Cigar Jack has a brief guest review of a Cuban Bolivar Petit Corona that rates it a 9.5 and has some very positive things to say about it. The review is based on 1990 cigars.

There is also a more detailed review of this cigar over at My Cigar Blog , based on 2003 cigars, that says the brand “lives up to its hype” and is “highly recommended.”

So, if you are not a U.S. citizen and if prime Cuban cigars are legal for you to “consume,” you might want to take note of it.

There’s an interesting article up at the Cigar Aficionado website on one of the seminars at the Big Smoke Las Vegas event the weekend before last. I makes me wish I’d re-arranged my schedule and gone to this one.

Cigar Aficionado’s European editor, James Suckling, gave a seminar on Saturday morning entitled “Collecting Cuban Cigars.” James was joined by Thomas Bohrer, of Habanos Wine and Cigars in Hong Kong, and Frank Nisenboim, a cigar collector from Chicago, in a panel presentation.

The article has some highlights from things discussed, included guidelines for storing and properly aging classic cigars, background on cigar auctions at Christie’s, and — most important of all — how to know whether or not a cigar will benefit from aging. They also gave guidelines on which cigars are good investments for budding collectors, as well as talking about current prices. Prices of good investments, by the way, range from a low of around U.S. $100.00 per stick up to thousands of dollars for some of the most sought after brands.

Even if you don’t operate in the rarified financial atmosphere of these collectors, there are tips in the article that will benefit your regular cigar collection. I recommend it as a good read as well as a good source of information.

Mike at Fumo Santo points out some positive press about cigar smokers in the Hometown Annapolis out of Maryland. It’s nice to know that the image of cigar smokers isn’t being painted uniformly negative.

Here’s a sample of what they had to say:

“Others have been smoking cigars for decades, through the boom in the ’90s and the subsequent downturn in popularity. Whether or not cigars are currently on another upsurge is a matter of debate. What’s clear, though, is that there’s a loyal group of aficionados in this area who compare the attributes of a fine cigar to a fine wine.”

Check out the rest of the article at Fumo Santo, along with a link back to the full news feature. Thanks for keeping us posted, Mike.

Cigar Jack notes that a sampler pack of cigars he ordered from Tabacos de la Cordillera arrived today after delays caused by the hurricanes this fall. Good news for me since it means mine should be arriving any time now as well.

If you missed the article on Tabacos de la Cordillera and the unique line of cigars they are producing from heritage Cuban and Caribbean tobacoo seed stock, here’s a link to it.

There is a very interesting post up over at Our House Blog by David on the comparative health risks of smoking cigarettes versus smoking cigars.

It is a good post, with links to some information from the National Cancer Institute and also has some quotations from FDA spokespeople and the New England Journal of Medicine. Anyone who smokes cigars will want to read it.

The information in the article is an anti-smoking crusader’s worst nightmare.

Why?

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Summary:

The new Cusano 18 Paired Maduro Churchill is medium to medium-full bodied with a quiet power like you’ll find in some Cuban cigars. Creamy and refined, it is an extremely flavorful and balanced smoke. This cigar is very new, but has already won a place in my humidor. While quite good now, I believe that it has the potential to become great after a few months of humidor rest. Highly recommended, and a Best Buy at the price.

Background Information:

At 7 1/2 inches with a 50 ring gauge this cigar is slightly longer than a classic Churchill, slightly shorter than a classic Double Corona, and a little fatter than both. It is a full-flavored cigar with a double-cured Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper over a San Vicente Dominican Olor binder. The filler contains the same 18 year old Dominican Olor aged tobacco as the Cusano 18 Double Connecticut, blended with Dominican Piloto Cubano. In addition, the filler also contains Brazilian Mata Fina Maduro leaf. Manufactured by Tabacos Dominicanos S.A. and blended by master craftsman Hendrik Kelner, creator of Davidoff, AVO, Paul Garmirian and The Griffin’s cigars, at his Tabadom factory in the Dominican Republic for Cusano Cigars.

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