Finck Cigar Company: H.W.F. Grande

Says Finck, "A short, fat perfecto. At one time, this was the most popular shape in the U.S.!" It reminds me of Irving Kissinger, our plumber when I was a boy, who smoked cigars just like these. Sure, some may call it a "grandpa cigar," but grandpa beat the Great Depression, won the war, and left the country a better place than you ever will, so maybe he knew a little bit about tobacco as well.
The H.W.F. Grande is a step up from the previously reviewed Fink Alamo Sweet, in that it wears a natural wrapper, though its underwear is still Nuway. Nevertheless, it does have a more natural taste than the Alamo and requires no sugar, nor any excuses, whatsoever. It's a good smoke, just the way it is. Maybe its time to stop putting on airs and embrace your inner grandpa.
By the box, from the factory, H.W.F. Grande cigars go for almost exactly a buck a piece.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em: Cigars for Heroes

(OCRegister) How to honor a fallen Marine? Many ways, but Supervisor Shawn Nelson , aide Steve Spernak and the families of three Orange County Marines who died this summer came up with a new way.
When making inquiries, Spernak – whose late father was a career NCO – was told by the families their sons would have wanted O.C. to send goodies to the Marines in their fallen sons' units. Spernak – like Nelson, an inveterate cigar smoker – arranged with Santa Ana tobacconist Ribhi Saoud to host a day-long "Cigars for Heroes" tribute at Saoud's shop on Bristol. Continued

Herzog Wine Cellars, Where Cigar Smoking is Strictly Kosher

(Cigar Aficionado) ... Herzog Wine Cellars (not to be confused and no relation to the Herzog Winery in New Zealand) is a kosher winery, one of two in California. The state of the art facilities in Oxnard, about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles, are listed on the Ventura County Wine Trail map. The restaurant at the winery, Tierra Sur, also kosher, is on many of the area's lists of best restaurants. What is not so often noted is that Herzog Wine Cellars is cigar friendly. Continued

Hurricanes have wreaked havoc on cigar countries throughout history

(Cigar Aficionado) ... Hurricanes have wreaked havoc on cigar countries throughout history, and tobacco growers typically avoid planting during hurricane season to avoid catastrophe. Hurricane Mitch killed some 11,000 people in Central America-primarily in Honduras and Nicaragua-and swept away roads, bridges, tobacco barns and even entire fields in October 1998. Hurricane Gilbert destroyed the Royal Jamaica cigar factory in Jamaica in September 1988. In August 2008, Hurricane Gustav, the most powerful storm to strike Cuba in five decades, swept across Cuba's famed Pinar del Río tobacco growing region in, collapsing thousands of tobacco curing barns with wind gusts as strong as 200 mph. Continued

La Grange tobacco shop owner says clientele is a cast of characters

(mysuburbanlife.com) ... Diederich described his store as the “Grabowski shop,” a blue collar, come-in-and-sit-a-spell place that draws a wide range of cigar and pipe smokers representing all walks of life.
“We have writers, military men, firemen, doctors and lawyers — a great cross section of humanity,” he said. Continued

Image: Library of Congress (Is that Johnny Clem, the famous boy soldier, on the right?)

Burley tobacco field day rescheduled for Thursday in Chatham

(godanriver) Virginia Cooperative Extension rescheduled the Burley Tobacco Field Day for Thursday at the Terry Farm, according to a news release.
The day begins at 5 p.m. on Halifax Road in Chatham. There will be burley harvester demonstrations, drip irrigation equipment exhibits, strip-till equipment applications and burley variety trial exhibits.
Additional production information will also be provided. Continued

Finck Cigar Company: Alamo Sweet

In our anachronistic search for the Great American Cigar, we are going to leave the fecund shores of the Susquehanna River, traveling to the sunny Southwest, home of the Finck Cigar Company in San Antonio, Texas. The Finck family has been producing cigars 117 years straight, mostly for the territory of the old Trans-Mississippi, more recently for the country at large. Unlike a lot of old-time American cigar makers, Finck seems to understand that the internet is a great way to sell things. And they sell lots of things, particularly their own line of cigars, which number quite a few in variety.
I've been sampling Fink's offerings, starting from the cheapest on up, for awhile now, and am impressed with all of them. Finck seems determined to make the point that a machine made cigar does not have to be a shoddy cigar, their quality control is excellent, and unlike a lot of machine made cigars I have smoked, the draw on each and every one is very good. Most, but not all, of Finck's cigars are manufactured in the USA, using a variety of ingredients, from homogenized wrappers and/or binders, to natural wrappers & binders with cut filler, to mixed fillers, and even a machine made long filler model. They also offer a few hand-rolled.
The first cigar I tried was the Alamo Sweet, which is one of Finck's cheapest cigars. It features a "homogenized wrapper and binder and a select blend of good quality Nicaraguan and Connecticut fillers," and sells for around $35 per box of 50 for the full sized perfecto, less for the cigarillo. The machine made perfecto is perhaps the ultimate work cigar, easy to light, no cutter required.
As the name implies, this is a sweetened cigar, and with good reason. Homogenized wrappers and sugar go together like pancakes & syrup, and this cigar is plenty sweet. It's the sweetest Sweet I've ever tasted. If Swisher Sweets are too sugary for your tastes, stay away from this one, if however, you can't get enough syrup on your waffles, this is the cigar for you. It also burns evenly, is well constructed, and despite its modest ingredients, this little perfecto carries a certain jaunty dignity, sporting a cello wrapper and genuine cigar band featuring a picture of its namesake. In short, the Alamo Sweet is an enjoyable smoke that won't let you down. A person would have to travel a long way to find a better cigar in its class.

IPCPR 2010: a pipe smokers review

I've seen a lot of coverage of the recent IPCPR (International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers) Show from the cigar side, but not much from the pipe side. Pipes Magazine has fixed that with a nice big rundown of new pipes and tobaccos exhibited at the show. Link

Rare cognac-infused cigars sell for $16,000 a box

(Naples News) Despite consistent news of a bad economy, one Naples cigar aficionado is still willing to light $16,000 up in smoke ... twice.
That’s good news for small business owner Osvaldo Pla, who runs Naples Bay Tobacco in East Naples.
Pla, announced last week that one customer paid for two $16,000 boxes of 20 cigars within two weeks. That’s $800 a smoke. Continued

Image: Library of Congress

London Cigar Scene: JJ Fox & Robert Lewis

(Londonist) If you know a little of the geography of St James’s Street you will know that behind many of the stately and anonymous buildings lining the street are some of London’s most exclusive gentleman’s clubs. You will also find many shops which grew up to supply the members with their many requirements including wines, hats and boots. But Londonist was more interested in a good cigar when stepping over the threshold of London’s oldest cigar store which was founded in 1787 and can claim to be one of the three oldest surviving retailers in St James's Street. Continued

Cigar shop opens doors in Las Cruces

(Las Cruces Sun) With a walk-in humidor and 200 kinds of cigars, Guillaume Lantoine has opened Las Cruces Cigar Co. at 2285 E. Lohman Ave.
The store was supposed to open in May, but a fire caused a delay.
"We actually opened on Aug. 19," said Lantonine, a native of France who came to Las Cruces via Philadelphia. "A lot of people are coming in already." Continued

Image: Library of Congress

Kurt Vonnegut Sr's Tobacco Pipe Cleaner

(Atlantic) ... he smoked his tobacco pipe and twiddled his sooty thumbs. Then, it hit him. He had really dirty digits. So while his son was off learning science, fighting in WWII, and writing ad copy for General Electric, Vonnegut got back into designing. Continued

The Cigar Makers' Union (C.M.I.U.)

(National Cigar Museum) " ... In the 1800's, the Union's chief enemy was tenement house factories employing women and children working under appalling conditions in their flats. Their next crusade was against the Tobacco Trust. Unlike the tenements which were a primarily a New York City problem, the Trust impacted Union members around the country. Many of the celluloid give-aways seen in another Museum exhibit reflect the vigor and direction of that campaign. With the Trust's break-up in 1911, the chain stores, especially United Cigar Stores, the retail arm of the technically dissolved trust, became a prime concern. They had good reason to fear United Cigar with its endless premiums and price-cutting, thousands of stores stocked with a variety of related notions, situated in prime urban locations, usually on corners of busy streets. The battle against United lasted many decades, with both sides ultimately disappearing, United killed by the depression, the Union by machinery and its own inability to adjust to changes in the industry." Continued

Images: 1. Employees of 7-20-4, R. G. Sullivan, Cigar Factory, Manchester, N.H., no. 192, 100 [percent] Members of Cigar Makers, International Union, June 24, '21 (Library of Congress). 2. Union Label (Wikipedia).

Rocky Mountain Cigar Fest hits Boulder Sunday

(Daily Camera) With its longstanding anti-smoker history, Boulder might seem like a strange location for the upcoming Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival, but the organizers of the event say they feel right at home here. Continued

Indian Tobacco Company centenary marks an unfinished transformation

(Business Standard) Back in the 1950s, a young engineer from a public sector background joined what was then called the Imperial Tobacco Company, and was assigned to its Munger factory in Bihar. His dipsomaniac boss drank whisky all day; so, when a visiting director from Kolkata invited the young engineer to Sunday lunch and asked him what he would have for a drink, back came the answer: “Whisky!” The director looked at the young man strangely, because new recruits to the managerial cadre at Imperial Tobacco were supposed to be up on the social graces, not ask for the wrong drink at the wrong time of day.
It is a testament to how much the company changed over the succeeding decades that that same young engineer went on to become the company chairman. Continued

Alec Bradley Creates an Old School Maduro Cigar

(Cigar Aficionado) Alan Rubin, owner of Alec Bradley Cigar Co., is going back to old school methods to create a dark, strong smoke.
To make the new Alec Bradley Tempus Maduro, Rubin is using a method he first saw in Little Havana about 12 years ago, using a bethune made from fruit pulp to aid the fermentation. "We're fermenting the tobacco with natural product that was used 50 or 70 years ago." Continued

Image: Library of Congress

DUMBO’s Tobacco Warehouse to get makeover

(NYPost) A historic 19th-century open-air building in DUMBO is set to become a major source of cultural, community and education programs to be held within Brooklyn Bridge Park.
City officials today started soliciting proposals from developers vying to renovate the 25,000-square-foot former Tobacco Warehouse building.
The project is open to both for-profit groups and nonprofits to bid on. Continued

Tobacco plants outsmart hungry caterpillars

Pity the tobacco hornworm caterpillar, which appears to have been outsmarted by its favourite food. Every time it feasts on tobacco leaves, it inadvertently converts molecules released by the plant into chemicals that call in the predatory big-eyed bug.
Like many plants, when tobacco is damaged – by hungry herbivores or otherwise – it gives off chemicals called green leaf volatiles (GLVs). These "SOS molecules" protect the plant by attracting predators that eat herbivores. ... "In effect, the caterpillar calls the police on itself," says Baldwin. Continued

The Meerschaum Smoking Experience

(Pipes Magazine) Meerschaum provides a cool and dry smoking experience because of the properties of Sepiolite, known as Meerschaum (sea froth), a non-swelling, lightweight, porous clay. Unlike other clays, the individual particles of Sepiolite have a needle-like morphology. It doesn’t burn, so if the pipe is clean it provides a clarity of the smoking experience not found with other materials. Continued

Image: Currier & Ives, 1880 (Library of Congress).

Cu Avana Toro Cigars

Says the CigarCyclopedia, Cu Avana, "A Cigar Boom brand resurrected from the dead by Meier & Dutch in 2006, this blend is made by MATASA. It offers a mild-to-medium-bodied flavor with a choice of a Dominican-grown, Connecticut-seed or Connecticut maduro wrapper in boxes of 20."
I tried the toro, with a Connecticut-seed wrapper (binder and filler are Dominican), and liked it well enough. The cigar has a mild taste, leaving a light dose of something sharp on the tongue when exhaling. It contrasts well with a sweet drink. Cu Avana's are priced to sell and worth a try regardless.
On finishing my sample, I said, "I wouldn't mind another one of those." Right now?," Kim asked. "Yeah, right now," I said. It reminded me of Oscar Wilde on cigarettes, "A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?"

Tobacco Movies: Bright Leaf

On tonight at midnight on Turner Classic Movies. Says Wikipedia: Bright Leaf is a 1950 film drama based on a 1949 novel by Foster Fitzsimmons. It stars Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal and Lauren Bacall, directed by Michael Curtiz.
The works derive their name from the type of tobacco grown in North Carolina after the American Civil War. Loosely based on the rivalry of tobacco tycoons Washington Duke and George McElwee, Bright Leaf follows tenant farmer Brant Royle, who returns home after his family is driven from its farm by tobacco baron Major Singleton ... Continued

Swisher Sweets Premium Selection Cigars

(CigarCyclopedia) Just before we dive into tasting the dozens of new entries launched at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association trade show, we had to try one more blend from machine-made giant Swisher International, which didn't even exhibit in New Orleans.
The Optimo Clasico was great, the Vieja Tradicion line also interesting and now comes the Swisher Sweets Premium Selection, a handmade version of what is the largest-selling cigar in the country. Could it really be special? Continued

RavenVapesReview8-21-10.mov

RavenVapes5v510 does yet another e-liquid review for a rare Mega-level nicotine RY4 by Vapor Station. RavenVapes5v510 is a hardcore, experienced vaper that resides in Los Angeles, California. He has been vaping for 7 years and reviews a wide range of vaping liquids, devices and accessories. RavenVapes5v510 in no way cares about your comments or discussing/debating his opinions.

Gran Habano cigar factory damaged in storms, seeks help for community

Severe thunderstorms have devastated Honduras causing major flooding and landslides. The Gran Habano factory has sustained damage by the floods but we anticipate that we can recover without any loss to production or distribution. However, the families in the surrounding area and our own families were not so fortunate. Reports of the damages are still coming in but have indicated that 7 major bridges have been damaged, road infrastructure is ruined and hundreds of homes have been washed away or have become inhabitable. In all there are 15 neighborhoods and districts that are in need of major support.

The people in the affected communities are currently being relocated to shelters around the country with little more than the clothes on their back. It is unknown when the communities will be able to rebuild as heavy rains are expected to continue in the upcoming months.

We are doing everything in our power to aid not only our Gran Habano families but the State as a whole. As a single company we will be limited to the number of families that will receive assistance – however as a cigar community we will have the opportunity to provide major relief to a greater number of people.

George Rico will be collecting toiletries, clothing and any other donations the good-natured people of the cigar community are able to provide. We will be accepting dropped off aid items at our Miami office or you can ship them directly to Gran Habano. All collected items will be personally flown to Honduras and distributed directly to those most in need.

Shipping Address:
Gran Habano Cigars
C/O George Rico
3261 NW 82nd Avenue
Doral, FL 33122 Link

Now That's Marxism: Cohiba Behike Cigars Reach Canada--With $100 Price Tags

(Cigar Aficionado) Cuba's hot new cigar brand, the Cohiba Behike trio of fat, pigtailed smokes, are now on sale in Canada. The cigars officially went on sale on July 21 at a golf event.
Behikes are very expensive smokes, selling for $30 to $45 apiece in Mexico and Switzerland, but Canadian taxes push their prices to eye-popping levels. Continued

Marty Easler: South Carolina’s farmer of the year

(Delta Farm Press) Longtime tobacco farmer Martin I. “Marty” Easler of Greeleyville, S.C., remains close to nature. He farms and hunts on pristine land near the Santee River, serves as a magistrate judge and wrote a Farm Bureau position paper that led to a major change in U.S. farm policy.
As a result of his success as a tobacco and row crop farmer, Easler has been selected as the 2010 South Carolina winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. Easler now joins nine other state winners from the Southeast as finalists for the award. The overall winner will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga. Continued

Burley Tobacco Field Day to be held Thursday

(GoDanRiver.com) Virginia Cooperative Extension will host a Burley Tobacco Field Day on Aug. 26 at the Terry Farm, according to a news release.
The day begins at 5 p.m. on Halifax Road in Chatham. There will be burley harvester demonstrations, drip irrigation equipment exhibits, strip-till equipment applications and burley variety trial exhibits.
Additional production information will also be provided. Continued

Image: FSA/LoC

Ohio Tobacco Fest is this week

(Georgetown News Democrat) The biggest celebration of tobacco history in Ohio is coming to Ripley once again this week. The 2010 Ohio Tobacco Festival will begin Thursday, Aug 26, and will run through Sunday, Aug. 29 in Ripley. Continued

Quesada Tributo Julio Cigars: Great Filler

I will never be a champion cigar lighter. I should probably buy one of those blast-furnace lighters dedicated to cigars only, but I never get around to it, preferring to struggle along on an assortment of Bics.
So it didn't come as a surprise to me, when I managed to get the entire center of my Quesada Tributo Julio (5 x 50) cigar lit without igniting the binder or wrapper at all. It tasted pretty good that way, but I had to go and light the whole thing, and wonder of wonders, I didn't like it anymore. I don't know if it was the "Honduran Ligero" binder or the "Hybrid Ecuador HCHS (Habano 2000, Corojo, Habano Vuelta Arriba & Sumatra)" wrapper, but it didn't agree with me one bit. I smoked the whole thing, just to make sure I didn't like it. Again, the filler, "Dominican & Nicaraguan Ligeros," was great. If I ever happen upon another one, I guess I'll just empty it into my pipe.

Send tobacco again to the troops starting Aug. 27

(Washington Post) Sending care packages to service members serving overseas? Later this month it'll once again be legal to send them cigarettes and other tobacco products. Continued

London Cigar Scene: Sautter Of Mount Street

(Londonist) Opposite the charming Connaught Hotel in the effortlessly chic Mount Street stands one of the great cigar stores of London: Sautter. Back in 1963, Desmond Sautter set up this cigar haven and decided that, to satisfy the demands of the many American customers who wandered across the road from the grand hotel they loved so much, he would install London’s very first ‘walk in’ humidor.
American cigar smokers, many of whom lived in arid states, were used to keeping their cigars damp and turned their noses up at the British habit of keeping their cigars dry. Continued

Bugs, dust too much to handle in tobacco field

(Evansville Courier Press) ... My "job that was so tough I didn't last an hour" story involves chopping tobacco.
For the uninitiated, you cut off the stalk at the ground with a sickle. Then you run a stick through several plants and turn them upside down in the field. Then you and the product ride the wagon to the barn where the plants are hung, so they will properly cure.
I found the task miserable for the following reasons: Continued

Image: Library of Congress

E-cigarette fans descend on St. Louis

(stltoday) They prefer to be called "vapers," but really they're electronic cigarette users.
And on early Friday evening, dozens of them roamed a conference room at the downtown Sheraton Hotel on 14th Street, sucking on cylinders about 4 inches long.
Puffs of steam floated from their mouths and quickly disappeared. The faint scent of apple mingled with menthol and caramel. Midwest Vapefest had officially begun. Continued

Fonseca Cubano Limitado Toro Cigars: "Steaky"

A savory/spicy treat, like a good rib-eye with A1 Sauce. Come to think of it, I had a rib-eye with A1 Sauce before I smoked it, so I can also say they go well together.
The cigar hails from the Dominican Republic and has a Honduran wrapper, a Dominican binder and a mixed Dominican/Nicaraguan filler.
The Fonseca Cubano Limitado toro is a great cigar that I wouldn't mind smoking every day, though not all day. Who wants steak all day? That would be a little rich.

Image: Library of Congress

Dutch tobacco museum closing down

(RNW) A tobacco museum in the north of the Netherlands is closing because smoking has gone out of fashion, it said on Friday. The owner of the museum, the BAT Theodorus Niemeijer tobacco company in the city of Groningen, said it is no longer socially acceptable to exhibit cigarettes, cigars and other smokers' requisites.
The collection had been on display since the 1950s and illustrated the history of tobacco use, from the discovery of the leaves' properties in America in the 15th century to the present day. Continued

Image: Theodorus Niemeijer (Wikipedia)

Billy Connolly - Smoking

Comedian Billy Connolly on Smoking (NSFW) Video via Puff.com

Admiral Cigarettes 1897

Commercial for Admiral Cigarettes, filmed in 1897 by Thomas Edison Company.

More Time in the Big House: The Casa Magna Oscuro Toro Cigar

Recently, I tried a Casa Magna Colorado robusto cigar, which I found to be o.k., not great, but o.k.. Tonight, I tried a Casa Magna Oscuro Toro and found it to be excellent. While the Colorado seemed all about the tension between strength and flavor, the Oscuro seemed all about the balance between wrapper and filler. The designers weren't content to let the wrapper steal the show, giving equal time to the entire cigar - call it a holistic smoke. Says Tiki Bar Online, "Like the original Colorado, this cigar is the brainchild of Manuel Quesada and Nestor Plascencia. While the Colorado was a Nicaraguan puro, the Oscuro is almost entirely Honduran, with some Nicaraguan filler used as well."
The cigar started off a little spicy, then played tug of war most of the way down, kicking up a little extra spice near the end. It was an interesting experience, which is what I expect from a premium cigar. Even, or perhaps especially, if you found the Colorado underwhelming, you should try the Oscuro.

Brands of tobacco smoked by harvest hands in Ohio, 1938.

Another gem from the Library of Congress, this one from the famous Farm Security Administration collection, which sent photographers all across the country during the Great Depression to document just about every aspect of American life imaginable.
This photo highlights the brand of smoking tobacco favored by Ohio farmhands. Brands of tobacco in the photo (which you can click on to enlarge), are as follows:

• Yankee Girl Scrap, S.D. Co, Union Made, 10¢.


• Prestige Tobacco, Blended Cigarette Tobacco, Turkish and Virginia Blend.


• Red Horse Chewing and Smoking Tobacco, Duwel Brothers Tobacco Company, Cincinnati, Ohio


• Miners' Choice Smoking Tobacco, Light Color, F. W. Felgner & Son, Baltimore, MD.


• Corn Cake Smoking.


• Sun Cured Extra Mild Smoking Tobacco, John J. Bagley & Co.

Tobacco Art: Virginia Dare Tobacco

In honor of Virginia Dare's 423rd birthday. The image is a "Lith. of F. Heppenheimer & Co. Copyright by S.W. Venable & Co.," according to the Library of Congress, and was printed around 1871. Why the label depicts Leda and the Swan, I'll never understand.

The Black Patch Tobacco Wars

(Wikipedia) The "Black Patch" or "dark fired" tobacco area included counties in southwestern Kentucky and adjoining districts in Tennessee. On September 24, 1904, American tobacco planters formed a protectionist Dark Tobacco District Planters' Protective Association of Kentucky and Tennessee (the Association or PPA) in order to oppose the corporate monopoly: the American Tobacco Company (ATC) (or "Trust") owned and operated by James B. Duke. What followed was the most violent civil uprising since the Civil War. Even the New York Times declared, “There now exists in the State of Kentucky a condition of affairs without parallel in the history of the world.” Continued

Image: Library of Congress

Tobacco auctions make a comeback in Danville

(WDBJ) Tobacco auctions are making a comeback.
A new warehouse that caters to the cash crop is opening this week in Danville.
For owner Harry Lea, it's a resurrection of a family business.
"I guess, once Tobacco gets in your blood, it never gets out of it," says Lea, who ran a tobacco auction company called Piedmont Warehouse for decades. Continued

What's with the Samuel Gawith tobacco shortage?

"The popularity of Samuel Gawith has just exploded in the last few years worldwide and they have a really small factory with really old machinery and they can't grow production without destroying what makes it special. A container comes into the United States (I don't know when the next one's coming) and we buy as much as we can out of the container. It gets put on pallets and then we turn around and put it in little tiny boxes and it's all gone in about five days, sometimes only three days. There's all this pent up demand for it and there's no way Samuel Gawith can make enough and that's what happens." - Sykes Wilford

Cigarette rolling machine comes to a new Flint business

(WJRT) Smokers may feel 'put out' because of the recent indoor smoking ban.
But a new business in Flint is keeping them at ease about putting smoke in the air.Business is well underway at Let's Roll Tobacco. There, smokers are rolling their own cigarettes with machines, and it's saving them a lot of money. Continued

Bright leaf, murky future: Despite the times, tobacco continues to put food on Alamance County tables

(Times News) Even at 8:30 a.m., the sun beat down cruelly Thursday on Hugh Davis’ 125-acre tobacco farm north of Burlington.
Temperatures were already in the upper 80s and creeping closer to the 97-degree forecast as Davis, his son Darrell, nephew, Matt, and 12 hired farmhands continued harvesting the first primings from hill upon hill of greenish-gold tobacco plants.
This time of year, they hit the fields at 5:45 a.m. to hand-pick ripe leaves. Continued

Image: Boss Tweed Cigars circa 1869 (Library of Congress).

Bailey, Miller to be featured guests at MSU Tobacco Tour

(Murray Ledger) The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service of Calloway County will host its annual Twilight Tobacco Tour on Thursday, Aug. 19. The tour will begin at 5 p.m. at the Murray State University tobacco barn/pavilion located on Johnny Robertson Road North, in Murray.
Dr. Andy Bailey, U.K. Extension Dark Tobacco specialist, will discuss Potassium Use in Dark Tobacco and Dr. Bob Miller, U.K. tobacco breeder, will discuss Dark Tobacco Breeding Efforts. Continued

Casa Magna Colorado Robusto Cigar

I get a sampling of cigars every month from a cigar of the month club deal, which is a lot of fun because I never know what's coming and never look into them until I've finished the smoke. So I didn't know that the Casa Magna Colorado is a somewhat famous cigar. It's known for being a little hard to find and for being named Cigar Aficionado's 2008 cigar of the year.
Retailer Cigars Direct says, "The Casa Magna represents the ultimate collaboration between two cigar legends, Manuel Quesada of the Fonseca enterprise and Nestor Plasencia. Nestor's farms produced the Nicaraguan puro leaves used in the construction of this very new cigar introduced to the world in 2008. The Nicaraguan filler is embraced by a very special Cuban-seeded Colorado Ligero wrapper also grown in Nicaragua. This deluxe oily wrapper augments the complexity of the filler ... "
But I didn't know any of this when I smoked it. I found the cigar to start out a little strong, but not for long, settling down into a good combination of strength and flavor. After finishing it off, I thought, "under $3.00 a piece, this is a very good cigar, over that, it's o.k.." Turns out, they cost more than three dollars.
So, the experts and I disagree, and that's fine by me. I say it's o.k., others say it's great. I'll leave it to you to decide. It seems to me that anything that ranges in opinion from o.k. to great is a pretty safe bet.

Update: I don't know if it's me or the cigar, but resampling this cigar a year later, I found it to better than "o.k.," in fact, I'd say it's pretty darn good.

Zim to lift global tobacco inventories

(NewsDay) Universal Corporation, the world’s leading tobacco merchant and processor based in the US state of Virginia, says Zimbabwe and Tanzania would lift global inventories of flue-cured tobacco this year and bring the leaf’s long-term average, which is seen at an overly low level, back to equilibrium. Continued

When smoking was smoking

(Grand Forks Herald) The notion of Grand Forks bars going smoke-free might have amused civic leaders throughout the Red River Valley a century ago. In 1910, cities throughout the valley celebrated tobacco.
Before the television and magazine ads of the 1950s and 1960s, tobacco use a century ago was marketed as a sign of affluence, of decadence, of independence. The Metropolitan Opera House in Grand Forks even featured a third-story outdoor smoking loft. Continued

Image: Library of Congress

How To... Take Snuff

"A short, sweet demonstration on how to take snuff." {Not rocket science}

New La Gloria Cubana Cigars

(Cigar Aficionado) General Cigar Co. has unveiled a new La Gloria Cubana cigar: the Serie N.
The four-sized brand, which the company says is for experienced smokers, is made with a combination of Nicaraguan and Ecuadoran Sumatra tobaccos.
The cigar was blended by General’s Yuri Guillen, working along with Benji Menendez, Michael Giannini and Rick Rodriguez, collectively known as Team La Gloria Cubana. Continued

Pipe Tobacco vs. Roll-Your-Own - What’s the Definition?

(Pipes) Pipe tobacco is facing a crucial moment in the crafting of its’ definition for taxation purposes. Some think pipe tobacco could be taxed out of existence. However, right now we have the best chance to save it. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is soliciting comments that must be received by September 20, 2010. Currently, the only government definition for pipe tobacco and roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco is based on the labeling. So, if you label it pipe tobacco, then it is ‘pipe tobacco’ … even if roll-your-own tobacco is inside the package. Continued

Midstaters earned $31.5M in '09 as cigar demand soars

(The Daily Item) Major international tobacco conglomerates, looking to buy up quality cigar filler, have moved into the Valley and struck alliances with Amish and Mennonite farmers famed for avoiding anything as modern as electricity. "The big boys — R.J. Reynolds and Phillip Morris— are here," said Norm Conrad, an educator with the Penn State Cooperative Extension, in Mifflinburg. "They're buying our tobacco." What's fueling the demand is the availability of millions of tons of Pennsylvania Seedleaf, rich, full-bodied Type 41 tobacco, which is commonly grown in Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties. Finer, flue-cured cigarette tobacco blends — grown mostly in the warmer climates of Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee — are increasingly less in demand because people are smoking fewer cigarettes. Cigars, though, continue to be popular and have led to the growth of cigar bars, clubs and shops. Continued

Introducing Pipe Pictures Magazine

(Pipes Magazine) For those of you that just like to flip through magazines looking at pictures of beautiful pipes, here is our new feature sponsored by Smokingpipes.com. Pipe Pictures

Indian tobacco store owner pursuing American dream

(Middletown Journal) Most days Mickey Gulati can be found at the new Dixie Discount Smokes working 13-hour days before coming home to an empty house.
For him, it’s the American dream.
The 30-year-old, who was born in India, said he worked for a driving service in New Jersey for many years, barely scraping by to care for his family. Continued

Zimbabwe Tobacco Deliveries Rise to Highest in Eight Years, Beats Estimate

(Bloomberg) Deliveries of tobacco by growers in Zimbabwe, the world’s sixth-biggest exporter of the flue-cured variety of the leaf, are at their highest level in eight years, the industry’s marketing board said.
Growers have delivered 109.6 million kilograms (241.6 million pounds) this year, compared with a crop estimate of 70 million kilograms, Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board Chief Executive Officer Andrew Matibiri said in a telephone interview from the capital, Harare, today.
“Deliveries are still continuing and we now believe we may sell 114 million kilograms this year,” Matibiri said. Continued

International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Trade Show Preview

(The Stogie Guys) The International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Trade Show opens in New Orleans today. The annual show is arguably the most important event of the year in the cigar industry, serving as an opportunity for cigar makers to show cigar retailers their latest offerings and make sales for for the upcoming year.
While selling cigars is still the primary purpose of the show, these days most of the news out of the trade show revolves around the new cigars that nearly every cigar maker releases. Here is part one of our comprehensive list of the already-announced new cigars set to debut at the show: Continued

Reaping the rewards of homegrown tobacco

(Ohio.com) Don Carey has accomplished his goal to not have to pay federal taxes on what he smokes.
Carey now puffs away his homegrown tobacco grown out of his frustration with rising federal taxes on tobacco-related products.
Carey is now harvesting his own tobacco, grown fittingly enough in Portage County's Freedom Township.
This year's crop looks good, said Carey, who is already smoking last year's first venture in tobacco farming. Continued

Mass. tobacco crop bounces back

(Boston Herald) After two disastrous years, western Massachusetts tobacco farmers are enjoying a bumper harvest this summer.
More than 90 percent of the region’s crop was destroyed by disease last year. The 2008 crop was severely damaged by storms.
Farmers tell The Daily Hampshire Gazette that this summer’s hot and dry weather has been nearly ideal for the region’s tobacco, which is primarily used to make high-quality cigar wrappers. Continued

Folklorama guest has vital job: rolling cigars

(Winnipeg Free Press) Miltania Perez has one of the most important jobs in Cuba.
Sure, the Castros are at the top of the pecking order in the second-most-popular tourist destination for Canadians behind Mexico, but the petite Havana native plays a key role in one of the country's biggest money-making sectors -- cigars.
Not only does she roll Romeo y Julieta cigars in its Havana plant, but she has taught more than 300 workers the trade over a 24-year career. Continued

Proposal would ‘cripple’ Kentucky burley tobacco

(Southeast Farm Press) Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer is denouncing proposed international rules that would unfairly target Kentucky growers and could cripple a substantial portion of Kentucky's economy.
Commissioner Farmer joined members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation and fellow agriculture commissioners from other tobacco-growing states in opposing proposed World Health Organization regulations that would ban ingredients other than tobacco in cigarette production.
Burley tobacco becomes harsh-tasting during the curing process, so manufacturers add flavors to make cigarettes made with burley more palatable to smokers. A global ban on such additives in effect would eliminate the market for Kentucky-grown burley, Commissioner Farmer said. Continued

Image: Taking Burley tobacco in from the fields, after it has been cut, to dry and cure in the barn, Russell Spears' farm, vicinity of Lexington, Ky. 1940 (Marion Post Wolcott/Library of Congress)

Tobacco Pipe Packing Methods - The Air Pocket Method

Cubanero Enterprises Introduces Premium Cigar Brand REINADO

(PR.com) Cubanero Enterprises will unveil its new cigar and brand, REINADO, at the 78th Annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association Convention and Trade Show. REINADO cigars are handmade and grown from Cuban seeds. Meticulously constructed from select premium tobacco grown in the rich fields of Nicaragua, REINADO is a Nicaraguan puro from premium crops aged up to 5 years.
The REINADO blend uses a proprietary fermentation process to enhance the flavors that resonate throughout the smoking experience. Continued

Red Man Moist Snuff Creates New FlavorFresh™ Packaging

(PRNewswire) The makers of Red Man Moist Snuff announced today a revolutionary new lid that is guaranteed to lock in freshness. The brand that pioneered the foil fresh pouch more than 40 years ago continues to drive innovative packaging with the launch of the new FlavorFresh™ Lid, a packaging improvement specifically designed for Red Man Moist Snuff. The new lid creates a tight seal, improving moisture retention and locking in freshness so every can of Red Man Moist Snuff is as fresh as the day it was made. Continued

Lorillard to launch non-menthol Newport cigarette

(AP/Google) Cigarette maker Lorillard is planning to launch a non-menthol version of its popular Newport brand as a federal panel reviews the public health effects of menthol cigarettes.
The Greensboro, N.C., company says it will introduce Newport Non-Menthol in November. Continued

Carlos Toraño Noventa 90 "Latin" (Torpedo) Cigar

Carlos Toraño Noventa 90 series cigars came out in '06, as a tribute to Toraño's arrival in Cuba. There are three cigars in the series, "Santiago" (Robusto), La Esperanza (Toro), and the "Latin" (Torpedo). All three are Nicaraguan Puros. I had the "Latin" (torpedo), and thought it a pretty good cigar. It's a big cigar, 6 1/2" x 54, and starts off a little light, but it settles into a good place right soon. It never gets real strong, which is a good thing as this is not a cigar that can be polished off in short order, this is a long smoke - great for reading or a good movie. I don't recommend it for short commutes. But I do recommend it in general. This cigar is a pleasant and relaxing smoke that should please most anyone.

La Estrella Cubana Oscuro Cigar (Belicoso)

Says Cigars International, "La Estrella Cubana is a Nicaraguan jewel graced with a sumptuous, triple-fermented Costa Rican maduro wrapper with a gloriously oily sheen. Its aged filler combination of hand-selected Dominican and Nicaraguan long-fillers marries nicely and the whole melting pot promotes a distinct, buttery-smooth, creamy, maduro experience. The silky smoke hangs densely on the palate, marinating the taste buds with lingering notes of dark, unsweetened chocolate, toast, and espresso bean. This chewy core of dark flavors is finished by a welcome hint sweetness after each puff - a fitting exclamation point to this mild to medium-bodied gem."
However, I found it to be a bland, almost flavorless smoke that turned bitter about 3/4 down. It's a good looking cigar, sporting a dark, dark wrapper with reflective highlights, and it is well constructed. But I don't want another one. If I'm off the mark here, please explain to me why I'm wrong in the comments section.

Tobacco grower hopes to pluck a fine crop this year

(The-Dispatch.com) The Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, this is going to be a decent year for Mike Hege’s tobacco.
“If we get a little more water, we’re going to have a pretty fair crop,” Hege said, tugging easily on a tobacco leaf as he spoke.
Troy Coggins, director of the Davidson County branch of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, the man to whom Hege was speaking, nodded. Continued

Archaeologists discover tobacco tins used by Lawrence of Arabia’s army

(BioScholar) Archaeologists have discovered two tobacco tins used by Lawrence of Arabia’s army during an excavation of a campsite used during the 1916-18 Great Arab Revolt, in Southern Jordan.
Archaeologists, who have been surveying the Arab army site in Wuheida, southern Jordan, since it was discovered in November, discovered the tins, reports the Telegraph.
They were used to supply Wills cigarettes from Bristol to British and Arab troops fighting the Ottoman Turks during the First World War. Continued

Cubao No. 5 Cigar

It's been a good week for 5's. First the 5 Vegas Limitada 2010, which was very good, and now the Cubao No. 5, which was also very good. The Cubao had a toothsome, leathery flavor from start to almost the end, where it was complimented with a spicy finish.
Cigars Direct says, "Take the Pepin Garcia and EO mystiques. Blend them with a well-aged Cuban-seeded Nicaraguan long-filler. Wrap it all in a wonderfully oily and rich Ecuadorian Sumatra Oscuro wrapper. What you get are simply stunning cigars." I wish I had one now.

Pease Stirs the Balkan Pot

(PipesMagazine) In the on-line pipe communities, there is often passionate conversation about the classification of blend types, and in these discussions, the most impenetrable clouds of mystery seem to swirl around those blends containing Latakia. What is an "English" mixture, and how can one be distinguished from a "Balkan" style blend? The problem is that both of these terms, despite broad usage, are somewhat ambiguous, at best, and, worse, the commonly held notions of what they mean is just plain backwards. And, yes, I’ll admit up front to being one of the early champions of this wrong-headedness. What? Read on. Continued

Image: Recent Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Alonzo Cushing, seen here sporting what looks to be a Meerschaum.