It used to be that the only claim to a Cuban Maduro cigar came from infamous online shops claiming to sell pre-embargo Cuban cigars. To me, the entire claim was ludicrous on the surface, if only because until now, there has never been a genuine Cuban “Maduro”, and if may say so, I never expected it.

So you can guess how surprised I was to see that, after all these years, during this past Habanos festival Cuba unveiled their Cohiba Maduro 5; yes, they are actually labeling these cigars “Maduro” right on the label and bands!

I’m still a little intrigued as to why they would do it now. After all, Cuban wrappers are so uniquely different on their own that I had just grown to accept the proverbial Maduro as uniquely a non-Cuban thing.

Nevertheless, Habanos S.A. is introducing the cigar as the “heir of the best tradition of Cuban dark wrapper cigars”. At first I said: A tradition of Maduro cigars? But they define their Maduro 5 wrappers as the upper leaves of the plant bearing a characteristic range of dark colors and textures brought on through their long, complex process of full natural fermentation, which, I suppose, is meant to say that they’ve not really done anything new, but just taken their fermentation process to the edge to come up with a very dark and rich wrapper, darker than they have until now. Reportedly, it takes five years of natural fermentation to produce the new wrapper, free of any chemical or temperature manipulation of any kind.

In case you haven’t guessed it just yet, these cigars are expensive, prohibitively so in most cases, costing up to $ 650.00 a box depending on the format: Genios, Magicos, or Secretos. Hmmm… I see a review forthcoming.

There’s no hiding the fact that I’ve been spending more time at work in recent months, but it is with great elation that I report the completion of a major project of grand importance in my company which has entitled me to a couple months vacation!

I already went away to Andalusia for a two week escapade where I came to a startling realization: the typical Andalusian cigar smoker doesn’t smoke premium cigars!

I wanted to do an “off the beaten path” trip through the southern provinces and had decided not to bring my humidor; my logic being that I’d be able to find properly humidified premium cigars at every corner. Boy was I wrong. I ended up touring the utterly stunning Andalusian landscape, and I mean stunning, while smoking dollar cigars that came wrapped in aluminum foil.

I did visit numerous tobacco shops along the way, but most didn’t have a proper humidor. Even the ones that had something resembling a humidor, used it for keeping their dollar cigars: cheap coronas made with tobacco from the Canary Islands blended with Sumatra or Brazilian leaf. Eventually it did begin to make sense to me. I mean, the Canary Islands produce tons of tobacco every year, and so, being practically neighboring provinces, people just have a natural tendency toward cigars made rather “locally”.

I was still surprised to find out that they didn’t carry the Canary Islands’ most well known brands like Condal or Peñamil. Not that they are great, but at least they are recognizable. What little they did have was usually machine made. I looked and looked, but finally gave up.

So, what did I end up smoking, you ask? Haha… meet the Don Julian No.1: A foil wrapped, precut, corona made with a blend of Canary Islands and Sumatra tobaccos.

The thing opens like pack of gum to reveal a slightly box pressed cigar that is precut in a v-shape. You can tell right away that it tastes largely of “blond” tobacco. It’s very mild, the ash doesn’t hold up worth a dime, the draw is too lose for my liking, but it did have a redeeming quality: the thing never goes out. I mean I could just as well smoke one while surfing in the Mediterranean and the persistent little stick will burn to the very nub every time.

I couldn’t help thinking of George Burns’ famous line about cheap cigars not going out during his act. Here’s one last interesting detail for such a cheapo, a folded foot!

Toward the end of the trip I did manage to get me some actual hand made Habanos from a shop in Sevilla, but that is a story for another day, believe me; besides this post is already overloaded with photos. Here’s a short clip of what’s it’s like to open one.

I want to take the time to answer a very frequent email question from all across the spectrum. The question generally is, “What online Cuban cigar shops have you used and can you recommend a few?” The short answer to that question is simply that I have very seldom purchased Cuban cigars online. The main reason for this is that I just walk to the town tobacconist, walk into the humidor and pick my Habanos one by one. If I want an entire box of a particular cigar, I just order it in advance from my local shop.

That said, I have on a couple of occasions bought Cuban cigars from a German shop called ZigarrenBugge, my usual non-Cuban cigar dealer. As you can imagine, quality non-Cuban cigars are very, very hard to find in the E.U.; so when i make an online purchase of some of my favorite Nicaraguans, Hondurans, or Dominicans, I may throw in a few Cuban cigars as well, if the price is right. I can definitely recommend them.

Another reputable online shop is CigarOne. These guys have been around for a while, sell genuine Habanos, and offer good deals on occasions. Take for instance their current advertised deals—I like their Punch-Punch box of 25 for $219; expensive? Well, Cuban cigars are expensive. Don’t expect to find cheap or even affordable Cubans anywhere on the net, if you find them, they are 100% fakes. The online counterfeit Cuban cigar operation is huge; and the fact is that no one in their right mind will sell a box of Cuban cigars at 1/2 price!

I expect that Cuban cigar prices will skyrocket yet, when the “beloved leader” of the Cuban people finally assumes room temperature. Take my word for it.

Once again from LightersDirect, here is a nifty little accessory designed for your favorite Zippo lighter. Ever since 9/11 the ever toughened travel safety restrictions some times meant arriving at your destination only to find out that your bag had been screened and your elegant lighter confiscated.

Well, I’ve been traveling more and more these days because of my job and was faced with the conundrum of either leaving my cigars behind or risk losing one of my favorite lighters. Just then I ran into the Zippo Cargo Case by OtterBox. It turns out that because it has been made to comply with the Department of Transportation safety standards, a passenger is now able to carry up to two lighters in these cases without danger of losing them to security screeners.

These nifty cases are made of very rugged polycarbonate and are not only supposed to be virtually indestructible, but also are waterproof till up to 100 feet; of course I’d hate to think of a scenario where that particular feature would be useful, since I’m mainly using it for travel by plane; but anyhow… you get the point.

As always, you can check it out at LightersDirect