Growing up in Canada, my first experiences with cigars were fraught with notions of history and romance. Undoubtedly this is because of the predominance of Cuban ciars on the corner store shelves and most notably of the Romeo y Julieta brand. There always seemed to be more of these than the eponymous Cuban brands of Montecristo, Cohiba and Partagas. Sometimes I feel when reading reviews of Romeos that they are slotted a notch below these brands today because they tend towards medium body and don’t have the same distinct strong flavours of …

I can vividly recall walking into City Cigar in Vancouver for the first time – the sights, the smells, the people. I remember being hesitant, not because I was fearful, but because I wasn’t sure of the norms in a cigar shop or lounge.  While I’ve made more than a few visits to cigar stores since, it still can be a bit tricky to feel out the vibe in a given place.  Add to that difficulties with some states and provinces allowing smoking in cigar lounges and others not.  …