If you’re wondering what kind of romantic gesture to make this Valentine’s Day, we have some suggestions that are sure to please the cigar-loving man or woman in your life. Rich Perelman from Cigar Cyclopedia has compiled a great list of fine, premium cigars, most of which are reasonably priced, delivering a high quality smoke for any budget.

• A cigar named after Shakespeare’s famous lovers … Romeo y Julieta 1875 Deluxe No. 2
  What would a Valentine’s Day selection be without the brand named for Shakespeare’s famous lovers? Romeo y Julieta 1875 Deluxe No. 2. There are more than two dozen sizes of Romeos to choose from, but these 6-inch by 50-ring Dominican-made beauties are offered in elegant glass tubes that show off their perfect construction and gorgeous Ecuadorian-grown wrapper. The price is lovely, too: 10 cigars for just $57.50 plus local sales and tobacco taxes!
• A cigar for the “Head of the Family” … C.A.O. “The Sopranos” Sampler
  For those who appreciate their “head of the family,” try this four-cigar sampler of C.A.O.’s “The Sopranos” line, imported from Honduras. These are rich and powerful cigars offered in four shapes, known the Associate, Boss, Soldier and, of course, the Tony Soprano Signature model. About $58.00 plus local sales and tobacco taxes at better cigar shops nationwide.
• The man’s equivalent of a Valentine diamond … Diamond Crown Maximus No. 5
  For those who think diamonds are a girl’s best friend, this is the male counterpart. Made at the famous Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic, these are full-bodied but never harsh cigars of five inches and 50 ring gauge. They come in elegant, saddle-shaped chests of 20 for $179.99 plus local taxes, but give this only on the condition you get the box after he’s done with the cigars!
• A great cigar in a beautiful package… Gurkha Black Dragon Churchill
  The original edition of this line came in a camel’s bone chest and cost $115,000! These are 7-inch by 56-ring cigars made in Honduras, exquisitely constructed and full of flavor, but are more accessible at $254.00 per box of 20. Oh, yes, and be sure you get to keep the jet-black, lacquered box complete with piano hinges for your nightstand.
• A Valentine’s treasure … La Aurora Preferidos Treasure Sampler
  One of our favorite samplers, this is a true treasure from the Dominican Republic in which five different blends of the 5-inch by 54-ring La Aurora Preferidos perfecto (a cigar which comes to a point at both ends) are offered in five different colors of aluminum tubes: Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, Silver and Platinum in a handsome, brooch-closure case. It retails for $67.99 plus local taxes.

Sources: About.com (Cigars), cigarcyclopedia.com

Swedish Match, one of the world’s largest cigar companies, announces that its Executive Vice President Lennart Freeman will be retiring after 30 years with the company this March. Freeman is currently President of the Lights Operating Units, and prior to that served as President of Swedish Match International (SMI).

If you’re not familiar with Mr. Freeman, then perhaps you’ve heard of some of his accomplishments throughout the tobacco industry. As the newly named VP for Swedish Match AB in 2005, Freeman oversaw the company’s global cigar business, which included General Cigar, the maker of some of the world’s biggest premium cigar brands, including Macanudo, La Gloria Cubana, Punch, Partagas and many others. In September 2009, Freeman successfully completed a major restructuring of that operating unit, resulting in the sale of the South African business to Philip Morris International. He was also a part of the team to successfully execute the merger of the cigar and pipe tobacco businesses with Scandinavian Tobacco Group in October, 2010, creating one of the largest cigar companies in the world.

Mr. Freeman, from all of the cigar lovers out there, we salute you – for the large global impact you’ve made on the world of premier tobacco products. Now, we hope you can sit back, relax and enjoy a nice cigar. You’ve earned it!

Sources: Swedish Match.com, cigaraficionado.com

Alejandro Robaina

Called the Godfather of the cigar, Cuban legend Alejandro Robaina, aged 91, passed away Saturday, April 17, 2010. Family, and hundreds of friends came to pay final respects and say good-byes to the man who dedicated his life to pursuing a passion for growing fine tobacco and enjoying some of the finest cigars made.

Robaina was the only Cuban to have a cigar named after him – the Vegas Robaina – and is said to have started learning about growing and harvesting tobacco when he was just ten years old. Then, Robaina’s family were Spanish immigrants; settling in San Luis, Cuba in 1845 and cultivating tobacco. The hard work paid off; Don Alejandro Robaina’s tobacco farm is said to have yielded 80% high enough quality for the leaves to be used as Cuban cigar wrappers. To give you an idea of his stellar growing successes, other plantations around the general area generally yield 35%. Robaina is purported to have been a cigar smoker for 81 years.

Robaina’s children and grandchildren have been groomed to take over the business for years; says grandson, aged 34, “”You are always learning more about tobacco every day, even he [Alejandro Robaina] was. Grandfather never stopped learning”. The secret to Robaina’s success? He claims it isn’t in the quality of the tobacco seed or even the climate – but the soil. Robaina is quoted saying “The land is everything.”

Robaina’s casket was buried along with a half-smoked cigar, bearing his namesake, and a one yellow tobacco flowe

r. As you burn your stogie today, take time to remember a legend who poured his life, passion, and countless hours of effort0 growing tobacco into an art form.

To learn more about Vegas Robaina, please visit : Habanos SA. Thank you to CigarAficionado for the picture.

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.