From the time I was fifteen I smoked a pipe. I was influenced by the Arthur Conan Doyle stories of Sherlock Holmes (an early appreciation of detective fiction, eh?), who smoked a calabash. In this pipe, made from an African gourd, he smoked something called shag mixture, which is a heavy blend of mostly Turkish tobaccos. I experimented with various types of shag-like mixtures, but I found that I preferred a lighter blend of Virginia tobacco. My favorite mixture for many years - and I still light up a pipeful to this day - is Edward G. Robinson. It used to be made by a San Francisco outfit, a small tobacconist named Greenfield and Winther. They were bought out by Sutliff tobacco, in Norfolk, Virginia, who in turn were bought by the Consolidated Tobacco Company, in Richmond, who still make the blend. I visited the Greenfield and Winther tobacco shop, many years ago. It's gone now. Apparently, they had a license from the actor to use his name, although he was more famous as a cigar smoker in his roles as a gangster. The blend is still the same, but it isn't easy to find. It's very mild and has a wonderful aroma.

          I never liked the calabash pipe. I owned two or three over the years and still have one. I always preferred good briars, particularly London made ones, like the GBD. They're pretty expensive nowadays.

          When I was first creating Mulheisen I had to provide him with a physical appearance and a certain style. I felt that making him a pipe smoker was too close to my own preference. He was not, after all, a surrogate self. I'm not really a Mulheisen type. I borrowed many of his characteristics from men I knew and admired, particularly from my air force days, as well as some aspects of cops I knew. I decided he would be a smoker, but I had always disliked cigarettes. He would be a cigar man. At first, I didn't have much to say about his cigars. I had never smoked cigars much. But later, I think when I was writing GROOTKA, I began to try different kinds and I got interested in cigars as well-made, attractive products with a fascinating history.

          Unquestionably, when Columbus first landed in the New World, in what would become Santo Domingo, the indigenous people he met were smoking cigars, very large cigars. Tobacco caught on very rapidly in Europe, as cigars. Later, the pipe became the prevalent means of smoking, and only much later, the cigarette. In the meantime, the tobacco of preference became milder, especially the types grown in the Virginias.

          My novel, LA DONNA DETROIT (published by Grove/Atlantic, 2000), has a major theme of cigars. Indeed, the title is taken in part from a cigar created by Helen Sedlacek, who is being groomed by Humphrey DiEbola, to become the first female don - La Donna of Detroit.

          In writing this story I did some research, talking to cigar makers like Johnny Miller of the Frank Correnti company, in Toronto. He comes from a long line of cigar makers. His family is Danish. He told me that the Danes smoke more cigars per capita than any other national group. His father and his grandfather were always in the tobacco business. He told me about traveling around the world, learning the business, the selecting of tobaccos - a single cigar can require the use of several kinds of tobacco, from widely distributed sources - the way they are grown, picked, stored, aged, and finally used to make cigars. It's a fascinating topic.

          Also of interest was the discovery that Detroit had been, at one time, a major center of cigar manufacture. That business declined in the thirties and vanished after World War II. Helen intends to reestablish the business.

          Everyone seems aware that Cuban cigars are the most valued. They are good, but there are many fine cigars from other places, especially the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, the Canary Islands, Mexico, and even Holland. The Cuban tobacco is especially valued as the filler. It all depends on what you like. Of great importance is how they are made.

          When John F. Kennedy enacted the Cuban embargo, he gave a great boost to tobacco manufacture in the rest of the world. He also, inadvertently, created a mystique about the Cuban cigar, which was no longer readily available to the huge American smoking public. The giant tobacco companies tried to enter the Cuban market right after the revolution, in the late fifties, but found that the Cubans were not interested in their mass production style. The old, famous manufacturers in Cuba continued, for the most part to make cigars there, but for the American public they were forced to open new factories in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. They soon found that they could make cigars outside Cuba that were of a very high quality, which the American public would appreciate. And Americans who were travelling also found that the Cuban cigars they smuggled home had a special cachet among their friends.

          If the embargo is ever ended - and it has gone on far too long - many cigar smokers will discover that the Cuban cigars they have lusted after for so many years are probably not to their liking. They are more robust than the American public is used to. They're still good, of course, but I'm one of those who believe that an H.Upmann, say, from the Dominican is every bit as good and I like their smoother, milder flavor.

          Lately, I have become enamored of the El Rey Del Mundos, from Honduras. I especially like the coronas and the Robusto Largas.  A. Fuentes makes great cigars, especially the hard-to-obtain "Hemingway" styles. These are Dominican cigars. H.Upmann still makes great cigars, not only in Cuba, but elsewhere, primarily the Dominican.From Mr. Miller's company I find I can get very well-made "Cuban" cigars, made in Toronto. They're made of Cuban tobacco, mostly, and rolled by Cubans and other emigres from the region. But since they are made in Canada, U.S. customs does not consider them "Cuban." Unfortunately, they're pretty pricey. But excellent.

             2004 update!  In recent years I have spent more time abroad, particularly in France, and consequently have had more opportunity to smoke Cuban cigars.  I have to confess that I've somewhat modified my views of Cuban cigars since I wrote the above passage.  They're great.  I'm still not ready to insist that they're the only cigars, however.  I've also had contact with cigar aficionados from around the country who have convinced me that I still have a lot to learn about cigars, especially Cubans.  I'm glad to hear it: I can't wait to learn more.  One thing I have learned: Flor de Farach is not always such a good choice.  In recent times I've regretted lauding them.  I'll have to keep an eye on them.  

          Smokers should consider when and where they will be smoking a cigar when making their selections. Your first cigar of the day, say in the morning, should not be a strong, big cigar. If you're smoking on the golf course, out in the wind, putting a cigar down to hit a ball, relighting it, and so on, it would be foolish to smoke an expensive, exquisite tasting cigar. Better to carry three or four cellophane-wrapped seconds or sturdy, hardy cigars, like Rosa Cubas (Nicaragua), or even La Fincas. After dinner, nothing beats a Fuentes, or an Upmann.

2004 update!  I've also considered shapes. I reasoned that the "shaped" cigars, such as the figurados, momotombos, pyramides, and so on, were more difficult to roll. The makers would put their best rollers on those, I thought. It makes a huge difference how well the cigar is rolled. Nonetheless, I prefer the corona, a medium-sized cigar, for basic smoking. Right this moment, as I write this, I'm puffing a Marsuli quaba, a cigar that has a taper at both ends. It's pretty good. They are made by Marsuli Cigars, in Temple City, California. I also like their toro, a 50 ring six inch cigar.  When La Donna Detroit was published, a friend of mine arranged for Marsuli to make a couple hundred toros with a special band that incorporated "La Donna Detroit" and my name on them.  I liked them so much that I contacted the Marsulis for more.  I've been handing these cigars out at readings and other appearances.  Oscar Marsuli and his brother, Miguel, are the Cuban-born sons of the older Oscar Marsuli, who immigrated to the U.S. many years ago.  Oscar Sr. still rolls cigars, especially the quabas, which I especially like, particularly in the maduro, or dark tobacco.  You can contact them at (800) 224-4445.  They use a variety of tobaccos, Dominican, Honduran, and so forth.  

          The basic concerns for the cigar smoker are: hand made, long filler, and a firm, but not too tight wrap that draws well. Keep your cigars in those sealable plastic bags. I keep several kinds in an old picnic cooler in which I have an open jar of water. That seems to maintain an adequate humidity, even in arid Montana. There are many elegant, elaborate humidors, but I've never been tempted to shell out the bucks for them. I'd rather spend the money on cigars.

          The best place to buy cigars is through the mail. It's nice, if you're in a large city, to buy a few cigars from a fancy store - paying the fancy prices, of course - but for your basic supplies, I recommend the J.R. Tobacco Company, in South Carolina. They have the best prices and the best cigars. They do a tremendous business, and they're honest. They won't send you bad cigars. Also, Lew Rothman, the owner, writes one of the funniest, most informative catalogues available.  J.R. is on-line, at JRCigars.com.