This cigar review of the Tres Hermanos Numero Tres is part of a series of reviews on the Top Ten Made in the USA cigars of 2006 For more information, and for more reviews of premium cigars from around the world, check the Cigar Review archive.

I like New Orleans.

I like the people. I like the food. I like the music.

I like the feel of the French Quarter, by day and by night. New Orleans, in fact, is one of my favorite cities on the face of the earth.

It broke my heart when Hurricane Katrina tore through the city.

I know that even though so much of the city was shattered, the hurricane didn’t touch the heart and soul of the Big Easy. Nothing could do that.

New Orleans will be back — in fact, much of it is back already. I haven’t had a chance to get there since the storm and check out some of my favorite places, but I will be doing that soon. And one of the places that I will be visiting produces some very good cigars.

Shawna Sharruf is president of the last cigar factory in New Orleans. It is called, simply, The Cigar Factory New Orleans.

The business is fairly new. They only started in 1998, toward the end of the cigar boom. The fact that they are still in business testifies to the quality of cigars they make.

They have a location on Bourbon Street that is open until midnight, and a main store on Decatur Street where you can sit at a table, enjoy a cigar, and watch cigar rollers making cigars up until 10:00 at night.

You can also check out their walk-in humidor and marvel that cigar storage in New Orleans oten requires a de-humidifier to keep things at the proper relative humidity because the humidity outside is above 90%.

They produce three different lines of cigars. The Plantation Reserve is a smooth mild blend with a Connecticut Shade wrapper. The Vieux Carre is medium-bodied and wrapped in delicate and toothy African Cameroon. The Tres Hermanos is a medium-to-full bodied and full-flavored blend with a Mexican Maduro wrapper. All of them are good cigars. All of them are worth a try, which is easy to do if you visit their shop or if you order by mail since they offer sampler packs.

Regular readers will know that I am a big fan of Cameroons, and I also find the Plantation Reserve a very good morning smoke. In looking at a “top ten” list though, I have to say that I personally think that the Tres Hermanos blend is the best cigar to carry a “Made in New Orleans” label.

The Tres Hermanos Numero Tres is a 5 1/4 inch by 46 ring Robusto with very good construction. This is not a cigar that will make you think of a certain island south of miami like yesterday’s entries in this review of cigars made in the United States. It will, however, probably make you want to order more and keep them on hand for regular smoking.

The aroma is spicy. The draw is good. As you smoke it, you will get a peppery flavor, strong cedar tones and some spicy notes of cinnamon or nutmeg. I like it.

Remember that these are freshly rolled cigars. They only get about two weeks “aging” before being sent out. They really benefit from humidor storage for several weeks to several months before smoking. If you can hold them for a year before smoking them you will appreciate just how good they really are. The flavor profile I mention above refers to cigars that have spent some time resting in a humidor.

Some people really like the taste of a new, freshly-rolled cigar. Some do not. Which camp you fall into is something only you can decide for yourself.

Where can you get the Tres Hermanos Numero Tres?

You will not find these cigars at the major online cigar retailers. I don’t think that I have ever seen a lot of Cigar Factory New Orleans cigars come up at one of the online cigar auction sites. Your local tobacco shop is not likely to have them on hand.

Then again, you aren’t going to be able to get a Beignet and a Café au Lait with Chicory at your local Krispy Kreme or Dunkin’ Donuts either.

You can sample these cigars by going to New Orleans in person — have I mentioned that New Orleans is a great city to visit? — or by going to the website of the Cigar Factory New Orleans and ordering them direct. You will enjoy the cigars either way.

The prices may seem high for a cigar that doesn’t have a “name” and a slew of glowing reviews in national magazines. They really are not high when you consider that labor costs in the United States are much higher than they are for bigger companies producing their cigars in Central America and the Carribean.

Rent isn’t as cheap in the French Quarter either, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that this is a tourist trap. The Cigar Factory New Orleans is serious about cigars — and they produce some seriously good smokes.

The current price of a 10 pack of the Tres Hermanos Numero Tres is U.S. $46.00. A box of 25 is $100.00. You can also order one of their sampler packs and try out all three lines in various sizes. Here’s a link to the sampler page at their website.

Just for the record, I have no connection with the company (or any of the companies I review), and I’m not getting any affiliate money or kickbacks from any orders placed with them. Most of these companies do not advertise on the Cigar Envy site, none of them were notified in advance about the fact that they would be in this Top Ten list or had any input on what I have written about their cigars.

Try some New Orleans cigars and celebrate the city that once was and the city that will be again.

Let the good times roll…