In the News

"Our new boutique cigar line, Urbano Connecticut, fills out our portfolio of just-released boutique premium cigars," reports Matt Urbano, founder and owner of Urbano Cigars.  "It is mild-to-medium-bodied, yet has a startlingly opulent flavor profile.  'Connecticut' complements our previously-released 'Corojo' (medium-full body) and ' Sumatra' (medium-body) lines.  We've blended all three cigars to offer the full spectrum of flavors and strengths, to satisfy all smokers' palates"

Urbano Connecticut is available in four shapes: Robusto, Torpedo, Churchill, and a new 6" x 60 shape.  The cigars are protected by cellophane tubes, and are presented in high-quality, handsomely-decorated cedar boxes of 20 cigars.

Traditionally speaking, a well-made wooden humidor lined in Spanish cedar is the optimal enclosure for keeping your cigars fresh. Presuming the humidor is properly seasoned and capable of maintaining a consistent relative humidity, your cigars should remain fresh almost indefinitely.

Many years ago, a friend of mine (who is also a cigar smoker) told me that he inherited his father's humidor. Having owned the humidor for decades, his father kept it in good condition, and it still had a good number of cigars inside which, to his surprise, were still in good shape. Inside the humidor was an old brass analog hygrometer (probably not made in China), and a chunk of potato. Missing, was a  humidifier. He told me his dad felt the potato was a good solution for two reasons: 1) it doesn't give off any odor, and 2) there's enough moisture in the potato to keep the cigars fresh for at least a month. (Some cigar smokers have been known to use a piece of apple as a humidifier.) Personally, I'll take a crystal filled humidifier any day. But if you opt for the potato or apple solution, just make sure to experiment until you know exactly how large a piece you'll need to use.

(Brentwood, TN) - Ray French, product director of Floragem, one the of most successful plant propagation companies in the world, is author of the upcoming How to Grow Your Own Tobacco: From Seed to Smoke (Cool Springs Press, September 2011). French is a master grower – with a complete and pure understanding of the ancient practice of creating the perfect soil. His growing habits are uncompromised and of the classic form: plant on time, create good soil, water with precision, prepare the climate, and watch the sun. He knows exactly how to grow.

French’s horticultural interests are vast and mixed.  In any given season, French’s travels may take him to Mexico on hunt for a rare tropical plant or the Netherlands for a summit with the world’s finest breeders. His quest for the rare and the beautiful gives him exclusive plant knowledge that precedes the market often by months or even years.  In this country, he plays a role in shaping what we buy and what we grow in our own gardens.