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Set Fire to Tradition
Many of today’s cigars pay homage to the past with traditional methods and classic flavors; Try some of these and know what it is to enjoy hundreds of years of fine craftsmanship…

England’s Queen Victoria did not like cigars. In fact, she didn’t like smoking in general. But that didn’t stop her good friend John Brown or her son the Prince of Wales from lighting up. The Prince, a leader of fashion in his time, loved cigars — and he wasn’t alone. By the late 19th century, cigars were so popular that trains featured special smoking cars, hotels and clubs built smoking rooms and restaurants created places for the absolutely necessary after-dinner cigar and brandy.

 

Though Europeans had been smoking tobacco since Christopher Columbus’ trip in 1492, the cigar as we know it most likely came to North America in 1762. That year, Israel Putnam (who later served as an American general in the War of Independence) returned from a trip to Cuba with cigars and a large amount of Cuban tobacco seed. He planted the seed on his farm in the Connecticut area, and a new American tradition was born. It wasn’t long before cigar factories were springing up all over the place and the world, so to speak, went up in smoke.

 

Today, there is an almost infinite number of cigar brands available. The offerings here were chosen because of their excellence and adherence to time-honored methods of cigar-making. In various forms, each utilizes materials and expertise from Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Connecticut, among others. Include one of the following brands in your humidor, and join hundreds of years of history. Who knows? There’s a chance you’ll be enjoying the product of some of Israel Putnam’s original plantings.

 

 

Pioneer Valley
In the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, CVE Cigars have been able to draw on the experience of generations of tobacco growers to create their Pioneer Valley Especiales. Authentic Connecticut Valley Shade and Broadleaf tobaccos not only make these classic and maduro cigars beautifully medium-bodied and but take the smoker on an evocative journey back to the golden age of domestic cigar production. The cigars themselves are handcrafted in the Dominican Republic at Tabacelera el Torcedor. Master Blender Luis Cuevas takes care of the handiwork, using his expertise to ensure the Especiales are among the finest cigars available. Cuevas is a third-generation cigar-maker (both Cuevas’ father and grandfather manufactured cigars in Cuba) and he also grows piloto-Cubano tobacco in the Dominican Republic’s Cibao Valley. His top-quality tobacco is aged for three years and then used as filler in Pioneer Valley Especiales. This rich Dominican filler is then combined with premium hand-selected Connecticut Valley Broadleaf tobacco binder and wrapped with Connecticut Valley Shade tobacco to produce, the Pioneer Valley Especiales Classic, a cigar Cuevas describes as “very tasty and well-balanced.” No wonder, considering the master cigar-maker describes the Connecticut River Valley location used to grow the wrapper as “the best place in the world” to grow cigar wrapper. The PVE classic is a traditional cigar wrapped in hand-selected Connecticut Valley Shade and available in Churchill, Corona, Robusto, and Torpedo sizes. The PVE maduro is an authentic dark cigar, wrapped with Connecticut Valley Broadleaf, with a mild Connecticut Valley Shade tobacco binder available in Churchill, Robusto, Torpedo, and Toro sizes. Simply an excellent brand www.pvecigar.com

 

Arganese
Men often dream of dropping everything and following their passions, but few actually take such a bold step. Enter Gene Arganese, a real estate developer who sold most of his properties and committed himself heart and soul to creating high-quality cigars. And it’s a good thing for cigar lovers that he did; Arganese Cigars are fantastic. Manufactured by Arganese Dominicana, S.A., in Santiago, Dominican Republic, these premium cigars are made of only the finest long filler tobacco, which is grown in the fertile soil of the mountainous Villa Gonzalez region. Growing, curing, fermenting and aging are overseen by Gustavo Pena, a third-generation tobacco producer born and raised in Cuba near his grandfather’s tobacco farms. He brings his family expertise and Cuban growing methods to Arganese Dominicana. Leaves are harvested at optimum times, hand-sewn together in pairs, draped on bamboo poles and hung to cure in Cuban fashion for 35 to 40 days. When it’s ready to go, the tobacco is baled and sent to Simon Bolivar Baez, the company’s Master Blender.. He then oversees the blending and rolling of some 14,000 cigars per day. Finished cigars are grouped, wrapped in paper, packaged, labelled with team name, supervisor name, date and blend, and then aged for six months. Eventually, they make their way to you, and to a beautiful, rich smoking experience.
More information is available at www.arganesecigars.com

 

 

Eden’s Gate
Carlos Fleitas and Julio Rodriguez took different roads to Canada and to Canadian citizenship, but after meeting there the two Cuban men took the same path to Miami. There, starting out as printers making labels, tubes, bands and box art for private label cigars, the two eventually decide to start their own cigar company. One of the first people they turn to is Emilio Reyes. Reyes’ Domincan Republic-based family has a history with tobacco, supplying the finest brands with their Dominican leaf for more than 168 years. After some time, Carlos and Julio reach an agreement with Reyes to produce cigars, and the Adan y Eva brand is born. It premiers in Europe in 2000, but confronts the bitter reality of European customs duties. Though Adan y Eva won awards and accolades Carlos and Julio decided to head stateside with the marque. After disappointing runs with two U.S. importer/distributors, the pair assembled a company built with a complexly related group of family and friends. By 2006 Eden’s Gate Cigars is showing Adan y Eva at the NATO show and things are (pun intended) rolling. Though a small company, Adan y Eva cigars are fantastic. Reasonably priced for their quality, the brand uses the same top-shelf leaf as Reyes’ Flor de Reyes cigars, a beautiful blend. Unobtrusive, smooth and with no biting aftertaste, Adan y Eva offer a top-quality cigar everyone can enjoy. Today, that includes the U.S. military. Emilio committed to giving the troops 60,000 of his Patriot cigars this year. Great cigars, great people, great company. Find out more for yourself at www.edensgatecigars.com

 

 

 

La Aurora
It’s one thing to put your cigars in a box and sell them, it’s quite another to refer to your box of cigars as a “Treasure Box.” But that’s just what La Aurora Cigar Factory has done with its latest offering — and after one smoke, you’ll understand why. The longstanding company’s Aurora Preferidos are indeed treasure, from the impressive packaging to the exquisite cigars inside. The company’s cigars are made in the Dominican Repulic’s oldest cigar factory, and the brand itself dates back to 1903. No wonder, then, that the new Preferidos are unique perfecto cigars dating from the year of origin, first produced by the famous master cigar-maker Don Eduardo Leon Jimenes. These meticulously crafted cigars (no more than 100 of them can be produced in a day) undergo a four-year process on their journey from curing to the first day of naturing. Following that, there’s another year of aging in oak rum barrels before master craftsmen begin manufacturing. The finished product is aged for an additional six to eight months before packaging. This results in a beautiful, medium-bodied flavor and consummate aroma. The Treasure Box includes five different varieties of Aurora Preferidos, each with a unique flavor and characteristics. From rich and spicy to smooth with hints of cedar and cream, the Treasure Box offers the connoisseur a full experience of this exceptional brand’s best offerings.

 

Ask for the Treasure Box or for other La Aurora cigars at fine tobacconists everywhere.