How did Churchill become a Smoker?

Daniel Jimenez
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How did Churchill become a Smoker?

If you’ve ever smoked a cigar or taken a twentieth-century history class, you know the name, Churchill. A man of such character and resolve that his stewardship of Great Britain during WW 2 is forever immortalized by having an entire size of cigar named after him. Churchill would likely be pleased since he was said to smoke up to ten cigars a day at a minimum. But how did Winston Churchill acquire his trademark smoking habit?

Churchill came from a wealthy family but struggled in his youth to live up to his parents’ example. After attending a string of boarding schools, Churchill just barely passed the entrance exam for the elite Harrow college. While he was there, he first dabbled in tobacco by smoking cigarettes with his fellow students. But this quickly earned his mother’s displeasure, and in a letter to young Winston she “promised a pistol and a pony if he would abstain from smoking.” Already a negotiator, Churchill was able to get the complete ban on smoking reduced to simply six months. But cigarettes would merely whet his appetite. 

Seeking to make his name in the world after he graduated, Churchill quickly enlisted in the armed forces and was deployed to Cuba. There he quickly discovered what would become his lifelong passion: cigars. Churchill reportedly took to the habit instantly, smoking cigars wherever and whenever he could; his favorite brands being Romeo Y Julieta and La Aroma de Cuba. For the rest of his days, Churchill would have crates of cigars shipped to him from Cuba, all the way up to his last days at the ripe old age of ninety. We salute you Churchill, every single time we smoke a cigar bearing your name.

What’s your favorite Churchill? Let us know in the comments

Looking where to buy cigars? Mike’s delivers near and far!

Steaks and cigars

Daniel Jimenez
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Steaks and cigars

There’s a lot of items that complement a cigar and are complimented in return. Whiskey, a good scotch, even the right wine can have its body accentuated by a premium smoke. But man cannot live on drink alone, at some point you’re going to have to eat! One of the finest things mankind ever used fire for, besides lighting cigars, of course, is cooking a steak. Filet mignon, T-bone, flank steak, tenderloin, strip steak, ribeye, whichever you like, however you take it, everyone loves a great steak. It’s only natural to combine it with one of the few things that can rival it in taste, a fine stogie.

As I’d never recommend something I wouldn’t try myself, I set out to find a smoke that would go well with a fine slice of meat. The steak I selected is a personal favorite of mine, a skirt steak my local butcher has served me for years. Skirt steaks are made from the plate section of the belly and while it contains a lot of connective tissue from tougher muscles, if cooked correctly it becomes incredibly juicy and tender. Best cooked medium to medium rare, but I acknowledge there are aficionados who take their steaks well done so feel free to cook however you prefer. My own recipe keeps it simple, use a non seasoned tenderizer to start, then season sem-liberally with pepper and a pinch of garlic salt, lightly dress with soy sauce to finish. Cook until it reaches your desired level. Best paired with Maker’s Mark.

After countless steaks, I found just the right cigar. After a hardy meal like that, you want a smoke that’s light and calming. I kept trying until I found the lightest, most relaxing smoke there is. A Baccarat Petit Corona! The perfect size for a lazy afternoon smoke, and with a mellow sensation from the first draw, the Baccarat feels like you’re being carried off on a cloud. The perfect sensation to counter a full stomach.

Do you have any preferred after dinner smokes? Let us know in the comments!

Looking where to buy cigars? Mike’s delivers near and far!

Fathers and Cigars: A Proud Tradition

Daniel Jimenez
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Fathers and Cigars: A Proud Tradition
Cigar Smoke, Father's Day Blog Pst

A day l’ll always remember.

This past year, my brother was blessed to have his first child; a son named Philip. An occasion that momentous called for a gift, and it’s pretty obvious what gift I got him. Even though we live two thousand miles apart, my brother and I celebrated the newest member of our family over facetime with some Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente King T’s. As we memorialized Philip’s arrival into this world, I couldn’t help but think about our own father. What did he do to honor the appearance of his children?

I had to assume not much. My brother was born into the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, a time when my father was among many who were literally struggling to keep a roof over their head. I asked, and to my surprise, he did celebrate; with a fine Cohiba! It was tough to get a hold of, but he manged. Even as the doors had literally been blown off his home, the world around him tumultuous and the future uncertain, he took the opportunity to light up in recognition of new life. In a way he had too, it wasn’t just to commemorate his new son, it was a statement to himself that there was still a future worth celebrating. 

That’s really what you’re toasting when you give a new father cigars, the future. The hope you have for the next generation, that your own struggles will never invade their lives. It’s a tried and true custom, perhaps because it gives the father time to reflect on who he is now, and what his life means with this child in it. Tobacco can be a great tool to focus the mind, and can be just the remedy when a newly minted father is panicking over his identity as a parent. But for a tradition that feels so set in stone, the average father wouldn’t have an answer if asked where it originates.

Tobacco’s storied heritage.

As it turns out, it’s a custom more ancient than cigars themselves. Most scholars agree that the basis for giving cigars to fathers comes from the Nootka and Chinook tribes of the Pacific Northwest. When the tribes had an occasion to celebrate, like a birth, they would gather for a feast called a potlatch. (If you’re wondering the same thing I was, I checked and the potlatch is oddly not how we got the word potluck.) It was tradition to exchange gifts at a potlatch, and one of the most common gifts was tobacco. 

The tradition endured even as the nation was colonized, but it spread to American culture because of western tradition. In a time before hospitals, home births were the norm. Since doctors weren’t common and easily accessible, most births were performed by women called midwives. It was considered improper in English society for any men to be present during birth, so expectant fathers simply waited in an adjacent room while the birth happened. A child being born can take hours though, so the fathers needed something to distract them. What better way to while away the hours than with a long cigar? It soon became the go to method to pass time during childbirth, and once the joy of a new baby became associated with smoking a cigar, the custom evolved into what we have today. 

If you know any expectant fathers out there, there’s only one gift that’ll cut it. Check out our specialized cigars for the jubilant arrival of a new son or daughter. 

Did you get a cigar as a new parent? Did you give one? How was it? Let us know in the comments!

Smoke: The Best Cigar Film

Daniel Jimenez
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Smoke: The Best Cigar Film
Smoke Movie Poster
copyright Miramax films

There are plenty of great cinema moments involving cigars. Will Smith chomping on a cigar after punching an alien to welcome it to earth, Hugh Jackman looking effortlessly cool as Wolverine smoking a stogie. Not to mention how often James Bond lights up a Churchill! Cigars can really punctuate certain moments of action or drama. There’s even a certain aesthetic for any character in film who smokes a cigar, someone who’s capable and dangerous  But there are very few films about cigars, about what smoking means to people, about when a cigar can reflect how a person feels, and how they can be the perfect tool for introspection.

As you might have guessed, there is one such movie. And quite aptly, it’s called Smoke. Smoke came out to mild fanfare back in 1995 but has since garnered cult status. The plot concerns Auggie (Harvey Kietel), owner of Brooklyn Cigar co. Auggie has owned the shop for twenty-seven years, and the film follows him and the people whose lives intersect with his own through the shop. 

Smoke DVD Cover
Copyright Miramax Films

What makes smoke unique is that its premise doesn’t just concern cigars, its entire plot and themes work only because of cigars. Throughout the film, we get a peek into the struggles of various customers and friends of Auggie but always reflected through cigars. One of his closest friends and best customers is Paul (William Hurt), a writer grieving the loss of his wife. When the two of them talk, it’s always over cigars. It becomes clear that cigars are what allows them to talk, and allows Paul to open up about his pain. Auggie knows that, and that’s why he always brings cigars whenever he visits Paul. The very act of smoking becomes a bonding experience, just as it does in real life. The way that taking a draw forms a natural pause in the conversation, the stimulating effect tobacco has on the mind while simultaneously relaxing the smoker, it’s an excellent way to get closer to someone. The fact that there’s a scene where smoking a cigar facilitates an emotional breakthrough for two close friends shows the screenwriter’s understanding of what a cigar can mean.

Smoke was shown to be by someone near and dear, and of course, the whole time we were enjoying some Romeo Y Julieta 1875 Nicaragua Connecticut Churchill’s. It was one of the best nights I had in the entirety of 2020. I recommend the movie Smoke tremendously, but I recommend watching it with some you can simultaneously smoke with. After all, a cigar is only as good as the memories you make while smoking it.

Looking where to buy cigars? Mike’s delivers near and far!

Cuban Sandwiches

Daniel Jimenez
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Cuban Sandwiches

No, you didn’t click the wrong link. This is still a cigar blog, we just happen to be talking about Cuban Sandwiches. Not the kind your thinking of though, even if they are one of the most delicious yet simple things on the entire planet. Thankfully, the cigars we’re talking about take inspiration from those wonderful culinary creations

A Cuban Sandwich cigar is actually a sort of hybrid cigar. It contains a mix of both long-fillers and short fillers. Short fillers are pieces of tobacco that have been chopped up. Whereas long-fillers contain leaves that have been rolled the entire length of the cigar. A Cuban Sandwich cigar will typically consist of a long-filler binder holding together short filler tobacco. The inherent appeal of short filler tobacco cigars is the bargain you get for a decent smoke, instead of the more curated experience of a long-filler cigar.

A Cuban Sandwich cigar combines the best of both worlds, giving smokers premium quality smoke at mind-blowing prices. Don’t believe us? See for yourself with our own Cuban Sandwich. The brainchild of our esteemed founder, Mike Mersel, the Cuban Sandwich was made with the working man in mind. Mike himself came from humble roots and knew that not everyone could afford the premium cigars. So he wanted to create a budget cigar that would provide the quality smoking experience of its more expensive counterparts. After careful work, he finally cracked it and gave us a cigar that is truly for everyone. Try for yourself!

Do you have a favorite Cuban Sandwich, food, or cigar? Let us know!

Looking where to buy cigars? Mike’s delivers near and far!

Quarantine Cigars

Daniel Jimenez
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Quarantine Cigars

2020 will go down as perhaps the most universally hated thing on Earth since New Coke. A year that defied the phrase “Well, it can’t get any worse!” As we were all stuck at home for what seemed like an eternity, each of us looked for that special something, anything, that could take our minds off quarantine. Books, movies, sourdough starters, Tiger King, whatever could keep us occupied for the day. But what took me away from all the anxiety of the global pandemic, was one particularly transcendent cigar.

Cigars to smoke while quarantined

It was an average day of quarantine, woke up around ten and sort of lounged around till 11. I started watching The Office just for that old familiar feeling of comfort, when I heard a very unfamiliar sound at that point. Someone had knocked on the door. Hesitantly, I opened and found the UPS driver already speeding away. At my doorstep was a package. As if by fate, I got a text from my brother. “Did you get my gift?”

I’d been a cigar smoker for a while, but with the quarantine my hobby had taken a backseat to binge watching whatever took my mind off the epidemic of disease being talked about 24/7. My brother, a more seasoned aficionado, likely sensed my growing cabin fever and was gracious enough to send me a sampler of some of his favorites, in particular, the Arturo Fuentes Rosado Sun Grown.

The thing about entertainment during quarantine, is that you’re never fully engaged with it. There’s always that small part of your mind that is thinking about stopping the spread, or symptoms, or what stores may not have already been scoured for toilet paper. With these cigars, I was one hundred percent engaged.

brotherly cigars

Not a single thought of covid permeated my head as I sat outside and smoked them. Before I knew it, night had fallen. A day that would normally have crawled along at a snail’s pace had sped by too fast to notice. A modern day miracle. For the rest of lockdown, my brother and I would send each other whatever smokes caught our fancy, sort of our own little cigar of the week club. It was our way of staying in touch and keeping sane during the catastrophe that was 2020.

Did you have any favorite cigars in 2020? Let us know in the comments! 

Looking where to buy cigars? Mike’s delivers near and far!

GCC Launching Miami Made Cohiba

Daniel Jimenez
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GCC Launching Miami Made Cohiba

Miami has always been focal point of cigar culture. Go to the right part of the city, and you’ll find a smoke shop every block. As the melting pot of dozens of cigar loving cultures, the magic city has become home to countless renowned brands. Now the esteemed Cohiba line has joined the party with its Cohiba Serie M.

Cohiba cigar

Rolled in the historic Little Havana neighborhood, the Series M is constructed with two binders, a closed foot, a pigtail cap, and comes in at 6 inches by 52 ring gauge. The Serie M sports fillers blended from crisp Dominican Piloto Cubana, Jalapa, and Esteli tobacco. All of it wrapped in a princely Corojo wrapper.

Unlike other brands, cigarmakers at El Titán de Bronze factory in Little Havana personally craft from start to finish by one roller, rather than in a team. This ensures that every cigar has the personal care and attention that guarantees perfection.

Available in decorative boxes of ten, the Series M retails for $29.99 and will launch on April 12. You’ll need to act quick, as only 5000 boxes are being produced. Call us at 800-962-4427, or visit us at 1030 Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor Islands, FL 33154 to pick up your box while supplies last!

Looking where to buy cigars? Mike’s delivers near and far!

La Gloria Cubana Spirit of the Lady

Daniel Jimenez
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La Gloria Cubana Spirit of the Lady

When Ernesto Carrillo started his own cigar label back in 1972, he had no idea how he would help transform the tobacco world. He had no idea of the countless awards his creation would win, or the incredible demand across the world. Fifty years later, his legacy endures with the release of La Gloria Cubana Spirit of the Lady

La Gloria Cubana Spirit of the Lady cigar horizontal

This new limited edition Vitola comes in two sizes, a six inch Toro and a seven inch Churchill. But every Spirit of the Lady comes in a seven year aged Honduran wrapper from Olancho San Agustín. Holding it together is a luscious Cameroon binder, covering a radiant blend of fillers from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Steve Abbot, senior brand manager for La Gloria Cubana, stated in a press release, “The artisans of El Credito are passionately committed to their craft, and it shows in every single cigar they make. Through their unwavering commitment to creating exquisite cigars, this dedicated team embodies the assured spirit of Lady La Gloria, the brand’s iconic marque. It is truly a pleasure to celebrate these talented men and women, and to honor their artistry through this special offering.”

The Spirit of the Lady is limited to six hundred boxes to Vitola, so if you want one from our site you better act fast!

Looking where to buy cigars? Mike’s delivers near and far!

The World’s Oldest, and Most Expensive, Cigars

Daniel Jimenez
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The World’s Oldest, and Most Expensive, Cigars

They spent how much?!

What’s the most you ever spent on cigars? I mean really splurged and treated yourself to some fine smokes. No matter what the answer is, I’m guessing it wasn’t $507,000! That’s the record for most expensive cigars ever sold. I’m guessing whoever bought them wasn’t just stocking up for the weekend.

The reason those cigars were so expensive was because they were over six hundred years old! And still fit for smoking! Let that be a lesson to all of you, keep up your humidor. The cigars were discovered by archeologists excavating a cave in Guatemala, dated all the way back to the ancient Mayan civilization. They were even found in pots labeled with gylphs that roughly translated to word sicars, literally meaning “to smoke rolled tobacco.”

The Mayans did it first

The Mayan God of the underworld, lighting up a stogie.

It seem the ancient Mayans were well versed in the joys of a great cigars. Several Mayan gods are depicted in indigenous art as smoking what is clearly a cigar. It must have taken generations to cultivate the right tobacco to be smoked, and just imagine how brave the very first person to smoke some was! That bravery was rewarded with the first taste of euphoria that only comes from a prime cigar. Turns out the Mayans were one of the first civilizations to cultivate tobacco, often using it in religious rituals as well as everyday life. Granted, what we think of as cigars wouldn’t be what the Mayans smoked. From the picture above, we can gather Mayans bundled the rolled leaves without the the wrappers we use on modern cigars. Either way, it seems we have them to thank for the idea of smoking cigars at all. On behalf of the entire planet, I say thank you Mayans!

A typical Mayan humidor

If you’re wondering who had 507,000 dollars to spare on a few cigars, the answer is Gary Liotta, owner of Santiago Cigar Factory. No word yet on how the cigars ended up tasting, but something tells me they might be a little dry from aging too long.

What’s the most you ever spent on cigars? Let us know in the comments!

Looking where to buy cigars? Mike’s delivers near and far!

CAO Vision Returns with a New Blend

Daniel Jimenez
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CAO Vision Returns with a New Blend

Way back in the heady days of 2007, when Corona was a beer and we’d never even heard the words “social distancing”, CAO released a limited edition cigar that took the tobacco world by storm. The CAO Vision featured a decadent Dominican blend, along with its trademark luminescent band and illuminated achromatic box that functions as a working humidor, that gave the whole cigar a futuristic vibe.

Now the CAO Vision returns to a different world that’s hungry for more. This new CAO consists of a Cameroon wrapper, Ecuadoran Sumatra binder and Nicaraguan filler from Estelí and Jalapa. The new blend was created brand ambassador Rick Rodriguez, who said of the cigar, “I’ve never developed my own blend with a Cameroon wrapper, and I thought it was time to do it,” Rodriguez learned how to handle a Cameroon wrapper from tobacco master Benjamin Mendez, who oversaw the making of Dominican Partagas for years. Rodriguez said “Mendez spent a lot of time teaching me which tobaccos are the best for bringing out the Cameroon’s natural sweetness.”

That sweetness is on full display with The Vision, along with a medium spice profile that will have your palate singing with joy. CAO is only releasing 2500 boxes of Visions, so act fast. Want to experience the Vision? Try our website!

Looking where to buy cigars? Mike’s delivers near and far!

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