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 While the CAO brand quickly became a cigar shop staple worldwide thanks to its originality and its multi-ethnic tobacco blends, its taste for innovation doesn’t stop there: the boxes and bands are also carefully designed and often stunning, breaking with the traditions of classic cigar makers. Each CAO range has its own bold and colorful visual identity. In fact, some

In 1968, Istanbul-born engineer, Cano Aret Ozgener, set up shop in the family garage in Nashville, creating a little company that sold meerschaum and briar pipes and humidors. For the company name, he used his initials: CAO. In 1995, the company decided to cash in on the cigar boom in the U.S. by moving into cigar production, bringing Cano’s daughter

No, it’s not the latest hare-brained experiment, there really is salt in your cigar, and in your wine too. Let me explain…   By Bernard Burtshy   SALTINESS is one of the four basic tastes (or five, if we count Japanese umami), and salt is, and always has been, a precious commodity. Salting is one of the oldest methods of

The Don Tomas brand has added a new Nicaraguan line to its traditional range. And we must say, these cigars leave a very good impression. So, just who is Don Tomas? It seems a perfect time to find out.   First appearing in 1975 at Danlí, Don Tomas was created by U.S. Tobacco. In fact, one of the American company’s

Now available, the new 702 Series line is the result of an exciting experience. Seven iconic and historic Davidoff cigars were selected. The principle was to change the wrapper of these formats but retain their initial binder and filler. The new wrapper leaf is a Habano variety grown in Ecuador. The result : a real difference that tends to prove that

The latest in a long dynasty of cattle farmers, celebrity butcher Alexandre Polmard sets himself apart by “hibernating” his meat. These vintage meats are worth their weight in gold and can be enjoyed with a cigar.  By Dominique Couvreur “The goods were laid out in front of a window, on a shelf that protruded into the street outside with a

A new range of 100% Honduras cigars comes to join the clan of Villa Zamorano. Sold in cabinets, these new cigars will be available soon (2018). Designed with a more elaborate liga and a Habano Jamastran wrapper, they will have a brand new character … Formats : Intenso 102 mm X 46 (18,26 mm) Expreso 89 mm X 52 (20,64 mm) Corona

Scott Gottlieb, who has been appointed Commissioner of the Food and Drug Agency by Donald Trump, has repeatedly expressed his opposition to new cigar legislation. Will he halt the procedures already under way? American cigar aficionados have seen a glimmer of hope. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the new head of the FDA, is known for his relatively liberal views on the

Pictures : Luc Monnet

Introducing Izambar: Rolled in Nicaragua and created from scratch by two aficionados without ever leaving their native Switzerland. By Laurent Mimouni This is the story of two Swiss aficionados in the Internet age. When we discovered Izambar cigars, launched a few months ago, we were expecting to hear the usual story of flights to and from the Caribbean and Europe, nostalgia

  He is the brains behind the Plasencia Organica, the only “organic” cigar on the market, as well as a brand new six-sided cigar… A way for this agronomist to reconcile his love of cigars with his admiration for nature. Interview by Jean-Pascal Grosso First of all, could you say a few words about the novel hexagonal Plasencia Alma Fuerte.

Nearly 60 years ago to the day, a bearded revolutionary named Fidel Castro was believed dead and holed up in the Sierra Maestra mountains. This is the incredible true story of how a previously unknown man became a legend thanks to his cigars and an American journalist. By Thierry Dussard Spreading the word in the heart of the Sierra Maestra In

By Léo Maduro Amateurs of cigars, meat and wine, this restaurant has opened for you! Located between the Louvre and Les Halles, it has a bar and a smoking lounge on the ground floor and a dining room upstairs. It offers a wide range of matured or unmatured meats and nearly 400 references of wine. The smoking lounge is large, comfortable and

He has blurred the tracks with his rock star outfit but he has been inventing the most singular cigars in the world for thirteen years. By Armelle Vincent  The forty-something Pete Johnson is the founder of the Tatuaje Brand, which cigars are made in Miami, Florida, and Esteli, Nicaragua by the famed José ‘Pepín’ García, the legendary founder of El

It’s one of the biggest and best cigar collections in the world: 6,000 cigars, 1,500 objects, more than 5,000 books and historic documents, tens of thousands of cigar bands and vistas. It belongs to a rich Italian man who has devoted ten years of his life to it.  By Camille Sifer A fifty-year love story with cigars Paolo Jucker (Swiss

FROM FEBRUARY 27TH TO MARCH 3RD The stars of the festival will be Montecristo  and Quai D’Orsay  brands, with major new launches announced ! Montecristo  is incorporating a full new product line into its portfolio, a premium and exclusive line. Its name : Montecristo Linea 35 The Quai D’Orsay  brand will also have a major role at the XIX Festival, by launching

We seized the chance to meet Douglas Kennedy, that most French of American authors, during one of his rare lightning stopovers in Paris. By Jean-Claude Perrier Photos: Patrick Artinian Douglas Kennedy admits that his relationship with time verges on the pathological. He very nearly scolded us for being ten minutes early – when for once, as journalists, we were proud

For its sixth edition, between 19 and 21 January, the Puro Sabor festival welcomed around 100 participants from 20 countries. It featured conferences, encounters, visits, and tastings with one aim: to definitively establish Nicaragua as a major player on the global cigar scene. At the end of a warm January day in Granada, kids are playing football on calle La