Cigar Cipha

This cigar’s name is derived from King Edward VII who took over the crown and the rule of England from Queen Victoria, who had hated smoking with a passion and had banned it during her life time in the court buildings. As soon as she passed on, King Edward VII is said to have announced, “Gentlemen, you may smoke”, no doubt to uproarious applause on the part of the gentlemen in court at the time. This was many years before the lung and throat cancer and the stigma associated with smoking had become an issue.

He earned his place in cigar history with that remark and a Swisher International brand was soon named after him and went on to become a best seller worldwide. In the past American cigar smokers were not only the wealthy and exclusive amongst us and even the common working man would smoke a cigar. It was also not fashionable to smoke many different types and have the kind of connoisseur clubs that we see happening nowadays. Instead, similarly to a cigarette smoker, the cigar smoker would choose a brand and make it his or her own.

Access to Cuban cigars was easy and thousands of Havana cigars made with imported Cuban tobacco flooded the premium market. The average man on the street however was happier with a King Edward Cigar or something similar costing about half a nickel.

While many who partake of the snobbery of today’s cigar smokers would prefer not to smoke a drugstore-bought King Edward or similar brands, Swisher International rakes in huge profits as it holds second place by revenue behind Altadis the biggest cigar company worldwide. Swisher’s attitude is that they would rather make a cigar than sells in a big way than go for the elite market where very few can afford to play.

The King Edward Cigar is a mild and affordable machine rolled cigar that smokes smoothly and lies lightly on the tongue. It is a blend of rich slow-aged filler tobaccos with a specially selected hundred per cent natural leaf wrapper. The cigars are available in approximately sixty countries and come in a 5-pack or 50-box set.

King Edward may not recognize the cigar that is currently named after him but he would appreciate a great smoke that is easily available far more than he would like the humidors, temperature controls and other accessories that are often used by those who take their cigar smoking most seriously.