Sometimes, it really is possible to judge a book by its cover. From the moment you walk into a cigar shop, you take a quick look at its inventory and get a sense for the entire establishment. If the shelves are packed with low-end sticks, the discerning smoker will figure out pretty quickly that another tobacconist may be a better fit. And, there are the lounges you enter with everything from established favorites to rare and exciting cigars. Most of the time, you'll be able to get exactly what you want. In both cases, however, there is always the risk that you'll talk to someone who doesn't know what he's doing. Not every staff member is a great hire, and just because some great inventory is in the humidor, it doesn't mean the proprietor knows what he has.

Tobacconist University, founded by Jorge Armenteros, is trying to solve this problem. The organization, sponsored by Padron (a hell of an endorsement, frankly), provides a baseline education and testing structure to demonstrate to consumers that a retailer is knowledgeable. Simply, if you have a question about a cigar, the goal of the Tobacconist University certification program is to make you comfortable asking and confident in the answer.

The creator of Miami Cigar & Co. has decided that this coming Friday, June 12, 2009, is National Nestor Miranda Day. In exchange for claiming this particular day of the week, Miranda's Miami Cigar will be shipping free samples of the Nestor Miranda Special Selection 20 Aniversario Danno to 500 cigar retailers around the country. The only catch is that you have to buy a cigar from the retailer – any cigar, not even one from Miranda.

Each shop will be given 40 cigars, and 20 cigar retailers will be set up for much larger parties, which will be attended by key team members from Miami Cigar. Miranda will be at Sabor Havana in Doral Florida.

This promotion is the latest in a yearlong celebration of Miami Cigar's 20th anniversary.

Maybe, society has had enough. In Spokane, Washington, even non-smokers came to the defense of the cigar community when public golf courses tried to implement a ban. Other places are relying on creativity, such as tobacconist De La Concha's cigar dinners. In New Hampshire, the legislature is getting involved – a bill may legalize the sale of liquor in cigar bars.

In most places, it's tough to find a social setting where you can enjoy a cocktail and a cigar at the same time. The "live free or die" folks are looking to change that. If tobacconists are able to receive liquor licenses, the resulting store traffic could offset much of the damage being done by the financial crisis.

For Two Guys Smoke Shop in Salem, New Hampshire – where I used to go when I lived in northern Massachusetts – sales have fallen since the state banned smoking in restaurants two years ago, with particular effect in the winter. The ability to sell drinks would make the venue more enticing to customers, keep them in seats longer and likely result in an increase in sales.

There aren't many cigar venues left in New England or elsewhere in the country where you can smoke and drink at the same time. In Manhattan, we have a few spots, and Boston has Cigar Masters. Many cities have their hidden gems, but you have to find them. For the cigar smokers of New Hampshire, however, this could change. And, if you believe that Dixville Notch chooses the president every four years, expect to see similar laws pop up in other states.

Cut and light a double corona, and you're likely to draw comments about size, compensation and the like. So, imagine how the locals at your smoke shop would react to Jose Castelar's latest creation. He just set the world cigar rolling record (his fourth), doubling his last one. The result was a cigar 142 feet long.

The world record holder smoked his last record breaking cigar – 67 feet long – in 2005. At the time, he promised to continue breaking records ... and four years later, he's come through in style.

What's next? Castelar wants to roll a cigar the length of Malecon, Havana's six-mile seaside promenade.

The Cuban cigar roller, interestingly, limits himself to one cigar a day. What he does not say, however, is how long it is.

Cigar smoking is a lifestyle commitment ... and investment. Unless you're smoking low-end cigars, your daily spend is at least $5 and could reasonably reach $10. If you truly go upscale, you're looking at $20 a day or more, with boxes starting at $450. It becomes expensive quickly, and today, people are reconsidering how they use their "fun money." Unsurprisingly, pipes are gaining popularity as a cost-effective smoking alternative without forcing you into the nasty world of cigarettes.

At first, pipe smoking appears to be pricey. To enter the world of briar, you could lay out hundreds of dollars – even thousands. And, since you can't buy just one pipe, the cost multiplies. Once you get past the initial purchase, though, pipe smoking is quite affordable. Top pipe tobacco brands cost less than $15 a tin ... roughly the cost of a cigar.

Like cigars, pipes range from garbage to entry level to high-end. Generally, quality follows price. A $5 corn cob is what you would expect, and hand-crafted Dunhills – which can sell for more than $1,000 – may be a bit much for someone testing the waters.

All you cigar rookies, stand back! La Flor Dominicana Salamones is a big, hefty, full-bodied cigar that should be enjoyed on a full stomach in the evening while sitting in a comfortable chair with a rare bottle of port by your side. At more than $25 a stick, it's meant to be enjoyed, and the cigar delivers on even the highest of expectations.

This cigar by La Flor Dominicana is part of the recent wave of Salamones-style cigars that has come to market. This shape is quite difficult to create, especially with its large size. The perk, though, is that you get to watch an ash form that mirror's the cigar's original appearance, as a rich brown gives way to light gray.

The narrow foot results in a slight tightness of draw at first; the shape doesn't allow as much air to pass through. Over the first two or three minutes, you'll feel the Salamones open up, with greater volumes of smoke entering your mouth until you're enjoying the substantial mouthful's yielded by this delightful creation.

Nothing equates to having a cigar of this magnitude in your hand. It is enormous (roughly as big as a double corona), emits an amazing aroma and has a beautiful, oily wrapper. The ash holds easily for two inches before showing any signs of wanting to fall.

Cigar manufacturers are taking another look at the Salomon cigar style. It's a classic, according to Cigar Aficionado's Gregory Mottola, that many seem to have forgotten for a while. Rocky Patel, La Aurora and La Flor Dominicana are bringing back Salomon, and customers are voting for the size with their dollars. On that small island south of Florida, Habanos S.A. has added a new Salomon to its product line.

For those of you who are new to cigars, you probably haven't seen a Salomon. It's a fairly large cigar that's tapered at both ends, and it is often finished with a nipple foot. Don't confuse it with the smaller perfecto or larger diadema. Apparently, this isn't an easy size to produce, calling for a considerable amount of rolling skill and twice the time of a "normal" stick.

The SCHIP takes effect next week, and cigar smokers everywhere are dreading Wednesday. We've seen it coming, and I'm sure a few committed, deep-pocketed smokers have been stocking up to lock in discounts now. For the rest of us, though, there's no choice but to bite the bullet. And, in some places, that bullet is flying faster than in others.

Employees at the 16 Tocacco Depot stores, for example, have been rushing around to put new prices on various tobacco products, even though we still have nearly a week left. Fred Hoyland, who runs the show at that chain, says that some of the manufactures have raised their prices early – weeks in advance, even – in a play to beat the bargain hunters to the tax punch. Hoyland calls this "keep[ing] the market and inventory stable."

So, all your planning was probably for nothing. The house always wins ...

Habanos S.A., the official worldwide distributor of Cuban cigars, has developed a new way to thwart the efforts of the knockoff business. The company's introduced a new security seal that apparently has other safety features ... all of which are designed to prevent you from smoking a "Cohibo" while wearing your Folex and carrying Burbarry.

Specifically, there are two new elements on the Republica de Cuba warranty seal. One is a holographic label, which you'll find to the right of every warranty. The other is a barcode that will be on the left of the warranty. The seal is designed to fall apart if removed, making it impossible to reuse it on a box of fakes. Also, the barcode corresponds to a customized identification number stored in a database. One scan will show brand, size and market destination.

In the words of our esteemed former leader, "mission accomplished," right? Well, this all assumes that counterfeiters won't be able to build a better mousetrap.

Illegal cigar factories, called "chinchals," have been among the few alternatives for Cubans looking for work in the midst of this global economic crisis. Risking time in prison, employees roll counterfeit Havana cigars in order to make a living. The risk may be worth the return, but it's hard to say.

One roller refused to reveal the extent of his pay raise when moving from state factories to the black market ... but "raise" was implied. Working in the legit world, this employee earned $17 a month. Counterfeit cigars tend to sell for $30 to $40 per box of 25, a price that's up to five times lower than the official price set by the Cuban government.

The price competition is only one reason for the government's distaste for the counterfeit cigar business, but it's a powerful one. Cuba's official cigar company, Habanos S.A., saw a 3 percent drop in sales last year. The government also cites the need to protect the image of the brand and fight corruption on the island. Authorities confiscate 1,500 to 1,700 boxes of illegally manufactured cigars every month.

It could be a losing fight, however. Barriers to entry are low, as supplies are easy to secure. And, desperation plays a role. When you need to put food on the table, risks become more realistic.

The biggest problem with access to Cuba may not be production capacity, as many suspect. Trademark and copyright issues have the potential to be a greater problem, and there is no easy solution.

You've probably noticed that brands such as Partagas, Montecristo and Cohiba occupy your local tobacconist's humidor. A saunter through a duty free store at any airport outside the United States will put the same names under your nose. Of course, these cigars have nothing to do with each other. The latter are Cuban, the former are not and the companies have no relationships. Cohibas in the United States are not the "non-Cuban" or "legal" versions of a single company's product.

General Cigar Co. Inc., for example, sells Cohiba cigars in the United States. Cohiba is also a prominent Cuban brand. Unfortunately, Habanos S.A. never registered the name up here. Habanos sued General Cigar, and a nine-year battle followed. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Habanos (shocking, right?), reasoning that the embargo barred a challenge to General Cigar's claim.

When the embargo is lifted, there will be more legal challenges, and several companies will have to change their names and labels – ultimately requiring the reconstruction of brand identities from scratch. Winning the brand battles will have profound consequences. For this reason, General Cigar has "invested" close to $3.5 million on lobbyists over the past 10 years.

As with all other Cuba-related speculation, there is no way to forecast where this issue will go in a post-embargo market. Even if we assume that the Cuban brands will lose their claims, the impact on the market would be nearly impossible to predict. What we do know, however, is that the transition will be far from easy.

Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua: these are the countries you would normally associate with the cigar business. But, Greece? Believe it or not, a market for local cigars is growing in Greece, and it's defying the global economic downturn.

Domenico Cigars is a small, two-room factory in Greece that sources its seeds from Cuba. It only puts out 70,000 sticks last year (a record). Instead of positioning the cigars as rare or limited editions, the company offers them at a reasonable $5 each, which is about half the price of the imported hand-rolled Cubans.

The group received little help from Cuba. Though they were able to tour the factories and plantations, nobody offered tips. They weren't allowed to take notes. So, developing an operation in Greece led to plenty of trial and error, with the actual rolling being the hardest part.

Despite the fact that the seeds are Cuban, the cigars are distinctly Greek, thanks to the local soil and the effort that resulted in the current product. The locals, it seems, remain committed.

[AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis]

Sigmund Freud thought that sometimes -- just sometimes -- a cigar could be just that, a cigar. Well, I doubt he never envisioned a Camacho Select between Harmony's lips. What's this mean? A new year is upon us, and Camacho's latest calendar is on the market. The "making of" video has followed quickly. Now, you can get a feel for how the tobacco hotties wound up on the pages that adorn the walls of your favorite cigar lounges (or possibly your apartment).

Now, all Camacho needs is a cure for all the new cigar taxes that ail us.

[Thanks, @DylanAustin]

The 2009 Tobacconists' Association of America (TAA) Convention kicks off on Sunday, March 8. Tobacconists and manufacturers from around the world will converge on the CasaMagna Marriott for four days of reconnecting, deal-making and of course plenty of cigar smoking. I'm currently at this Cancun resort and am happy to give the attendees – and jealous onlookers – a few insights into the event's host.

Surprisingly, smoking bans have crossed the border, forcing the CasaMagna to be smoke-free. The lobby, restaurants, bars and guestrooms, for the most part, are off-limits for puffing. Fortunately, poolside smoking is fine, and you can light up in the bar that sits alongside the beach.

Igniting your cigar may be a challenge. With airlines frustrating efforts to carry torches, matches may be your only available option (unless you bleed your lighter and find someone to refill it for you in Cancun. The wind off the Caribbean is strong, so look for sheltered corners to use when firing up (there are a handful of them almost everywhere on the property).

A loophole in Mexico's smoking laws allows CasaMagna to welcome TAA's smokers into the Sa Si Thai restaurant, as it is a covered outdoor space. So, you'll be able to enjoy your favorite Avo, Fuente or Davidoff (or anything else) unmolested. The hotel has extended this restaurant's hours of operation to accommodate late-night indulging. After last call, you can retreat to your room's balcony to tie off the night with your preferred stick.

President Obama wants to create jobs, yet he isn't too worried about some that already exist. Miami's cigar manufacturers are watching April 1, 2009 with grave concern. The new State Children's Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) takes effect on that date, resulting in a 900 percent tax increase on every cigar made in the United States – or imported here.

What's at stake?

For Miami, it's the many people responsible for rolling 75 percent of the 272 million cigars rolled in this country. Manufacturers and retailers alike are bracing themselves. A tax that takes the surcharge on hecho a mano sticks from 4 cents to 40.26 cents is cause for alarm.

So, as my sergeant used to say, "Smoke if you got 'em." At this rate, you may not have 'em much longer ... or at least not as many.