Akiki’s Cigars is thrilled to announce the opening of its newest store branch located in the heart of Kaslik, Lebanon.
This highly curated space offers a premium selection of a smoker’s got-to products and a first-class service housed in a sleek, luxe interior that invites an industrial edge to the traditional cigar shop.
We also take great pleasure to announce that this store is Akiki’s Cigars’s first IQOS store in partnership with Philip Morris International Lebanon, offering our loyal clientele now the opportunity to purchase IQOS and lil devices from our brick and mortar store, complemented with a highly smooth customer service experience to cater to your after-sales needs in-store.
This new store marks our keen commitment to keep on moving forward and constantly listening and adapting to our community's needs.
We hope you share our excitement about this new chapter and will join us soon. Come say hi!
*Official Opening Event date will be announced soon on this space.
You can find us at Kaslik and our opening times are Monday through Saturday from 8AM to 8PM. We are closed on Sundays.
See you soon!
- Akiki's Cigars Team
]]>
How Tobacco Tastes From Around The World
So now that we know that there are differences in the taste of tobacco, depending on where it is grown, let’s explore some of the things you may expect to see and taste from tobacco around the world.
Tobacco From Cuba
The tobacco that gets the best reputation around the world is Cuban tobacco with some of the worlds most expensive cigars being created there. The tobacco itself has a spicy flavor and is strong and full bodied. Cuba is home to what is regarded as the best place to grow tobacco – Vuelta Abajo in the West of the island. The tobacco is then harvested and cigars manufactured near Havana to create the cigars.
Tobacco From The Dominican Republic
Dominican tobacco tends to originate from Cuban seed, but when grown has a milder taste compared to the robust Cuban flavors. While this tobacco may not be as strong, it is often described as being moderately flavored – stronger than that of Ecuador for example. Dominican tobacco also has a great reputation for more complex blends that are great to experience.
Tobacco From Ecuador
Compared to both Cuban and Central American tobacco, tobacco from Ecuador tends not to be as strong. It has a milder, gentler flavor that is more subtle compared to other tobaccos on the market.
Tobacco From Honduras and Nicaragua
Central America is famous for its tobacco, which has a reputation for being extremely high quality. The nations of Honduras and Nicaragua grow two main types of tobacco – the Connecticut Seed and the Cuban Seed. The tobacco from these countries is known to have a strong taste and unique aroma, and is used by many cigar manufacturers due to its high quality.
Tobacco From Mexico
Mexico grows a vast amount of tobacco, and mainly grows a kind of tobacco from the Sumatra seed. Often this type of tobacco is utilized in either the filler or the binder of cigars or as a Maduro wrapper. What is unique about cigars from Mexico is that most manufacturers use tobacco that is locally sourced – meaning it is made entirely in Mexico from the growing to production stage.
Tobacco From The United States of America
The United States is well known for producing two popular types of tobacco leaf both named after the state of Connecticut. Connecticut Broadleaf is a dark tobacco leaf that is almost black in color. It is a full, wide leaf and is very popular for American cigar brands. Connecticut shade, however, is smaller than the broadleaf, and lighter in color – being a brown or yellow shade. The shade variety produces a milder smoke than the broadleaf.
The Take-Away
As you can see from our quick-fire guide above, cigars can taste differently depending on the country that they come from. This is due to the different soil that the tobacco is grown in. Many cigar sellers will mention where the tobacco has been sourced in their cigars to help you understand the taste you are likely to experience.
Written by Findy Cigars
]]>When you walk into our cigar shops, you are faced with hundreds of options to choose from. How do you select a cigar that you are going to enjoy?
]]>When choosing a cigar, you can really break the selection process into two parts. First, you’ll want to filter your choices based on your broad preferences in a few categories: Body, Size, and Shape. Once you find a cigar that meets those parameters, you’ll next want to make sure it’s a good quality smoke.
Select a Cigar Based on Your Personal Preferences
Cigars come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and choosing among them is really a matter of personal preference.
There are a range of cigars from light (and more mellow) to dark (and more “full-bodied” — that is, stronger and more intense) and everything in the middle. You’ll probably have to try a few out to determine what you like.
First of all, size has nothing to do with flavor. A bigger cigar won’t necessarily be stronger or better.
There are two ways cigar size is measured: length, in inches, and width (called ring gauge). Gauge is listed by 64ths of an inch — so a 20 ring gauge is 20/64ths, a 49 is 49/64ths, etc. Many cigar price labels/listings will include size in the form of “inches long X gauge.” So a “5 X 50” is a 5-inch cigar, with a 50 gauge.
So if size doesn’t directly determine the quality or strength of the cigar’s flavor, how much does it matter?
Length really just correlates with how long you want your smoke to last. The longer the stogie, the longer it will take. For many smokers, a 6-inch cigar will last about an hour.
As for ring gauge, many aficionados like something on the smaller end (most cigars are between 40-50).
This is because the highest quality tobacco leaf is always the wrapper, so with a smaller diameter, you have a better ratio of wrapper leaf to filler leaf. With a larger diameter, you might have more cigar to smoke, but more of that cigar is filler leaf (which can still be great, mind you).
There are two classes of cigar shapes: Parejos and Figurados.
Parejos are your classically-shaped cigars with one end open, and one end, usually rounded, that needs cutting. The majority of cigars fall into this broad category, within which there are numerous subcategories of cigar shapes.
Figurados are anything other than that classic shape. They tend to have a bullet shape, and are tapered into a sharp point at the closed end. Some experts say this concentrates the smoke more and gives you a fuller flavor.
Mix and match all three of these characteristics of cigars to see what you like best!
Once you’ve sifted your choices based on your preferences, you want to determine whether a cigar you’ve got your eye on is also a good quality stogie.
Evaluate a potential cigar based on the criteria below: they apply to all cigars, regardless of body, size, or shape.
Judge the book by its cover — that is, the cigar by its wrapper. The wrapper should have no gaps or tears, and it should not be cracked. You want a smooth and clean exterior, which signifies quality craftsmanship.
The cigar should be a uniform color. It should not be spotted, or have places that are significantly darker than others. It should not have any spots of mold, which does occur (they’re stored in a humid environment, after all). You want a single, nicely uniform color on the entirety of the cigar.
Don’t buy dry. If you hold the cigar and squeeze it just a little, it should feel firm and like it has some give.
If it crackles and feels dry, avoid it. It probably hasn’t been stored properly, and will burn too hot upon smoking.
Feel for a uniform tobacco fill. If you lightly squeeze the cigar every half inch or so, the filling should feel uniform. You don’t want any divots or bulges, indicating a poor job of filling.
Give it a good smell. You can divine much of what a cigar will taste like by giving it a hearty whiff. If you’re in store, and a cigar is in a plastic wrapper, please take a sniff. Hold it close to your nose, and breathe in nice and deep. If it’s an appealing smell to you, it’ll probably taste good too. If something smells off in any way, give it a pass.
Written by September 21, 2018
]]>