At the close of the 20th Century I discovered the true pleasure of fine cigars. I had flirted with cigars off and on since the 1960s and played around with machine-made and cheap hand-made cigars in the 1980s. But it wasn't until 1999 that I really discovered the joy of premium and semi-premium cigars.

At present, my favorite is the Macanudo Prince Phillip, pictured above. For the most part, Macanudo cigars are mild and come from the Domincan Republic, made with a Connecticut shade wrapper, a Mexican binder, and a blend of Jamaican, Mexican and Dominican filler tobacco. The Prince Phillip has a ring size of 49 and a length of 7 1/2 inches.

I've tried several Macanudo sizes, and although I prefer the Prince Phillip, all are excellent smokes. Macanudo is the largest selling premium cigar in America and is made by the General Cigar Company. Macanudo Robust was introduced in 1998 and in 1999 they introduced the Macanudo Maduro, medium to full-strength cigar lines.

At right you can click on the listed links to begin or refresh your knowledge about cigars. Incidentally, all humidors pictured on this site are ones I personally own.

At left are links I have found that offer good prices on cigars, humidors and related items, as well as information and online magazines.

Although Macanudo is my favorite smoke and prefer mild to medium cigars, I also enjoy full-bodied cigars from tiem to time. Although you can find links to various cigars I've smoked and rated below, here are my current favorite mild, medium and full-bodied smokes.

Favorite brands in the mild class are Macanudo, Playboy by Don Diego, Don Diego, and Onyx. These also come in a variety of sizes. My favorite Playboy size is the Gran Corona, ring size 48 and 6 3/4 inches long, with some other sizes being more medium in strength. My preferred Don Diego is the Coronas Bravas, which has a ring size of 48 and is 6 1/2 inches long. My favorite Onyx is the 646, Grand Corona, with a ring size of 46 and being 6 5/8 inches long. Instead of a Connecticut shade or Cameroon wrapper, these have a dark maduro wrapper; and although cigar aficionadoes rate this cigar lower than the others, I find it very enjoyable. All three of these brands are made by Consolidated Cigar and are handmade in the Dominican Republic.

In the medium class, my favorites at present are Montecristo, Playboy, Lone Wolf, and La Gloria Cubana. While many Montecristos are full-bodied, the Corona Grande is a medium smoke. It is 5 3/4 inches by a ring of 46, with a filler and binder of Dominican tobacco and a Connecticut wrapper. My favorite Playboy size in this classification is the Longsdale, an 6 1/2 inch cigar with a ring size of 42.

My preferred Lone Wolf is the Churchill, which is 6 3/4 inches long with a ring of 48. Lone Wolf is made in Santiago, Dominican Republic with Dominican filler and binder and an Indonesian wrapper. The La Gloria Cubana comes from the USA and has a Ecuador wrapper, a binder from the Dominican Republic, and a filler which is a blend of Dominican, Brazilian and American tobacco. My favorite is the Churchill, which is 7 inches long with a ring size of 50.

At present, my favorite full-bodied cigar is the Punch Double Corona, which is 6 3/4 inches long with a ring of 48. It's handmade in Honduras.

Cigars I've Smoked and Rated

Note: Cigars of the same brand can vary in taste. If one size is mild, another size of the same brand may be medium to full-bodied. They also depend on one's taste. What may seem full bodied to me may seem only of medium strength to another.