Dutch Master Cigars & More

My favorite cigar is by Bolivar cigars and I love them, but they can be quite expensive. I recently found out that a hand rolled cigar that is made with a blemish is considered “Cigar Seconds”. Some examples would be a slight discolored wrapper, or a veiny wrapper. The imperfections are typically unnoticeable to the consumer and the tobacco used for the cigar seconds is the same exact tobacco that is used under their brand names. These cigars even come in the exact same boxes and packaging, but cost half the price. I personally consider myself a light smoker. I smoke 2-3 on a weekly average. Because of that, I don’t like to spend a lot of money on cigars. I also like a strong cigar, like the Bolivar cigars, which I have purchased for years. These cigars are relatively inexpensive. I prefer a premium cigar, but since my wallet does not, I will sometimes switch to a machine made. But, now that I have found that premium cigar factories sell the imperfect cigars for less, I am definitely going to look into that. I have heard that since these factories don’t intentionally make these blemished cigars, that they are limited quantity, and may be hard to find. But I think it will be worth trying.

I have smoked Macanudo Cigars for years now, and read that they came from Jamaica. That appeared bizarre becauce I have not heard much about Jamaican tobacco. Reputedly, Cuban immigrants brought tobacco seeds to Jamaica, as they did every where else they moved to. But because of hurricanes, work issues and war, it’s been a difficult road for the Jamaican tobacco plant. Macanudo, which came from Jamaica is now handmade by General Cigar Company, found in Connecticut. They create quality, high end, premium cigars, including Macanudo. They use their own Connecticut shade wrappers, and various tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Africa for the filler and binder. These are my favorite cigars for lots of reasons, I love the sweet but spicy flavor. They are powerful, though not overwhelming. I am able to smoke once a day and be satisfied. There are just a few known Jamaican cigars around nowadays, and they appear tough to come by. If the others taste as well as a Macanudo, I may switch, except for now I’m sticking to what I like.