Always support the little guys
Always support the little guys. And no, we don’t mean just the boutique blends. What we mean are the privately owned cigar brands and retailers. And that goes all the way from that tiny tobacconist at the end of the street to big, yet privately owned, brands like...
La Casa del Habano List
La Casa del Habano list, where to find them. What is a La Casa del Habano? That’s a question answered easily. La Casa del Habano is a franchise, specialized in Cuban cigars. Not just specialized, but they only sell cigars from Cuba. And Cuban oriented accessories. And...
Duty-free allowances worldwide
Duty-free allowances worldwide. Last December, Ministry of Cigars published a number of articles on the different duty-free allowances worldwide. And published a complete list of all the allowances worldwide. But with the vacation period around the corner, it’s time...
The stupidity of the new wave of legislation
The stupidity of the new wave of legislation. And why it doesn't work. This is an editorial. Inspired by the latest news from The Netherlands. I was born and raised in that country. And I worked in the tobacco industry. So I can’t keep quiet about the proposed laws...
What is Habanos?
What is Habanos? A lot of people are under the impression that Habanos is all and everything Cuban cigars. But that is not the case. Cubatabaco is all about tobacco growing. Tabacuba handles the cigar production. Habanos is all about distribution and sales. Cubatabaco...
Don’t complain about a stem in your cigar
Don't complain about a stem in your cigar. Take a look on social media, or hang out in cigar lounges. Chances are that every once in a while you will hear complaints about a stem in a cigar. Complaints like “this is a 10 dollar cigar and doesn’t suppose to have a...
A breakdown of global sales
A breakdown of global cigar sales, for cigars from Cuba, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and other countries. For over a decade we hear Habanos claim that they control seventy percent of the market. That is excluding the American market due to the embargo....
Pronica donates 34.950 dollars to charity
Pronica donates 34.950 dollars to charity. The charity, founded by Sasja Van Horssen of Longfiller Company, revealed the amount they managed to make for 2018 during an event last Saturday. The event took place at Van Horssen’s flagship store Cigaragua, in Amsterdam’s...
The vibrant cigar scene of Kuala Lumpur
The vibrant cigar scene of Kuala Lumpur. Now you might not suspect to see a vibrant cigar scene in a country like Malaysia. But the Malaysian economy has been growing fast over the last decade despite being one of the laziest countries in the world. Kuala Lumpur is...
Run for Pronica 2019
Pronica is a foundation, started by Sasja van Horssen, the largest independent cigar importer in The Netherlands. A few years ago Van Horssen hosted a dinner with Juan Martinez from Joya de Nicaragua at his shop Van Dalen Cigars in Rotterdam. We were invited too....
What’s your favorite cut?
Last week we asked what your favorite cigar country was, this week we would like to know what your favorite way is to decap a cigar. It seems that the V-Cut made a huge comeback in the last few years and is quite popular. The flat cut remains the most used cut and...
CSWC Qualifier Kuala Lumpur
A few years ago, when the Cigar Smoking World Championship wasn't as huge as it is today, I read about the event. And my first reaction was "cigar smoking is about relaxation, competition and cigars don't go together". And I was pretty vocal about that on social...
What’s your favorite cigar producing country?
Cuba is the origin of the cigar, and the country remains popular amongst cigar smokers. Yet, after the revolution, a lot of knowledge fled the country and started a new life and new businesses elsewhere. First on the Canary Islands, then moving on Central America. And...
The current state of Cuban cigars
When it comes to Cuban cigars, we don’t know if we should praise them or criticize them. There is plenty of things to complain about, but on the other hand, Habanos has shown some sheer brilliance. Quality control Let’s start with the criticism. First of all, there’s...
Social Media and Cigars
Social media has become a big part of the cigar culture nowadays. Before the rise of the internet, the number of new cigars was nothing compared to nowadays. And to hear about new brands, you either had to read about it in the media like magazines, or you would hear...
Cigar Smoking World Championship dates
In a few years time, the Cigar Smoking World Championship has received a reputation and a status in the industry like hardly any other event. Twenty qualifying events before the grand finale, all over Europe, the USA, Asia, South America and even during the Procigar...
Review ratings explained
After posting the first two reviews we received some questions and feedback. Both are always welcome, and we took the feedback and questions as an opportunity to explain our review method and ask for some changes on the Cigar Profiler form. We have always liked the...
Beware of counterfeit Cubans
Smokers of Cuban Cigars, we cannot say it enough: be sure about your sources. Only buy from legit shops, trusted sources with ties to Habanos or official Habanos dealers. The last few months we keep seeing more and more pictures of counterfeit Cuban cigars in several...
Cigars and customs continued
You didn't think the customs issues were over right, after the article last week? Well, for a moment I did think it was over, it was just a question of finding a company that would import the confiscated cigars for me, pay the duty and return to the good life. Well,...
Duty free problems, a personal story
For the last couple of weeks, Ministry of Cigars has been writing about duty-free allowances. And here's why, this is what inspired us to do all the research, to sort everything out and publish the articles. After launching the website during the Intertabac trade...
Your add here? Contact me!
Your add here? Contact me!
