Less than 100 boxes of these fine “His Majesty’s Reserve” cigars are produced each year, and it’s the President of Gurkha’s that actually looks after the allocation to the retailers. At 30,000 dollars per box, that’s 750 dollars a smoke, these cigars really do exude wealth, and for those that can afford them, they prove to be something they just cannot do without.

Here are a few more that hit the top ten list:

· Partagas Serie D No,4 : Origin, Cuba. Manufactured, Hand Made, Gauge, Thick. Length, 124. Format, Robusto. Ring, 50. Weight, 11,66 gr. Score, 9.3. Tobacco aged for 3 years and from the 2000 harvest.

· Cohiba Piramides Millenium: Origin, Cuba. Manufactured, Hand Made. Gauge, Thick. Length, 156. Format, Piramide. Ring, 52. Weight, 14.26 gr. Score 9.3.

· Review: Long awaited addition to the Cohiba range. A splendid cigar, great aroma and taste.

· H. Upmann Magnum 50 LE 2005: Origin, Cuba. Manufactured, Hand Made. Gauge, Thick. Length, 160. Format, Double Robusto. Ring, 50. Weight, 15 gr. Score 9.2.

Review: A light to medium flavored smoke, noted for its com

The binders of the cigar usually consist of the same leaves as the wrapper but small holes are punched into them to aid in the feeding of oxygen to keep the cigar alight. The cigar binders are what holds the whole cigar together and prevents the cigar from unraveling itself.

To this day, there are a few age old cigar shops which can be found in South America. When you visit these shops, you can experience a person from Cuban decent rolling a cigar behind an ancient wood and glass counter. It is said that you have not tasted the perfect cigar until you have lit up a full bodied, perfectly blended cigar which is hand rolled by an expert Cuban cigar roller. The aroma of the smoke will fill these shops with rich, enticing flavors that will transport you to another, ancient time.

Whatever your favorite cigar is, you could probably find, freshly rolled ones of good quality anywhere in South America. Everyone should smoke a South American cigar at least once in their lives, so add it to your “bucket list”.

The word “Cigarro” as cigars are known as in Spain comes from the Mayan word “sik” meaning tobacco. Smoking cigars has been a sign of success, achievement and celebration since the early 1800s. Fathers light up a cigar when their children are born, business men often seal a deal by enjoying the rich aroma and many successful men like Winston Churchill were hardly ever seen without one close by.

Many expert cigar makers immigrated to South America in the 1800s to plough their trade and search for the well know American dream. South America has since become known as the Cigar capital of America where the tradition of making cigars has been passed down from generation to generation. Many countries are slowly climbing their way up in the cigar trade. Brazil is one such nation which has seen increased cigar production in last few years.

A cigar is traditionally made up of three parts, the wrapper, the filler and the binder. The wrapper of the cigar is made up of the large leaves usually found at the bottom of the tobacco plants and because of their size they make a perfect wrapping for the filling. Connecticut The Double Claro leaves which are picked just before maturity and have a light green color. Oscuro or “Double Manduro” is black in color and has an oily sheen to it; this wrapper is known to grow in Brazil, Mexico, Cuba and Nicaragua.

Medium cigars are also perfect for different types of hard liquor. These include such options as whiskey and bourbon. When enjoying lighter types of alcoholic drinks like white wine a lighter type of cigar will be better with these drinks.

The only type of food that any type of cigar can truly go well with is rum. This is a popular Caribbean drink that has been made with all types of cigars in mind. Be sure though that the rum is made properly because of how weak rum can wreck any good cigar no matter what type of cigar it is.

Be sure to use these considerations when figuring out what types of cigars pair well with all sorts of different types of foods. There are many factors to see with regards to a cigar and the food that is being used. This is especially the case with regards to the intensity of the cigar.

No matter what you are looking into you should be sure that you are having a cigar that is close in intensity to the food that you are enjoying. If you are using a cigar that is too intense for a type of food then you will end up having a hard time enjoying the food because the taste of the cigar could easily cloud the food or vice versa.

When eating a meal that features light flavors that are not too intense a lighter cigar should be enjoyed. For instance, a Caesar salad can go well with a Claro cigar. In fact if the salad is paired with the proper seasonings including some spices like oregano and garlic the cigar can work even better with the salad.

The main course of a meal will be one that works especially well with a larger type of cigar. A larger cigar that is about half and inch or longer in width will work best for a main entrée like a steak or other piece of food. This comes from how that cigar will be one that is capable of lasting longer and providing flavors at a greater level that suits the needs of a larger dish.

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· Order and stock a general supply of cigars, several brands that you always have in medium to large amounts. These will be where you get most of your profit. Read the cigar magazines and visit the cigar social forums on the internet to know what’s popular and affordable. Never run out of these. Along with those, you want to have a select number of specialty cigars that are higher priced or harder to come by. These will be sold to your VIP customers, the ones who are experts themselves and choose to visit your business out of respect instead of need. You can even provide them with the occasional delivery – trust me, an aficionado will very much enjoy receiving in his busy office a delivery of cigars from his personal cigar broker.

· Creature comforts. Make the store look really nice and enjoyable to shop in, don’t crowd your space with unnecessary clutter, provide a few comfortable chairs and a small table for casual sit downs, and maybe even offer really good coffee for your favorite customers.

We’ll begin with things you should know when starting any sort of business. The first thing is money or capital: yes need it, dummy. You need money in your pocket. And not just enough to get started, I mean you need a surplus of it. If at all possible, you should fish for investors to join your project; if you’re unable to find many, at least find a singular partner who shares your interest and passion in starting your own cigar business.

Another thing any new business owner needs to have is knowledge of their product – and I mean knowing it from back to front and all sides imaginable. A lot of people are going to come to you with questions and they expect a small business owner to be more of an expert than the larger and impersonal “big box” stores. That is in fact your specialty – although you can’t fill a stadium sized warehouse with billions of products, you can offer expertise and a friendly face. You need to know every single item in your store, you need to know where it comes from and how you got it, and you need to know the best way of using it. You want to be starting your own cigar business? Well, it would help if you’re a cigar smoker too (true story: I used to frequent a pub whose bartender and owner never, ever touched a drop of alcohol for personal reasons – it made me uncomfortable to sit at the bar and drink in front of him).

Another important thing to keep in mind is your location and your desired clientele. To exaggerate the concept, a cigar salesman may not do especially well between a maternity dress shop and a health clinic. Not only will you attract the wrong window shoppers and foot traffic, your business neighbors will also not approve of you and you will not have friendly relations. It would be best to be on everyone’s good side for awhile, capice? Good. So choose a location that suits your desired clients and not your own. For a small specialty store, a traditional downtown location is always a good choice. But so can malls or commercial districts and, hell, right next to the barbershop or the football stadium. If it was me, I’d be starting my own cigar business down the street from Governor Schwarzenegger’s office. You’d be set up for life for sure.

Finally, and this is the most important general tip of all, you absolutely must have a brilliant understanding of finances and economics. It’s not enough to be a cigar expert if you don’t know how to stay out of the red. You need to know the right time to invest in upgrading or up keeping your storefront, you need to know how much product to order for to meet your sales quota (and not go over) and you need to work a cash register.