Cigars, Cigars & More Cigars

Cigars are believed to have been founded in and around the Latin American cultures around 950AD. There were pockets of cigar smokers around Latin America, but when the Aztec population grew at the beginning of the 14th Century, then tobacco usage grew. In and around this time, experimentation with other substances grew, and dried fruit, other vegetation and even chocolate was smoked with tobacco to give different flavours.

After Christopher Columbus discovered the Caribbean in 1492, he observed that the natives smoked tobacco in cigars. After persuading one of the locals to show how it is done, and also return to Spain with them, he exchanged goods for tobacco, to take back to Spain.

It was there in Spain the art of pipe making and cigar rolling was perfected, with machines invented and other recipes written to help roll & perfect cigars, and begin mass production of cigars. Soon, Spain had a tradeable product on their hands, so they began trading tobacco throughout Europe and the far east.

Even with this popularity, many of the cigars were made in and around the caribbean, with certain places getting a reputation for producing fine cigars. Cuba was one such country, and it led the way with it's fine crisp cigars.

However, politics were to rear it's ugly head, and in 1962, at the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union came to an agreement with Cuba to set up multiple nuclear bases within the country, in lieu to attack the United States. As a result, the US President at the time, John F. Kennedy, declared a trade embargo with Cuba. No Cuban goods were allowed to be sold legally to US Citizens, nor were products from Cuba allowed to be on United States soil. This had a crippling effect on the Cuban Cigar industry, as their biggest market disappeared overnight. However, they have since obtained an aura about them, boosting their popularity amongst American Ex-Pat smokers.

Today, Cigar smoking is seen as a more upper class, fashionable alternative to cigarette smoking, and hasn't seen the drop in fortunes that cigarette smoking has. It'd be interesting to see how tobacco products fare in this century, due to the higher taxes levied on cigars and restrictions on where you can smoke.

For a full history on cigars, check out the Cigar History page on Cigar Choice Guide.

Cuba, with all it's mystique, is the most famous producer of cigars in the world. The market has been incredibly strong for a while, and is Cuba's biggest export.

Despite the trade embargo slapped on Cuba by the United States, Cuba's cigar trade flourished, largely due to the quality & the variety of the cigars. Cuban cigars are usually made in Pinar del Rio and Sancti Spiritus regions of Cuba, as the area has some of the most unique mesoclimates & soil composition, which really helps grow the tobacco. Whilst individual cigar brands exist such as "Montecristo", "Romeo y Juliet" & "Bolivar". Some of them are worldwide, some are local brands. The "worldwide" brands use similar ingredients as the local brands, however they are produced outside of Cuba (usually Dominican Republic), so that they can be exported to the United States.

A box of Cuban cigars (25) varies from £30 to £250.

For further information on Cuban Cigars check out the Cuban Cigar Guide page on Cigar Choice guide, or you can Buy Cuban Cigars from UKTobacco.

Cigars from the Dominican Republic are - by some informed people - the best in the world. The reasons for this can be attributed to one country - the United States.

Despite the US's problems with Cuba, it is extremely friendly with it's neighbour - the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic citizens can settle freely in the US with relaxed immigration controls, and that visitors from the United States are able to settle on the island, particularly for retirement.

They have also provided farmers & tobacco growers with machinery & tools to help cultivate their crop. These tools help provide the farmers with the ability to cultivate better tobacco, and more time is handed over to the craftmanship of the cigars.

The central islands of the Cibao Valley and Santiago has the ideal environment for growing and cultivating tobacco.

Whilst not quite as recognisable as Cuban Cigars, some popular Dominican Cigars include Macanudo, Don Tomas & Tubos.

Read more about the Dominican Cigar Guide on Cigar Choice Guide, or you can Buy Dominican Cigars from UKTobacco.

The one place that benefited from the Cuban revolution was Honduras. In the late 1960's, early 1970's, the Cuban tobacconists, exasperated by the state of their nation, upped sticks and left. Many - if not all of the experts, chose Honduras as their newest home. With them, they gave birth to the cigar making industry, certainly for the first time in the modern era.

Cuban tobacconists were drawn to the area by it's incredible soil, rich in nutrients and the climate makes it ideal to grow tobacco.

As such, the cigars in Hondusras, such as Cao Black, Don Ramos & La Invicta, are well known for their strong smell and pleasant aroma.

For further information check out the Hondruas Cigar Guide, or you can buy honduran cigars here

Mexico is not known for it's cigars, but in actual fact the Mexican Cigar industry is fairly popular in and around the Latin American region. It's unique geography allows production of a different style of cigar - a mild, aromatic cigar compared to similar cigars in the region. This is due to the majority of Mexican tobacco being grown in the town of San Andres Tuxtla. It's proximity to the gulf of mexico, prevailing winds & closeness of the equator, the town enjoys mild hot climate, and a number of fairly large companies nearby employ a large proportion of the town.

Another reason why Mexican cigars are so popular is because they are cheap. Labour costs & mass production of a large section of the Mexican market keeps the costs down. Surprisingly, this doesn't effect the quality.

Read more about the Mexican cigar industry at the Mexican Cigar Guide on Cigar Choice Guide, or you can Buy Mexican Cigars from UKTobacco.

The Nicaraguan Cigar industry began it's life around the same time as it's counterpart in Honduras, when the Cuban revolution saw the rise in communism on the island, and the United States severed all diplomatic and official ties with the nation. As a result, the trade on the island was badly hit. The people who were worst hit were the cigar makers, a number of which felt they could reach more customers by moving to Nicaragua than remaining in Cuba. Thus, Nicaragua's cigar industry was born.

It was also boosted by government. Nicaragua had a rich tobacco producing history, but up until the mid 1960's there was no cigar production. However the Somoza dictatorship created a favourable conditions for the growth of the industry. Furthermore, climates in Nicaragua are excellent for growing Cuban tobacco. This, along with highly paid Cuban Cigar Makers, made the Nicaraguan Cigar Industry strong.

Read more about the Nicaraguan cigar industry at the Nicaraguan Cigar Guide on Cigar Choice Guide, or you can Buy Nicaraguan Cigars from UKTobacco.

Cigar Lighters are an essential item for cigar smokers, but lighting a cigar requires a good flame to get the stogie lit properly.

Many people don't get the most out of their cigars through improper lighting. Quality cigar lighters help distribute an even flame around the end of the cigar, lighting the cigar evenly without overheating and charring the tobacco.

Proper lighters for cigars include many different brands, including Sarome, Prometheus and Colibri. The lighters are made from a metal container with a flint and can be opened and refilled. Different cigar lighters are better in different situations, but generally, they work fine in any weather and will always keep the same, even flame; perfect for cigar lighting.

Using a cigar lighter lets a cigar be enjoyed in the way it was intended to be rather than tasting like burned tobacco.

Most cigar smokers know the importance of keeping a cigar in good condition, having an ideal location to store cigars and keep them at their best is of the utmost importance. A dry cigar typically ends up in the bin.

A Cigar Humidor is box with constant humidity used to store cigars, cigarettes or tobacco. These boxes are made from wood or acrylic glass and can store a few dozen cigars. A humidor doesn't only refer to a small, personal use box however; large walk in humidors can be found in many cigar shops - sometimes taking up an entire floor.

There are many different types of humidors; the personal humidor, made for cigar smokers who will keep a few cigars in their home for personal storage, kept fresh for special events. There are also table and cabinet humidors, which usually stay in one place as an item of furniture and can store several thousand cigars - and then there's the room humidor which is most commonly found in bars or cigar stores, where the whole room is used to store cigars.

Some cigar smokers also have small travel humidors, which can fit in your pocket on a night out and hold no more than 10 cigars.

This lens contains information about Tobacco products. Tobacco products are products for adults.
It is generally recognized that smoking constitutes a risk factor regarding the development of illnesses, and that it can be difficult to stop smoking.

The usage of this lens is reserved for visitors who are adults according to the legal provisions of their respective country.

Please check below our partner links:-

BiG GooRoo
Offers shopping ideas about home decor, fashion jewelry, books, ipod, bath&body products, and etc. Plus free classified service and free articles submission.

Coffee Choice Guide - All You Ever Wanted To Know About Coffee - An indepth look at Coffee Regions, Coffee Beans and Coffee Brands.