Official Cigar

At age 98, the infamous cigar aficionado George Burns said, “If I had taken my doctor’s advice and quit smoking when he advised me to, I wouldn’t have lived to go to his funeral.” While it’s tempting for us to use Mr. Burns as the poster-child for the anti-anti-smoking movement which is gaining little ground against anti-smoking legislation in the United States, we would be hard-pressed to answer why the honor shouldn’t go to Mark Twain, Peter Falk, Sigmund Freud (”Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”) or Rudy Giuliani. As more and more restaurants find themselves under regulation to prohibit smoking and many of the cigar bars from the last decade close their doors, it seems that today’s cigar smoker is a bit lonely.

The richness of a cigar’s taste could be determined by its diameter. The bigger the diameter, the stronger the taste is. On the other hand, the wrapper of the cigar also matters. Even color would mean good condition while extreme discoloration in the wrapper would mean a change in taste. With this, these two factors, size and diameter must be taken into consideration in buying a cigar for you. They are parts of the construction of a cigar. And the construction is considered to be the indicator of care and quality. In order that one would buy the right cigar, there are steps that must be considered and be followed so that you will not end up smoking all your regrets away. – Observe if the wrapper has smooth and a bit shine feature. Make sure that it does not have blemishes and it must not be too firm. – Give the cigar a gentle squeeze. This way you would be able to determine if indeed it is good enough if it is resilient to hold its shape when you press it. – Refrain from choosing a cigar with soft or hard spots because it is a sign that it is not of good quality and not of good construction. – Try to take a smell of the cigar and if it does not have that aroma, drop it off. When the cigar gets lit, it is another true test if it has good construction or not. When it burns evenly all the way down, it is of good quality because if it does not, it means that it does not have a proper roll. Moreover, if the cigar produces a firm ash while smoking, it is another sign of good quality. If the cigar has a firm end, it also makes it a good one. There are three criteria that could determine a good cigar. Actually, these criteria apply to wines too. The first criterion is the body. It means the strength of the tobacco. Secondly, flavor. Sweet, bitter and salty are the basic flavor categories. The aroma is another criterion. If a cigar does not have aroma- it is of no good material. For a good cigar, it does not take the finest tobacco only but it must also undergo all the necessary processes included in its fermentation. As the buyer, you should consider all the above-mentioned tips in choosing the cigar for you- the one that you will enjoy smoking.

The resurgence of the cigar as a luxury item had many opportunist businessmen tried on capitalizing the craze by selling their own cigar brands. The result was a bedlam, with no one knowing which brand is which and where it came from, and many have been duped into buying sub par cigars masquerading as high quality items and carrying the most hefty price tag. Thankfully, those murky days are over since several institutions have come up with measures to curb these low quality cigars: mostly counterfeited brands while some are reputable labels that are hastily manufactured to meet with the colossal demand for quality cigars. Now, several cigar wholesalers who have direct access to the manufacturers themselves have stamps. Like the EMS Stamp for cigar wholesalers that operate in Great Britain and over some parts of Europe and the AMS Stamp for cigar wholesalers that obviously operate on the United States. Cigar retailing is a very lucrative business practice nowadays, because of several facts: high shelf life of the products, high turnover rate, and the chances over gaining continuing patrons are promising. The only twist you need to grasp is searching for a suitable cigar wholesaler and signing a deal with them. But for cigar wholesalers, here’s a list of them: Hunters & Frankau at www.cigars.co.uk Hunters & Frankau is a well established name of a cigar distribution company. Because they carry an exclusive seal for the UK trade of Cuban cigars, you can expect that their Habanas are indeed genuine, and price rightly. Look for the EMS stamp on all Hunters & Frankau. The EMS stamp (English Market Selection) should assure the consumer that it is a Cuban cigar manufactured for the purpose of selling on the British market. And oh, Hunters & Frankau is the only cigar wholesaler in the UK and Gibraltar regions that carries this authorization to sell Cuban cigars. General Cigar Co. at Cigar World www.cigarworld.com General Cigars Co. is the counterpart of Habanos SA, the group responsible for marketing exquisite Cuban cigar brands like Punch, Bolivar, Cohiba, and Hoyo de Monterrey among dozens others. Because since Habanos SA is included within the US Trade Embargo, General Cigars Co. manufactures and markets these brand names for worldwide consumption. Habanos SA at www.habanos.com Ever since the trade embargo and several commercial disputes, Cuba has significantly mellowed down in its tobacco monopolistic attitude. Now Cubatabaco had ceased functioning as the sales representative for Cuban cigars, it is Habanos SA jurisdiction.

In this day and age it seems people can make a record out of anything. Ever since the publication of the Guinness Book of World Records, people have been attempting to set records of all sorts. From people who attempt to stay under water longer than anyone else, to those who hope to have more nipple rings than physically possible, records are being set everywhere.

For cigar aficionados, it is the best tasting thing on Earth. When cigar becomes an addiction, and generally it does, there could also be the spring of its negative effects. These effects may come as just simple bad breath but it could also be as big or malignant as cancer. Yes, this must really alarm you a little for having lung problems or any health problems for that matter would be a big blow to your life and it must be responded to as early as possible for it may even worsen. This article is not here to plant dynamites in you but to remind you that you have to take care of your health, for your health is but very important and it has to be taken good care of for it would decide that big portion of how you live your life. There are health problems that could be caused by cigar smoking: * Oral cancer – This sickness is of course would really affect you big time. This could lead you to the difficulty of eating. This disorder could also affect the mouth, throat, lips and also your tongue. These are necessary parts of your body and there are really effects that may affect you that bad. * Esophageal Cancer – Studies show that those smokers have really high risks of leaving their esophagus at its worst. – There is this study that tells us how the gap is so big when it comes to the possibility of cancer in the esophagus for those who are smokers. As you increase the number of sticks that you are also increasing the risk of having these health disorders. * Lung cancer – This would be more possible especially if you inhale the cigar smoke more. It must be noted by cigar smokers that they must not inhale smoke for it would surely cause a lot of health disorders involving the lungs. * Cancer of the pancreas or cancer of the bladder – Both of these are also possibly going to be achieved if one smokes cigar a lot. The more you smoke, the more you push yourself to the health risks. Smoking could really be soothing or relaxing especially when one is so stressed out but you have to see to it that you are cautious of how you smoke for it would lead to your own problems concerning health as well.