes protege Daniel Nunez blended this cigar to appeal to fans of maduro and spice. The highlight of the cigar is a jet black sun grown medio tiempo Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. Medio tiempo leaves are the highest leaves on the tobacco plant, the last ones to be harvested. Medio tiempo broadleaf is tough stuff, grown to withstand the rigorous fermentation process that renders it this rich dark shade.

Nunez uses a specially sun grown Dominican binder called "La Vega Especial" and the filler is a blend of Nicaraguan ligero and Dominican piloto cubano. Interestingly, La Vega Especial is used as the wrapper on General's version of Ramon Allones cigars.

Unlike Macanudo, which is known for its rock solid consistency, I have found the flavor of Partagas Black to vary depending on the size and the age. Most bold and spicy cigars will mellow with age, and I have found that to be the case with this one as well. The pair of Maximos I smoked for this review had been aged for about a year, and were several degrees less spicy than other Partagas Blacks I've smoked in the past. Whether this is because of the size or the age, I'm not sure, but I was surprised nevertheless.

With Nicaraguan ligero and piloto cubano at the core and a medio tiempo wrapper, this should be a powerful smoke. And while they were tasty, full of sweet char and a pleasant woody base flavor, I didn't find them all that spicy. A little chocolatey, a little coffee beaney, but not spicy. Actually, they were quite smooth, and to be honest I preferred these Maximos to my previous experiences with the Black Label. A couple years ago I tried the Black Label and found the pepper overwhelming and way out of balance with the rest of the blend. Today these moderately aged Maximos are powerful enough to keep my palate interested, but not so much that I can't kick back and savor the other flavors and characteristics of the cigar. Additionally, the rich maduro taste is helped out by a leisurely and even burn.

I'm going to have to pick up a few more of these from the B&M in different sizes just to satisfy my curiosity. They're reasonably priced and despite the varying levels of spice and intensity they've all been fine smokes. Maximos come in aluminum tubes, so maybe that has something to do with the relative mildness of the cigar. Who knows? I guess I will just have to commit a few more Black Labels to the fire in the name of research to find out.

Macanudo Cafe Lords

Don't laugh. It's only a Macanudo, the best selling cigar in America. The reasons for this are many - tradition, consistency, perhaps the mediocrity of the common denominator - but the fact of the matter is that if cigars were running for office, you'd be looking at the President. So I thought I better check it out.

Macanudo has a Jamaican history with British roots that today is a paragon of mild Dominican cigars. The first Macanudo was actually a Cuban Punch that was made in Jamaica. During World War II the British wanted to keep as much of their hard currency contained within British holdings as they could, so trading with Cuba was out. As a British possession Jamaica was open for trade, so some Cuban cigar makers went to Jamaica where they made cigars using Havana leaf for the English market. And so the first Macanudo was born as a frontmark for a Fernando Palacios Punch.

Its English roots are also born out in the names for the various sizes of Macanudo - Duke of Wellington, Prince of Wales, Tudor, Hyde Park, etc. In fact it was the Duke of Windsor who is credited with bringing the term "macanudo" back with him from a polo trip to Argentina. The word is Argentine slang for "excellent" or "cool." It's a somewhat dated term, but it's still in use, and from what I can tell it is generally used to describe people, so I think "cool" is probably the closest translation for American English. For the past few years "Macanudo" has also been a very popular comic strip by the cartoonist Liniers that appears in the Argentine newspaper La Nacion.

"Clear Havanas" made with Cuban tobacco already in the U.S. at the time of the embargo were available for sale throughout the early 60's, but by the late 60's and 70's it was getting increasingly more difficult to find premium cigars in the U.S. The few that were around were Jamaican, like Royal Jamaica and Montecruz. So around this time, General Cigar bought the Temple Hall factory in Jamaica and with it the U.S. rights to the Macanudo name. Part of the reason for the success of Macanudo is that they were one of the few premiums in production at the time - they built on the name by producing quality premium smokes and became a standard for the industry as one of the few players in the premium game.

In 1971 General introduced Macaduno to the American public, and for years it held its own as a classic Jamaican cigar. As time went on, however, the Dominican cigar industry began to lure companies away from Jamaica with its quality tobacco and lower cost of labor. Gradually the production of Macanudos was transitioned to the Dominican Republic, with only a few larger sizes being made in Jamaica as recently as 2000, when Jamaican production stopped. Today it is an entirely Dominican made cigar.

The wrapper is key to a Mac: it's a classic Connecticut Shade, but it undergoes a journey before it crowns the cigar. After harvesting in Connecticut the wrapper leaf is fermented over the winter. Then it is packed up and shipped to the DR where is is fermented a little more. Then it goes back to Connecticut again, for a second "winter sweat." Finally, it returns to the DR where it is unpacked and mixed with wrapper from the previous year's harvest and fermented one last time. This must be at least partially the reason for Macanudo's legendary consistency, as well as the fine taste and aroma of the final product.

At long last the cigar is finally rolled, using a binder from Mexico's San Andres valley and filler from the DR (piloto cubano) and Mexico. There are over twenty sizes to choose from. This is the 4 3/4 x 49 robusto sized Lords.

I have to say this is a very nice mild cigar. Like many mild-bodied cigars with Connecticut wrappers, I usually admire the aroma more than anything else, and that is the case here as well. It starts up with a toasty, nutty flavor and a beautifully sweet aroma. The flavor is somewhat grassy at times, a little papery at others, but never objectionable. It's a very clean smoking cigar with very little aftertaste (though some would say, with very little taste either.) The construction was spot on - perfect draw, even burn, the works. It burned a little hot after the mid-point, but I can't rule out operator error there. I tend to hotbox mild cigars.

I guess there really isn't too much in a Mac to hold my interest over the long term, but I can see keeping a few of these on hand to give to new smokers. It's a quality mild-bodied cigar that won't send neophytes scurrying for the restroom, and at around 3 or 4 bucks a stick they're reasonably priced as well.

And now that I've done my duty as a good cigar citizen and "fair and balanced" stogie analyst, I believe it's time for something a little stronger. Lemme see here: that mean looking Partagas Black has my attention. It may get more of my attention here shortly:

Romeo y Julieta Aniversario Robusto

It seems like only yesterday that Inocencio Alvarez and Mannin Garcia set up shop and started rolling cigars named for a romantic tragedy called Romeo and Juliet. But in fact it has been about 132 years now. My how time flies.

An interesting bit of trivia about the Romeo y Julieta brand is that when the brand was purchased by Jose Fernandez Rodriguez around the turn of the century one of the marketing tricks that he used was to offer personalized bands to his regular clients, creating over 20,000 "vitolas."

So with 20,000 different brands it seems fitting that Altadis USA would release another one for the 130th Anniversary of the label. Of course, the Romeo y Julieta Aniversario cigar is more than just a different band on the same old Romeo; it's an entirely new blend.

The Aniversario is available in the five standard sizes, but here we have the 5 x 52 robusto. This line features an attractive and tasty Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, a Connecticut binder, and filler from the DR, Nicaragua and Peru.

It's a handsome and well-made stick. The dark blond wrapper is smooth and the cap is carefully applied. A few veins from the binder are outlined throughout the wrapper, but they aren't distracting. The roll is rock solid, and it feels fairly heavy. The overall impression is one of weight, gravity, and seriousness.

Despite inital impressions, this turns out to be a darling of a cigar. It opens up with a little pepper and a sweet aroma. The smoke texture is full and creamy smooth. After about an inch the base flavor is revealed as cedar, while gentle spice pours from the wrapper. By the mid point there are still some peppery overtones on the tongue, but they are fairly muted and blend well with the woody aspect of the smoke.

The ash is solid but the outer layer flakes a little: not enough to become a nuisance, just enough to look a bit messy. The burn is straight and the draw is firm. Loosen up the draw just a wee bit and I'd call this perfect construction.

The Romeo y Julieta Aniversario is a really nice medium-bodied cigar, clean tasting and sophisticated. It's a great example of a cigar that is complex in terms of flavor, but not complicated.

There's enough here to satisfy the veteran smoker and yet it won't challenge a neophyte. The creamy texture and spicy overtones really won me over. On top of everything else, this is a great example of Ecuadorian wrapper, and the blend that plays behind it is right on the mark. The robustos run around 5 or 6 bucks a pop- a very reasonable asking price for a cigar of this quality.

CAO MX2 Robusto

It's been a while since I picked up a CAO MX2, but I've been in a maduro state of mind lately so I decided to fire one up and see if they're as good as I remember. The SLR Serie G was a good cigar, but I remembered the MX2 as having a little more complexity. I'm comparing the two because they're both "double maduros," meaning they employ maduro leaves for both binder and wrapper.

It's no surprise that the MX2 is more complex simply because there are no less than six different types of leaf used. The wrapper leaf is the traditional maduro leaf - Connecticut broadleaf. But beneath this is a binder from the Mata Fina region of Brazil. CAO has not been afraid to use Brazilian leaf, having used it with the Brazilia (which has a delicious Arapiraca wrapper) and the Sopranos edition (a more delicate Mata Fina.) For whatever reason, Brazil seems to get a bad rap in the cigar department even though it is South America's top producer of black tobacco. Maybe the trick is in the blend - here CAO blends the maduro binder and wrapper with leaves from Nicaragua, Honduras, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. Tim Ozgener says there is Italian and Mexican leaf in the blend as well. That's one smokin' buffet!

CAO's MX2 was introduced in 2003 and according to Ozgener it was the first "double maduro" cigar. Previously this term referred to extra-dark maduro colored wrappers (aka oscuro) but the MX2 was the first to use two maduro leaves in the blend. Sometimes "maduro" is used as a color designation but here it refers to the result of a lengthy fermentation process that goes into making a true maduro leaf.

The MX2 is a rough looking cigar: the wrapper is thick and presents an imposingly dark exterior. There was a time when maduro cigars were primarily made from corona or medio tiempo leaves - the strongest, thickest leaves at the top of the plant. The result was a very strong cigar. This isn't so true any more- there are plenty of mild to medium bodied maduros that use less potent wrappers - but the reputation lives on. But if I were inclined to believe that darker is stronger I would be wary of this cigar.

One of the characteristics of good binder leaf is that it promotes an even burn, so using a thick, oily, heavily fermented maduro binder is a challenge. To the blender's credit, the MX2 burns beautifully. I had no problem with lighting this stout robusto and it burned perfectly evenly with a very comfortable draw.

It starts up with a touch of spice and some woody flavors. The smoldering layers of maduro produce a sweet and pleasing aroma. As the cigar builds a solid ash the flavor turns from wood to earth but becomes gradually ashy. I enjoyed the fragrance of this smoke more than the flavor, which starts out with some promise but eventually concentrates on a sweet char that tastes kind of like burnt barbeque. It's something I'd rather smell than taste, to be honest.

What I love about this cigar is the aroma and the fine construction, and now that I think about it that's what I remember liking about the last one I smoked a few months ago. Unfortunately, I'm not really sold on the flavor. It's also a very dry, mouth-puckering cigar that doesn't inspire much salivation. Make sure you have a drink handy if you're going to try one of these.

As for me, the taste buds have voted. All 10,000 of them. The MX2 is a fine cigar, but when I want a double maduro I'll stick with my trusty Cusano 18 Paired Maduro.

Saint Luis Rey Serie G Rothchilde

The Saint Luis Rey Serie G is a new double maduro cigar from Altadis USA. Traditionally the serie associated with this frontmark is the "Serie A," the classic Cuban cigar, so maybe borrowing the theme and adding another serie to the line is a good marketing play. Or maybe it's just plain larceny. After all, what Cuban brands don't have non-Cuban versions available for legal U.S. consumption? Vegueros? Guantanamera? It's safe to say that at least the big names are spoken for - sometimes more than once - in the strange world of the cigar trade.

I always thought that the name of the brand came from Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey, the classic novel about the collapse of a Peruvian bridge and the Francisan missionary who tries to make sense of the senseless suffering that results. Now why one would name a cigar after a book as ponderous as this, I don't know, but that's why I was pleased to hear an alternative story: the original vegas that produced the tobacco for Saint Luis Rey were located in San Luis, in Cuba's Vuelta Abajo, and somehow Rey got tacked on at the end as an honorific.

The whole "double maduro" thing has become a bit of a trend as well. CAO has done it with the MX2 (a cigar I plan to review soon as a companion piece to this one) and Cusano's paired maduro is a very fine smoke as well. So I was looking forward to trying Altadis's crack at the formula.

The Serie G cigars are all large ring gauge smokes - the Rothchilde is a large robusto at 5 x 56; the Churchill measures 7 x 58; and the "No. 6? is 6 x 60. So I guess we have a combination of trends here - double maduro, plus super huge ring gauge. The wrapper and binder are both Connecticut broadleaf maduro, and the filler is Nicaraguan.

This SLR double maduro is a solid log of a cigar with a dry dark maduro wrapper. The pre-light scent is earthy and redolent of good old fermented tobacco leaf. Due to the large ring gauge it takes some time to set this one alight, but once going it burns with a slow and even determination.

Given all this, it's somewhat surprising that the volume of smoke produced isn't larger - the smoke seems a little thin bodied to start out with, but it gradually grows to about medium at smoke's end. What it lacks in body it makes up for in smoothness though. Neither bark nor bite come anywhere near this cigar.

The flavor is woody and when combined with the sweet char coming from the wrapper the overall impression I get is that it's like being next to a warm camp fire on a crisp autumn night. It's not a complex, symphonic kind of cigar, but the simple tune it carries is honest and sincere. The last third adds a heartier earthy component to the mix until it slowly declines and signals its demise with a final dash of tar. (I might have smoked it a little too far at that point, but it's hard to know when to stop when you're enjoying a good cigar.)

If you're a maduro guy you'll definitely want to sample a couple of Serie Gs, and if you're new to maduros I think this one is a great example of the breed. Just keep in mind that it's not a powerhouse cigar, and there isn't a whole lot of complexity. It's just a good old cigar.

(Afterthought: I smoked one of these in the garage last night and didn't air the place out as well as I could have when I was done. When I went to get in the truck to go to work this morning it smelled great in there! It reminded me of what my grandfather's tool shed smelled like when I was a kid: old leather and pine tar and gunpowder. What a smell. My wife doesn't agree, but that's why guys like us spend so much time in places like tool sheds and garages smoking stinky cigars. Long live the stink!)

Padilla Hybrid Robusto

One of the interesting things about tobacco, aside from the pleasure we derive from its taste and aroma as it burns, is its use in genetic engineering. Nicotiana Tabacum is extremely susceptible to hybridization, to the point that tobacco farmers have to constantly defend against cross-pollination in order to keep their strains pure. It has been said that the reason why Cuban tobacco no longer tastes the same as it did years ago is because of uncontrolled hybridization. I'm not sure how true that is, but that's the line you'll hear from the folks in Honduras or Nicaragua who claim their corojo is from the "original" Cuban seed.

Tobacco is an often used plant in biological experiments, because it has many advantages: It is a self-pollinating crop with up to one million seeds per plant, it can produce a large amount of biomass (more than 40 t fresh leaf weight/acre), it has no known wild or cultivated relatives in North America and it is easy to enhance through genetic engineering. By harvesting tobacco leaves before the onset of flowering, the possible flow of genetic material via pollen or seed is eliminated and the contamination of food crops is prevented. In addition, there exists a large-scale processing infrastructure.

Bioengineering is somewhat controversial, and sometimes just plain weird. How about a luminescent tobacco plant?

Or tobacco crossed with carrot? Cigarrot, anyone?

The wrapper for the Padilla Hybrid is a carefully engineered cross between "cuban seed" tobacco and Connecticut Shade, but more importantly (I think) is the fact that it's grown in Ecuador. I'm sure that has as much to with the fine taste of this cigar as the genetic blend does.Out of the box the first thing you'll notice is a very smooth shade wrapper of uniform color with small discreet veins. The cigar is a little bit dry, but rolled well with a Cuban style flat head.

The construction here is right on the money. It lights up easily and burns absolutely even with an effortless draw. The aroma from the wrapper is most typically Connecticut shade - creamy, buttery, like Chardonnay. But it's spiked with some more unusual, but still gentle spices. A touch of cinnamon or nutmeg maybe with a bready overtone. The flavor is nutty but otherwise unremarkable. The aroma is the focal point here.

It starts to burn a little hot at the middle of the cigar and by the two-thirds point the flavor is getting a little ashy. It's a mild cigar in terms of strength, but about medium in smoke density and mouthfeel.

The flavor and aroma of this cigar reminds me a little of what happens when you blend two single-origin coffees, or two single malt whiskies. While the high points of both elements are present and complementary, if you're a diehard fan of one or the other the blend might come off as an adulteration.

But I think Padilla has something here. Overall I think this is a great blend of aromas and definitely worth the very reasonable price. If you like Connecticut shade and cigars on the mild to medium side, definitely give this Hybrid a shot.

Do it soon though because they're going out of production. If you've tried one and you like it, be sure to pick up a few boxes now while they're still available. At 60 dollars for a box of 20 this is a no brainer.

Heberto Padilla

I've always liked the Padilla cigar band. It's a little bit too big for a robusto sized cigar, but it's bold without being overbearing - it's an unusual and striking shape, with a blunted peak at the top. It always intrigued me, but I never really recognized it for what it was until I read an interview with Ernesto Padilla where he said that the crown of the image represents the nib of a fountain pen, in tribute to his father, the Cuban poet Heberto Padilla.

I do have a few interests outside of cigars (believe it or not) and one of them is literature. I hadn't heard of Heberto Padilla, so I checked out a book of his poems from the library. His poems are like a great cigar: balanced, full flavored, and serene. He was a true artist, and instead of a cigar review I'd like to offer a brief biography and a selection from his work with the sincere hope that you will look into it as well.

Remembered primarily as a man of letters, Heberto Padilla was initially a supporter but later an outspoken critic of the Castro regime. He was born in the province of Pinar del Rio in 1932, and his first book of poems was published at the age of 16. Soon after that he went to the United States and spent most of the 1950's here. In 1959 he returned to Cuba with great optimism for the future when the dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown. He took an active role in the new revolutionary government, helping to edit the literary weekly Lunes de Revolucion with his friend, the great Cuban writer Guillermo Cabrera Infante (who incidently wrote my favorite book about cigars, Holy Smoke.) Padilla also reported for the government press agency from Eastern Europe and Moscow, places that would give him further insight into the threats that communism might one day pose for Cuban artists.

Gradually the political climate in Cuba began to chill and Padilla saw the threats of oppression take hold - the govemment discontinued Lunes de Revolucion, refused to publish Cabrera Infante's work, and in 1968 Padilla himself became the focus of controversy.

Padilla's book of poems, Fuera del Juego (Out of the Game) was entered into the Julian del Casal poetry competition, a contest sponsored by the Cuban Union of Writers and Artists. Despite state pressure on the judges to deny him the award, the judges agreed: even with its open criticism of the Cuban government's treatment of artists and writers, Fuera del Juego was the superior entry. It was published, but under a shroud of suspicion cast by a preface that warned readers about its dangerously counter-revolutionary tendencies.

Padilla continued to write and air his controversial views despite the climate of hostility gathering around him. In 1971 he read from a collection of poems brazenly called Provocaciones, which led the regime to finally exercise its despotic power over the poet: he was arrested, jailed, and brutalized; his wife, the writer Belkis Cuza Male , was arrested without cause, and finally he was forced to appear before the Writer's Union to confess his work as counter-revolutionary. He was also made to denounce other writers, including his wife, as traitors to the revolution.

After a sentence of forced labor, Padilla was allowed to work as a translator while under government watch. He was not allowed to publish, but he managed somehow to get some of his poems to the United States where they were published in the New York Review of Books and later collected in the book Legacies.

In 1980, Castro unexpectedly allowed a number of dissidents to leave Cuba, and with the support of Senator Ted Kennedy and the author Bernard Malamud, Heberto Padilla was able to emigrate to the U.S.

General, there's a battle between your orders and my songs. It goes on all the time: night, day. It knows neither tiredness or sleep- a battle that has gone on for many years, so many that my eyes have never seen a sunrise in which you, your orders, your arms, your trenches did not figure. A rich battle in which, aesthetically speaking, my rags and your uniform face off. A theatrical battle- it only lacks dazzling stage sets where comedians might come on from anywhere raising a rumpus as they do in carnivals, each one showing off his loyalty and valor. General, I can't destroy your fleets or your tanks and I don't know how long this war will last but every night one of your orders dies without being followed, and, undefeated, one of my songs survives. -Heberto Padilla From Legacies (translated by Alastair Reid and Andrew Hurley)

Carlos Torano Noventa "La Esperanza"

When Daniel Ortega was elected President of Nicaragua last November, cigar makers and aficionados everywhere had to step back a moment and remember what happened the last time Ortega's party was in power. When the Sandinistas assumed control in 1979, tobacco farms and factories were seized by the government and the Nicaraguan cigar industry was essentially decimated; cigar manufacturers took what tobacco they could and ran for the border to Honduras or other more hospitable countries. Tobacco production in Nicaragua was eventually retooled for cigarettes to be marketed in Eastern Bloc countries.

So when Ortega came back like a bad penny last November, Philip Wynne of Felipe Gregorio cigars did what seems the sensible thing - he got out of Dodge and moved his operation to the Dominican Republic. But the Torano family evidently has no fear. Instead of leaving, or even hedging his bets, Charlie Torano decided that they would go ahead with plans for a new facility four times the size of their current one in Esteli. The new factory will be set on a 30 acre campus complete with areas for social events and tourist attractions; in fact, Torano says they want the new factory to have the air of a winery where people can relax and learn about the history of Torano's four generations in the business.

And if this weren't enough, there's the name of the new facility: Esperanza, which was the name of the Torano farm in Cuba. It was confiscated by the Castro government in 1959 and led to Carlos Torano's famous escape to the Dominican Republic with the seeds that would become known as piloto cubano, one of the great stories and historical milestones in the history of cigars. Esperanza is Spanish for hope, and hope is certainly alive in Nicaragua.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the company (dated from 1916, the year Santiago Torano emigrated from Spain to Cuba,) Torano Cigars released the Noventa. After five years of aging, the final product was released late last year. Noventa is a Nicaraguan puro utilizing a nearly flawless habano wrapper, a habano binder, and a complex blend of fillers from Jalapa, Esteli, Condega and Pueblo Nuevo. The names of the three available sizes are reflections of Torano's heritage: Santiago, a 5 x 50 robusto named after the patriarch of the family; La Esperanza, a 6 x 52 toro named for the original farm in Cuba; and Latin, a 6 1/4 x 54 torpedo named after the current business moniker.

The toro size Esperanza has a smooth shade-grown appearance with a slight sheen to the wrapper. A couple of discreet veins pop up toward the head from under the band. The foot reveals some dark leaf, and the pre-light scent is mildly spicy. The cap is smooth and shiny and applied in the flat Cuban style. A very attractive cigar.

I was expecting a bold spicy start typical of Nicaraguan puros, but what I got instead was a very smooth, nearly creamy smoke. The base flavor here is wood with a touch of cedary spice. The draw is perfect, and the burn is as close to razor straight as I've had in a long while. The flavors and aroma remind me of a Padron 1964 natural, though perhaps not as bold. The same smoothness and woody profile is there though, with maybe a little more sweetness on the nose.

There wasn't too much development here, just a very relaxing spritely cigar with gentle spices jumping all over the palate - cedar, juniper, maybe a little vanilla bean. Never overbearing, perfectly balanced, and smooth as silk. I'd rate it a solid medium in body, though the smoke texture itself is a little bit heavier than that. It's not heavy the way highly spiced Nicaraguan cigars can be - it's substantial, but refined. I enjoyed this smoke for a good hour and fifteen minutes, pausing once to remove the band and wonder where the time went.

The Noventa is a great cigar worthy of the Anniversary status conferred upon it. The bad news is that it's very expensive. At around 11 USD this isn't going to be an everyday smoke for most people, and it probably shouldn't be. Since Noventa means 90, I would prescribe one every 90 days. Even if you need to scrimp a little the rest of the week - have a Mayorga or a Maria Mancini instead of that Ashton -I think it's worth the sacrifice.

Dominican Colors and Swirls

I was browsing through the Daedalus Books catalog the other day and found a couple of titles that I've had my eye on for some time. (Daedalus is a purveyor of fine but commercially neglected books, also known as "remainders.") In the catalog I also saw this venerable looking fellow with the stogie clamped in his craw and thought maybe, just maybe, this book would have some interesting cigar lore for me to ponder. It was only $4.98 so I threw it in the basket.

The copyright date is 2003 by Parkstone Books in New York. The author is Jean-Pierre Alaux, and though there is no biographical information about him I would guess he is French. The text has been translated into English by Arthur Borges, and the book is bound in Slovenia. This seems to be a truly international effort. Unfortunately the text suffers somewhat from an unwieldy translation, resulting in things like, " For a firsthand experience of the sensitive gestures that go into the manufacture of a puro:" and "Before being commercialised, each cigar undergoes a combustibility test:" Pre-smoked stogie, anyone? They've been thoroughly tested, I can assure you.

The highlight of this thin volume is the photography. The first half of the book focuses on the Dominican cigar industry, and then it moves on to more general cultural topics. The cigar-related content here is pretty basic, centering on Tabacalera de Garcia and Altadis. A few words from Jose Seijas and short two-sentence profiles of four cigars - Don Diego Belicosos, Davidoff Double R, Santa Damiana "Rothschild Churchill" (??) and Pleiades Orion - completes the section on cigars.

The landscape photography is quite nice, and the detail in the pictures of the galeras is worth the bargain price. (My pictures of the pictures don't really do them justice.) The book is quite short at only 96 pages. It's really more of a novelty item than a serious look at the island or the cigars made there, but not a bad impulse buy for 5 simoleons.

WINS $3.5 MILLION

ALTADIS U.S.A. WINS $3.5 MILLION TOTAL IN YET ANOTHER JUDGMENT IN COUNTERFEITING CASE

On March 25, 2005, the United States District Court in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, awarded Altadis U.S.A. and their subsidiaries judgments totaling $3.5 million in their counterfeiting and trademark infringement lawsuit against two now inactive Florida corporations (South Beach Cigar Factory, and Tabacaleras Cubanas S.A. Corp. d/b/a Cuba Habanos U.S.A.) and their principal owner Rodolfo Morejon. Altadis U.S.A.'s Cuban Cigar Brands, N.V. and Max Rohr, Inc. divisions received statutory damages of $2 million and $1.5 million respectively.

The lawsuit centered on counterfeiting and trademark infringement involving four of Altadis U.S.A.'s brands - Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann and Saint Luis Rey. In addition to the monetary award, the defendants are ordered to recall all counterfeit products, promotional and packing materials and deliver them to Altadis U.S.A. for destruction. They are also permanently enjoined from engaging in any activities employing graphics that are "confusingly similar" to the above-mentioned registered trademarks.

The recent judgment is the latest in a series of awards to Altadis U.S.A. in their aggressive pursuit of counterfeiters in the cigar industry. "This was another important victory for Altadis, its distributors, consumers and the entire industry as well," said Theo Folz, President and CEO of Altadis U.S.A. He added: "In today's highly competitive world, protecting brand names and trade designs and controlling high standards of quality are critical for the successful marketing of brands, particularly those that have established a loyal following. Altadis U.S.A. will continue to pursue legal remedies against counterfeiters and those who sell counterfeit cigars."

NOTICE TO THE TRADE

Altadis U.S.A. is strongly committed to vigorous enforcement of its trademark rights and will seek criminal prosecution of anyone who would infringe those rights. Altadis U.S.A. continues to work with state and federal law officials to use anti-counterfeiting laws to secure convictions of counterfeiters of our brands.

If we learn that any importer, distributor, retailer or other member of the Trade is dealing in counterfeit cigars or cigar packaging of our brands, we will proceed against you aggressively through civil and/or criminal channels. In addition to criminal prosecution, in appropriate cases, we will invoke the civil provision of the federal trademark law that allows courts to award trademark owners like Altadis U.S.A. up to $1 million in statutory (non-compensatory) damages per counterfeited mark, as well as their attorney's fees. We have been awarded damages and attorney's fees of $1 million to $3.5 million in such cases.

Altadis U.S.A. also continues to work successfully with U.S. Customs to arrange for the seizure and destruction of shipments of counterfeit cigars and packaging materials. Members of the Trade who have paid for cigars that turn out to be counterfeits and are thus seized by US Customs should be aware that in such circumstances they will find themselves without recourse. Counterfeiters do not refund monies paid nor are they in a position to make good with legitimate product with the quality and prestige of Altadis U.S.A.'s brands. Additionally, Altadis U.S.A. reserves the right to cancel as direct accounts, those parties who trade in counterfeit cigars.

Altadis U.S.A.'s premium brands include, among others: Montecristo, H. Upmann, Romeo y Julieta, Trinidad, Don Diego, Santa Damiana, Cabanas, Por Larranaga, La Corona, Saint Luis Rey and Quintero.

We caution the Trade against engaging in illegal activity in violation of our rights in any of our brands and ask you to inform us immediately if you receive solicitations for products that violate such rights.

MONTECRISTO GOLF SETS FOR THE CIGAR-LOVING GOLFER

Now that Spring has sprung across America, Altadis U.S.A. is offering the perfect item for cigar-loving golfers: their Montecristo Golf Sets.

Packaged in attractive wooden gift boxes (that can double as humidors) and bearing the Montecristo emblem, each set contains: 27 Montecristo cigars in a variety of sizes (nine Montecristo White, nine Montecristo Platinum and nine Montecristo Serie V) as well as a sleeve of golf balls and tees imprinted with the famous Montecristo crossed sword logo.

HAVANA SWEETS

ALTADIS U.S.A. ENTERS PREMIUM FLAVORED CATEGORY WITH HAVANA SWEETS

Altadis U.S.A. introduces Havana Sweets, sure to become a major player in the fast-growing premium flavored cigar category. The new cigars come in three flavors: Honey, Honey Berry and Irish Cream.

Hand-rolled at the company's La Romana facility, Havana Sweets Honey and Honey Berry flavors feature an Indonesian TBN wrapper; the Irish Cream flavor features a Candela wrapper. All three flavors include Nicaraguan binders, and Dominican and Jamaican filler.

All three flavors are made in two sizes. The 42 X 5" size is available now and packaged 25 cigars per box. The 30 X 4" size will be available in October 2005 in specialty tins containing seven cigars each.

An Altadis U.S.A. spokesperson described the cigar as "a great-tasting change of pace:perfect any time."

NEW CUSTOM DESIGNED HUMIDORS FOR MONTECRISTO PLATINUM CIGARS

Altadis U.S.A. is introducing an extremely limited edition of magnificent handmade humidors featuring exclusive artwork from Michel Delacroix.

The handsome case has a hand-lacquered wood finish, and each of the four drawers features a leather facing. There is a different Michel Delacroix painting on the lid of each drawer.

The humidor comes with 80 Montecristo Platinum cigars - 20 each from four different vintages: 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. All cigars measure 50 X 6". Earlier this year, Montecristo Platinum was named one of the top five cigars of 2004 by Cigar Aficionado magazine.

The humidors will be available at select retailers beginning in October.

100TH ANNIVERSARY TRINIDAD CIGARS AND HUMIDORS FOR THE FORTUNATE FEW!

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the TTT Trinidad brand, Altadis U.S.A. is introducing an extremely limited edition of 300 custom made TTT Trinidad humidors.

Each of these elegant, handcrafted humidors comes with 100 Trinidad cigars specially created just for this occasion. The commemorative cigars, made at the company's factory in the Dominican Republic in three sizes, feature a hand-selected Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper. Each humidor contains thirty-three 54 X 4 1/2" cigars, thirty-three 54 X 5" cigars and thirty-four 54 X 6" cigars. The humidors will be available at select retailers beginning in September.

The commemorative cigars are described by an Altadis U.S.A. spokesperson as "full flavored and wonderfully aromatic." The spokesperson added, "because of the extremely limited nature of this offer, we strongly suggest that interested parties act fast!"

POKER WINNERS TAKE HOME BOXES OF ROMEO Y JULIETA CIGARS

The Texas Hold-em phenomenon has hit the cigar world. The finals of a Texas Hold-em Poker Tournament, co sponsored by Altadis U.S.A. and Aficionados, a tobacconist in Charlottesville, VA, were held Friday night, July 1st, in Charlottesville. Boxes of Romeo y Julieta cigars were awarded to the tournament and door prize winners. Some winners also received decorative Romeo y Julieta ashtrays. Altadis U.S.A provided all prizes.

"The tournament was a huge success," said Bobby Hucks of Aficionados. "Over 4,000 people showed up at the mall on Friday night. We're already signing up players for the next tournament." That tournament will begin on July 7th and will feature Players Club by Don Diego cigars.

The results of the tournament were as follows:

First Place - Mike Strutton

Second Place - Bob Seidel

Third Place - Francis McCall

Door Prize - John Edmunds

All participants received an Aficionados Tee Shirt and Romeo y Julieta cigars.

News

JURY RETURNS GUILTY VERDICT IN FEDERAL CIGAR COUNTERFEITING CASE

A federal jury returned a guilty verdict today in U.S. v. Juan Penton, a criminal counterfeiting case pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Case Number: 06-20169 CR-MORENO.

The jury found the defendant had violated the federally registered U.S. trademark rights of Altadis U.S.A. and General Cigar

"Obviously we're pleased with the outcome of the case," says an official of Altadis U.S.A., the world's largest manufacturer of cigars. "There was a fair trial and the jury has applied the law and found the defendant guilty of illegally using trademarks owned by Altadis U.S.A. and others on counterfeit cigars."

Industry experts estimate that annually the cigar counterfeiting problem involves the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars of fake and inferior products to unsuspecting consumers.

The verdict is yet another in a series of actions that have taken place over the past year as part of an ongoing aggressive campaign by federal, state and local officials to put a halt to cigar counterfeiting. This conviction sends an important note to counterfeiters: counterfeiting will not be tolerated. It reconfirms the message Altadis U.S.A. has been conveying to those who produce, distribute and/or sell so-called "Cuban replica" cigars:

Any unauthorized use of Altadis U.S.A.'s trademarks is illegal. Labeling cigars "Habana" or calling them "Cuban replicas" does not make them legal.

Individuals who participate in the manufacture, distribution or sale of "Cuban replica" cigars will be held personally liable for their counterfeiting activities.

"This was another important victory for Altadis U.S.A. and its distributors and consumers as well as the entire industry," said Theo Folz, President and CEO of Altadis U.S.A. "In today's competitive world, protecting brand names and trade designs is critical for the successful marketing of brands, particularly those that have established a loyal following. Altadis U.S.A. remains committed to ensuring that Altadis U.S.A.'s trademarks are only associated with the cigars it produces under the high standards of quality for which they are known."

NOTICE TO THE TRADE

Altadis U.S.A. is strongly committed to the vigorous enforcement of its trademark rights and will seek criminal prosecution of anyone who would infringe those rights. Altadis U.S.A. continues to work with state and federal law enforcement officials to use anti-counterfeiting laws to secure convictions of counterfeiters of our brands.

If we learn that any importer, distributor, retailer or other member of the Trade is dealing in counterfeit cigars or cigar packaging, we will proceed against the offender aggressively through civil and/or criminal channels. In addition to criminal prosecution, in appropriate cases, we will invoke the civil provision of the federal trademark law that allows courts to award trademark owners like Altadis U.S.A. up to $1 million in statutory (non-compensatory) damages per counterfeited mark, as well as their attorney's fees. We have been awarded damages and attorney's fees of $1 million to $2.25 million in such cases.

Altadis U.S.A. also continues to work successfully with U.S. Customs to arrange for the seizure and destruction of shipments of counterfeit cigars and packaging materials. Members of the Trade who have paid for cigars that turn out to be counterfeits and are thus seized by U.S. Customs should be aware that in such circumstances they will find themselves without recourse - counterfeiters do not refund monies nor are they in a position to make good with legitimate product with the quality and prestige of Altadis U.S.A.'s brands.

Altadis U.S.A.'s brands include, among others: Montecristo, H. Upmann, Romeo y Julieta, Trinidad, Don Diego, Santa Damiana, Cabanas, Por Larranaga, La Corona, Saint Luis Rey and Quintero.

ALTADIS U.S.A. TO DONATE CIGARS TO TROOPS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

Altadis U.S.A. has announced that it is donating nearly 20,000 premium cigars to the U.S. Marines serving on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Named "Cigars for a Marine," the project is being coordinated by Robert Zima, owner of Appleton Souvenir and Cigar in Appleton, Wisconsin, and Adrienne Palm, Manager of Appleton Cigar. Zima is also working with his local customers to organize donations and send packages.

"Cigars for a Marine" is the brainchild of two of Zima's customers; Benjamin Czap, an Iraqi Freedom Veteran and Brandon Salfai.

Altadis U.S.A.'s contribution is made up of cigars from a number of their brands including Romeo y Julieta and H. Upmann. "We are honored to support our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Jim Colucci, Senior Vice President of Altadis U.S.A. "We are proud of the heroic work they are doing on the front lines to protect our country, and we hope that this donation brings them a few moments of well-deserved pleasure."

Appleton Souvenir and Cigar, which features a walk-in humidor, is located at 415 W. College Ave. Store hours are 10:30 AM to 9 PM Monday through Wednesday, 10:30 AM to 11 PM on Thursday and 10:30 AM to 12 AM on Friday and Saturday.

Anyone wishing to support "Cigars for a Marine" should contact Robert Zima at (920) 830-8349. Cigars will be sent to comply with the appropriate military requirements.

JUAN LOPEZ CIGAR MAKES CIGAR AFICIONADO'S TOP TEN LIST

A Juan Lopez Epicure No. 1 was selected by Cigar Aficionado magazine as one of the ten best cigars of 2005 as reported in the February issue.

Once a well-known Cuban brand, the current Juan Lopez was introduced in 2004 and is Altadis U.S.A.'s first Nicaraguan-made cigar. Described by the magazine as a "powerful and very dark Nicaraguan puro", the Juan Lopez Epicure No. 1 was rated "outstanding" by Cigar Aficionado. It measures 6 X 54 and retails for $5.50.

JUAN LOPEZ, GISPERT AND A. TURRENT MAKE CIGAR AFICIONADO'S BEST CIGARS LIST

In its February issue, Cigar Aficionado magazine named three Altadis U.S.A. cigars to their list of top cigars of 2005. A Juan Lopez Epicure No. 1 was named to the top ten, and a Gispert Maduro Robusto and an A. Turrent Churchill made the best 25. The list was compiled from over 400 cigars rated by the publication last year.

Once a well-known Cuban brand, the current Juan Lopez was introduced in 2004 and is Altadis U.S.A.'s first Nicaraguan-made cigar. Described by the magazine as "a powerful and very dark Nicaraguan puro", it was rated in the "outstanding" category. Juan Lopez cigars are available in a variety of shapes and sizes and retail in the $5.00 range.

Gispert, another old Cuban brand, was revived by Altadis U.S.A. in 2003. The Maduro version came out in 2005. Both the natural and maduro cigars are made in the company's Honduras factory. The Maduro Robusto, which received an "outstanding" rating, has a San Andres Morron wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. It is medium to full in body. The natural Gispert has a Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper. "If you think what the world needs is a great $3.00 cigar, the Gispert is for you," said Cigar Aficionado.

Introduced in the United States in 2005, the A. Turrent is the first cigar to bear the legendary Turrent name. The Turrents are the industry's oldest family of cigar makers and tobacco growers, and their tobacco is found in many of the most prestigious cigar brands. Rated "outstanding" by Cigar Aficionado the A. Turrent has "a rich, earthy flavor and a creamy medium body". A. Turrents are made with a Criollo San Andres wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and select Mexican filler tobaccos. Retail price is about $5.00.

A Day in the Life of a Cigar Lover

There's a time and place for every cigar, and a cigar for every occasion. This day just scratches the surface. We haven't even mentioned poker, golf, walking the dog, weddings, births and graduations.

10 A.M. - Monday morning with the paper and a croissant.

If you are planning to read through the entire paper front to back, light up a Churchill. If you are only going to scan the first section and the sports scores before heading out for a run, start with a Corona.

12:00 P.M. - A quick lunch.

While stopping off on the way back to the office for some coffee, a Corona is perfect.

2:47 P.M. - Just sealed a big deal.

The cigar you'll naturally select is a Torpedo, the cigar of business moguls.

6:00 P.M. - What defines happy hour better than a fine cigar and an aperitif?

This is the time to tune your palate with a Scotch and a Robusto. Who cares if dinner is a little late?

6:30 P.M. - Hopping into the car to head home from the train station.

A full-flavored Robusto is a suitable cigar. If you have an hour's drive out to the country house, choose a Churchill that will see you through your Tom Clancy audio tape. If you have company in the car, be sure you are carrying your travel humidor, so you can share with your passengers.

8:51 P.M. -The after-dinner cigar.

Whether you are on the porch in the summer listening to the crickets, or in the den in front of the fire in the deep of winter, now is the moment to kick back and reward yourself for a day well done with a Churchill or a Torpedo.

10:45 P.M. - The last hours of the day...

A Churchill with a Connecticut wrapper matches nicely with Scotch. The smoky intensity of Bourbon pairs well with a Maduro wrapper. If you choose a Torpedo with a Habana 2000T wrapper to go with Port, the leathery earthy spice of the cigar will marry perfectly with the finish of vintage Port. Cognac calls for a significant cigar such as a Belicoso with an Indonesian Shade Grown (TBN) wrapper, which has the spice to dance with the fire of the Cognac.

How to Arrive at a Number

Cigar rating system developed by CIGAR AFICIONADOT

There are four components used in the system developed by CIGAR AFICIONADOT for assigning a rating number to a cigar:

APPEARANCE AND CONSTRUCTION

(15 of the possible 100 points)

Visually, a premium cigar should have a smooth, flawless wrapper and be consistent in color and shape. When held, it should feel firm and give off a slightly oily moistness. Points are deducted if the wrapper has areas of large veins or if the cigar feels dry or firmer in some parts than others.

FLAVOR

(25 of the possible 100 points)

Although each premium cigar has a distinctive taste, all premium cigars should taste smooth and rich. If a cigar leaves a bitter or harsh taste on your lips, tongue or mouth, points are deducted.

SMOKING CHARACTERISTICS

(25 of the possible 100 points)

A perfectly made and stored premium cigar should light and burn easily and evenly. The draw should be comfortable and the same throughout the cigar. The smoke should be cool in your mouth. Points are deducted if the cigar burns too quickly, if it burns faster on one side, and if you have to pull hard to get a mouthful of smoke or if that smoke is unpleasantly hot.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

(35 of the possible 100 points)

This is the most heavily weighted category because it is the most important.

Cigar Judging Section Volume I

There are two general elements involved in the making of a fine, handmade cigar: QUALITY TOBACCO AND QUALITY CONSTRUCTION. They are of equal importance. But the interweaving thread that is the primary consideration in judging whether a cigar is "good" or not, or just how good it is, is the consistency of both.

Consistency then, as in many human endeavors, is the key factor. The sports world provides so many examples of this. The free throw contest in basketball is measured by the number of consecutive baskets achieved: consistency. The golfer gets rated by the number of times his ball lands in the fairway from the tee and the number of greens reached in regulation: consistency. The highest paid baseball sluggers receive enormous salaries because they can hit the ball more often than others. Again, consistency. On and on, as in other walks of life as well, being able to perform on an extremely high level, time after time after time, is the primary way we measure excellence.

So too in judging fine cigars!

Any producer of premium cigars can make an occasional smooth burning, rich tasting product. But, the truly excellent producer will develop a way to do it every time, or almost every time.

If a skeet shooter cannot hit 100 out of 100 "birds", he'll never reach world class ranking, and that's 100 of every 100 he tries. A cigar must be judged by similar standards. Even the weekend golfer will par a few holes during a round. But the real measure of excellence is how close a certain cigar brand, and any shape within that brand, comes to being that good drawing, good burning, good tasting product time after time.

Can Quality Be Judged By Testing Only One Cigar?

Since consistency is an integral part of the quality of a cigar, reason dictates that you cannot judge the quality of any type by sampling only one cigar. But how many cigars should be tested? Statistically, the greater the number, the greater the accuracy. A true test would be like the skeet shooter example: 100 cigars, which would naturally take a period of time. However, to be practical, since cigars traditionally come in boxes of 25, it would seem that one box of 25 would enable one to adequately judge. Besides, acquiring 100 cigars of a given size could get too expensive and, if they do not smoke very well, rather frustrating.

Can Quality Be Judged By Testing Only One Cigar?

Since consistency is an integral part of the quality of a cigar, reason dictates that you cannot judge the quality of any type by sampling only one cigar. But how many cigars should be tested? Statistically, the greater the number, the greater the accuracy. A true test would be like the skeet shooter example: 100 cigars, which would naturally take a period of time. However, to be practical, since cigars traditionally come in boxes of 25, it would seem that one box of 25 would enable one to adequately judge. Besides, acquiring 100 cigars of a given size could get too expensive and, if they do not smoke very well, rather frustrating.

What Makes Construction So Important?

If a cigar is under-filled, constructed by skimping on the number of leaves in the filler, it will draw easily. Now that's often considered a benefit, but the ultra-easy draw will be offset by hot burning and harshness, because, in an under-filled cigar, there are too many air pockets causing a fast burn, thus a hot smoke.

If a cigar is overfilled, it will be hard to draw, sometimes impossible (plugged). This is the cause of the greatest number of complaints by premium cigar smokers. A hard-to-draw cigar gives a much lower volume of smoke, thus much less taste and aroma, and a lot of frustration to the smoker.

Therefore, good construction is essential to achieving good taste and aroma. You can use the best, most expensive tobacco in the world, put together by the most creative and knowledgeable blenders, but if the cigar is not constructed properly, none of the intrinsic quality of that tobacco can be brought home to the smoker.

And again, that quality in construction should be there time after time, if it's a "good" cigar you're smoking.

What Other Characteristics Of Construction Should Be Considered?

While taste and aroma are the most important attributes of the consistently well constructed cigar, there are others as well. Some of these have to do with aesthetics. All are other indicators of how well a cigar is made.

Assuming the cigar is properly lit, it should burn evenly all the way down. A terribly uneven burning cigar is a sign of an improper roll. If it happens with any frequency, the cigar should not be judged highly. It would be unusual for such cigars to taste good anyway.

The ash should be relatively firm and get to an inch long without difficulty (except in small ring gauges). A falling ash is not necessarily a sign of a poorly constructed cigar, but, if your cigars develop a firm, even ash while you're smoking, it is an indication that they are well made. And if it happens consistently, your impression will be reinforced. Anyway, it's really annoying to find a cigar ash in your lap, and a consistently flaky, loose ash is a sign of a poorly constructed cigar.

The cigar should have good mouth feel. While it is not recommended to chew the end, the cigar should feel firm and resilient in the mouth. If it does not, if the cigar is soft and mushy, that's another sign of poor construction. It won't feel good either, thus affecting your overall pleasure.

The cigar should look good and feel good to the touch. It should have some life in it. This does not mean the color itself so much, although it should not show too many blemishes, but the color of the cigars in the box should be consistent from one to the other. If they are not, then the manufacturer did not do his color selecting properly. What we see when we look at the cigars in a given box is the wrapper, and wrappers, even from the same crop, can vary over twenty or thirty shades of color. So a variance in color is not bad in itself. It's just that a manufacturer who pays attention to detail makes sure that in a given box all the color shades are the same. Also, the cigars should look and feel smooth when you roll them in your fingers. This is just another indication of good construction and reassurance of quality.

How Do The Aesthetics Reflect Quality?

While DRAW and BURN are the most important factors affected by construction, the aesthetics of that construction can provide early warning signs regarding the quality, taste and aroma of a particular cigar. After all, if a company places so little importance on aesthetics, then is it reasonable to expect that it places any importance on quality? Think about it, does a fine wine taste better from a paper cup or from a beautiful crystal glass?

How Important Is The Tobacco?

When considering the quality of a "good" cigar, it's only natural to think first about the tobacco that goes into it and very often that's the only thing considered. Hopefully, you now have an appreciation as to why the construction of the cigar is of equal importance to tobacco in assessing the quality of that cigar. But certainly, TOBACCO is of great importance. And consistency most definitely applies here as well.

Not only must the tobacco be of consistent high quality, but it must also be correctly processed. If he is to maintain consistency in taste and aroma in his cigars, a producer must be able to ensure a consistent supply of the same types of tobaccos that go into the blends. Since crop years vary as to the availability of the various types of tobaccos yielded, he must be able to buy a sufficiently large stock of a particular leaf when the availability presents itself in order to protect against short supply due to drought, heavy rains, too much or too little sunshine, political upheaval in tobacco growing regions of the world, etc. This requires sufficient financial resources, if high quality and consistency are to be maintained. The alternative is to buy leaf hand to mouth from whatever becomes available, thus rendering it impossible to keep blends consistent, and possibly subjecting the cigar to inferior leaf.

Unless a manufacturer has the resources to lay in supplies of high quality tobaccos, taste and aroma will vary from year to year, even sometimes from month to month. And, if inferior quality is used, the cigars will produce a harsh, rough, musty taste with an unpleasant, penetrating aroma, the kind wives tend to become so vociferous about.

But financial resources are not enough. A manufacturer must also possess the expertise to know good tobacco from bad when he sees it. This comes only from experience. The best tobacco men today have been in the business for decades and travel the world buying leaf stock for their companies. They know whether to accept or reject an offer and they have their particular trusted farmers and processors to whom they return year after year. If, in a given year, one traditional source has had a poor crop, chances are another will make up for it. If not, the knowledgeable and experienced tobacco man will have provided the necessary protection in leaf stock to get his company through to the next crop and enable overlapping one crop to the other for slow integration. Again, this means a lot of money becomes tied up in leaf inventory, but it's the only way to ensure having the supplies of high quality leaf necessary to produce tasty, aromatic cigars on a consistent basis.

The Rap on Wrappers

The wrapper must be supple so it doesn't split as the cigar is rolled. It is also an important contributor to the cigar's flavor and appearance. Ideally, a wrapper leaf should be of consistent color and have no prominent veins or blemishes. Because wrapper leaves must meet so many requirements, they are carefully grown, aged and selected. Wrappers come in many varieties and some of the most important recent advances in cigars have been innovative wrappers. Here are a few of the types of wrappers you'll want to experience:

CONNECTICUT SHADE: This wrapper leaf descends from the Hazelwood strain of Cuban Seed. Its distinctive golden color is attained by growing it in the shade of huge tents in the Connecticut River Valley.

CONNECTICUT BROADLEAF: Also from the Connecticut River Valley, this leaf is grown in the sun, which results in a coarser, darker, sweeter wrapper.

HABANA 2000T: is an exciting new wrapper made from Cuban Seed tobacco grown in Nicaragua.

MADURO: A shade of wrapper varying from a very dark brown to almost black. The color results from longer exposure to the sun, a cooking process or longer fermentation. Mexican wrapper leaves are often used as Maduro wrappers.

TBN: Shade-grown in Indonesia and carefully fermented, this dark wrapper was created by marrying special strains of Java with Connecticut tobacco.

Tobacco Regions:

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a major producer of top quality tobacco. The principal tobacco growing area in the country is the Cibao River Valley area in the northern half of the country near the city of Santiago.

Connecticut Valley

The Connecticut Valley is a major source of some of the world's finest wrapper leaves. This golden colored wrapper tobacco is highly regarded and praised by many cigar makers and connoisseurs. Connecticut Shade, which emanated from the Hazelwood strain of Cuban seed, is shade-grown under huge tents to protect the delicate leaf. Also from this area is Connecticut Broad Leaf. Grown in the sun, this wrapper tobacco is coarser, darker and produces a sweeter taste.

 Indonesia

Indonesia has gained an excellent reputation for wrapper tobacco. It is dark, tasty, and fragile in nature. In recent years, special strains of Java married with Connecticut tobacco have been cultivated with particular emphasis on the process of fermentation to produce a rich, flavorful and fine burning wrapper and binder tobacco. Grown under shade, it is commonly referred to as TBN.

Mexican

Many Mexican cigars are made with 100% Mexican grown tobacco. The San Andreas valley is world-famous for producing a sun-grown variety of Sumatra-seed tobacco - called Mexican Sumatra. This is used for wrappers. Dark tobacco, used for long fillers and binders, is also grown here. It is the finest burning tobacco grown, and gives the cigar a distinctive sweet, peppery, light texture. Mexican wrapper leaves are often used as Maduro wrappers.

 Honduras

Honduras produces quality Cuban seed and Connecticut seed tobaccos, both full bodied, with strong, spicy flavor and heady aroma. A Connecticut seed variety is shade-grown in Honduras and is similar to Connecticut grown shade leaf tobacco.

Brazil

Tobacco from Brazil tends to be dark, rich and smooth with a slightly sweet flavor. In fact, the Brazilian tobacco leaves are a deep brown after fermentation.

 Cuban

Cuban tobacco is acknowledged as some of the finest tobacco. The primary tobacco growing region is the legendary Vuelta Abajo area of the Pinar del Rio province in the western part of the country. Because of the take-over by Fidel Castro and the subsequent U.S. embargo in 1963, Cuban-grown tobaccos are not used in cigars sold in the United States.

Cigar Construction

Creating a premium cigar: is much the same as a master wine maker blending a fine bordeaux - each must have the skills to grow and create their own blends.

Growing tobacco requires exceptional artistry and experience. Plants are nurtured in nurseries and the seedlings are transported to fields. Two tablespoons of seed can produce 10 acres of cigar tobacco.

During harvesting, leaves are picked beginning at the bottom. Valdo, the bottom leaf has the mildest taste. Seco, in the middle, has a medium flavor. Ligero, at the top, has the strongest taste.

Curing is the next step. The chosen leaves are bundled according to size and texture and are hung to dry in curing barns for six to eight weeks.

Tobacco must ferment, "sweat" properly in order to smoke with good taste and aroma. Fermentation removes ammonia and other chemical components. Improperly fermented tobacco causes harshness or bitterness, and will not stay lit.

The filler, the binder, and the wrapper are the three parts that make up a cigar. In premium cigars, each has to go through meticulous preparation, including sorting and stripping.

After this preparation, the master blender is now ready to create the "recipe." He pre-blends the filler, selecting the special combination of tobacco leaves. Depending on the ring gauge and type of cigar, a cigar will contain a blend of two to four different tobaccos.

Expert hands make the difference in a fine cigar. The "buncher" forms the filler into a cylindrical shape. This is rolled into a binder leaf and placed in a mold to coax it into a cigar shape. The "roller" then skillfully applies the outer wrapper tobacco leaf.

After rolling, cigars are placed in the "marrying room" for a minimum of three weeks. This is a temperature and humidity-controlled Cedar room. This gives the selected tobaccos time to meld their tastes and for the moisture to equilibrate.

Sizing Up Cigars

Cigars come in many sizes and different shapes. Some are straight-sided cigars (parejos), but there are also several unusually shaped cigars (Figurados), including Pyramids and Torpedoes.

Cigar size is described in terms of diameter and length. Diameter is designated in "ring gauge" - a measurement divided into a 64th of an inch (or centimeters). A cigar with a ring gauge of 42, for example, has a diameter of 42 / 64ths of an inch. Length is measured in inches.

One of the things you will notice is that there is no correspondence between the size of a cigar and its flavor and strength. A Romeo y Julieta Churchill tastes very different from a Montecristo Churchill. A big cigar can be mild, and a small cigar can be strong.

Sizing Up Cigars

CHURCHILL: Large straight-sided cigars with a hefty ring gauge are generally called Churchills in honor of Sir Winston Churchill.

LONSDALE: Relatively long cigars of medium ring gauge are most often referred to as Lonsdales. Ranging in size from 44 x 6 1/2" to 44 x 6 3/4", Lonsdales are often referred to by other names such as H. Upmann 2000 Corona Larga and the Montecristo #1.

FIGURADO: All cigars which do not have parallel or straight sides are Figurados. They include Pyramids, Torpedoes, Belicosos, Perfectos and a new variation: a Torbusto.

ROBUSTO: Shorter cigars are the same diameter as a Churchill are generally called Robustos, but in some brands they are called Bullies or Rothchilds.