Whoever heard of cigars from the Canary Islands?

Well, actually, a lot of people. Many of us have just forgotten.

The Canary Islands, a province of Spain, are located off the northwestern coast of Africa. They are a popular vacation destination for Europeans and Americans, with clear waters, beautiful beaches (some with black or gold sand), and lush, tropical vegetation. The seven major islands are formed from the cones of ancient volcanoes rising from the ocean floor.

Some of those volcanoes are still active. One of them, in fact, may one day trigger a killer tsunami that will wipe out the east coast of the U.S. along with coastal areas in Europe and Africa. But that’s another story…

Cigars have been made in the islands since the 1700’s, and the Canaries were also the first haven for the exiled Menendez and Garcia families (and many others) after the Cuban Revolution forced them to seek a new home. In fact, throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s after the embargo took effect, if you were looking for a fine imported smoke, you probably looked to a cigar that had been rolled in the Canary Islands. Montecruz, Don Diego and Flamenco were U.S. market leaders at that time. The Canary Islands shipped over 21 million premium cigars to the United States in 1977 alone, a total that was more than that of any other country.

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From Toraño Cigars:

“Toraño Cigars enjoyed the spotlight at two prestigious events recently, enhancing their visibility and reputation on the international scene. The fourth-generation family-owned premium cigar producer is the only company to own factories in all three major cigar-producing countries: Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.

“The Toraño family took top honors at the 2005 annual “Cigar Awards” evening, sponsored by Europe’s most widely-read cigar publication, European Cigar Cult Journal. Coinciding with RTDA 2005, the awards presentation was held on August 7, at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel. The Austrian publication’s Editor-in-Chief, Reinhold Widmeyer, presented the award for “Best Honduran Brand” to Vice President Charlie Toraño.

The award was based on results of extensive tasting by a panel of experts, and reflected the Toraño’s overall superiority as a Honduran cigar maker. It was determined largely on the quality and performance of the Toraño Exodus 1959 and Exodus 1959 Silver Edition, two cigars that have earned top ratings in other cigar publications. Vice President Charlie Toraño, in accepting the trophy, expressed “gratitude and pride at being chosen to represent Honduras and its great tradition of cigar making.”

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CigarAuctioneer.com is holding an online auction starting tomorrow that will feature an extremely rare ten year old box of Partagas 150 Signature Series Don Ramon cigars. The cigars, made in the Dominican Republic, debuted in 1995 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the famed premium Cuban cigar brand. CigarAuctioneer is a division of Famous Smoke Shop.

This particular box of Don Ramons was was presented by cigarmaker General Cigar Corporation to Famous Smoke Shop president, Arthur Zaretsky, in honor of his mother, Rose Zaretsky, who died in May of this year at the age of 95. Mrs. Zaretsky, who along with her late husband David, opened the original Famous Smoke Shop cigar store in 1939 in New York City, was affectionately referred to by customers as “Rosie”.

“She was a very compassionate woman,” said Mr. Zaretsky. “General Cigar and I couldn’t think of a better tribute to my mother’s memory than by donating this very rare box of cigars to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.”

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