Gary's Cigars Blog

It's time again to dust off our list of Top 5 Cigars for American Holidays. Labor Day in the United States is celebrated on the first Monday of September, which happens to fall on September 1, 2008. While enjoying the long weekend, also remember our troops serving overseas in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Check out our Cigars for Troops Program, or visit another website established by a group of Operation Iraqi Freedom supporters known as the Baghdad Cigar Aficionado Club. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, and support our troops with cigars.

The Oliva Serie V is the highest rated cigar (so far) on this website. However, Jose Oliva also makes some other very good cigars, such as the Oliva Serie G. The Serie G is made with a tasty blend of filler tobaccos from Nicaragua rolled inside a genuine African Cameroon wrapper, resulting in a very good medium bodied smoke that is not overpowering. The Oliva Serie G would be an excellent choice for beginners, as well as more seasoned smokers, and they are less expensive than the Serie V. For more details, read my review of the Oliva Serie G cigar.

Thompson Cigar is currently running a special on 25 cigars plus a travel case for only $29.95, until October 31, 2008. To get the special price, just follow the link in our Cigar Forum. For more bargains on cigars, visit our Cigar Bargain Hunter.

Now that we have updated the navigation and appearance of this website, it is time to update some of our most popular features, such as our list of Top 5 Cigars for Beginners. The original list consisted mostly of cigars that I enjoyed as a new cigar smoker many years ago, but our new list consists of the best mild-to-medium cigars available on the market today, which are most appropriate for new cigar smokers. Experienced cigar smokers will enjoy these, too. So whomever you are, make sure to check out our brand new list of the Top 5 Cigars for Beginners.

Last year, I reviewed a Camacho Select Cigar on this website. Camacho has just begun to ship a new Camacho Select that is not only packaged differently, but cigar maker Julio Eiroa has also slightly changed the blend, and is now using a noticeably darker Cameroon Wrapper. According to the company, the Camacho Select is a well-balanced medium bodied cigar, with nutty, earthy and woodsy flavors. The cigars are packed in boxes of 21 cigars.

^{Photo Courtesy of Camacho Cigars}

During a recent visit to Cleveland, I took a daytrip to the casino in Windsor, Ontario for a little gambling action. I also wanted to see how Ontario's indoor smoking ban affected the casino in Windsor, since smoking is still permitted in Detroit's casinos just across the river. Although the casino provided an outdoor patio for smokers, it just wasn't good enough for a cigar smoker. Click here to read more about the impending end of an era for cigars and casinos.

Is tobacco good for you or bad for you? This is a question that was thoroughly researched and answered by our very own expert in the field of toxicology; Dr. Mitch Fadem. Tobacco historically has been used as a medicine to treat a variety of conditions, and more recently, research has revealed an important connection to nicotine and increased brain function. If you want to learn about the medical benefits of cigars and tobacco, from past to present, make sure to read Dr. Fadem's entire two-page article about cigars and medicine.

As reported in the New York Times, on July 30, the U.S. House voted in favor of giving the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate the content and marketing of tobacco products. However, the bill must still be approved by the Senate, and the White House has threatened to veto the legislation. Most tobacco companies are against this bill, but a few support it. At this point in time, it is unclear exactly how this might affect cigars, since the proposal is mostly aimed at cigarettes and chewing tobacco. However, it is pretty obvious that the funding required to provide additional oversight of the tobacco industry by the FDA would ultimately result in higher prices for consumers. Comments on this issue are encouraged, below.

CigarGoyles are gargoyle-inspired statues that watch over your humidor, guarding your fine cigar collection. Each statue is made from a marble/poly resin blend in a charcoal grey and black rubbed finish, and are available for $50-$60 exclusively online at thecigargoyle.com. CigarGoyles won't keep your cigars from drying out, dampening, rotting, peeling or any other un-pleasantries. Rather, they ward off would-be borrowers, snatchers, thieves and the like. If you own a humidor, you may want to "protect" it in this fun and decorative way.

^{Photo Courtesy of Wittman Idea Network LLC}