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Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 2:16 am
by x007x
Hello everyone. I am curious on what are some popular cigars brands from italy that will be enjoyable. I don't smoke cigars very often at all, but do you know a cigar that would be enjoyable with a nice flavor? I have family members coming home from Italy in the next week, so I was going to have them bring me a few back.
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 4:50 am
by Jumping Frog
They could buy Havana cigars there.
When I've gone to Europe, I've brought them back.
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:37 am
by pbwalker
Jumping Frog wrote:They could buy Havana cigars there.
When I've gone to Europe, I've brought them back.
+1
My uncle is Cuban and goes down every 3 years or so. He always brings me back some real Cohibas. Can't beat 'em.
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:54 am
by RoyGBiv
Never had any cigars made in Italy. Not sure that Italians even make their own cigars.
I can see it now... a Gucci cigar.
Google says Toscano is made in Italy...
And CAO makes a line of "Italia" cigar with Italian-grown filler from Cuban seed...
http://www.famous-smoke.com/brand/cao+italia+cigars" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
For a European brand, I like Villager (Swiss). Usually available in Duty-free shops all over Europe.
Impossible to beat a Cohiba, however. Siglo IV

Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:13 am
by jimlongley
RoyGBiv wrote:Never had any cigars made in Italy. Not sure that Italians even make their own cigars.
I can see it now... a Gucci cigar.
Google says Toscano is made in Italy...
And CAO makes a line of "Italia" cigar with Italian-grown filler from Cuban seed...
http://www.famous-smoke.com/brand/cao+italia+cigars" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
For a European brand, I like Villager (Swiss). Usually available in Duty-free shops all over Europe.
Impossible to beat a Cohiba, however. Siglo IV

Back in the early 60s, before the "A Fistful of Dollars" trilogy was introduced, I worked in a gas station/restaurant/bar, which I opened on Sunday mornings. One of our regular Sunday morning customers used to stop in about 5am for coffee and a cigar on his way home from bar hopping all night, and would often buy a pack of Di Nobili cigars, which the owner later told me that he kept on hand just for this customer.
I was a geeky looking gangly kid with thick glasses and took some teasing from the customers from time to time. One time I was standing behind the counter puffing on a Marlboro and Mr Di Nobili decided to see if I could smoke a "REAL MAN'S SMOKE" and challenged me to light up a Di Nobili with him, so I did, and I survived, much to his chagrin. He told me that Di Nobilis and Parodis were Italian cigars and the special curing process made them stronger than other cigars and that he had fully expected me to get sick or at least quit before finishing the strong smoke.
After that I smoked Di Nobilis on and off for years. I was away in the Navy when Fistful came out, and was immediately tagged as some kind of Clint Eastwood wannabe due to my choice of cigars, even though my shipmates had seen me smoking them before the movie came out.
I found out later that despite the Italianate name and flag colors on the box, Di Nobilis, and several others, are made in Pennsylvania.
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:09 pm
by WildBill
I have always liked Cuban cigars better than others ... until one of my friends suggested that it was only because they were the forbidden fruit and you couldn't get them in the U.S.
When I started working in Mexico, I could buy them no problem. The last time I had one it wasn't as good as I remembered, but I still like them.
I won't turn this thread into a political topic. I think it's about time we ended the Cuban embargo. Castro has outlived how many US presidents? Do we really consider Cuban a threat to our national security?
viewtopic.php?f=83&t=58577&p=719082#p719082" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:41 pm
by JP171
here is a bit of trivia for all of you that enjoy the cuban puro, why do people seek out cuban cigars? the answer is very simple, in the cuban soil is a chemical that relaxes and pacifies people, its called (drum roll please) lithium, it is a psycotropic. so remember that cubans really aren't that good, its the chemical that your after not the tobacco
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:52 pm
by RoyGBiv
WildBill wrote:The last time I had one it wasn't as good as I remembered,
A fake maybe? I've had a few that were not so good.... Mostly in Mexico.
Never had a problem in Asia or Europe. One bad one in Canada.
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:54 pm
by WildBill
RoyGBiv wrote:WildBill wrote:The last time I had one it wasn't as good as I remembered,
A fake maybe? I've had a few that were not so good.... Mostly in Mexico.
Never had a problem in Asia or Europe. One bad one in Canada.
It's possible. I had one in France last year at it was pretty good. I am not that familiar with brands so maybe I just got a mediocre cigar.
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:56 pm
by WildBill
JP171 wrote:here is a bit of trivia for all of you that enjoy the cuban puro, why do people seek out cuban cigars? the answer is very simple, in the cuban soil is a chemical that relaxes and pacifies people, its called (drum roll please) lithium, it is a psycotropic. so remember that cubans really aren't that good, its the chemical that your after not the tobacco
I haven't heard this, but the American tobacco companies are pretty smart, so I would think that they would be dosing the american soil with lithium if this were the case. Of course, I could be wrong.

Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:28 pm
by JP171
Lithium is a controlled substance as defined by the DEA, so no they aren't allowed to use it as a filler, unlike pink slime in your burger
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:15 pm
by WildBill
JP171 wrote:Lithium is a controlled substance as defined by the DEA, so no they aren't allowed to use it as a filler, unlike pink slime in your burger
Reference please.
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/sched ... _alpha.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/c ... fr=1308.14" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 9:22 am
by PUCKER
JP171 wrote:here is a bit of trivia for all of you that enjoy the cuban puro, why do people seek out cuban cigars? the answer is very simple, in the cuban soil is a chemical that relaxes and pacifies people, its called (drum roll please) lithium, it is a psycotropic. so remember that cubans really aren't that good, its the chemical that your after not the tobacco
Source please?

Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 5:17 pm
by JP171
to Bill, it isn't a narcotic, so its not on a narc/doa schedule, but you do need a prescription or a certificate to purchase lithium in refined forms such as Lithium Carbonate.
Pucker, I don't remember what issue but Cigar Afficianado and Cigar Magazine have both said this, now that doesn't necessarily make it true, but one of the legal exports of Cuba happens to be Lithium Bromide and yes us drug manufacturers do infact get cuban lithium, just not from Cuba but instead from countries that don't embargo them
Re: Italian Cigars?
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 6:02 pm
by WildBill
JP171 wrote:to Bill, it isn't a narcotic, so its not on a narc/doa schedule, but you do need a prescription or a certificate to purchase lithium in refined forms such as Lithium Carbonate.

Lithium Carbonate is a prescription drug, but not a controlled substance. OTOH, lithium compounds are in very common use. Perhaps the most common is in lithium batteries. Lithium hydroxide is used to scrub air in submarines and the space crafts.