Independent Est. MMXXVI
The Cigar Latest News · Reviews · Culture
About

The Cigar Latest

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.

News Reviews Culture
Sixty-Four Years of the Cuban Embargo: How a 1962 Ban Built Nicaragua's Cigar Industry
12 min read

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.

Read article →
Only 4.8% of Cigar Makers Say They're 'Very Concerned' About the Leaf. So Why Are Prices Climbing?
12 min read

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.

Read article →
Four Decades In, the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Still Outsells Fuente's New Releases
11 min read

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.

Read article →
What's in Arturo Fuente's Father & Son 2026 Collection - and the One Detail Fuente Hasn't Confirmed
12 min read

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.

Read article →
Is the Rocky Patel Year of the Horse a Lunar New Year Gimmick, or a Real Smoke?
11 min read

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.

Read article →
A $9 Firecracker, a $50 Robusto, and a $240 Set: United Cigars and Selected Tobacco at PCA 2026
10 min read

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.

Read article →
Pete Johnson Is Spending Tatuaje's 20th Anniversary Year on Two Old Lines and One Wrapper Swap
9 min read

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.

Read article →
Three Days in Estelí Without Smoking the Same Blend Twice
11 min read

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.

Read article →
Oliva Serie V Melanio Robusto: It Outperforms Its Own Toro
10 min read

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.

Read article →
My Father Cigars' 2026 Story Isn't Le Bijou. It's a Factory in Honduras.
12 min read

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.

Read article →
PCA 2026 In Five Notes: 262 Booths, A Narrower Floor, And The Boutique Squeeze
11 min read

PCA 2026 In Five Notes: 262 Booths, A Narrower Floor, And The Boutique Squeeze

News: Five things I noticed walking the 2026 PCA trade show floor in New Orleans - 262 booths, 5,945 attendees, a Gordo wave broken, and the boutique squeeze.

Read article →
Six Whisky and Cigar Pairings From a Decade in Southern Lounges
10 min read

Six Whisky and Cigar Pairings From a Decade in Southern Lounges

Culture: Six whisky and cigar pairings a working culture writer would actually make again, from fourteen Southern lounges and one stubborn notebook.

Read article →
Ybor City's Cigar Factories Outlived the Industry That Built Them
11 min read

Ybor City's Cigar Factories Outlived the Industry That Built Them

Culture: Ybor City cigar history on foot. The brick factories still stand, but the hand-rolled trade that filled them was killed in just fifteen years.

Read article →