If you enjoy Nicaraguan puros (cigars containing 100% Nicaraguan binders, fillers, and wrappers) then Perdomo Grand Cru will satisfy all of your cravings.

The Perdomo family has been greatly involved in the tobacco industry for at least three generations. With that in mind, they concentrate their quality control practices not only on the efforts of rolling each individual stick, but more so on growing quality tobacco. Each Perdomo cigar must maintain a consistent flavor from box to box, in addition to passing some of the highest quality control standards in the industry. Silvio Perdomo originally implemented these standards and believed a great cigar could only be created using exceptional tobacco. Today, Nick Perdomo not only still believes in this idea, but follows in his forefathers footsteps by continually releasing unique blends where the focus is not based on how many cigars are produced, but on the quality of each individual stick released for all to enjoy.

Grand Cru comes in three different varieties so there is something in this line for all enthusiasts. The Connecticut is silky smooth but flavorful with an abundance of earthy characteristics throughout. If searching for a bit more body, the Corojo is a great choice as its toothy wrapper provides an exorbinant amount of spice without becoming too strong. The maduro shows of dark oils and provides a fantastic rich flavor with light sweet nuances and a hint of espresso. All three feature 100% Cuban-seed Nicaraguan tobaccos hand-picked from their 2004 crop, allowing for a perfectly balanced, medium to full-bodied experience.

Q: Should I relight my cigar if it burns out?

A: If your cigar extinguishes itself, it is perfectly acceptable to relight it. However, due to the charred tobaccos in the cigar, you may experience some foul and acrid nuances, which will create an unpleasant flavor. To avoid this, knock off any and all remaining ash left attached to the foot of the stick and then lightly blow through the cigar. In doing so, any extra ash left inside the burnt tobacco will be pushed out of the foot, along with any loose pieces of tobacco previously burned. Use a torch lighter to heat up the outer layer of wrapper and then begin to light the filler, while simultaneously puffing on the cigar and lightly blowing through it. The method of blowing through the stick will prevent any foul tastes from entering your palate while any excess ash will be burned away, leaving nothing but a truly satisfying taste and aroma.

Tatuaje Havana VI is a Nicaragua puro rolled by hand using traditional Cuban-style techniques under the strict supervision of Don Pepin Garcia at his newest factory in Nicaragua.

Produced in limited quantities, Havana VI remains one of the most limited Tatuaje blends currently available. Most of their cigar production is overseen by Pepin Garcia, who incorporates traditional Cuban-style blending and rolling methods into every stick. For this reason, each Tatuaje cigar combusts perfectly due to the "entubado" style in which the filler is bunched and rolled together, allowing all aspects of the tobacco’s flavor to be tasted with each puff. Perfectly constructed, each stick shows almost no veins due to its seamless Habano wrapper and comes finished with an authentic triple cap. Tatuaje has become a go to brand for the most discerning aficionados worldwide, and for good reason.

Havana VI is simply an excellently blended cigar. Containing all Nicaraguan tobaccos, including a Nicaraguan wrapper, this puro creates incredibly smooth characters because of its aged filler but still emits a medium-bodied array of earth and pepper. The smoke is thick, as the blend produces a welcomed complexity only experienced when enjoying a true, Nicaraguan puro. With a smooth finish leaving notes of pepper on the palate and a rich aftertaste, Tatuaje Havana VI comes highly recommended.

Artistas (6.2"x52) This torpedo features a sturdy frame and exudes a ton of thick, creamy smoke. You'll taste a good amount of pepper during the initial light but the blend only slightly builds in strength, providing a great balance between body and flavor. 89/100 [Buy Now]

Hermosos (5.6"x46) Great after dinner. The length creates full flavors and allows for a slightly stronger body, making this size robust and complex. The ring gauge keeps the stick burning slow, even and creates hearty nuances with a lengthy finish. 89/100 [Buy Now]

Nobles (5"x50) A great 45-minute indulgence. Consistent in flavor from start to finish with many competing nuances of earth throughout. Light spices grace the palate for a medium finish while the smoke emitted is thick and aromatic. 88/100 [Buy Now]

Almirantes (7"x47) With a perfect balance between flavor and strength, this size burns like your standard churchill. Expect at least 70 minutes of enjoyment as the blend burns clean and even. Pepper and rich notes of cedar intermingle throughout. Enjoyably complex. 88/100 [Buy Now]

Victorias (6"x38) If you enjoy long cigars and relatively quick smokes, then Victorias is your size as it only burns for about 30 minutes. Very robust and incredibly potent, this almost tastes like a different blend since its long length and small ring gauge create a full body with an exorbitant amount of pepper left to tantalize your senses. Burned hot and slightly uneven. 87/100 [Buy Now]

Angeles (4.6"x42) A perfect winter blend. You'll only need about 25 minutes to enjoy this size. The flavors produced are potent and earthy, maintaining a great character, but the cigar burns incredibly hot. 86/100 [Buy Now]

5 Vegas Triple-A - Another fantastic blend from the award winning 5 Vegas line, Triple-A combines tobaccos from Nicaragua's top growing regions with an oily broadleaf maduro wrapper to create a full-bodied array of complex flavors guaranteed to stimulate your palate for hours of enjoyment.

Gurkha Empire Series - The most recent addition to the phenomenal Gurkha line, Empire Series brings together six different, innovative Gurkha blends for a unique premium experience.

Davidoff Millennium Series - An exceptionally full-bodied, evenly balanced and lastingly rich flavour distinguishes the Millennium Series from the rest of the Davidoff lines. Many consider Milliennium the most limited and powerful Davidoff ever released.

John Bull - A cigar for the enthusiast following a tight budget, John Bull contains all of the same qualities as any other premium cigar: great balance, perfect construction, and a beautiful appearance, but without a hefty price tag.

01/06/2010: Join Alex and Tim as they call Pete Johnson of Tatuaje cigars and annoy the hell out of him! Maybe they did, maybe they didn't - but they certainly asked a lot of questions. Listen in to hear what Pete has to say about cigars, music, and all that good stuff. [Listen Now]

There is little doubt that full-bodied cigars have been the talk of the town over the past five years. Some of the highest rated and most complex blends have been those that boast a strong core of flavors. To achieve strength without sacrificing critical aspects such as a cigar’s balance or flavor profile, a master blender will rely on well fermented tobacco called ligero to deliver the attributes most central to the blend. The more ligero a blender uses, the stronger and richer a cigar becomes and the more prominent its flavors are to the person enjoying it.

What It Is: Ligero is not a tobacco type, but rather tobacco taken from a certain part of the plant, specifically the upper most priming. The leaves toward the top of plant receive the most amount of sunlight, making them heartier with a thicker texture. Also, as a tobacco plant is harvested, it is picked from the bottom to the top in phases over a period of several weeks. As the lower leaves are chosen, more nutrients from the plant’s root system are delivered to fewer leaves making the top leaves (the last to be picked) the strongest. Because of its weight, ligero often burns slowly so it is almost never used for wrapper, but rather for the cigar's innermost fillers.

Where It Is Grown: Since ligero is a priming on the plant, it is grown wherever premium tobacco is cultivated and comes from any seed type. However, certain seed types tend to produce more coveted ligero than others. Specifically, Cuban-seed tobaccos grown throughout Central America tend to have the best ligero leaves.

Why You Want It: When it comes to ligero, it is all about flavor. When properly fermented, the ligero leaves have many layers of deep complexities which often lead to a robust and pronounced finish. Cigars utilizing extra ligeros don’t make you work for the flavor, nor do they keep your palate guessing when you try to decipher all of the intricacies of the smoke. The flavor from ligero remains deliberate and extremely thick, a profile many aficionados look for in a fine, premium blend.

Why It’s Expensive: Because ligero only comes from the top most priming of the plant, the leaves are typically fewer in quantity and smaller. In fact, a plant will typically yield 90% of its leaves in the lower primings called seco and viso with only 10% of the tobacco coming from the ligero primings. This makes it much more limited and thus expensive. Additionally, because of the thickness and heartiness of the ligero leaves, it requires up to twice as much fermentation which can add as much as an additional year to the processing time before it is ready to be rolled. This extra work requires more labor and materials which adds to the cost.

While well-fermented ligero is hard to come by, many makers are setting it aside for use in their best, full-bodied blends such as Man O’ War Ruination, Cain, and Oliva Serie ‘V.’ If you have not yet had a chance to explore all of ligero’s offerings, there is no better time than now!