The fourth installment in this series on the best cigars made in the USA showcases two more cigars made in Florida.

One is a cigar that has been around for a long time and is a trusted name.

The other cigar is a newcomer, but has built a solid reputation in a surprisingly short time.

Both of these cigars have very loyal followings — for very good reasons.

Again, take note of the fine print: The order in which cigars are presented in this series does not indicate relative quality or rating. It is not a top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top list. All cigars in this list are quite good, all are quite different, and each one is a #1 cigar in its own way.

The cigar reviews and ratings begin below the fold.

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The third installment in this series on the best cigars made in the USA brings us back to Florida. It also showcases two very different cigar lines.

One is very close to Cuba and has recently been called one of the best cigars made in the United States.

The second is closer to Cuba than the first, and it too has a claim on the title of best U.S.-made cigar.

If that makes sense to you, then you will have a good idea of where we are headed. If it doesn’t, just sit back and relax. It will all be explained in the cigar reviews below the fold.

The order in which cigars are presented in this series does not indicate relative quality or rating. It is not a top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top list. All cigars in this list are quite good, all are quite different, and each one is a #1 cigar in its own way.

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Let’s be honest. When most people think of premium cigars, they do not think of “made in the USA.”

Everyone knows that the best cigars in the world come from Cuba.

…or from the Dominican Republic.

…or from Nicaragua, or from Honduras, or from the Bahamas, or…

Well, you get the idea. Best is always a matter of taste and opinion, and it varies from person to person even though we can usually agree on some general guidelines. What is best for one person may be last on the list for another. The best cigars in the world, however, are usually not thought of as being made in the United States.

In fact, a lot of people assume that the only cigars made in the USA are ones that you buy at gas stations and convenience stores.

If that is what you believe, then prepare to be enlightened. You might have been missing out on some world-class smokes.

Tomorrow, we celebrate Independence Day in the United States. I couldn’t think of a better time to highlight some of these special cigars made in America cigars than during this U.S. holiday season. So, I have come up with a list of ten top cigars that are home-made even if they are not completely home-grown and will focus on two each day over the next week.

Some of the cigars chosen for the top ten list will be familiar to you. Some of them you may not know about. All of them are worthy of your consideration for a place in your humidor.

The order in which they are presented is not a top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top list. These cigars are all quite good, all quite different, and each one is a #1 cigar in its own way.

Also, since this site is international in scope, with readers on every continent except Antarctica, some of you may find these American gems hard to get. Now you know how we in the States feel when we hear you wax eloquent about Cuban cigars.

And on that somewhat ironic note, let me share some U.S. treasures with you.

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CAO has announced a new cigar line called Vision that will launch at next month’s Retail Tobacco Dealers of America annual convention and show in Las Vegas. The CAO Vision is the first Dominican-made CAO cigar.

The Vision will be available in three sizes: a 5×50 Robusto, a 6×50 Toro, and a 6.25×52 Torpedo. The cigars sport a Dominican Corojo wrapper, and a Dominican Piloto Cubano (cuban seed) Binder. The filler is a blend of Dominican, Nicaraguan and Brazilian tobacco. I’ll be posting a review of the cigar as soon as they are available for sampling.

Along with this being CAO’s first Dominican release, it is also being packged in an innovative way. What could be special about the way a cigar is packaged? CAO has another surprise for us.

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Matt at Matt’s Cigar Journal has a review up of the Camacho Select Torpedo. One thing that he mentioned got my attention right away.

“A fantastic, flavorful Cameroon that is as good or better than any other Cameroon I have smoked.”

Check out the rest of his review at his blog.

I am very fond of Cameroons, so this is a cigar that I plan to pick up and sample in the near future. Matt had a chance to sample some of the pre-production versions of this particular cigar and says that the production version has been kicked up a notch.

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From Rich Perelman at Cigar Cyclopedia:

Who can doubt that fact is stranger than fiction?

A tale that would be rejected as too fanciful in Hollywood actually took place, beginning in East Brunswick, New Jersey and Tampa, Florida in 1999.

Paul Magier, for just three years the owner of a tiny cigar company called Puros de Armando Ramos, closed a deal to buy 46,000 pounds of tobacco for $2.5 million, an incredible $54.35 per pound.

Expensive?  Yes.  Did he overpay because of lack of experience?  No.

This tobacco was special.

It was Cuban.

And it was legal.

Really.

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