Cigar Libre

Image Courtesy of SXC.HU

It’s Cinco de Mayo and there’s no better time of the year to break out a sombrero and enjoy some of your favorite stogies. If you’re looking for an excellent Mexican cigar to celebrate with, then a Te Amo is the way to go. Cigar aficionados agree that the Te Amo is arguably the finest Mexican puro around. Cultivated in the San Andres Valley in Mexico where the soil and climate are almost identical to Cuba, these cigars are a most fitting tribute to Mexican heritage and pride, which is what Cinco de Mayo is all about.

And you can’t possibly celebrate Mexico’s independence without a delectable beverage to accompany your cigar. While Corona and Dos Equis Amber are great choices of beer, surprisingly, ultra premium boutique tequilas, such as Senor Rio, offer sweet flavors such as vanilla and caramel with hints of citrus and salt that can perfectly compliment a Te Amo. Other fine-aged tequilas worth sampling with your smoke include Herradura Selección Suprema Extra Añejo and Leticia Hermosillo Ravelero Extra Añejo, which both offer the same complexity of a malt Scotch. Some smokers even prefer a cigar with an ice-cold margarita. So depending on your preference, there are plenty of ways to enjoy an authentic Mexican cigar this Cinco de Mayo. Olé!

Sources: CigarAficionado.com, PuffingCigar.com, About.com

Cuban cigar maker Jose Castelar Cairo currently holds four Guinness World Records and is going for a fifth record for rolling the world’s longest handmade cigar. On Monday, April 25th, Castelar, also known as Cueto, began rolling his largest cigar to date, attempting to assemble a 70-meter (approximately 230 feet) cigar before noon on May 3rd. Stationed at the Morro-Cabaña Park in Havana, Castelar and his assistants are working around the clock to complete the task.

Jose Castelar, who began rolling cigars at the age of 5, set his first world record in 2000, rolling a cigar that measured 11.04 meters. He then went on to beat his own records in 2003, 2005 and 2008, most recently rolling a cigar that was 45.11 meters long. In 2009, Honduran Cigar Manufacturers Wallace & Margaritas Reyes, whose cigar measured a staggering 59.82 meters, broke Castelar’s record. Even with the competition, Castelar continues in his quest. “I’m going to continue until I do one that is the length of the Malecon” said Castelar, referring to Havana’s famous 10-kilometer (six-mile) seafront promenade.

If you’re ever in Cuba, you can see some of Jose Castelar Cairo’s prized cigars on display in La Triada, located at the entrance of the ancient fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña. It’s an accomplishment that Cuba holds dear and continues to promote as people from all over the world come to witness this exceptional cigar-roller and his masterpieces.

Sources: Solvision.com, WorldRecordsAcademy.com, WorldsLongestCigar.com

Did you know that just two tablespoons of seed can produce over 10 acres of cigar tobacco? How about that cigars got their name through adaptation of the Mayan word for tobacco − “siyar”? As our fascination with artisan crafted, hand-rolled tobacco continues, we’re always finding new and interesting facts about our beloved stogies. Here are a few fun facts we’ve found along the way. We’d also love to hear some that aren’t on this list.

• A thousand tobacco seeds can fit inside a thimble.
• A large sized cigar has much more tobacco content than a whole pack of cigarettes.
• An experienced roller can produce at least 120 cigars a day.
• Short-filled cigars have pieces of chopped tobacco inside. Long-filled cigars have whole leaves.
• Hand-finished means the cigar was likely machine-bunched before a human hand finished the process.
• Most of a cigar’s taste is determined by the quality of its wrapper leaves.
• Tobacco leaves can cost up to US $40 a pound (2.54 kg.)
• A cured tobacco leaf is brown because its chlorophyll has been replaced by carotene.
• Cigars that have darker wrappers tend to be sweet. On the other hand, those with light wrappers usually have a drier taste.
• If a cigar is completely prepared from tobacco produced in only one country, it is referred to as ‘puro’, which means ‘pure’ in Spanish.
• Paper cigar rings were created to protect 19th-century white-gloved swells from the tobacco residue on less than perfect cigars. They later became a labeling device.

Did you know when Christopher Columbus came to the New World in 1492 he found the natives smoking the leaves of an unfamiliar plant? The natives of South and Central America were essentially smoking an early version of the cigar. They also used the smoke as perfume. Little did Columbus know that when he set out to discover the great treasures of the West Indies, he ended up uncovering something far more valuable − tobacco.

Since Columbus, the cigar has played a major role throughout our history. Though their forces strongly opposed each other, Civil War Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee shared something in common – they both loved cigars.

Similarly, Presidents Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover and Calvin Coolidge reigned as some of most prominent cigar smokers to serve in the Oval Office.

At the request of his wife, Mark Twain gave up cigars, leading to a long bought of writers block. He then resumed smoking his normal 300 cigars a month and wrote a book in three months without bother or difficulty.

President John F. Kennedy also enjoyed a high end smoke. In 1962, Kennedy instructed Press Secretary Pierre Salinger to go out and find as many of his favorite H. Upmann Petit Coronas as he could before the president signed the Cuban trade embargo. Salinger found nearly 1,200 of the cigars for JFK.

Comedian Groucho Marx, Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro and Boston Celtics Coach Red Auerbach were also among the famous cigar smokers of the 20th century. The head basketball coach even coined the phrase “victory cigar,” a popular idiom still used today.

And we certainly can’t forget about British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who CigarAficionado Magazine claims is “arguably the world’s most famous cigar icon.”

Cigars have long been and will remain to be a significant part of our culture. And though advances in health and technology continue to promote the negative side effects of smoking, cigars have stood their ground, planting deep roots in our society.

Sources: CigarAficionado.com, Boston.com: Famous Cigar Smokers

We hope you enjoyed our quotes matching game and thanks for your submissions. Check the following to see how well you did and stay tuned for more fun cigar trivia to come.

1. Sigmund Freud, Psychoanalyst

2. Groucho Marx, Comedian/Actor

3. Moliere (Jean Baptiste Poquelin), French Playwright/Actor

4. Mark Twain, Author

5. Daisy Fuentes, Cuban/American Model

6. Jack Handy, Humorist

7. Charles Dickens, English Novelist

8. George Burns, Comedian/Actor

9. George Washington, 1st U.S. President

10. Frank Sinatra, Singer/Actor

11. King Edward VII of England

12. Thomas Marshall, 28th VP of the United States

13. Joan Collins, English Actress

14. Franz Liszt, Composer/Pianist

15. Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister

Sources: PuffingCigar.com, BrainyQuote.com, CigarGeeks.com

Think you know everything there is to know about cigars? Try your luck and match the correct saying to its author. We’ll reveal the correct answers in our next post. Good luck!

1. “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

2. “Given the choice between a woman and a cigar, I will always choose the cigar.”

3. “[Tobacco] is the passion of honest men and he who lives without tobacco is not worthy of living.”

4. “If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go.”

5. “I just smoked a Cohiba the other day. It was great. You have to appreciate everything that cigar is.”

6. “I have to laugh when I think of the first cigar, because it was probably just a bunch of rolled up tobacco leaves.”

7. “Ah, if only I had brought a cigar with me! This would have established my identity.”

8. “If I paid $10 for a cigar, first I’d make love to it, then I’d smoke it.”

9. “If you can’t send money, send tobacco.”

10. “Fresh air makes me throw up. I can’t handle it. I’d rather be around three Denobili cigars blowing in my face all night.”

11. “Gentlemen, you may smoke.”

12. “What this country needs is a good 5-cent cigar.”

13. “Only fine cigars are worth smoking and only men who smoke fine cigars are worth kissing.”

14. “A good Cuban cigar closes the door to the vulgarities of the world.”

15. “I drink a great deal. I sleep a little, and I smoke cigar after cigar. That is why I am in two-hundred-percent form.”

Authors:

Daisy Fuentes, Cuban/American Model

George Washington, 1st U.S. President

Thomas Marshall, 28th VP of the United States

Moliere (Jean Baptiste Poquelin), French Playwright/Actor

Franz Liszt, Composer/Pianist

Mark Twain, Author

Charles Dickens, English Novelist

Joan Collins, English Actress

Frank Sinatra, Singer/Actor

Groucho Marx, Comedian/Actor

Jack Handy, Humorist

Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister

Sigmund Freud, Psychoanalyst

George Burns, Comedian/Actor

King Edward VII of England

Sources: PuffingCigar.com, BrainyQuote.com, CigarGeeks.com

Interested in gaining immediate access to an endless number of cigar topics, blogs, articles, news, events and more? With Twitter, you can follow feeds, share information and find answers to your questions about cigars all in real time. So if you’re one of the few who’s holding out on Twitter, give it a try. It’s a great way to meet others who share in your passion for cigars. Check out some of the following “Cigar Tweeple.” We think you’ll find their feeds informative, helpful and full of flavor.

• @CigarLibre- Us of course! Bobby Thompson tweets for Cigar Libre.
• @CigarAficMag- Essential Reading.
• @DavidSavona- David Savona- Senior editor of Cigar Aficionado magazine.
• @gdmott- Gordon Mott- Executive editor of Cigar Aficionado and Cigar Insider.
• @CigarInspector- Hedonist. Wine and cigars aficionado.
• @jcruz- Co-Founder of The Stogie Review.
• @waltw- Co-Founder of StogieReview.com.
• @brianhewitt- StogieReview.com Cigar Reviewer.
• @cigarjack- Bald Cigar Smoker.
• @CigarAdvisor – Content editor for CigarAdvisor.com and chief marketing copywriter for Famous-Smoke.com.
• @CigarDaveShow- Host of the Cigar Dave Show and America’s Alpha Male.
• @CigarDeals- Tweets one cigar deal every day!
• @cigarweekly- Cigar Weekly.
• @CigarRights- Fighting For The Freedom To Enjoy Fine Cigars.
• @mountchuck- Cigar nut and co-founder of NiceTightAsh.com.

Three Matches – Cigar Aficionado

Even with thirty years of cigar experience under his belt, Cigar Aficionado Executive Editor Gordon Mott still remembers one of his first and more unique cigar smoking experiences. Early in his career, Gordon was offered a Cohiba while dining with friends in Mexico and the party’s host certainly had an unconventional way of lighting his cigar.

In the video, Mott demonstrates this “Three Match” cigar lighting method that he was taught so many years ago. He starts by lighting a long match under the foot of an un-cut, hand-rolled cigar while slowly rotating the stogie over the tip of the flame. Why an un-cut cigar you might ask? He explains that aromas, such as gasoline and sulfur, ignite when a flame is lit, so to keep these flavors from being absorbed into the cigar, he lights the foot of the cigar before cutting the head. Mott uses three matches, ensuring that the cigar is evenly and completely lit, blowing every-so-often on the burning embers. Finally, he blows one last time through the freshly clipped head of the cigar before taking a nice, deep draw.

While Mott claims that he rarely uses this lighting method for his daily cigar testing, he does recommend it for those who have time to sit back and enjoy their stogie. “[It’s certainly not a technique] for those who are in a hurry,” claims Mott.

Sources: CigarAficionado.com (via YouTube)

Looking for a unique place to house your stogies with just the right amount of vintage charm? If so, you might be interested in purchasing an antique humidor. Most antique humidors have unique embellishments such as tarnished brass hardware, skeleton key locks and chrome face plates that increase their value and appeal. Some are even hand painted or engraved truly making them a rare find. And while antique humidors are readily available online, they’re often expensive. In fact, you can usually get great deals on old humidors at thrift stores, antique malls and even estate sales.

It’s also relatively easy to find humidor manufacturers, such as Heirloom Humidors, who will restore an old humidor to its proper working condition. In order to refurbish these individual pieces, manufacturers start by removing all of the hinges and hardware. If the humidor needs refinishing, they then strip, clean, stain and lacquer the outside of the box. Most vintage humidors are lined with tin, copper or porcelain which must be replaced with a Spanish cedar lining on the top, bottom and all sides of the box. Finally, the humidor is fitted with an appropriate humidifier and hygrometer depending on the size.

An antique humidor is a great collector’s item and can serve as a nice accent piece in any home or office. And although they can be aesthetically pleasing, it’s most important to make sure that an older humidor is functioning properly in order to protect your precious cigar investments.

Heirloom Humidors: http://www.heirloomhumidors.com/vintage0.html

Are you looking for an excuse to get away this spring? Well, we’ve got the perfect destination for cigar lovers. The 2^nd Annual Nicaraguan Cigar Festival is going on April 5^th through 8^th. The festival highlights many of the country’s fascinating cities, cultural traditions and of course, first class tobacco. In addition to exploring Nicaragua’s national parks and lakes, festival goers will also get a chance to walk through the rich soils of local tobacco farms and visit the area’s premium cigar factories.

Spend your Spring Break at the Sensaciones de Mi Tierra! It’s not too late to get your Nicaraguan Cigar Festival “Sensations of My Country” Package that includes the following:

• The exclusive ANP Collector’s Edition Cigar Box 2011 that includes a mix of 22 cigars manufactured by all our members
• Premium cigars throughout your journey in Nicaragua
• Welcome cocktail at the VIP  Managua Airport lounge upon arrival
• Transportation to all hotels, cities & events
• National Park Volcán Masaya Tour
• Granada City tour and boat ride
• Farm & Factory tours
• All meals (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinners)
• Admission to all events
• 2 hotel nights in Estelí

Visit NicaraguanCigarFestival.com for more information.