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After the interesting discussion about cigars construction and quite special results of that poll, I stumbled across a discussion of this post on UK cigar forums. Kingcohiba and other members suggested to run another poll, this time regarding the flavor.

So, which cigars, according to your experience, taste better on average - Cubans or non-Cubans? I understand that this is not a simple question as there are lots of nuances, but I thought it might be interesting to get the rough numbers. Also, it would be fair to give Cuban cigars fans a chance to have a revenge :)

PS For those of you who are reading this post via RSS or e-mail, please click here to visit the post and cast your vote/comment. Thank you.

A few weeks ago I asked the following question: is there any overall construction difference between Cuban and non-Cuban cigars? The results are above. As you can see, almost 90% think that either non-Cuban cigars are better constructed or there's no real difference. And only 13% said that Cuban cigars are superior in construction... let's hope that Habanos SA are working on it.

Here's what we've got to share with you this Saturday:

El Titan de Bronze Redemption Maduro

Reviewed by Walt at  The Stogie Review

Walt reviews a 2009 IPCPR release, El Titan de Bronze Redemption Maduro.
Read the full review here...

Tatuaje Black CRA Release

Reviewed by Patrick S at  The Stogie Guys

Some time ago, we posted about the special offer from CRA - new members could get limited edition samplers from the most popular manufacturers. Patrick tried the Tatuaje from this sampler and was impressed.
Read the full review here...

New Cigar from Don Pepin Garcia

John Brooke from The Weekly Cigar was lucky enough to talk to Pepin Garcia at a recent event. He was told that a new cigar was about to be made, with only 1.000 boxes released, all the sticks being rolled by Don Pepin Garcia himself. Check out the full article here.

We published a list of cigar people on Twitter one year ago and it was time to update it. Here is the new list, we hand-checked that the following accounts are active and bring you the best cigar-related news:

• @CigarInspector: that's us!
• @joereist: Our friend JoeBob
• @jcruz: Jerry Cruz from The Stogie Review
• @waltw: Walt White from The Stogie Review
• @brianhewitt: who doesn't know Brian Hewitt?
• @dcamacho: secret agent from The Cigar Spy
• @cigarjack: Jesse AKA Cigar Jack
• @CigarAdvisor: Gary Korb from Cigar Advisor
• @Famous_Hayward: Famous-Smoke.com representatives
• @mountchuck: Charlie blogs about cigars at Nice Tight Ash
• @MikeInWV: cigar aficionado in WV
• @Emjaysmash: student who enjoys life and a good cigar
• @parnellk63: cigar aficionado
• @jbrookeiv: John from The Weekly Cigar
• @caocigars: Jon Huber, director of lifestyle marketing at CAO
• @DylanAustin: director of marketing at Camacho
• @gpk3: he wins all the cigar contests out there
• @OlivaIan: Ian is a regional sales rep for Oliva
• @kerelcoop: cigar lover from New Jersey
• @TommyBB: editor at Cigar Weekly
• @Bulldogrifleman: Ben posts reviews at Nice Tight Ash
• @syrlinus: this is Linus from CigarNewbie.com
• @reviewingcigars: guys from Smoking & Talking
• @KnightRid: Cigar Smoker with capital letters
• @Se7en_Vandalay: Michael posts great reviews @ CigarInspector
• @caosmoker: knows everything about CAO cigars
• @nyisles: Barry from A Cigar Smoker
• @cigarsthomas: cigar aficionado from California
• @mattmaronna: cigar aficionado from Florida
• @fricard: Fernand from The Cohiba Club

Of course, feel free to add yourself to the list through the comments below! Enjoy.

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This year, I have smoked amazingly-constructed cigars (the best example is probably the Panacea), whereas others were really poorly constructed, like the Romeo y Julieta Cedros. What struck me is that if I were to make average construction grades for Cubans & non-Cubans that I smoked, the non-Cuban sticks would easily win the clash. Why does this happen? Is this only my case? I thought Cuba was supposed to be home to the best torcedores... I would like you to vote and share your opinion below - unleash those comments!

PS For those of you who are reading this post via RSS or e-mail, please click here to visit the post and cast your vote/comment. Thank you.

Have you noticed that there has not been a single review of San Cristobal cigars at CigarInspector.com? Probably not... well, I wasn't aware of the issue until recently.

San Cristobal de la H. is the newest Cuban brand as far as I know, launched in 1999. We'll be looking at the following vitolas: Muralla, Oficios, La Punta & La Fuerza. I do not know what to expect and I think it will be an interesting experience.

Have you tried San Cristobal cigars? Please share your opinion!

I love Corsica. I first visited the island a couple of years ago and absolutely wanted to spend at least one week there this year, which I finally managed to do. There are no other places with the same concentration of breathtaking sceneries. Furthermore, the food and the wine are beyond reproach.

As for the cigar shops, there are a couple of nice places. Out of 6 tobacco outlets that I tested, I selected two that have the best choice. The first one is called "Le Havane" [Google Maps] and is located on the Cours Napoléon, the main street in Ajaccio (there are at least three more cigar shops in the same street, but this one is my favorite).

The second place is a little farther from the city centre, but it is worth a visit. "Carpe Diem" [Google Maps] is the only one B&M that has a walk-in humidor with all the latest releases. Some non-Cubans as well, such as Nubs and Ashton VSGs.

I managed to find what I wanted (the 2009 French Regional Edition - review coming up!) and I think you will, too. Have fun in Corsica!

Last week was very rich in great cigar articles published at cigar blogs - I would like to highlight the ones I thoroughly enjoyed in case you missed them somehow.

The Art of the Cigar Bomb

Chris over at NiceTightAsh.com explains very well what is a cigar bomb and how one should bomb his or her fellow aficionado.

Cigar Bombs have filled wish lists and humidors for years. But for those of you who are not familiar, or perhaps want to send a few out, read these directions carefully. Not following these instructions could result in losing a limb.

Read the article!

Cigar Shops Under Attack

Patrick S. at StogieGuys.com describes how anti-smoking zealots ingeniously come up with more and more techniques to complicate the existence for cigar shops and bars, the only places left for us where we can smoke.

Even where smoking is allowed, regulations are designed to do harm. In New York City, for example, the century-old Barclay Rex cigar store recently found itself in trouble with city inspectors who cited the shop for serving free coffee to its customers using a $9,000 automatic espresso maker. The violation was for serving “food” without a permit. Problem is, according to New York’s strict smoking ban, no place that allows smoking can have such a permit.

Read the article!