Amish Cigars

There is a place, and it may only be a place on the internet, called Ricardo's Pennsylvania Amish Cigar Shop which sells "Amish cigars."
A lot of tobacco is grown by Amish farmers in and around York/Lancaster counties, not far from my home, so it's natural that somebody would brand their cigars as "Amish." And while I doubt they have the official Amish seal of approval (because I doubt there is such a thing), there is undoubtedly a lot of Amish grown tobacco in these cigars.
I like cigars rolled with Pennsylvania tobacco. They remind me of eating Necco Wafers in a fire station: barely sweet, wrapped in a fog of wet canvas and diesel. It's not something I hanker after every day, but when I want one, nothing else will do.
Ricardo (I wonder if he's Amish?), sells an Amish cigar sampler ($59.95) consisting of 14 varieties, which I figure on plowing through, over the next week or two. Says Ricardo: "Lancaster County, Pennsylvania has been famed for its tobaccos since before the American Revolution. Now, just as in early days, Lancaster County's Amish and other traditional family farmers grow the rich, full-bodied Pennsylvania Seedleaf for our cigars. This sampler consists of 14 different Amish grown tobacco cigars. Included are Amish Palma, Amish Lancaster Palma, Amish Gold Fancy Tails, Amish Panatela, Amish Sweet Panatela, Amish Exceptionales, Amish Lancaster Corona, Amish Natural Broadleaf, Dutch Maid, House of Amish, Amish PA.#1, Amish PA#2, President's Private Stock Lonsdale, Robusto, and Special Select. All have a great mild smoke. All are non-flavored cigars except the Amish Palma which is made with honey-cured tobacco."
Tonight, I had an Amish "Handmade President's Private Stock Lonsdale," which is manufactured in Honduras with a Pennsylvania wrapper and a PA/Mexican/Dominican blended filler. It's a good starter for the seasoned PA smoker, those unused to PA tobacco (or fire stations), may want to start with the Robusto. I couldn't find a price for these on the website, but the President's Private Stock sampler (9 cigars) is $55.95, making it the most expensive brand offered, the rest being in the $2 range. Though there is one Pennsylvania Puro in the batch, the rest are a combination of PA, Connecticut, and imported tobaccos. A few of the cheaper selections have homogenized wrappers and/or binders, which may not please the purist, but we can't all afford to be connoisseurs, especially those of us who like to smoke more than one cigar a week. Stay tuned for more on Amish cigars in the days to follow.

Click here for Amish Cigars Part 2: The Cheapies

 

2019 UPDATE: The only people offering an Amish style cigar anymore is F.X. Smith, an outfit that has been making them in Pennsylvania since the War Between the States. You can buy from them here.