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Cigar Adviser
The Editors
Published in: February 1, 1999
Published January/February 1999
The Cigar AdviserQ: Why are all cigar bands wrapped right over left? Is it custom or superstition, or do I just need to smoke more cigars?
Richard Stafford
Milltown, Wisconsin
That's an interesting question. In all the cigar factories I have been in, the bands are applied by hand. I've witnessed both right- and left-handers putting on the bands, resulting in bands wrapped both ways. So keep on smoking.
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Q: I live in a desert climate where the ambient humidity is about 4 percent. It poses a great challenge to keep my cigars properly humidified. I tried my wine cellar for a while, but the humidity never exceeded 54 percent. Any suggestions?
Robert Kershner, M.D.
Tucson, Arizona
First, you might try keeping the cigars in the wine cellar but in a separate humidor with a good seal. There's still a problem, because at the normal temperature of a good wine cellar, 55 to 60 degrees, you need 80 percent humidity in your box to keep the cigars properly humidified. (Cold temperatures require more moisture in the air to maintain an ambient humidity of 70 percent.) But I would think a well-built humidor, with adequate humidification devices (not clay-based devices), would be more than sufficient. If you have a humidor that can't maintain that level, then something is wrong with the humidor, or you are not recharging the humidification device frequently enough. During the winter here in New York, I find with indoor heating that I have to recharge my humidors almost every week, instead of every two or three weeks.
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Q: I am headed to London for a business trip. I was told by the British Trade Office in New York that I could purchase up to 50 Cuban cigars and return home with them without any problems with U.S. Customs. Could you advise me if that information was correct and could you provide me with a list of retailers in London?
Rickey Thomas
Omaha, Nebraska
I'm not sure whom you spoke with in the British Trade Office, but the information is absolutely incorrect. American citizens may not purchase any Cuban products for import into the United States. In fact, a strict interpretation of the Trading with the Enemies Act (the law enforcing the embargo against Cuba) suggests that as a U.S. citizen you are in violation of that law if you spend your money on Cuban products anywhere in the world.
That, of course, is hard to enforce. But if you try to cross any U.S. border with 50 Cuban cigars and they are found by U.S. Customs, they will be confiscated, and you will be subject to a fine. In practice, very few people are fined, but in recent years, Customs has cracked down on Cuban cigars. As for retailers, check our Web site, www.cigaraficionado.com. You will find a list of international retailers, including those in London, on the site.
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Q: During one of George Burns's appearances years ago on "The Tonight Show," he admonished viewers to get a cigar holder. What is your opinion of cigar holders, and why can't I find them anymore?
Michael Husby
Duluth, Minnesota
We haven't seen a cigar holder in a long time. Our assumption is that the artifact was popular when Burns was a young man, and he just stuck with it his entire life. We also believe that part of the cigar-smoking experience is to "taste" the wrapper of the cigar, and to let the interaction between the tobacco and your mouth occur directly.
We do not believe, on the other hand, that there is anything attractive about a cigar just hanging out of someone's mouth, holder or not. A premium cigar is meant to be savored like a fine Cognac, not chewed or sucked on constantly for an hour. Therefore, we can't see any real reason for a holder.
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Q: I used to smoke cigars from Puerto Rico during World War II, and they were pretty good, but I haven't seen any in recent years. What happened to the cigar industry there?
Col. John Wieben,
U.S. Army (Ret.)
Bainbridge Island, Washington
Although Puerto Rico has some history of growing tobacco and rolling handmade cigars, the premium cigar industry has virtually disappeared there. By the 1980s, other nations in the region had achieved dominance in the industry, supplanting Puerto Rico's role, though the machine-rolled cigar industry continued to have a presence there. However, in recent years, several efforts have been made to bring a Puerto Rican-produced hand-rolled cigar into the U.S. market. They have not made any big inroads, but the projects are still underway, and you will probably be able to find some brands even now. But until those brands gain national distribution, we will not be rating them in Cigar Aficionado.*
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