Enjoying a quality cigar has recently become a popular indulgence that is enjoyed by both men and women alike. Also, lighting up a cigar happens more than just when celebrating a special occasion and great cigars can be found outside the country of Cuba. One cigar company that has helped to raise the level of awareness and has helped to maintain the popularity of cigar smoking is the Cao Cigar Company.

The Cao Cigar Company is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was founded by an Armenian Turk by the name of Cano Ozgener. Mr. Ozgener had a great passion for a good cigar and smoking a pipe. His passion for pipe smoking coupled with his desire to be creative with his hands led to a natural entrepreneurial enterprise in crafting artistic smoking pipes. Based on the popularity of his creations amongst his friends, Ozgener went into the smoking pipe business in 1968. The company derives its name, CAO, from the initials of its founder, Cano A. Ozgener.

Eventually, the Cao Cigar Company decided to take a different business road in meeting the smoking needs of their customers. In 1968, they made a decision to abandon their humidor market, reduce their manufacturing of smoking pipes and begin to offer cigars.
Their first cigar brand was called Casa de Manuel. Business did not fare well and leadership decided to retreat to the safety of manufacturing pipes and humidors. Eventually, when cigar smoking hit its stride in sales, the Cao Cigar Company ventured back into the cigar market and became successful with their introduction of their version of the maduro.

The Cao Cigar Company manufactures and distributes several distinctive lines of cigars. The particular brands of cigars manufactured by the Cao Cigar Company include the Gold, Double Maduro, Creole, Brasilia, and three separate versions of the L’Anniversaire. Those brands include the Maduro, eXtreme and Cameroon. Also, through expansion, other companies have been added the Cao cigar business family.

The Aristoff Black

The Aristoff Black is a hand-crafted black ciga made by Aristoff International in Nicaragua. The leaves are aged for two to three years and finished cigar for a minimum of three months. Each black cigar is wrapped in cedar and individually packed in a glass tube. .Aristoff offers this special black cigar with personalized monogrammed band for that extra touch of class.
The list continues on in a growing renaissance of the cigar aficionado. Just like fine wines, there is a cigar for every taste and pocket book and black cigar brands are some of the hottest blends on the market today.

Partagas Black Label

Another fine black cigar is Partagas Black Label, self proclaimed as the richest cigar in the world was developed to meet the demands for darker full bodied cigars. This rich black cigar brand, named after its founder Jaime Partagas was ten years in the making. Like so many fine cigars it has its beginnings deeply rooted in Cuban history and was the leading Cuban cigar before the ousting on the Cuban government in 1959. Said to have notes of coffee and cocoa, it is the proud product of Partagas, located in the Dominican Republic.

Cohiba Black

A late comer on the scene of black cigars is the Cohiba Black. Cohiba is one of the most recognized names in the business and had its beginnings in Cuba shortly after Castro came to power. It is even rumored the brand was originally made for Castro, as it was his favorite blend.
The Cohiba Black Cigar is a definite newcomer, being introduced in 2006. Owned by General Cigar the Cohiba Black is a special blend by company President and master blender Daniel Nunez.

The CAO Black Cigar is a classic in exciting spicy and woodsy flavors with just a hint of vanilla; it is considered the best black cigar, bar none. The CAO Black cigar was the first to carry the honored CAO name. Individually dressed in cedar sleeves and packed in hand painted and numbered boxes the CAO black is considered a rare find for the discriminating cigar Connoisseur. The CAO Black Cigar is part of a line marketed by C.A.O. of Nashville Tennessee, a privately owned family business. Cigar Buyer Magazine awarded CAO Black with a perfect score of 10 out of 10, beating out a slew of its top competitors.

Coronas are considered by the cigar fraternity as a “regular” sized cigar They are quite fat and are usually between four and nine inches long depending on the specific brand.

Panatelas are generally longer than coronas, but they may also be thinner.

Measuring a Cigar : the rule of thumb is that a cigars width is measured in 64ths of an inch; so a cigar 5” x 42 would mean five inches long and 42 64th of an inch in diameter.

Figurado cigar tend to be the biggest of cigars, as they are unusually shaped; some shapes include baseball bats, American football, and thick centered cigars that taper drastically on both ends.

Coronas

While Coronas are what most consider ‘regular’ cigars, they can be in fact quite big cigars, the Grand Corona for example is 9 ¾ inches long. There are also big cigars that are wide rather than long such as a Toro at 50 64ths (x 50) of an inch wide. These particular varieties generally range from 4 ½ x 50 to 9 ¾ x 47; these types are usually straight sided with a cylinder body, the cigar is usually open on one end and the other is cut when ready to be smoked.

Panatelas

Panatelas are longer and thinner than most Coronas, as such may be considered a big cigar; the largest usually around 7 ½ “x 38 and the smallest 5” x 33. These will generally have the same capped end and open end as the Coronas; these can be a little harder to find than the more traditional Coronas. Because these are thinner, they can be expected to contain less filler tobacco and more long leaf tobacco, long leaf tobacco makes for smoother longer burning products.

The Figuardo

Figuardos are big cigars that are thought, by aficionados, to be the best cigars, partially for their flavor and smoking experience, and for the great amount of skill that is involved in making such a unique design as may be found in Figuardos. These often contain more filler tobacco because they are so fat, but also the skill of a master craftsman to make not only an aesthetically appealing design but also a cigar that delivers a superior taste, feel, and over all smoking experience.

The Big Big Presidente

Among the most famous big cigars is the Preidente these are considered the most common design among Cuban cigars, generally around 8” long and 50/64” in diameter, these are a very hefty cigar, the maker will determine the exact taste and smoothness of the cigar, but one can generally expect a complex and robust flavor from a wider cigar such as this; the wider the cigar the more filler tobacco, the more filler tobacco means the most opportunity for master cigar makers to custom blend or more exotically blended tobaccos for a unique smoking experience.

The City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is famous for many contributions to the United States and the world. Some of these contributions include it being the site of the first Continental Congress in 1774 and it being home to the Liberty Bell. In addition to these historical facts, that are significant to the birth of the United States, there are a number of other noteworthy Philadelphia associations. Those associations include the Philadelphia Flyers, a team within the National Hockey League, the Philly cheese steak, William Penn, the architect of the city of Philadelphia and the meaning of the name of the city interpreted as brotherly love. In the cigar world, another affiliation with the city of Philadelphia is Robert Levin. Levin is the founder of the Ashton cigar company.

Background of the Ashton Cigar Company

The Ashton Cigar Company was established in 1985. This enterprise was manifested from the heart of Robert Levin who, himself, enjoyed the experience of a fine cigar. In addition to being an aficionado of cigars, Levin was no stranger to the world of tobacco products. This combination of appreciation and business knowledge combined to form the Ashton Cigar Company. To round out the partners associated with the Ashton Cigar Company, the partnership includes the respected Fuentes family. This family has a reputation, in the cigar manufacturing world, of providing the utmost integrity when producing fine cigars. This combination has served the Ashton Cigar Company well as they are globally recognized for being a company that is associated with the production of exquisite cigars.

To complete the Ashton cigar process the cigars are wrapped with a quality tobacco leaf that is known for its rich texture and fine oily properties. This particular leaf is called the Connecticut Shade and is harvested from the rich soils of Ecuador. This combination of tobacco leafs, different climates and production from a variety of growing soils provides the perfect blend to ensure an excellent smoking opportunity. There are five unique offerings of cigars that carry the Ashton cigar label. They are the Ashton, the Cabinet Selection, the Ashton Ages Maduro, the Aston VSG and the Asthon Heritage Puro Sol. Each of these cigars carries a taste that is unique, but guaranteed to be created with the utmost care and offered to be part of a pleasurable encounter.

Another popular Arturo Fuente cigar is the Hemingway. The Hemingway is made in the classic Cuban Perfecto shape that was popular in the 1920’s through the 40’s. This cigar was reintroduced at a time when no other company was making shaped cigars. The success prompted the Fuentes to include other cigar shapes in their lines including the Work of Art, the Short Story, and the Best Seller.

The renowned Arturo Fuente cigar is the product of four generations of Fuente men. Arturo Fuente learned the art of cigar making from his father in old world Cuba. He passed his knowledge of tobacco cultivation, tobacco blending, and hand rolling to his son, Carlos Sr., and his grandson Carlos Jr. Both men grew up working after school in the family’s home factory in Tampa, Florida.

As times changed, the family moved the production of the cigars to a Nicaraguan factory which was burned down by the Sandinistas. The next factory was located Honduras, but it also succumbed to fire. The family didn’t stop there.

In 1980, the business production was moved to the Dominican Republic where it remains today. A single, seven employee factory has now blossomed into four factories employing over 1800 people in Santiago. The Fuente name is now synonymous with superior quality.

The Arturo Fuente cigar is highly sought after in the United States. This is due to the several levels of quality control employed in the Arturo Fuente cigar making process. Only the best tobacco that has been inspected by experts is used. The cigars are hand rolled by individuals who have received at least 12 months of training. Each cigar is weighed to ensure uniformity. Then the cigars are aged to perfection. They are inspected one last time before being packed into specially made boxes. These boxes include a humidification system to preserve the integrity of the final product.

So when it comes to buyiing a cigar, you can choose between a light, mild or strong flavor. You can always go for a tried and true famous brand cigar such as a Cohiba, which any cigar aficionado will appreciate. Items that compliment cigars and make great gifts for cigar aficionados are: lighters, special cigar ashtrays, cigar cutters and cognac if the person enjoys alcoholic drinks.

Cigar humidors are also a great gift however; most cigar aficionados already have one besides the fact that they are expensive and you must know the person closely in order to buy a humidor that matches his or her style and personality. It will be a gift that they treasure for years to come.

Other Gift Ideas for Cigar Lovers

If you know the brand of cigar he or she smokes you can acquire a box of them; crystal snifters for cognac also make a great gift and they are a lot less expensive than the cognac itself. Deciding how much you would like to spend would help greatly as that will put you in the right category right away; while none of the cigar related gifts are inexpensive you can find some that will match almost all budgets.

Helpful Tips

Cigar aficionados are very particular about their cigar therefore, if you are not sure of the type of cigar they are smoking and cannot buy a famous cigar as a gift, it is better you don’t purchase cigars at all but just accessories to go with them, that way you will not go wrong. You can also get great ideas on the latest gadgets for cigar aficionados from the magazines bearing the same name: Cigar Aficionados; here you will find what is in style for cigar lovers from cigar boxes to lighters and it will be easy to pick something classy and in style.

Way back in 1915 in Key West Florida, the Thompson Cigar company was founded and can rightly claim to be the oldest mail order cigar company in the United States and it holds the Postal Permit #1 for Tampa, Florida. The company is well known for delivering a huge selection of products that could cover all prices as well as tastes and various Thompson Cigar cigars reflect their desire to provide the finest cigars at the lowest possible costs. Thompson Cigar has a call center that provides personalized service to customers and many of their representatives have been serving the company for more than twenty years and so have unrivalled knowledge about the industry.

More Than 300,000 Cubic Feet of Storage Area

Thompson Cigar has the biggest inventory storage humidor anywhere in the US and it takes up more than 300,000 cubic feet of storage area and so ensures that the cigars one buys from them are of superior quality and not some cigar that has been stored in any hot and dry storehouse. Thompson Cigar also has an on-site retail store that supplies the same quality inventory that one would find in their catalogs or on their website and also keeps accessories along with giving daily discounts on special products.

Some of the other attractive features of Thompson Cigar are that it allows buyers to create their own personalized brand of cigars and thus enable them to say “Thanks for the business” or “Thinking about you, as always” or “Glad to share moments with you” with their very own custom made cigars. Any hand rolled premier cigar will become the buyer’s own distinct as well as unforgettable memento and can by used for either advertising or commemorative or for celebrating an occasion. It could be used to celebrate the birth of a new child with each cigar having the name of the newborn on it as well as the child’s date of birth. All in all, it can lend importance to an occasion.