Think that the only place in the United States where good cigar tobacco can be grown is Connecticut?

If so, you are mistaken.

Deep in the Bluegrass State, in an area more known for thoroughbred horses and fine bourbon, something unusual is happening. Some fine cigar wrapper tobacco is being grown because of the vision and efforts of Mark Barrow, a man who decided to try something no one else had tried.

“I think Kentucky’s heritage is tobacco, bourbon and fast horses, and I want to keep all three of them going,” said Barrow.

Mark Barrow is not just a visionary. He is a visionary who has succeeded.

The story continues after the jump.

[more…]

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.

[more…]

Today is Independence Day in the United States, and as part of a commemoration of that holiday I am doing a week-long series of the top ten “Made in the USA” cigars. The series continues today as we look at two cigars made outside of Florida.

One line is made in a city that in symbolizes in many way an America of times gone past. It has a unique culture produced by a unique coming-together of people from many countries and many different ethnic groups. It has produced a unique cigar.

The other is made in a city that has no past. Or at least, not a past that stretches back very far. Calling the culture of this second U.S. city “unique” really would not do justice to it.

But enough preamble. Today’s entries in these reviews of the best premium cigars made in the United States start 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.

[more…]

CAO, one of the world’s foremost premium cigar manufacturers, today announced the Grand Prize Winner of its recent “CAO Cx2 Challenge” Promotion.

Florida resident, Anthony “TJ” Waicul, was selected at random from the thousands of names who participated in CAO’s Cx2 Challenge. The on-line promotion asked participants to answer a list of multiple-choice questions pertaining to Cameroon tobacco and the CAO Cx2 Cigar line in order to receive a complimentary CAO Cx2 Cigar and CAO Cx2 Cap.

[more…]

General Cigar Company disclosed that it has filed suit against seven defendants. They are seeking injunctions and damages for the marketing and distribution of counterfeit COHIBA cigars, trademark infringement, cybersquatting and deceptive trade practices.

Norman Sharp, president of the Cigar Association of America, stated, “Counterfeit cigars erode the prestige, profitability and reputation of the handmade, premium cigar industry. While there is no reliable data available on the volume of counterfeit cigars being sold in the U.S., recent crackdowns have indicated that the problem is much larger than even industry insiders had estimated. In fact, even if such sales account for a small percentage of the estimated $800 million which consumers spent on premium cigars last year, it is an alarmingly profitable business for counterfeiters.”

The court hearing is planned for June 1 at a United States District Court in Las Vegas.