Do you like Maduro cigars?

Do you like Corojo cigar wrappers?

Ever wished that you could have the best of both in one cigar?

If so, then you are going to love the latest news from Camacho Cigars. Thanks to an exceptional harvest of cuban-seed Corojo tobacco, all of their popular Camacho Corojo cigars will now be available in Corojo Maduro.

That’s right. Corojo Maduro.

The Eiroa family, owners of the Camacho brand as well as Baccarat and La Fontana, are also major growers of Honduran cigar tobacco. Their tobacco is grown in Honduras in the Jamastran Valley, near that country’s border with Nicaragua.

Corojo tobacco takes its name from the Santa Ines del Corojo Vega, a plantation near the town of San Luis y Martinez in Pinar del Rio in the heart of Cuba’s famed Vuelta Abajo tobacco-growing region. Diego Rodriguez began renting the farm from its owner in Spain in the 1920’s, and worked for years to select and develop a superior wrapper tobacco for Cuban cigars.

Between 1930 and the late 1990’s, all cigars from Cuba — regardless of brand or factory — used Rodriguez’s Vuelta Abajo grown Corojo tobacco leaves for their wrappers. The spicy quality and peppery smoothness gave the leaf that unique Cuban “punch” that connoisseurs came to associate with authentic Cuban cigars.

The only problem is that true Corojo tobacco is also delicate and hard to grow. It requires just the right soil, rainfall and weather conditions. It is extremely susceptible to blue mold and black shank disease.

Cuba stopped growing it for that reason.

[more…]

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.

[more…]

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.

[more…]

Richard at Blank Mind Blog has an interesting short review up of the Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Robusto. As usual, along with some excellent comments on the cigar itself, you’ll be treated to Richard’s trademarked observations on the world around him as he enjoys a smoke.

Along with the good, he points out a few flaws that he found with the cigar. Here’s a short taste of his writing:

The Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Robusto represents my standard robusto, 5″ in length with a 50 size ring gauge. It is box pressed, aged 4 years and has a Honduran Corojo seed natural wrapper. The wrapper is light medium brown with few veins, however, I can see where the wrapper leaf makes it final wrap. There is a light sheen of oil on the wrapper and it has a tobacco and cedar aroma.

[more…]

Richard over at Blank Mind Blog has an interesting short review up of the Camacho Corojo Toro. As usual, he mixes some very good insights into the cigar with some other interesting observations made while enjoying the smoke. Here’s a short excerpt:

“The Camacho Corojo Toro is a beautifully made cigar. The wrapper was medium brown in color with a silky smooth, almost oily, feel to it. It balanced very well in my hand as I walked.”

I’ve had a case of the flu for the past week that just won’t quit, so further reviews of new sticks from me will wait a little longer until I can breathe. In the meantime, meader over to Richard’s place for an enjoyable time and find the answers to some burning questions about a cigar that gets a mixed review in the end.

This is more of a tasting note and some quick comments (with price and source information), rather than a full review. Frankly, I do not feel comfortable doing reviews based on only a single cigar, and that’s all I have had of this one.

This came up in response to a question this weekend on the new Cigar Envy Deals and Discussion Yahoogroup. The group is up to over 375 members now in just four days of existence and ranks in the top ten of the 140 cigar-related groups there. Thanks again for the very enthusiastic response.

The factory pressed La Flor Dominicana (officially the LFD Prensado), for those who might not be familiar with it, was just introduced at the RTDA show in New Orleans a few months back. It is a new cigar in Litto Gomez’ Double Ligero series, and is offered in a very limited edition of only 400 boxes.

[more…]