I was offered an excellent chance at a fairly new line of cigars from a company I had not tried, Villiger Stokkebye International’s La Capitana.  VSI has been in the tobacco industry for well over a century, as far back as 1882.  The company was founded by two families, Jean Villiger of Pfeffikon, Switzerland and the Stokkebye family of Denmark.  The two families combined to form VSI, and have been offering their products to the US market for over 30 years with great success.  Villiger cigars sell over 500 million …

For several years, my cigars have rested patiently in a humidor that I made from lining an old Penfolds Grange box. This humidor was functional, something I was proud of, and a good conversation starter. It was unique. The cigars locked inside, however, are hand crafted treasures made to the highest standards by traditional, professional cigar manufacturers. A humidor of more noble character was in order. Not necessarily just one with improved aesthetics; there should be some accompanying improvements in functionality. Good ventilation inside the humidor and stable humidification  were …

I would argue that smoking a cigar solo is the best way to unwind and spend time collecting one’s thoughts, gaining an inner calm while the cigar entertains your physical senses.  However, when it comes to delving into the depths and nuances of a particular cigar, as well as enjoying the great conversation that cigars bring, smoking with others is a superb way to spend time.  Normally, when smoking with colleagues, we will each pull a cigar or two from our own, or eachother’s humidors, comparing and contrasting our choices …

H. Upmann cigars started with Herman Upmann, a German banker, who began producing cigars in Cuba in 1844.  He used his cigars to promote his banking firm, and would gain a reputation of producing a quality product.  Today H. Upmann cigars can be found from both Cuba and the Dominican Republic in a variety of lines and sizes, and is still known for high quality and great flavor profiles.

This particular cigar is an 1844 Reserve in a toro size, measuring in at 6 x 52.  It uses a milk chocolate …

Here on the Aspiring Gentleman, we’ve written about growing your own tobacco in the past, and on our twitter feed have pointed to various tobacco-growing resources over the years.  However, it is not often that a book comes out dedicated to the craft of growing tobacco, so it is with great excitement that we recently received our copy of “How To Grown Your Own Tobacco: From Seed To Smoke” by Ray French.
This book, coming in at around 150 pages, including images and diagrams, is short in size but large in …

On a visit to Havana last spring, I noticed that the cigar culture, environment, and production techniques were subtly different than I had seen portrayed in films and documentaries.  I was delighted, therefore, to learn of a new documentary focused on Cuban cigars released just last week.  Created by American wine and cigar critic James Suckling and filmmaker James Orr, the video shows footage of factories in Havana and around Cuba, and explores not only the production but also the lifestyle surrounding cigars on the island of Cuba.  Check out a …