"I have good news and I have bad news...."

Well the good news in the cigar world is based upon related bad news. From the Cigar Report Daily...

"....this phrase in the 1990s, a take-off on the 1920s "speak-easy" where Prohibition was openly flaunted. The smoke-easy might be coming into its own.

Most smoking-ban legislation includes exclusions for retail tobacco stores and for cigar bars, among other locations. As smoking becomes more private, rather than public, rite, the "cigar bar" or a place reserved for the smoking of cigars – or cigarettes – may become more and more popular."

and now for the bad news...

"....As consolidation continues in the tobacco trade, large cigarette companies which see declining volumes are looking for opportunities to add profits by acquiring, among other things, cigar companies.

As this continues, so-called "Big Tobacco" will have ownership interests in the larger cigar companies and remove the cigar trade from the family-owned, "mom and pop" status it has enjoyed for many years.....

Altadis was also a large cigarette concern, but will Davidoff or Swedish Match – which do not sell cigarettes at all – be swallowed by a Big Tobacco whale in 2008?"

The way I see it - our Cigar Culture - we got it coming at us from all directions!

I wanted to give you something outside my usual "blogoshpere haunt" - so I thought I would share my Sunday by offering a Dominican flare -

The Dominican Republic is on the rise thanks to the cigar! I came across this article
The DR captures the cigar world’s crown : Dominican Dominance - source: Cigar Report Daily

".... Behind gates and barbed wire fences separating them from Santiago’s bright, gritty bustle, the cigar manufacturers of the Dominican Republic operate with the seemingly effortless precision of finely calibrated machines, producing millions of sticks a year — feeding a demand still strong more than a decade after the much-touted cigar boom of the mid-1990s. Forget Cuba. Until the day Castro’s ant farm breaks some sort of speed record in its inevitable march to capitalism once El Líder Máximo is among el muerte, this island on the Caribbean’s eastern edge will continue to dominate the smoking world."

and more about the US SCHIP tobacco tax proposal...

"...The big worry is that the tax will cause regular cigar smokers to cut back on their consumption, and drive more casual ones out of the lifestyle altogether. It would also severely affect the Dominican Republic itself. “If the tax is put into law, we lose a lot of labor — more than 100,000 people could be put in the streets,” Reyes estimates. “This is a poor country, like Nicaragua and Honduras.” Driving through the streets of Santiago, you can picture the effects of such job losses in the people waiting out the day on crates in front of scarred stucco walls, or picking through the debris along the side streets."

this is a great article...recommended reading

But what is a Sunday without a Sunday morning cigar review brought to you by the Cigar Woman!

Stogie Guys Quick Smoke: Bucanero Full Sail I've not heard of this smoke, but Patrick enjoyed the cigar with the accompaniment of a full bodied red, and thought the couple were perfect for each other. "This cigar had a real kick, but it was never unpleasant or harsh. With its perfect construction, I can definitely recommend the Full Sail." Patrick gave the Full Sail a Buy Verdict.

It's a little different this Sunday Ladies, but diversity is Queen!

Have a great week....