Can you guess the Top 3 Cigar Cities in the US? We’ll give you a hint: two of the three are located in Florida. That’s right. Close to the cigar making Mecca of Cuba, both Miami and Tampa are two of the country’s most cigar friendly cities. The third city is less obvious but still comes as no shock. Las Vegas, Nevada ranks in the top 3 cigar cities with its “anything goes” mentality.

MIAMI, FL

For a city so deeply rooted in Cuban culture, Miami is the hub for cigar smoking. From prolific areas such as South Beach to a section of the city known as Little Havana, there’s an area of Miami for every kind of cigar smoker. In Little Havana on Calle Ocho (S.W. 8th Street), you’ll find great Cuban restaurants as well as cigar stores owned by Cuban immigrants who make and sell their own brands. Although the Cuban seed tobacco may now be grown in the Dominican Republic, their handmade cigars are probably the closest sticks to Cuban cigars available in the U.S. Luckily, Miami doesn’t have the same smoking bans as the rest of Florida. For now, smoking is still acceptable in most social establishments. When visiting, make sure to check out Mike’s Cigars or if you’re in South Beach, you can find a great smoke being sold just about anywhere on the sidewalk!

TAMPA, FL

Ybor City near downtown Tampa was once considered the Cigar Capital of the World back in the late 1800s. Today, Tampa remains famous for cigar retailers such as Edwards Pipe & Tobacco and Thompson Cigar and serves as a home base for radio and television cigar personalities like Cigar Dave. The old cigar factories have been transformed into restaurants, bars and other retail establishments but several spots still serve as cigar and smoking lounges. Like Miami, Tampa has also escaped the Florida smoking ban. If you’re visiting anytime soon, you’ll find plenty of indoor places to smoke such as Gonzalez y Martinez Cigar Factory & Store and all along 7th Avenue in Ybor City. There really is nothing like watching the sun set over the Gulf with a glass of whiskey and your favorite smoke.

LAS VEGAS, NV

In a city that capitalizes on gambling, it’s no surprise that indulgences like premium cigars are popular amongst visitors and locals alike. Cigar smoking is even allowed in most of the casinos along The Strip and those who are gambling are usually offered a free smoke. Las Vegas is also a popular destination for cigar conventions like Cigar Aficionado’s Big Smoke Weekend and the Retail Tobacco Dealer’s Annual Trade Show. Popular lounges like the Casa Fuente Cigar Bar in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace also make this city a cigar lover’s paradise.

Source: About.com

One of the top reasons for the trip was to continue discussion of the Cuba-U.S. Migration Accord, which ensures the safety and legality of immigration between the two countries. But, they also talked about other things, like Cuba’s recent arrest of U.S. contractor Alan Gross, who Havana officials accused of being a spy. The State Department has called for his “immediate release.”

The Daily News says Gross’s arrest, coupled with the U.S. including Cuba on a “list of states that allegedly sponsor terrorism…have replaced whatever goodwill” that was created by recent U.S. delegations to Cuba. 

It seems Cuba is also not happy that the U.S. met with political dissidents shortly after the immigration talks with the communist government. Click here to read the full story on that subject in The New York Times.

Even though the U.S. is still the largest seller of food to Cuba, the communist nation is now turning to counties like Vietnam for cheaper, albeit “lower-quality” food imports and who also offer longer payment terms, according to the AP.

Food and agriculture goods have been exempt from the Cuban embargo since 1960.

A report from the non-partisan U.S.-Cuba Economic Trade Council details the slide in imports from the U.S. to Cuba, revealing a 26 percent drop in imports from 2008 to 2009, from $710 million to $528 million respectively. The AP says imports to Cuba from Venezuela, China, and Spain are down as well.

Also of note: sales of Cuban cigars are also falling, off eight percent in 2009 says Habanos S.A.

“The U.S. market, the largest in the world with 230 to 250 million cigars smoked annually, is off limits to Habanos due to the U.S. trade embargo imposed against Cuba since 1962,” a Reuters article reminds us.

A recent Cigar Aficionado article from writer James Suckling says that the U.S. may already be the biggest market for (illegal) Cuban cigars. “It’s only going to get bigger when Cuban cigars are legally available in cigar shops across the country,” Suckling writes.

In the 60’s, after the successful Communist overthrow of the Cuban government, Fidel Castro began seizing privately-owned assets, including farms, land, and businesses. He also expropriated assets and trademarks belonging to the Cuban cigar and tobacco industry, and declared them state property. Through the years, those original Cuban cigar families sold their trademark rights to companies outside the U.S.

As part of the agreement to sell their trademarks, many of the Cuban cigar families stipulated that once the U.S. could resume selling Cuban versions of their brands, they will be due additional fair compensation.

The U.S. market may very well be the largest market for Cuban cigars once the embargo falls away. If that happens, U.S. trademark-holders must have fair access to Cuban tobacco leaf in order to compete in the world market, and accordingly, Cuba’s government will need to operate as a more free and open market economy for that to be a reality. Then, and only then, will the original Cuban cigar families finally receive justice, fifty years in the waiting.

Nagin said that during Hurricane Katrina, communication problems between federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. hampered evacuation and rescue efforts, but in Cuba, that isn’t a problem.

He also spent time with officials from the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, the Port of Havana, as well as other tourism authorities to learn about potential economic opportunities. Cuba was the Port of New Orleans top source of trade in the late ‘50s, according to The Associated Press.
“Nagin said the widening of the Panama Canal will bring in tremendous new trade opportunities. He’s also optimistic about new non-stop flights to Havana,”  the local Fox affiliate in New Orleans reported.

With the Obama Administration’s recent moves to loosen remittances, telecommunications, and travel restrictions, specifically, for those in the U.S. with relatives in Cuba, Nagin is hoping even more open relations are in the offing.

“I think there is a recognition that something better is going to happen between Cuba and the United States, ” Nagin told the AP. “The question is, how much?”