| ebounding of the premium-cigar market is one of the | | | | The Dominican Republic makes more of the premium |
| oddest business success stories of the past fifteen | | | | cigars bought in the United States than any other |
| years. With an aging customer base, decades of | | | | country. Such giants of the premium cigar industry as |
| competition from cigarettes and overall consumer | | | | Arturo Fuente, La Aurora, Davidoff, La Flor |
| trends indicating a decline in smoking in general, many | | | | Dominicana and La Gloria Cubana, Romeo & |
| observers had written off premium cigars as | | | | Julieta, Trinidad, Montecristo, Macanudo, and H |
| yesterday's luxury item—until 1992, when the | | | | Upmann operate here. The Cuban revolution of 1959 |
| industry showed significant fourth-quarter growth. | | | | resulted in many of that island nation's greatest cigar |
| Two years, and lots of media coverage later, cigars | | | | makers relocating to a more capitalism-friendly nation, |
| had positioned themselves as the break of choice for | | | | and the Dominican Republic received the lion's share |
| an increasingly young, increasingly dual-gendered | | | | of these expatriates. |
| market. By 1996, the industry was seeing 36 percent | | | | Honduras, too, is an important nation for the |
| first-quarter growth. | | | | cigar-smoking world. After the Cuban revolution of |
| So, like many people, you're probably curious about | | | | 1959, many of the great Cuban cigar producers (who |
| the trend, and wondering what you're missing out on. | | | | didn't go to the Dominican Republic!) resettled in |
| But cigars, like classical music and other fine things, | | | | Honduras, making the country a haven for |
| shouldn't be rushed into. There are many varieties to | | | | cigar-making talent—a reputation strengthened |
| choose from, and newcomers can find the sheer | | | | all the more by the history of cooperation between |
| amount of choice more bewildering than beguiling. | | | | the governments of Cuba and Honduras. Maybe |
| First of all, make sure you're buying premium cigars! | | | | that's why Honduran cigars are the second-most |
| The machine-rolled, mass-produced items found at | | | | popular in the US (after the Dominican Republic). |
| many local drug stores and gas stations may cost | | | | Some well-regarded Honduran cigars include those |
| less—but they taste like it. Why not make sure | | | | from La Fontana, La Libertad, Camacho, and Carlos |
| you're tasting the kind of hand-rolled, carefully | | | | Torano's Honduras Selection. |
| crafted cigar that makes fans out of new smokers? | | | | Another post-1959 cigar powerhouse is Nicaragua. |
| You can find premium cigars at local specialty shops | | | | Despite the chaos of many years' civil war and |
| (which have proliferated during the last decades' | | | | military rule, as well as a temporary end to cigar |
| "cigar boom"), or on the internet at any of various | | | | production during the 1980s when the ruling |
| online cigar emporia. | | | | Sandinistas directed the country's tobacco producers |
| Secondly, think about the kind of taste you're | | | | to make inferior cigarette-grade tobacco—and, |
| interested in. You can tell, roughly, by the | | | | finally, a terrible hurricane in 1998 that destroyed |
| wrapper—the darker it is, the sweeter it | | | | seventy percent of the country's infrastructure, |
| tastes, while light-colored cigars have a complicated, | | | | Nicaragua continues to make some of the finest |
| dry effect. Newcomers have fallen in love with both | | | | cigars in the world. Like Honduras and the Dominican |
| kinds; it's up to you. An experienced friend may be | | | | Republic, Nicaragua benefited as well from the |
| able to make a recommendation, as would cigar | | | | Castro-era dispersion of Cuba's cigar-making |
| specialty magazines and websites; many first-time | | | | powerhouses into other parts of Latin America. Its |
| cigar smokers also try premium-cigar samplers. | | | | cigars continue to dominate international rankings. |
| To ease your path, here are some recommendations: | | | | Some of these brands include CAO, Perdomo, |
| some of the best-loved cigars in the world, going | | | | Padron, Don Pepin Garcia and Drew Estate. |
| country by country. | | | | |