Winston Churchill and Camacho Cigars

(CigarCyclopedia) Winston Churchill, perhaps the most famous cigar smoker of all time, was well known as a devotee of Havana cigars and especially of the Romeo y Julieta brand. But he was also a fan of Camachos, almost from the moment that Simon Camacho set up shop in Miami in 1961.
The connection between the two was a man named Antonio Giraudier, the owner of one of the most popular beer brands in Cuba - Polar Beer - in the 1940s. When Winston Churchill visited Cuba in 1946, he made sure he met the man he considered the greatest of the 20th Century. Continued

Business offers a place to savor a cigar

(Township Journal) The Cigar Room II in Andover Township [NJ] celebrated their grand opening and ribbon cutting on Friday evening, Sept. 24. Maria Pantaleone, owner and Larry Gonnello, manager, said the store is open for Monday night football and private parties, and also for patrons to simply come in to relax and savor a cigar.
The store is an offshoot of its parent store, The Cigar Room in Lafayette Village. Continued

World’s most expensive snus takes you east

(Swedish Wire) Swedish Match, a tobacco producer founded in 1917 by the “Match-king” Ivar Kreuger, is to release the world’s most exclusive and expensive snus; with a price-tag more than ten times above normal levels.
But if you wanna lay your hands on one of the exclusively produced boxes – containing a special blended snus made of hand-processed javanese tobacco, flavoured with arrack – you better be quick; only 500 boxes are for sale.
The porcelain in the box comes from the cargo of the original East Indiaman Götheborg’s last voyage 1745 and was salvaged from the wreck in 1905. Continued

Image: Kardus Snus 2009 edition (Swedish Match).

It's not your usual tobacco plant

(Richmond Times-Dispatch) The Marlboro label is familiar, but what's coming off the production line at a factory near Busch Gardens is not your typical tobacco product.
In a former Philip Morris cigarette-equipment repair plant, the nation's top tobacco company is now making something called Marlboro snus, one of the newer entries in a growing array of alternative tobacco products.
Snus -- the word rhymes with "juice" -- is an oral, but spitless, pouch tobacco. Continued

Navy journal from 1801: Tobacco smoke saves lives

(AP) For some 19th-century British navy surgeons, reviving men who nearly drowned after falling overboard required what is now a rather unorthodox treatment: tobacco smoke.
The treatment is documented in an 1801 journal, one of more than 1,000 navy medical officers' reports released Thursday by Britain's National Archives. From drunken mutinies to disease outbreaks to a walrus attack, the journals paint a colorful picture of 18th- and 19th-century ship life. Continued

Image: Long John Silver and Hawkins. Illustration by N. C. Wyeth for Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911

Why Uganda's tobacco farmers grow trees on the sides

(Daily Monitor) ... “Since we need wood fuel to cure tobacco leaves, we are always advised to grow our own trees to avoid cutting indigenous trees and natural forests,” he added. Atira, a resident of Arevu village, Nyirive Sub-county in Arua District, went on to explain that he grows a flue cured type of tobacco, which can only be cured using wood fuel. From a hectare piece of land, he usually opens each year, Atria normally harvests 2.2 tonnes of tobacco. “In order to treat all the 2.2 tonnes of tobacco, on average I need 18 cubic metres of wood fuel. ..." Continued

The Last Smoker in America

(The Lantern) "The Last Smoker in America," a new musical comedy about a world where smoking has been outlawed, is coming to Columbus.
The show, which will run Sept. 29 through Oct. 24 at the Riffe Center, will open in Columbus before hitting Broadway.
"The Last Smoker in America" is a rock-influenced musical presented by the Contemporary American Theatre Company about a dysfunctional family attempting to cope in a world where smoking has been banned. Continued

Image: Library of Congress

Retro Manhattan: Smoke Cigars and Eat Simultaneously

(Huffington Post) The smoking ban has been in effect for years in New York City, and new measures are proposed with alarming regularity for so-called "brothers of the leaf." If you like to cut and light, it's tough to find an accommodating place. Only a handful of bars in Manhattan allow you to smoke a cigar while imbibing or munching, and each has its problems. Seeing a gap in the market -- and an opportunity to help cigar smokers out -- one New York tobacconist has found a unique solution.
De La Concha has been at its Sixth Ave location -- between 56th Street and 57th Street -- for more than 40 years. Continued

Image: Cigar store Indian, Manchester, New Hampshire, Mydans, Carl, photographer (FSA/Library of Congress).

Video: David Letterman - Katherine Heigl's Fake Smoke (e-cigarette)

Katherine tries to kick the habit with the help of an electronic cigarette.

Cornell & Diehl Tobacco

(PipesMagazine.com) If you’ve been smoking a pipe for at least a year, chances are that you’ve smoked at least one blend of pipe tobacco made by Cornell & Diehl. If you’re like me, then you’ve smoked a little over 10 blends, have several un-opened tins you still need to try, and have some real favorites in the C&D line-up. However, if this is the case, you haven’t even covered five percent of their selection.
The company produces a roster of about 250 pipe tobacco blends. They are processed, blended, and packaged in their 5,500 square foot facility in the beautiful rolling hills of Morganton, North Carolina. In addition to producing blends under the Cornell & Diehl brand, they also produce the quite popular boutique brand, G. L. Pease, plus Captain Earle’s for Hermit Tobacco, and Low Country Tobacco for SmokingPipes.com.
PipesMagazine.com Publisher, Kevin Godbee spent half a day touring and filming the plant, and talking to Craig, Chris and Patty Tarlar and enjoyed pizza with the employees. Continued

Image: Library of Congress

Nosotros Cigar Brand Discontinued

(Cigar Aficionado) The Nosotros brand of Nicaraguan cigars has been officially discontinued. A collaboration between Illusione brand owner Dion Giolito and Jonathan Drew, the co-founder of Drew Estate, the short-lived Nosotros line was released at the 2009 IPCPR trade show but did not officially go on sale until the Spring of 2010. Continued

Snus classic in elongated version

(Swedish Match) Sweden’s most popular snus brand, General, is introducing an entirely new portion format, Long. The new portions are more elongated to fit better under the lip. The flavor is the traditional General, but the recipe has been optimized to enhance the taste and reduce leakage.

The new portions are as long as a normal Large portion, but only as broad as a Mini portion. The can also has a more streamlined and modern design that distinguishes General Long and its new format from the traditional portfolio. The wing on the can is also new and symbolizes the power of the General flavor and the freedom that comes with the optimized fit under the lip.
“Many consumers have been looking for a more discrete portion that has the same characteristic flavor and tastes as good as General. With Long, we have found a unique format that will hopefully be appreciated by our users,” says Niklas Krohn, Brand Manager General.
General is a full-flavored and complex snus, manufactured from a mixture of more than 20 types of tobacco and topped with a drop of oil of bergamot. The result is a strong and spicy flavor, with a touch of pepper and a hint of citrus. The can contains 24 grams, distributed in about 26 portions, and will be available from the week commencing September 20. In Norway the snus also comes in a version with more nicotine – General Long Sterk. Link

Cigar factory memories

(YDR) Married at 16, Betty Fife was a teenage mother struggling to find work in the depths of the Great Depression.
Inexperienced and unskilled, she had few options, until hearing about the cigar factories in Red Lion. In August 1941, she walked into J.C. Winters and Co. and left with orders to show up for work the next day.
The 86-year-old Dallastown native can describe vivid details of her first day at the factory on Pine Street -- a stretch known as "cigar row" for its many tobacco processing plants. Continued

Renegade Tobacco owner misused funds, examiner says

(Winston-Salem Journal) Calvin Phelps, the owner of Renegade Holdings Tobacco Co*., made a fraudulent transfer of $8.1 million in assets, which he used to help buy Chinqua-Penn Plantation, two corporate jets, cigar-manufacturing equipment and a 2008 Maserati Quattroporte, the examiner for Renegade’s bankruptcy says in a lawsuit.
The future of Chinqua-Penn, a historic 1920s mansion in Reids­ville, could be in the hands of a bankruptcy estate if a judge approves the examiner’s request to create a trust for the plantation and its arts and artifacts or to transfer its ownership to the debtors in Renegade’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The suit was filed against Phelps, his wife, Lisa Yamaoka, and 13 limited liability companies, including Chinqua-Penn, that Phelps owns or controls.
Filing the suit was Gene Tarr, the bankruptcy examiner for three companies that Phelps also owns — Renegade Holdings Inc., Alternative Brands Inc. and Renegade Tobacco Co. Continued

*Tobacco fans may remember that Renegade bought the House of Windsor company, located in Yoe, Pennsylvania, a few years back. Windsor manufactured old favorites such as Barking Dog, Field & Stream, Mapleton, and Union Leader pipe tobacco. They also made Wolf Brothers Rum Crook cigars.

The Last Cigar

Twas off the blue Canaries,

A glorious summer day,
I sat upon the quarter-deck,

And whiffed my cares away;
And as the volumed smoke arose

Like incense in the air,
I heaved a sigh to think, in sooth,

It was my last cigar.

I leaned against the quarter rail
And gazed down in the sea;

E'en there the airy wreaths of smoke
Were curling gracefully.

Oh, what had I at such a time
To do with wasting care?

Alas, the trembling tear proclaimed
It was my last cigar!

I watched the ashes as it came
Fast nearing to the end;

I watched it as a friend will watch
Beside his dying friend;—

I could not speak,—I could not stir,
But like a statue there,

I whiffed the massy volumes out
Of that divine cigar!

At length the pile of ashes fell,
Like child from mother torn,

And the smoke that I drew in and out
Grew warm and yet more warm.

I took one last, one lingering whiff—
A long whiff of despair—

And threw it from me—spare the tale,
It was my last cigar!

I've seen the land of all I loved
Fade in the distance dim,—

And sighed above the blighted heart
Where once proud hope had been;

But never have I felt a thrill
Which could with that compare,

When off the blue Canaries
I smoked my last cigar!

- Col. J. W. Fabens circa 1870

New York Cigar From Alec Bradley

(Cigar Aficionado) New York tobacconists are under the yoke of a draconian new tobacco tax—75 percent of the wholesale cost of a cigar, one of the highest taxes on cigars in the United States—so Alan Rubin of Alec Bradley Cigar Co. is coming out with a cigar just for New York cigar shops.
"It's a cigar we're only going to sell at New York retailers," said Rubin. Although he was born and raised in Florida, his mother is from Queens and his father is from Canarsie and Brighton Beach. "With New York getting hammered [by taxes] as much as it is, it's good timing." Continued

Photos: New York's iconic Flatiron Building was home to a United Cigar Stores branch for years.

Hamlet Cigar factory demolished

(WalesOnline) FAMOUS Cardiff cigar factory is being torn down.
The JR Freeman Cigar Factory closed in 2009, and its Penarth Road site is now being demolished.
The factory, which was responsible for the production of Hamlet cigars, holds fond memories for many former employees of the tobacco company. Continued

Virtual Smoking Lounge returns

(VSL) I've spent countless hours redesigning and improving the VSL website with a completely new look, easier navigation, and a host of new resources to help you get the most from your hobby.
There is still work to be done, but I wanted to share the new site with you even if it wasn't quite perfect just yet. Check back often since additional items and enhancements are being planned and will be added when they are ready.
Thanks again for stopping by, and I hope to see you again real soon, back here at the Virtual Smoking Lounge! Link

Dry spell could hurt quality of Kentucky's burley tobacco

(Courier Journal) Some Kentucky burley tobacco farmers are worried that a prolonged dry spell could hurt the quality of the leaf they'll take to market in coming months.
Steve Moore, the agricultural extension agent in Henry County, said Wednesday that some farmers are reporting that their leaf is turning a yellowish color that's not desired by tobacco companies.
Moore said unless farmers receive some timely moisture to improve tobacco curing, it could lower the quality of the crop. Tobacco curing is an autumn ritual when the long green burley leaves gradually change to a preferred reddish brown color. Continued

From Bad Rap to Fine Art: Smoking has become a connoisseur’s pleasure

(AgouraHillsPatch) ... These days, smoking is less a habit than a hobby, a slice of the good life, something like sipping coffee or tasting wine. Stores such as Sam's Tobacco Shop and Cigar & Cigarettes Shop give aficionados of the pipe, cigar and cigarette a place where they can fine-tune their palates and gather with like-minded enthusiasts.
Some people pop in, cars left running in the parking lot, to purchase their favorite smokes. A friend of mine runs into the Smoke Zone for Sherman's—delicate dark brown cigarettes presented in an attractive brown box with tissue paper. The aroma, even for a nonsmoker like me, is intoxicating. Continued

Cigars, hot off the truck

Some people age their cigars in a humidor for months before smoking them, some age them for years, and a select few won't touch a cigar unless it was personally stocked by great-uncle Pemberton, sometime before he met an untimely death at Isandlwana. Me, I smoke 'em right off the truck.
Today, it was a box of Gran Habano No. 5 Corojo Cigars, and I had one of those Rothschilds lit before the UPS man was out of the driveway. Why not? After all, they're my cigars, bought and paid for. What's more, I have an entire box of the things and I can't see any reason why I can't enjoy one now, tonight, tomorrow, next month, whenever. If anything, and this is usually the case, the experience will remind me that a cigar left in the humidor for a few days is indeed superior to one that just came off the front porch, still, there's something fun about lighting up a delivery right away that makes up for what usually amounts to a slight dip in quality.
The only exception is when I buy a single, then it gets nestled in the humidor at the proper temperature and humidity for at least a week, especially if I plan to write about it. Anything else would be unfair.

Image: "Dying To Save The Queens Colours: An Episode in the Battle of Insandlwhana The Deaths Of Lieutenants Melville And Coghill 24th Regiment" Poster showing the Battle of Insandlwhana [Isandlwana], illustrated by A. Hoen & Co. for Wm. Cameron & Bro Tobacco Company, sometime after January, 1879 (Duke University Collection).

HC Museum to extend tobacco heritage display

CONWAY, SC (WMBF) The Horry County Museum has extended their "Tobacco Heritage in Horry County" exhibit, according to officials at the museum.
The exhibit, which will now continue to be on display through the end of September, includes artifacts once used to plant, crop, tie, string and cure tobacco leaves. Continued

Photo: Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Lyman, Polish tobacco farmers near Windsor Locks, Connecticut by Jack Delano, 1940 (FSA/LoC).

Cigar Imports Up

(CigarCyclopedia) The newest report on premium cigar imports into the United States, a measure of the health of the industry, showed July a good month with volumes up nicely against 2009 and steady compared with 2008.
The report, based on U.S. Customs data and compiled by the Cigar Association of America, indicate that demand is remaining steady for premium cigars, although not at anything close to record levels: Continued

Oliva Cain F 654 Torpedo Habano Cigar: Ligero Refined

What a great cigar. It started out disappointingly bland, but that only lasted about half an inch. After that, it was pure tobacco joy. It's supposed to be a strong cigar "force redefined," says one retailer, "3 of the richest, most distinct Nicaraguan Ligero tobaccos the world has to offer, including 32% from Esteli and 25% each from Condega and Jalapa." However, I didn't find it too rich or overpowering in the least. It's a very well balanced cigar - a real pleasure.

A Tale of Two Tobacco Seeds

(Smoke Magazine) Criollo and Corojo - twin legacies of Cuba’s historic cigar making heritage - are the hottest leaf varieties out there, and they’re more different, and similar, than you realize. ... Whereas the first U.S.-sold cigars to use the term appeared less than a decade ago, the story of Corojo actually hearkens back to the 1930s, to a farm in Cuba’s legendary Vuelta Abajo region named Santa Ines del Corojo. There a tobacco farmer named Diego Rodriguez first developed the seed, which was named for the farm (or vega) where it was born. For many years, Corojo proved to be the ideal wrapper leaf for many Cuban cigars. Continued

Image: Library of Congress

Ideas for New Tobacco Blends

(Russ Ouellette) Probably the most commonly asked question I receive is "Where does your inspiration come from to create new blends?" This is, at the same time , one of the easiest and most difficult questions to answer, as, in some cases, the inspiration is apparent- a customer request, the availability of a new blending tobacco or the memory of a long-lost and lamented blend of the past. But in other circumstances, the thought that spurs creativity might not seem like something that should stoke the fires of innovation. Continued

Image: Library of Congress

Malawi Tobacco Sells 24% Below Government Price

(Bloomberg) The average price of tobacco in Malawi, the world's largest producer of burley tobacco, dropped 24 percent below the government-set price of $2 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) about a week before the close of sales.
The leaves sold at an average $1.52 per kilogram in the week through Sept. 17, from $1.67 recorded two weeks ago, Auction Holdings Ltd., the Lilongwe-based manager of Malawi's auction floors, said in a statement published in the Daily Times newspaper today. During the week, 3.9 million kilograms of tobacco worth $5.9 million were sold, it said. Continued

The Kentucky Quilt Project - Preserving Kentucky's Historic Tobacco Barns

(dressagedaily.com) While on your Kentucky adventures you will be struck by the beauty of the scenic countryside filled with horses, crops, and barns. You will notice that some of the barns are beautifully decorated with large quilt squares. These barns are a part of Kentucky Art Council’s Quilt Trail. This project was started to preserve barns in rural Kentucky. Most of these barns were used for drying tobacco and are no longer used because fewer farms grow tobacco. Howeverthe barns continue to be an important part of Kentucky’s heritage and the Quilt Project is helping to preserve their place in kentucky history. Continued

Photo: "Tobacco barn, showing how it is dried. Location: Winchester [vicinity], Kentucky ... 1916". Library of Congress

Imperial Tobacco rolls along with cheaper option

(Scotsman.com) The major FTSE 100 company to update the City this week will be cigarette giant Imperial Tobacco, which is expected to say it has partly benefited from more people rolling their own in the downturn.
The trading statement on Tuesday from Imps comes after it said in April that cheaper "economy" smokes accounted for 20 per cent of the 44 billion cigarettes a year UK market, and that smokers were also rolling their own to save money. Continued

A Guide to Estate Meerschaums

(PipesMagazine) The Estate Meerschaum marketplace offers opportunity for both the budget minded and the collector of fine antiques. It also is rife with deception and prices that have little to do with product quality and value. Continued

Photograph by Peter Isotalo, some rights reserved.

Padilla Miami Robusto Cigar

Says Padilla: "The Padilla Miami rated in Cigar Aficionado’s top 25 Cigars of the Year in 2005 and 2007. The Miami employs all Cuban-seed tobaccos grown in Nicaragua. The dark oily wrappers are a Cuban-seed Corojo that cloaks a robust blend of Cuban seed Criollo and Corojo tobacco. Finished by a triple cap this medium to full-bodied cigar has a flavor profile that is rich and elegant. The aroma is rich and sweet while the flavors offer a toasty woodiness backed by various hints of cocoa coffee and spice. Complex yet masterfully balanced. A true work of art and a savory experience for any palate."
I really can't add much, it's a pretty accurate description of the cigar. I don't know that I tasted "a toasty woodiness backed by various hints of cocoa coffee and spice," but it did contain a nice spectrum of unnamed flavors, perhaps pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers, whatever, I just know it's a fine tasting smoke. It's not an inexpensive cigar, but even if you can't afford a box, you may want to consider trying a single or two, the next time you're hanging out at your local tobacconist.

McCranie’s Pipe and Tobacco Shop

(PipesMagazine) McCranie’s Pipe & Tobacco Shop in Charlotte North Carolina is one of the standout tobacconists catering to pipe smokers. Their reputation extends far beyond the borders of the second largest tobacco producing state. They have been serving pipe smokers for over 30-years. Their own brand of tinned pipe tobacco has put them on the map nationally. PipesMagazine.com’s Publisher, Kevin Godbee paid a visit to McCranie’s and met with Todd McCranie. Continued

Image: Bust portrait of a poilu [soldier] smoking a pipe, 1916 (Library of Congress).

How the real Don Draper sold Lucky Strike Cigarettes

(Fortune) Lord & Thomas's first piece of advice to American Tobacco must have come as a surprise: Stop advertising most of your brands. Lasker argued that rather than maintaining many modestly successful small brands, the company needed to create one overwhelmingly powerful product that could compete with Camels and Chesterfields. "You can't live unless you have this one brand," Lasker recalled saying, "because 80 or 90 percent of the cigarette business in this country today is on this one type of cigarette. Continued

Photo: MDRails

Nothing like a good cigar

(Portland Press Herald) Though smoking has been banned in most public places, DAD's Cigar Parlor & Tobacco Shoppe offers a welcome respite -- at least for smokers of cigars and pipes. Entering the Biddeford business is like walking into the gentlemen's parlors of old. Here, the regulars sit in comfortable lounge chairs, puff on the stogies and ponder life's issues -- their conversation filling the air along with the curling wisps of smoke being emitted from their cigars. Continued

The Twitter Cigar

(CigarAficionado) ... Recently the principals at La Aurora signed up for the social media site known as Twitter, where users send out 140 character updates known as "tweets" and interact with other users. An interesting thing happened—cigar smokers reaching out to La Aurora executives via Twitter asked them for a lancero size in the 107 blend. And they kept on asking. The result came to be known as the 107 Lancero Project. Continued

Image: Hobotopia, some rights reserved.

Cigar Factories of 1885: Where were they? Not where you think

(National Cigar History Museum) ... a state-by-state overview of cigar factories in operation in 1885. It focuses on the 20 states with the most factories. You will see how many small, medium and large factories each state had, and where key ones were located. ... States are listed in order, beginning with the state in which the largest number of cigar factories were operating in 1885. Continued

Photo: J. Weingartner & Son Cigar Factory, 414 East Walnut Street, North Wales, Montgomery, PA (Library of Congress).

Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Maduro Toro Cigar

The Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Maduro Toro Cigar, made by Rocky Patel, consists of aged (4 years) filler from Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The binder is Nicaraguan and the maduro wrapper hails from Costa Rica. It may not be the fuerteist cigar I've ever had, but it's strong enough, and very smooth. It's hard to believe they can be had for less than $2.50 a piece. My only quibble is that the burn was a little raggedy, but nothing a periodic touchup couldn't handle. This is a good, rich cigar at a great price.

Images courtesy of Rocky Patel.

Born this day in 1880 writer and cigar lover H. L. Mencken

(Cigar Aficionado) ... The cleanest, mildest and best-made five-cent cigar, according to Mencken, were "Uncle Willies," produced by the Schafer-Pfaf Co. of Baltimore (now T.E. Brooks Co. of Red Lion, Pennsylvania). There were always several bunched in his coat pocket for ready use: "Most of the advertised brands selling at eight cents are like garbage beside it."
Once a month, Mencken ordered 300, in bunches of 50, without bands, to be sent directly to his home at 1524 Hollins Street in Baltimore. Continued

"Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having a good time." - H. L. Mencken

Drew Estate Cigars Names the "De Guy"

(CigarCyclopedia) "As many of you know, we use our DE Guy in many of our ads, flyers, etc. but he doesn’t have a name!"
The question of what to call the mustachioed fellow who appears in Drew Estate's unique marketing programs was put out for suggestions . . . and among the 59 proposed names, there were some doozies: Continued

The Mystery of the Lost Cigars (And Special Order No. 191)

(Wikipedia) Special Order 191 (the "Lost Dispatch," and the "Lost Order") was a general movement order issued by Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee in the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. The order was drafted on or about September 9, 1862, during the Maryland Campaign.
... About 10 a.m. on September 13, 1862 Corporal Barton W. Mitchell of the 27th Indiana Volunteers, part of the Union XII Corps, discovered an envelope with three cigars wrapped in a piece of paper lying in the grass at a campground that Hill had just vacated. Mitchell realized the significance of the document and turned it in to Sergeant John M. Bloss. They went to Captain Peter Kopp, who sent it to regimental commander Colonel Silas Colgrove, who carried it to the corps headquarters. There, an aide to Brig. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams recognized the signature of R. H. Chilton, the assistant adjutant general who had signed the order. Williams forwarded the dispatch to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, the commander of the Army of the Potomac. McClellan was overcome with glee at learning planned Confederate troop movements and reportedly exclaimed, "Now I know what to do!" He confided to a subordinate, "Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home." Continued

Tobacco fills new warehouse in Danville

(GoDanRiver) Ricky French unloaded 12 bales of tobacco Wednesday at Piedmont Warehouse in Danville for the first time.
French of Ruffin, N.C., likes having another option now that Piedmont Warehouse at 301 Trade St. opened in August.
“I think it’s a good thing,” French said. “We’ve got somewhere else we can offer our tobacco.” Continued

Image: "Farmers unloading their tobacco from their trailer in the baskets the night before auction sale in Hughes warehouse. Danville, Virginia" Photo by Marion Post Wolcott, October 1940 (FSA/OWI/LOC).

Pipe or cigar?

(FistLoad Blog) After a month of smoking a pipe and cigars, which did I prefer? I reckon I’ve had my pipe long enough to get a feel for it now. There are distinct differences between the two; some I had anticipated, some I hadn’t.
In all truth, I was expecting to try the pipe a few times and get bored with it. Either it wouldn’t stay lit, or it would be harsh and burn my tongue, or I’d even just feel too silly smoking it. While there were elements of truth in all these, it has not been enough to prevent me from continuing to enjoy my newly purchased corncob pipe. Still, the difference between the two is remarkably different. Continued

Oliveros Cigars Signs Contract with Teka Puro of Istanbul Tobacco

(PR.com) Teka Puro of Istanbul Tobacco has signed a multi-year agreement with Rafael Nodal of Oliveros Cigars to provide consulting services and serve as the exclusive international representative for all Teka products. Teka Puro is the only manufacturer of Tobacco Products in Turkey and originally was a joint venture between the government of Cuba and the government of Turkey. Teka Puro used to produce Fonseca Cigarillos and other Cuban brands using tobacco from Cuba. Teka Puro was created in response to the growing market for cigars in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe and was a project conceived by Cuban President Fidel Castro, who attended the opening of the factory. Continued

Image: Pavilion of Turkish Tobacco, Paris Exposition, 1889 (Library of Congress).

Celebrating the Tobacco Farmer

(Ripley Bee) The annual Ohio Tobacco Festival once again brought individuals from all over Ohio and Kentucky to Ripley this year to celebrate tobacco’s role in the development of southwestern Ohio. The 2010 event saw the return of many popular festival events, including the queen’s pageant, bed races, Ripley Idol contest and tobacco grading contests. Continued

George Burns' Cigars

(Arthur Marx/Cigar Aficionado) "I smoke a domestic cigar. It's a good cigar. It's called an El Producto. Now the reason I smoke a domestic cigar is because the more expensive Havana cigars are tightly packed. They go out on the stage while I'm doing my act." Continued

Shades of Gray, Steel, and Cigars: A Garage to Office Conversion

(lifehacker) Today's featured workspace is a from-the-ground-up conversion of a garage into an awesome home office complete with a custom polished steel desk, well-done lighting, and a cigar smoking station.
Lifehacker reader leftlanedesigns recently converted part of his garage into a home office to make room for new arrivals. Continued

Tobacco harvest ready for cure

(Evansville Courier Press) ... "Dark (tobacco) is a little more time-consuming (than burley), but you make a lot more money on it," Ling said as he worked. "You've gotta baby it. Its gotta be the first one in the ground and the first one out of the field and into the barn."
"I don't know if it's going to be around much longer or not," Ling, who also grows other crops such as corn and soybeans, said of his tobacco farming. Continued

A Labor Day Cigar

"Cigar factory of F. Delloiacono [?], 205 Atwells Av., Providence, R.I. Eight year old boy and ten year old girl are stripping. This room is the living, -sleeping-and-working room and adjoins the store. Nov 23, 1912. Very dirty and ill-kept. Location: Providence, Rhode Island." Photo by Lewis Hine, from the records of the National Child Labor Committee (Library of Congress).

"A Union Shop, Cigarmakers Tierra del Laga Cigar Co. Almost no hands under 20 years of age. (60 employees.) These are the conditions the labor organizations strive for. One third of the cigarmakers in Tampa are Union men. Location: Tampa, Florida." Photo by Lewis Hine, 1909, from the records of the National Child Labor Committee (Library of Congress).

1914: Cumberland welcomes a new tobacconist

(Times-News) ... The bowling alleys were gone and in their place were five of the finest pocket billiard tables available. As for the cigars, “The management has endeavored to place in their store every known brand of high-grade cigars, tobacco and cigarettes and have adopted as their motto for this department, ‘We dare you to ask us for something in our line that we haven’t got.’,” according to the Cumberland Press.
The interior had been redesigned and painted by a popular Baltimore decorator at the time named Herman DuBrau. Continued

Photo: Cigar store - Buffalo - show room c1911 (Library of Congress).

Warehouse makeovers: New uses for tobacco buildings

(Daily Reflector) Pitt County's first commercial tobacco crop is believed to have sprouted under the watch of Leon Evans in 1886.
The industry bloomed as cotton prices declined and railroads arrived. Tobacco occupied 70 acres in 1889 and more than 12,900 acres one decade later, according to “The Architectural Heritage of Greenville, North Carolina.” Continued

Amish Cigars Part 3: A Pennsylvania Puro

The Amish Pennsylvanian #1 cigar is a step up from the cheaper "Amish" models I tried last time, being "all tobacco." This one surprised me, I expected a cigar made of all Pennsylvania tobacco to be quite strong, and perhaps a little pungent. I waited for the first cool night of the season to try it out, in case I needed to open some windows. But in fact, it was mild in strength and smelled just as good as any cigar does in a room. It was full of flavor, that great rustic leathery taste that makes Pennsylvania tobacco worth smoking. My sample was well constructed and machine made, with one of those little holes in the cap, providing an ample draw. The cigar measures 45 x 6 and is, I assume, made with short filler. They cost $109.00 for a box of fifty at the only website I know that sells them. I found this cigar to be superior to the cheaper Amish cigars, and more to my liking than the semi-Amish "Handmade President's Private Stock" cigars, sold on the same site.

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. 

Top Photo: Mennonite farmer putting tobacco into his barn, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1941 (Marion Post Wolcott/FSA/Library of Congress).

 

Finck Cigar Company: The Sam Houston Maduro is a Sweet and Sour Treat

The Sam Houston Maduro cigar has a rum flavored filler surrounded by an unflavored maduro wrapper - the best of both worlds. A good time to have one is when you can't decide if you want a sweet cigar or not. I called it sweet & sour, but sweet & savory would be more apt. This is another of Finck's "value cigars," and has a homogenized binder, which, happily, gets lost between the filler and wrapper. The maduro wrapper is one of the best I've tasted on an inexpensive cigar.
Sam Houston's can also be had with a Connecticut shade wrapper or an Indonesian wrapper. The filler is "a very mild blend of Connecticut, Honduran and Brazilian" tobaccos. Sam Houston's aren't my idea of an all-day smoke, but they're a great evening cigar. From the factory, they sell for a little over a dollar a piece.
This is the last of my reviews of Finck's cheaper brands, I sampled them from the company's Super Value Sampler, which offers up 43 of their economy cigars (8 or 9 each of 5 brands), for 43 dollars. They are nothing fancy, but they all taste good and are well made to boot.