AVO Expresivo 2026 Is the First AVO Made in Honduras, and the Price Is the Story
Reviews: AVO Expresivo 2026 is the first AVO made in Honduras. A critic on what the Burn Brighter rebrand changes, and why the price matters most.
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Cigar news, reviews and culture
An independent cigar magazine in three sections — News, Reviews and Culture: sourced reporting, honest tasting notes, and writing on the culture of the leaf.
Cigar of the Year 2026: Which Contenders Survive Three From the Box?
Reviews: My take on the cigar of the year 2026 race, the 90-point inflation that rigs it, and the contenders I'm actually tracking before I score one.
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La Flor Dominicana's Carbon Flower Sells the Case, Not the Cigars
Culture: La Flor Dominicana's $200 Carbon Flower puts five San Andrés toros in a carbon-fiber case. What you're really paying for, and what survives.
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Sixty-Four Years of the Cuban Embargo: How a 1962 Ban Built Nicaragua's Cigar Industry
News: The Cuban cigar embargo turns 64 this February. How a 1962 import ban pushed Cuba's tobacco families into Nicaragua and Honduras and remade your humidor.
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Only 4.8% of Cigar Makers Say They're 'Very Concerned' About the Leaf. So Why Are Prices Climbing?
Culture: Brands blame an aged-tobacco shortage for premium cigar prices rising. The PCA's own 2026 survey tells a quieter, less flattering story.
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Four Decades In, the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Still Outsells Fuente's New Releases
News: The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos review nobody writes - why a 40-year-old Cameroon blend outsells Fuente's new releases, and what the FDA ruling changed.
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What's in Arturo Fuente's Father & Son 2026 Collection - and the One Detail Fuente Hasn't Confirmed
News: Arturo Fuente Father & Son 2026 ships for Father's Day. What is confirmed, what is not, and why the OpusX King Power is the only real story.
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Is the Rocky Patel Year of the Horse a Lunar New Year Gimmick, or a Real Smoke?
Reviews: Three Rocky Patel Year of the Horse cigars from one box, smoked over a week: the burn trouble, the espresso-and-caramel arc, and whether it earns its billing.
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A $9 Firecracker, a $50 Robusto, and a $240 Set: United Cigars and Selected Tobacco at PCA 2026
Reviews: United Cigars and Selected Tobacco at PCA 2026 - a $9 Firecracker, $50 Atabey Black Delirios, $240 Deluxe Set. Where the value sits.
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Pete Johnson Is Spending Tatuaje's 20th Anniversary Year on Two Old Lines and One Wrapper Swap
Tatuaje 2026: Pete Johnson is spending the brand's 20th-anniversary year on two old lines and one Mexican wrapper swap - the release ledger, sourced.
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Three Days in Estelí Without Smoking the Same Blend Twice
Culture: A trip through Estelí, Nicaragua's cigar quarter - the big factory tours, the boutiques off the main road, and what survives the flight home.
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Oliva Serie V Melanio Robusto: It Outperforms Its Own Toro
Reviews: Three boxes of the Oliva Serie V Melanio Robusto across six months - where it sits in the line, where the burn went wrong, and the buy call.
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My Father Cigars' 2026 Story Isn't Le Bijou. It's a Factory in Honduras.
News: My Father Cigars 2026 - the year their Honduran factory becomes real, the Blue line settles into national distribution, and Le Bijou 1922 sits out the calendar.
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