“Cigars” on The Daily Caller

Government regulators and their enablers in Congress, always on the prowl to target industries for ever-more oppressive regulations and higher taxes, are now focusing on the venerable “good cigar” eloquently extolled by Rudyard Kipling and many other connoisseurs of a “good smoke.” (more)

Cigar smokers are mad as hell, and they aren’t going to take it anymore. Faced with an unprecedented assault on their guilty pleasure from President Barack Obama’s Food and Drug Administration, aficionados and industry insiders told The Daily Caller that they’re picking up their torch lighters and revolting. (more)

New regulations pushed by the Food and Drug Administration could pose a new threat to cigar manufacturers and retailers. And some of them are banding together to push back. (more)

Lobbyists for major banks, insurers, pharmaceutical firms, energy companies and at least one foreign government have been helping organize lavish gatherings of staffers and members of Congress since early 2009, funneling K Street money through an officially chartered staff organization called the Congressional Cigar Association. (more)

Alejandro Robaina, Cuba’s most revered tobacco grower, whose leaves wrap the country’s finest Habano cigars, died Saturday at his home near San Luis. He was 91. (more)

Utah cigar smokers are facing a crippling tax on cigars that will go into effect this summer, and at least one Utah cigar shop will close its doors as a direct result of the tax. (more)

With its pigtail head, natural Habano tip, and dark, ultra-shiny oscuro wrapper, the Mysterio by La Flor Dominicana is as much a work of art as it is a cigar. But don’t dismiss this seven inch by 54 ring gauge perfecto as a gimmick–because it’s also a joy to smoke. (more)

James Madison. Andrew Jackson. Ulysses S. Grant. Barack Obama? (more)

When it comes to cigars bearing the famous Romeo y Julieta label, Americans are more familiar with the Dominican-made brand that’s produced by Altadis USA and widely available in cigar shops across the U.S. The authentic Cuban version is harder to come by because of the longstanding Cuban embargo. (more)

Made by Cuban Crafters, a Miami-based boutique manufacturer, the Cubano Claro is a unique cigar. Its reddish-yellow Connecticut wrapper is made from desflorado tobacco—a leaf that’s especially difficult to grow because it requires its buds to be plucked before they flower to give the tobacco a rich, smooth taste. (more)

Handmade in Estelí, Nicaragua, the La Fuerza (loosely translated as “the force”) is a large robusto (5.5 x 54) made by Don Pepin Garcia, who less that a decade ago was a master roller of Cuban cigars and a driving force behind the famous Cuban Cohiba brand. Now, one of his many projects includes making the 601 “Green” for EO Brands. (more)

Davidoff is best known for its elegant, mild smokes. That makes the Davidoff Millennium blend a bit of a change of pace for the famed line. Billed as Davidoff’s most full-flavored blend, it features a seamless chocolate brown wrapper and pre-light notes of rich earth and deep mocha. (more)

With its lush Ecuadorian habano wrapper, ultra-firm construction and hearty pre-light notes of leather and molasses, the new La Traviata blend from CAO sports characteristics similar to those of classic Cubans. Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that the original “La Traviata” was created more than a century ago in Havana. (more)