Cigars, Cigar Information and where to find Premium Cigars, Discounted Cigars and even Cheap Cigars

Q & A

Plus: A new Rudy story from the Midwest and green Fuentes from Thompson

Los Angeles, March 8 – We get questions . . .

What cigars are from Africa? from J.P. in Detroit, Michigan.

None! We’re not aware of any cigars made in Africa and imported into the United States.

There are plenty of cigars with African themes and some with African tobacco. African-themed cigars include the Don Lino Africa and Montecristo Afrique lines. More popular are cigars with African-grown tobacco.

The most famous is tobacco grown in the Republic of Cameroon. Used primarily for wrappers, Stanford Newman of the J.C. Newman Cigar Co. was the first to introduce this flavorful leaf to the U.S. market in the early 1960s.

Now, it’s a staple of famous brands like Arturo Fuente, Cuesta-Rey, Partagas and many others. The Montecristo Afrique blend, made by Altadis for Cigars by Santa Clara, uses a Cameroon wrapper and has filler leaves from Cameroon, Nicaragua, Peru . . . and Tanzania!

Precious69.com, part of the exotic Lars Tetens stable of brands, uses wrapper from the Central African Republic. Speaking of Lars . . .

I would like your opinion on keeping flavored cigars in a humidor with regular cigars by cedar. Will they marry in flavor? Is this a good idea? from J.B. in Fremont, California.

NEVER! Whoever told you this might even be possible hasn’t the feintest @#$%^& idea what he is talking about. NEVER!

Flavored cigars of any type, style of size must be kept separately from non-flavored cigars or they will pick up the scent rather quickly. Moreover, if you have flavored cigars of different types, say some Ornelas No. 2 (vanilla) from Mexico, sweetened Havana Honeys from Dominican Republic or maybe some Heaven Coronas in Angel’s Spice or Orange Dreamsicle (!), each should be stored separately to keep the flavors from mixing.

If you are a flavored cigar enthusiast, try using two extra-thick zip-lock bags inside each other to keep flavors separated if you are storing them in the same humidor. In any case, keep those flavored things away from the non-flavored cigars or, after a short while, everything will have the taste of the flavored cigars.

If you have a question, use the “Contact Us” tab above and fire away. We’ll take the best questions we receive and answer them here weekly.

Another great Rudy story:
Notre Dame fans have probably memorized the dialogue in the 1993 underdog-makes-good film “Rudy,” but not too far away is another good Rudy story, this time about smokeshop owner Rudy Caldwell.

His Rudy’s Cigars was featured in the Rockford (Il.) Register-Star last week in a breezy feature by staff writer Abbie Reese.

“The tired and weary climb two flights of stairs to light up and ‘breathe free’ in the back corner of Rudy’s Cigars. In a way, it’s their refuge. They are the displaced.”

The story chronicles the scene at Rudy’s on a Saturday when the regulars pile into the store for a cigar and the stories (lies?) that follow. Reese quotes Caldwell, 64, with the cigar lover’s mantra: “George Burns smoked 10 cigars a day and lives to 100, and the Marlboro Man died at 30.”

The social aspect of cigars was also emphasized, with regular Russ Stoneback noting “Talk about people that wouldn’t mix. We’re a different group of people, but we put our differences aside [here].”

Reese’s story is another amazing example of press support for the tobacconist – especially cigar stores – in a time when tobacco use of all kinds is continuously pilloried. Perhaps cigar smokers are establishing a new place as an underdog in the current anti-smoking frenzy. As Reese concludes, “And so they sit and smoke and give advice, like which establishments to avoid – the ones caught up in the Clean Air Act, where a cigar smoker can’t feel free to light up.”

Steals and Deals:
Not so much a steal as a rarity from Thompson Cigar Company: Arturo Fuente cigars with bright green candela wrappers!

Four sizes are offered: Privada No. 1 (6 3/4 inches by 44 ring), Churchill (7 1/4 x 48), Curly Head (6 1/2 x 43) and Spanish Lonsdale (6 1/2 x 42) in boxes of 25 except for the Curly Heads, offered in 40s. The Spanish Lonsdales are fairly priced at $90 and you’ll make your friends green with envy as you’re smoking something they’re not.

This wrapper makes the blend lighter than you’re used to and as the Thompson catalog notes “in this world of light beers, light white wines and low-fat cuisine, here you have the perfect compliment.” Right after finishing off that salad bar lunch . . .
~ Rich Perelman

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