New Cigar Packs Some Swagger

(Cigar Aficionado) Rafael Nodal, owner of Habana Cuba Cigar Co., the maker of the Oliveros brand, was eagerly handing out his cigars to a group of rappers at an after party for the Grammys. He was surprised at their feedback.
"They thought the cigars were old fashioned," he said. The smokers didn't enjoy the traditional packaging of his cigars, and challenged him to do something new. Continued

Boswell's Christmas Cookie Tobacco

Boswell's "Christmas Cookie" Tobacco is a holiday favorite for many pipe smokers, indeed some enjoy it year round. I have been putting off trying this blend for some time, having had quite a few bad aromatics in the past. Turns out, this is a pretty good blend. It smells great in the bag, much like a vanilla Christmas Cookie, same goes for the room note. As for the actual smoking, well, it doesn't taste like cookies to me, but it does taste like a quality sweet Cavendish. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it didn't gunk up my pipe. If you prefer sugared tobacco, or just like the occasional break from your usual Balkan/English/etc., this one is a must try. You can order Christmas Cookie directly from Boswell's in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (uh, sorry about that whole burning thing, back in '64), though I got mine from my local tobacconist, Main Street Cigar, just outside of Bel Air, Maryland.

Personalized Tobacco Pipes Found at Jamestown

(Natty Geo) Bearing perhaps the earliest printing in English America, fragments of 400-year-old personalized pipes have been found at Virginia's Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, archaeologists say.
Stamped with the names of Sir Walter Raleigh and other eminent men back in England, the pipes may have been intended to impress investors—underscoring Jamestown's fundamentally commercial nature. Continued

Print: Detail from label of E. Goodwin & Brother's Spanish mixed smoking tobacco, c1848 (Library of Congress).

Tobacco pests, disease hurt Uganda crop

KAMPALA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - British American Tobacco Uganda (BATU) expects its 2010 tobacco production to drop by 8.2 percent from last year's output, depressed by crop disease and pests, top company officials told Reuters on Monday. ... The company's agronomist, Robert Bakyalire, said their crop had been attacked by tobacco mosaic, a viral disease that turns leaves pale-green and lightens their weight, and nematodes, which chew through the roots making the plant dry prematurely. Continued

Va. tobacco farmers facing new demands

(Richmond Times Dispatch) As he watched his 850-pound bales of flue-cured tobacco move through the grading and sales process at Philip Morris USA's tobacco receiving station here, Donnie Clayton summed up the 2010 season. "It was a tough, hot year," said Clayton, a Person County, N.C., farmer and one of more than 200 tobacco growers in North Carolina and Virginia who deliver their cured leaf to the Danville receiving station, a former tobacco auction warehouse. Continued

Also, from Tricities.com: Farmers forced to adapt to make up for the shrinking tobacco market

Raffles Dubai Hosts Cigars Under The Stars At Fire And Ice

(pr-usa) Relax under the open air and enjoy the cool winter breeze on the terrace of this unique culinary destination. The evening will begin on the terrace of Fire & Ice at 8:00 pm with arrival drinks of Don Julio Tequila, one of the most popular spirits paired with cigars. Mr. Crisanto H., a renowned cigar roller will display his unique skills with a special live performance. Guest will indulge in a sampling of exquisite signature offerings from the menu of Fire & Ice while enjoying the taste of a selection of fine cigars paired with Ron Zacapa rum. Continued

Home Growing Tobacco Interview

"Smokers everywhere are finding out how easy it is to grow and process their own tobacco. This interview is of Bob Kemp, one of thousands of new growers who have chosen to not encourage bad behavior in government by paying their exorbitant taxes, but rather to cut government off from their majority share of commercial tobacco profits by growing it himself."

Cigar Accouterments: Colibri's Slice Cutter

(CigarAficionado) With the 6 x 60 cigar now a standard in many brand portfolios, smokers are in need of a bigger cutter.
Colibri's Slice is a 64-ring cutter capable of clipping even the fattest of smokes, but thin enough to fit in the fifth pocket of your favorite pair of jeans. Continued

Image: Lemarde

E-smoke without fire

(Irish Times) Electronic cigarettes are popular with people trying to give up smoking. But are these nicotine sticks safe? Continued

Swedish Snus - The story "from seed to can"

Swedish Snus - The story "from seed to can."

Smoking Tobacco: Are all brands created equal?

(smokingpipetobacco.com) ... I do believe some manufacturers of tobacco take more time and effort to obtain better leaf and have greater knowledge and resources to know what to do with it. There are blenders who are like artists (or even mad scientists) creating brilliant new blends. There are also foil bags and plastic buckets.
You’ll find smokers that enjoy either of these types of brands and often both. I used to love eating in great restaurants but often all that sounded good was a plate lunch or a fast food burger. I believe that’s how it is with pipe tobacco too. Continued

Havana Cigars - a smoker's haven

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (silive) A cigar in hand and football on television will likely force patrons of Havana Cigars, a new lounge in Great Kills, to allow everything else on their "to do" list to go up in smoke. A customer gets sucked in immediately. Upon entering, those who savor their stogies are greeted by a spacious humidor on the left and a series of 60 oak lockers on the right. Continued

Pictured: Photo shows J.P. Morgan, Jr., Richard Burdon Sanderson Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane (1856-1928); and Sir Kenneth Augustus Muir Mackenzie, 1st Baron Muir-Mackenzie (1845-1930). (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2009 and New York Times, August 31, 1913) Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).

First Look at Cigar Themed Gifts for the Holiday Season

(Cigar Cyclopedia) Los Angeles, November 26, 2010 – Here we are at that only-in-America "holiday" known as "Black Friday," often the biggest single shopping day of the year. So it's fully appropriate to take an early look at cigar-themed gifts for your favorite smoker - maybe yourself? - for 2010.
In no particular order, here are ten of our favorites for 2010: Continued

Photo: Lamarde

Cigar Lovers Meet in Havana

(cubaheadlines.com) Once again, the prestige of Cuban cigars summoned demanding smokers from all over the world to reaffirm the importance of this product, this time via Partagas trademark. The annual November meeting, sponsored by the Casa del Habano de Partagás, founded in 1845 and located on the bottom floor of the Partagas factory behind the Capitolio in Havana. Every year foreign smokers meet with local experts, expecially cigar makers and distributors, to benefit from their knowledge in the making and culture of these premium cigars. Continued

Dunhill De Luxe Navy Rolls Tobacco Review

(Pipes Magazine) This is a review of the latest production of Dunhill De Luxe Navy Rolls. After the announcement of Dunhill’s re-entry into the U.S. market, I met with CAO International, the new U.S. importer / distributor … (for the moment -article here) … at the IPCPR Show in New Orleans. CAO’s Tommy Yates generously supplied me with several samples of most of the new Dunhill blends. I have been smoking them for a few months now. Continued

Photo: Smokingpipes.com

Cigar smokers have plenty to be thankful for . . . while smoking is still allowed

(CigarCyclopedia) ... this is a golden age for cigars coming from the three major cigar-producing nations - the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua - as well as for boutique brands from the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and elsewhere. Perhaps never before has there been so much good tobacco for blending, and so many enthusiastic growers and blenders who are working to create new strains of cigar tobacco which are more and more flavorful and more resistant to disease and spoilage.
Cigars themselves are better than ever, and new cigar stars are being created constantly. Just five years ago, who had ever heard of Jesus Fuego? Or A.J. Fernandez? Or the "Fifth Generation" of the Quesada family, three women and three men who have dedicated themselves to carrying on the family's tradition in tobacco and the pioneering work of father/uncle Manolo Quesada at MATASA? Continued

Pictured: F.H. Marquardt cigars, Coln, Germany, c1900 (Library of Congress).

Tobacco association procures 10,000t coal

(chronicle.co.zw) THE Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) has procured 10 000 tonnes of coal [for use in tobacco curing] from Hwange Colliery Company Limited for distribution to contract companies in the sector during the 2010/11 summer cropping season. ZTA president Mr Kevin Cooke told Business Chronicle yesterday that his association was facilitating the distribution of coal to companies that entered into contract arrangements with farmers to grow the crop. “As ZTA, we facilitate with logistical arrangements on behalf of companies that contracted farmers to grow tobacco to move coal from Hwange Colliery Company Limited. So far, we have moved 10 000 tonnes of coal and it is being distributed to the farmers in all the tobacco growing regions,” he said. Continued

Photo: "Coming out of tobacco barn in which tobacco is being cured. Careful check of temperature must be made. Granville County, North Carolina," 1939. (Dorothea Lange)

Cigar Tax Stamps

(National Cigar Museum) Wars require money and willing young men, and the US Civil War was no exception. To raise money, Lincoln’s war time congress taxed a range of items including newspapers, matches, perfume, photographs, medicine, narcotics, canned food, beer, wine, liquor, tobacco and cigars. Continued

Illustration: Library of Congress

DomRey Cigar to distribute Heaven and Red Lion Brand Cigars

(SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) DomRey Cigar, Inc. is proud to announce it has been awarded by Heavenly Cigar Company, Inc. the exclusive U.S. distribution of its Heaven and Red Lion brands of premium cigars. The transition is scheduled to take effect December 1, 2010.
DomRey Cigar, Inc. currently distributes their own brands Cuvee, and Cusano (cusanocigars.com), as well as the U.S. distribution for Panter and Mehari’s brand from Royal Agio Cigar. Continued

Photo: Black Hawk Cigar factory, Burlington, IA (Library of Congress). Black Hawk Cigars are now made by National Cigar. {As is often the case at Firecured, the photo has nothing to do with the story.}

Mauro Armellini tobacco pipes

(Pipes and Tobaccos) Mauro Armellini started making pipes in the early 1960s, working at the Italian pipe factory Rossi. After the Rossi factory closed, Armellini moved to Savinelli, where he worked for several years until he started his own line of pipes, and with help from his four daughters, particularly Wilma, who learned all phases of pipemaking, Armellini pipes earned a worldwide reputation for excellence. Continued

Photo: cupojoes

Catch Christmas Snus - Sweden's first Julesnus

(SnusCENTRAL.org) This year, instead of just reviewing the Gotlandsnus Julesnus and Nordstrommen Julesnus offerings, I decided to look into the history of Julesnus.
Sweden has a long history of Christmas-themed cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobacco, so it would seem like a natural progression to extend that flavoring to snus. Surely in the last 200 years, someone had produced a Christmas snus; a tradition which was born again in the early 21st century. I was very surprised by what I discovered. Continued

Photo via Snubie.com

The Life of a Cigar

(Cigars Direct) You never hear A.J. Fernandez’s name mentioned in the cigar world. But you will. Fernandez is the founder, co-owner, and master blender at Tabacalera Fernandez, a small cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. You may not have heard of
A.J. Fernandez, but you have surely smoked his stunning work if you have ever tasted a Rocky Patel Fusion, Rocky Patel Signature Series, Park Avenue by Gurkha or Sol Cubano Artisan. Continued

Photo: Library of Congress

Tobacco funds are drawing scrutiny

(Washington Post) In the days since Virginia's former secretary of finance admitted that he stole $4 million earmarked for the state's most economically depressed areas, many have begun to question whether more than $1 billion from a settlement with the nation's largest tobacco companies has been spent properly and if the money is safe.
In the past decade, more than 1,300 projects in Virginia have been funded, including high-speed Internet access in rural areas, walking trails and improvements to the Martinsville Speedway. But some wonder whether the state is failing to fulfill its core mission of creating jobs and helping tobacco farmers. Continued

Interview with Tobacco Blender Russ Ouellette

(PipesMagazine) Russ Ouellette is the tobacco blender of the widely popular Hearth & Home pipe tobacco blends. There are over 30 blends covering a wide variety of styles and tastes. Hearth & Home has Aromatics to English and everything in between, and they are all high quality tobaccos that have received numerous rave reviews. Russ presented a detailed and informative seminar on "Tobacco Blending Basics" at the West Coast Pipe Show in Las Vegas during the first weekend in November. He spoke of the different flavor characteristics, room note characteristics, burning quality, finish (or aftertaste) and how these are all different with different types of tobaccos. By knowing the different qualities of Virginias, Burleys, Orientals, Latakia, and Perique, plus the different flavoring agents and sweeteners, you have the basic building blocks of creating pipe tobacco blends. PipesMagazine.com’s Cynthia Sargent talked to Russ after his seminar. Here is our exclusive video interview with Russ Ouellette. Continued

Pictured: Dunhill Light Flake Tobacco (Sjschen, some rights reserved).

Ybor City Heritage & Cigar Festival event report

(Examiner) This past Saturday, November 20th was the 12th annual Ybor City Heritage & Cigar Festival. Sponsored by Verizon and sporting its new name (it was formerly known as Cigar Heritage Festival), the event seemed to have a lot more life and energy than it has had in past years.
The turnout for both vendors and the cigar loving public was surprisingly good. I was happy to see old favorite brands and retailers along with some newcomers.
Among the new cigar brands represented at the festival were La Caridad Del Cobre, Pride and Urbano Cigars. Continued

Photo courtesy of Gonzalez Habano Cigar Company

What's a Mareva Cigar?

(Cigar Aficionado) Cuban cigar sizes are called vitolas, and each cigar has two: the vitola de salida, the market name found on a cigar box that just about every cigar smoker is familiar with, and the vitola de galera, the somewhat obscure counterpart used in cigar factories. Most of the factory names are quite unlike their market names. Here's a look: Continued

Perfect Ash Cigar and Tobacco Store: Attitude + atmosphere

(Minneapolis Star Tribune) Sometimes a cigar shop is just a cigar shop. With apologies to Sigmund Freud, however, that's hardly the case at Perfect Ash, a premium cigar and tobacco shop in Lilydale.
Perfect Ash owner Diana Petrich has created both an entrepreneurial refuge for herself and an oasis where patrons can share in their often-frowned-upon indulgence.
Petrich has invested and innovated to turn around what had been a foundering, musty cigar and pipe shop in the former Diamond Jim's Club entertainment complex, now known as River Bluff Center. She spent $40,000 remaking the shop, close to half of that on the new cedar-lined humidor alone. Continued

Illustration: Jupiter cigars for sale here / lith. of F. Heppenheimer & Co., N.Y., circa 1868. (Library of Congress).

Cigars for Soldiers at the Ybor Cigar Fest

Sean Daly at the Ybor Cigar Fest learns about Cigars for Troops

Peterson's tobacco and pipes

Peterson's tobacco and pipes: a little chat about Peterson's.

Cigar Production in Tampa and Ybor City 1886-1939

(Cigar City Magazine) How were cigars made? What was the process by which tobacco was cultivated, harvested, and formed into a "Clear Havana" cigar? In this article we'll look at the physical aspects of the cigar industry in Tampa, Florida beginning with the opening of Vicente Martinez Ybor's factory in 1886 through the industry's decline in the late 1930s. How did the industry develop? How did the factories operate? Who worked in them? What jobs did they perform? Though you may be familiar with the "Ybor City Story," sometimes the simple questions get overlooked. Continued

Photo: "A Tampa, Fla., cigarmaker adolescent. Many beautiful girls and women in the business. Location: Tampa, Florida." (Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress)

2.5m-year-old tobacco found (must be early Gawith)

(heraldsun.com.au) PALEONTOLOGISTS in Peru have discovered fossilised tobacco in the northern Amazon that dates back to the Pleistocene Era 2.5 million years ago, the scientists said today. The compact block of tobacco, about 30 square centimetres was found by scientists from the Meyer-Honninger Paleontology Museum earlier this week in the Maranon river basin in northeastern Peru. Continued

Cigars and Christmas

(National Cigar History Museum) Cigars appear to have been the first widely available commercial product to create special packaging for the holidays. By late summer, label companies deluged cigar factories and wholesalers with labels, flaps, and edging designed for boxes to sell during the holiday season. The earliest known Christmas cigar boxes date from the 1860’s and by the 1880’s a shopper would have hundreds of brands, prices and package designs from which to choose. Continued

Photo: ANTONIO Y CLEOPATRA Clear Havanas made by American Tobacco. This full sealed box of domestically made Havanas is for sale to help fund NCM projects. $400.

Smoking tips from pipe craftsman Bob Swanson

(PipesMagazine) ... It’s always a fun conversation when you are discussing the "rules" of pipe smoking. At PipesMagazine.com, we’ve always said, "if you are enjoying it, you’re doing it right".
However, Bob is an experienced pipe maker, pipe smoker, and pipe collector - for 43 years. He’s learned a lot of things that years of experience can bring. Whether we do things the way Bob does or not, it is interesting to consider trying some new methods, learning new things, or just confirming what you already knew. Continued

Illustration: Library of Congress

Burn Cigar Lounge to open at the Mercato in Naples

(naplesnews.com) The Rocky Patel Premium Cigar Company announced today the grand opening of Rocky Patel’s first cigar bar – Burn, an evolution in lounges. Several private events are currently scheduled, but the official Grand Opening of Burn for the public is Friday, November 19.
“The concept of Burn has been in the works for several years,” said Rocky Patel, President and CEO of Rocky Patel Premium Cigars. “Featuring a design that draws on an exotic mix of Mediterranean, Asian and Cuban cultures, Burn is a sanctuary for those that enjoy fine cigars and premium spirits.” ... Burn is located in Naples, Florida, in the Mercato at 9110 Strada Place. Burn will be open 7 days a week from 11:00AM to 2:00AM. Continued

The Meanest Cigar Maker Ever?

(Cigar Cyclopedia) ... Trainees, for instance, who did not do their work perfectly were locked into a room of the factory overnight. When a fire broke out one night, two of them burned to death, since [no]body could hear their screams.
And after Gener died in 1900, there was a newspaper report of his funeral, in which "employees gave vent to their anger by throwing dead cats, rats and dogs at the funeral procession from the surrounding roof terraces." Continued

Pictured: Making "pure Havanas," the world's most famous cigars, largest factory of Havana, Cuba, c1903 (Library of Congress).

Winston Churchill's last cigar for sale

(Express.co.uk) Sir Winston Churchill’s last ever cigar is to be sold together with the crocodile-skin case where it was found after he died.
The wartime Prime Minister was given the four-chamber Cartier pouch stamped with the brass initials WSC by his wife Clementine in 1934. Continued

Bertrand Russell on Tobacco

"Bertrand Russell speaks of his vice, tobacco, in an interview in old age, and explains how the fact that he smoked once saved his life." (via smokingpipes.com)

Middleton Co. talks about popular machine-made cigar

(timesherald.com) Smoking a pipe and playing golf may be two relaxing activities, but not necessarily things you’d want to enjoy at the same time. So from one man’s desire to have his pipe tobacco and eat it too — to rework a famous phrase — sprung an idea that is now a multi-million dollar company with locations in Limerick and King of Prussia. John Middleton Co., which started out as a little tobacco shop in Philadelphia in 1856, shifted to manufacturing pipe tobacco a century later, and ultimately introduced a product that combined the best of both worlds in 1968 — a machine-made cigar stuffed with pipe tobacco. Continued

Photo: Black & Mild Cigar (Wikipedia)

Roll a Cigar in the Bahamas

(Tribune242) Cigars may be as old as time, but Bahamian cigars hand-rolled at events is a burgeoning trend in the local entertainment scene.
"People are trying to add more prestige to their events and a new dimension to their entertainment offering. It adds a little something extra to the presentation of the party and takes it to another level," said Jermaine Rolle, director of Guevara, a local cigar company.
Most recently Guevara catered the Wine and Arts Festival hosted by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT); the summer party, Hedonism, which was hosted by G4 Promotions and UDTC, and a Halloween party at the Marley Resort. Continued

Tobacco fraud has a long history

(New York Tribune 1881 via the National Cigar History Museum) ... The youth produces his $5 -- perhaps his employer’s money, which he hopes to replace by a profitable disposal of his purchase -- and with the cigar-boxes under his arm struts forth triumphantly. It is unnecessary to add that the delusions he nurses are quickly dispelled when in attempting to sell them in a cigar store, he is confidentially informed that they are made of choice unadulterated cabbage leaves and brown paper.
Such swindles as the above are in daily occurrence all over the city, but although they have been brought to the notice of the Police Department no measures have been taken to remedy the evil. At the present moment a concern of this kind is fleecing the passers-by in Fulton Street. Continued

See also: Bad Cigars, Dealers Purchase Inferior Stock at Big Prices

Photo: Library of Congress

Burley tobacco farmers battling drought during crucial leaf curing season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) This autumn has not been kind to tobacco farmers in Kentucky and Tennessee, the top two burley-producing states in the U.S. With buyers beginning to make their purchases Tuesday, the season could turn out to be disappointing financially. Despite rain Tuesday, a dry spell has hurt the quality of leaf stored for curing before going to market. Continued

Meanwhile, in Fiji: Rain prompts early tobacco harvest

Basciano, Starks open cigar lounge

(Connecticut Post) For fans of professional basketball and a good cigar, heaven is here in Stamford.
Gary Basciano of New Canaan recently opened Stamford Cigar Lounge with former New York Knicks star John Starks in a 1,000-square-foot space next to the K&B Auto Parts warehouse he owns on Research Drive.
"We started smoking cigars in this open space, so we decided why not share it with everybody," said Basciano, who makes his own E. Zarzuela cigar brand in a Dominican Republic factory he has owned for a few years with Starks and Stamford businessmen Howie Terrino and Santo Romano. Continued

LA’s Top 5 Bars For Smokers

(BBook) ... It all depends on how strict the new L.A. ordinance is (only an early draft to prepare an ordinance passed last week—actual language is forthcoming), yet early signs point to a severe ban that could be universal. But, for the next six months or so, thanks to a current loophole that allows some bars to qualify rooms as "outdoor" patios, savvy Angelinos will keeping on puffing inside at a few select bars. Here are the top 5 bars in L.A. to sneak a smoke. Continued

When smoking becomes freedom of expression

(spiked) When George Bernard Shaw’s play about prostitution, Mrs Warren’s Profession, was first shown in New York in 1905, the police invaded the theatre, arrested the director and his entire cast, threw them into a cell for a night, and charged them with ‘offending public decency’.
A new production of Mrs Warren’s Profession, at the Selwyn Theatre on 42nd Street, is potentially politically combustible for a different reason - not because it features an unapologetic madam, but because one of the characters smokes. That’s as likely to outrage today’s defenders of decency as much as Shaw’s poke in the eye to sexual hypocrisy rattled yesteryear’s. Continued

Photo: G. B. Shaw (Library of Congress).

Smoking Tools: Rip-offs, switcheroos, knock-offs, and assorted other tobaccoland trickery

(Pipes and Tobaccos) ... It’s a sad but true fact that within that last 20-odd years of the 20th century, several assorted flim-flams were perpetrated on more than a handful of our pipe brethren, and some of these incidents profoundly and traumatically affected our small community. It was a period when it became evident that there was a new and unsettling dimension to the hobby that unnerved many: “getting over” on your fellow pipe man was eclipsing “getting along” with your fellow pipe man. It was a time when all us die-hard pipe smokers and collectors noticed a distinct absence of “sweetness and light” in Tobaccoland. It was a period in which a few rather clever minds used chicanery against the innocent and the unwitting, and became persona non grata, our own little rogues gallery, if you please. Continued

Cigar Accouterments: Is This Really "The Perfect Cigar Cutter?"

The sales pitch:

Perfect Cigar Cutter is uniquely designed to cut the exact amount of tobacco from the head of any cigar, including Figurado and Torpedo shaped cigars. This patent pending cigar cutter is an exclusive that was designed by our engineers for every cigar smoker, from the novice to the aficionado. Never guess how much of the cigar's head you need to cut for a perfect smoking cigar. ... Just insert the cigar's head into the large opening, hold it in the calibrated chamber and clip off the exact amount every time. The cut-off tobacco remains in the cutter's chamber until you open the cutter to properly discard them. The cigar cutter's body is solidly made with brushed stainless steel. The self-sharpening double blades are made with surgical grade stainless steel and cut cigar ring gauges of up 54.

But is it really "perfect?" It's pretty darn close. The Perfect Cutter has done a fine job on the many cigars, and many types of cigars, I have used with it. The edges on the handles could be smoothed down a bit, but otherwise, it's great. Since getting one, I've lost track of all my other cigar cutters, I don't need them anymore. You can get one at Cuban Crafters for $14.99.

Rare Cuban Cigars Heading to Auction

(Cigar Aficionado) Cigar collectors from around the globe will be gathering this month to witness a treasure trove of rare Havanas going under the hammer in London.
The auction of vintage, rare and mature cigars features lots, including a custom-built Elie Bleu humidor signed by Fidel Castro and dozens of boxes of pre-embargo Havanas. The auction is being conducted by London cigar merchant Mitchell Orchant of C.Gars Ltd. Continued

Love of cigars entices former retailer

(lancastercityliving) ... Demuth's, which was founded in 1770, is the country's oldest continuously operated tobacco shop as well as the oldest business in Lancaster city and second-oldest in the county (behind Bachman Funeral Home in Strasburg), Shand said.
Although still in its original building at 114 E. King St., Demuth's Tobacco Shop was remodeled in 1917 with famed architect C. Emlen Urban designing the facade and interior cabinetry. Urban also designed the facade for the Watt & Shand building, preserved as part of the Lancaster County Convention Center.
Ranck, president of Domestic Tobacco Co., 830 N. Prince St., manufactures a number of the house brands sold by Demuth's and bought the shop itself in 2003 from the Demuth Museum, which continues as the landlord and owner of the shop's fixtures. Continued

Photo: Demuth's Tobacco Shop

Southside Virginia Burley Tobacco Harvest

Burley tobacco harvest operations in south central Virginia in August 2009.

Smoking Flakes: Fold and Stuff or Rub Out?

(Passion for Pipes) I had a lot of trouble making a fold-and-stuff loading technique work the first few times. Try as I might, I was unable to maintain an appropriate burn. The tobacco stubbornly refused to burn evenly or at all. I was so frustrated that I nearly decided to forget folding and stuffing and just stick to rubbing the flake out.
That would have been a big mistake. Continued

Good Bite Chewing Tobacco

"A fine review, by my good Amish friend Samuel Esh, on Good Bite [chewing tobacco]. Excellent commentary, and very informative."

Cigar lounge lights up downtown Stuart

(TCPalm) Mike Schuster, the city’s downtown mail carrier, is putting the old Triangle Bar property to good use.
He opened the first of two Don Miguel cigar lounges on the property Nov. 5.
With the opening of the dog-friendly Don Miguel’s Cigar Lounge Patio Bar, Schuster said he accomplished the first phase of a long-time dream. And it felt good helping some people get back to work in this economy. Continued

Trading Tobacco for Wives

(Cigar History Museum) ... The history of the Commonwealth of Virginia, says the “Richmond Whig,” begins with an auction sale -- not, however, in a store, but beneath the green trees of Jamestown, where probably the most anxious and interested crowd of auction habitués ever known in the history of the world were gathered. In a letter, still to be seen, dated London, August 21, 1621, and directed to a worthy colonist of that settlement, the writer begins by saying: ---
“We send you a shipment, one widow and eleven maids, for wives of the people of Virginia. There has been especial care in the choice of them, for there hath not one of them been received but upon good recommendations. In case they cannot be presently married we desire that they may be put with several householders that have wives until they can be provided with husbands.”
But the writer of this epistle had little reason to fear that any of the “maidens faire” would be left over. The archives contain evidence to prove that these first cargoes of young ladies were put up at auction and sold for one hundred and twenty pounds of tobacco each, and it was ordered that this debt should have precedence of all others. The solitary “one widow” went along with the others, for they could not be particular in those days. The good minister of the colony no doubt had a busy time that day. He did not mention any fees, nor did the bridegrooms think of tendering any. All was joy and gladness; no storms ahead, no inquisitive clerk to stand and say, “Here’s the license, fork over that $1.” Nothing of the sort. From some of these couples the first families of Virginia are descended. Continued

Image: Uncredited, but it looks like the work of Will Crawford to me.

The Cigar is the urban man's campfire

(CigarsDirect) Mark Twain once wrote, “The Cigar is the urban man's campfire.” In the old west, the campfire was the place where the community could come after a long day on the trail, and unwind to stories about the day, triumphs in the battlefield, and drain away sorrows that seemed to wear us down. Yet it seems that in this world of drive thru coffee and fast food empires, the fax machine has replaced the handshake, and the conference call has replaced the family dinner. Yet when it seems that the days of the escape into ones own world have all but gone instinct, there is the Cigar. Continued

A Very Short Review of Newport Non-Menthol Cigarettes

They taste just like a Newport, without the menthol. Recommended.

Cigar Accouterments: Colibri's Rocky Patel Collection 2010

"CigarCyclopedia.com's CigarVison has done it again! For the first time we have a special guest alongside Rich. Les Mann of Colibri Lighters makes his first appearance bearing gifts just in time for the holiday!"

Perdomo Cigar Box give away with Donation for a BOTL Memorial

Puffingcigars.com, Perdomo Cigar Co. and Trendsetters Marketing Group has teamed up to help Walter’s Scholarship by donating a Perdomo Gift Set. Simply donate any amount of $5 or more below and get entered in the drawing. Puffingcigars.com will announce the winner on Sunday the 20th, the day of the race. Continued

Photo: Library of Congress

Tobacco Stores React To New Cigarette Warning Labels

(4029tv) ... Romeo's store specializes in cigars and pipe tobacco, and he's happy those products wont be subject to the same legislation as cigarettes.
"I think the demand for this particular area in the tobacco arena is going to stay about the same,” Romeo said.
But, he said he thinks it's only a matter of time before those tobacco products are hit with similar legislation.
"Whatever comes through there eventually is going to get into the pipe market and the cigar market also,” Romeo said. “It's just a matter of time." Continued

Tobacco plants proving popular

(hawkesbaytoday.co.nz) Smokers unhappy with the price rise on tobacco are turning over a new leaf and growing and cultivating their own.Tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum) can be sold without restriction in garden centres and an increase in customer inquiries has prompted one Havelock North centre to stock the plant.Demand for tobacco plants has been steady at Oderings Nurseries in Havelock North since it began stocking the plant this spring. Continued

Cigars to be included in Pittsburgh Whiskey & Fine Spirits Tasting

(TribLive) ... Besides the speakeasy, being put together by the Illinois-based Beam Global Spirits and Wine, the festival will offer a cigar-tasting Wednesday and Thursday at Executive Cigars in the North Side.
A $125 ticket, Markham says, provides two tastings -- one of the two cigar tastings at Executive Cigars and Friday's spirits tasting at Heinz Field.
The cigar-tasting will operate in much the same way as the fine-spirits tasting, says Andrew Lee, owner of Executive Cigars. Continued

Image: Lamarde

Ybor City Cigar Fest November 20

(Cigar Cyclopedia) There was a time when Tampa, Florida was the center of the American cigar scene, so much so that when the Hav-A-Tampa brand was launched in 1902, everyone recognized the link between the city and cigars and made the brand a popular success.
There isn't much left of the Tampa cigar industry anymore - J.C. Newman is the only significant producer left in town - but its historical importance is still celebrated in the highly worthwhile Verizon Ybor City Heritage and Cigar Festival. The 12th annual event will take place on Saturday, November 20 in Centennial Park, with plenty of presence from the local cigar community spread over three days of events: Continued

Tobacco Leaves Popping Up on Lafitte's Menu

(sfweekly) ​... Uncured heirloom tobacco is making its way onto local menus as an ingredient in both food and cocktails.
In the kitchen at Lafitte , chef/owner Russell Jackson is experimenting with tobacco leaves to add a unique herbal dimension to savory dishes. Continued

Amish Cigars Part 4: Dutch Maid

Dutch Maid Cigars are constructed of Connecticut broadleaf wrappers & binders surrounding imported & domestic fillers. They are machine made with, I assume, short filler, and measure 5 1/2" x 47. The taste is a combination of mild Connecticut and sharp Pennsylvania tobacco flavors. It reminds me of a Muniemaker Dark Maduro, but with a little more oomph. This is a nice cigar.

Photo: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Tobacco graded and ready for packing on Amish FSA (Farm Security Administration) client's farm, 1942 (John Collier/Library of Congress).

Peterson Old Dublin Tobacco

(Pipesmagazine.com) The tin that I am reviewing has over 5 years of age on it. The tin has the old artwork on it. The blend is the same, just the artwork was changed. The tin aroma is a very nice smoky and sweet smell with a little bit of a tang in the nose. The moisture level is a little on the wet side and some drying time wouldn’t hurt. I loaded up my pipe using the Three Step Method and proceeded to the charring light. Continued

Image: Peterson of Dublin

Bosse's Newsstand and Tobacco pushes through changing times

(Fourth Estate) ... Newspapers and magazines are only half of what Bosse's carries for its customers. Bosse's features a variety of cigarettes and pipe tobacco, and they specialize in cigars. It carries more than 1,000 cigar varieties. One of these varieties is Rocky Patel, which is named after its creator, a Green Bay native. Continued

Image: News stand / Falk, photographer, Waldorf-Astoria, c1901 (Library of Congress).