You?re browsing through your favorite cigar catalog or Website and words like 'Pyramid,' 'Belicoso,?' 'Torpedo,' and 'Perfecto' keep jumping out at you. Originating in Cuba, these are traditional names for a variety of non-parejo (or non-straight-sided) cigar shapes referred to as 'fig...

2006 was another banner year for many of the leading imported premium cigar manufacturers, including some of the 'young guns.' Of the four new cigars reviewed in this article, three are from cigar companies owned and operated by men in their 30s and 40s: Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate Ci...

When I started working for Famous Smoke Shop in the summer of 2001, I came into the business on the cusp of a new wave in cigar making. It was several years after the end of the cigar boom, and good premium tobacco (which had become scarce during the boom) was just starting to come bac...

For this issue I thought I'd dip in to my mailbox and publish some questions I've received in the past few months that may also be concerns of yours. As I usually say when I reply to a question, 'I hope this helps.'

A captain can't navigate the seas without the aid of good charts. For the cigar aficionado, the best way to chart the course of his or her favorite pastime is with the aid of Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars. Now in its 12th year of publication with the current 2006 edition, writ...

For this issue, I'm spotlighting two new full-bodied luxury cigars from two of the top manufacturers: Davidoff of Geneva and General Cigar Dominicana. Both made in the Dominican Republic, at the heart of these cigars are rich-tasting tobaccos from different regions of the DR, Honduras ...

Before you sail off to the next port of call with your cigars, you?ll need a travel humidor that will keep your precious cargo out of harm?s way. Whether it?s a simple pocket humidor or an elaborate attaché case, the humidor must do two things for your cigars: keep them fresh and prot...

2004 saw the debut of some excellent cigars, and in this issue I want to share with you (in no particular order), some of the more outstanding cigars released last year. I say 'outstanding' because I don't believe any cigar is 'the best' any more than I believe any one movie or record ...

As the holiday season sails into view, gift ideas are on everyone's mind. Fortunately, when shopping for the cigar smoker, there are not only great cigars to choose from, but cigar accessories, as well. Here are some outstanding gift suggestions from the four primary cigar requisites: ...