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.

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“If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.”
Sir Winston Churchill

As he had promised, Mel Smith became the first performer at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival to openly defy Scotland’s draconian smoking ban yesterday.

The defiance was short-lived.

The comedian, who is playing Winston Churchill in the play Allegiance, ostentatiously lit and puffed on a cigar onstage while In full Winston Churchill costume at a photocall in Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms. He ignored calls from his producer not to light up and vented his fury at the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act of 2005, which came into force in March.

He suggested that the audience could be warned before the show: “A third of a Romeo y Julieta will be smoked during this performance. If you find that offensive, f*** off.”

That is the good news in the global war against the New Prohibition movement. I wish that I could simply stop there and allow you to bask in the warm glow of victory.

That is not how things ended, unfortunately.

More details from sources at BBC News, the Sunday Times, and other sources below the fold.

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Sir Winston Churchill just might end up getting back his trademark cigar after all.

Paul Gudgin, director of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, has spoken out against the onstage smoking ban in Scotland. One Scottish MP has warned that the country is in danger of becoming an international laughing-stock because of their “Calvinist and puritanical” views.

Check below the fold for more information on the over-zealous crusade against smoking in this corner of the United Kingdom that is being termed “so bloody stupid” by wiser, if not cooler, heads.

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British actor, comedian and director Mel Smith, set to portray Sir Winston Churchill at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, has raised two fingers firmly against Scotland’s ban of smoking onstage in dramatic performances.

As reported last month, Scotland’s draconian anti-smoking legislation makes it the only nation in the Western world where creativity and art must take a back-seat to political correctness and junk science. Sir Winston Churchill, so associated with cigar smoking that a size and shape of cigar was named after him, cannot be portrayed onstage in Scotland with a cigar in his hand.

Personally, I’d like to know which way Smith’s hand was facing at the time he made that gesture, and whether he was signalling victory or the Vicky.

I’m betting on the latter.

More from Anna Millar in Scotland after the jump.

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The fifth and final installment of this series brings us some cigars that you may not be familiar with.

If you have never tried today’s selections — or perhaps never even heard of them before — then you have been missing out on some true smoking pleasure. Both are quite worthy of being listed not only among the best USA-made cigars, but among the best cigars in the world.

In contrast to the heady prices of some of the earlier cigars in this series, the final two today are also rather modestly priced. Both brands would have to be considered “best buys” and true bargains.

For those coming late to this series, please 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.

Another thing that needs to be said in this look at some of the best cigars made in the United States currently is that it was not easy coming up with only ten. There are a lot of very fine cigars still being rolled in the U.S. of all strengths and bodies in some intriguing blends.

That was a pleasant surprise, since more and more brands are moving their manufacturing exclusively to Latin America. Old Powder Keg cigars, for example, from Connecticut Valley Tobacconist would have certainly been in this list…but they are now made in the Dominican Republic instead of in Connecticut.

In order to help me trim the list, I also arbitrarily eliminated a number of cigars that are made in the U.S.A., but in extremely limited numbers and/or do not have national distribution. I’m going to be highlighting some of these “micro-boutique” cigar lines in features over the next few weeks.

As I prepared the articles and ratings, I’ve had the pleasure of becoming reacquainted with some old favorites I haven’t sampled in a number of years, as well as finding some new favorites. None of the manufacturers listed here have paid or compensated me in any way in order to be included in this list — in fact, none of them even knew that their cigars were going to appear before they showed up in this Cigar Envy feature.

Now, on to today’s cigars. The reviews and ratings begin below the fold.

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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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