Cigars of the Philippines
 

After searching the forums for a while I didn't find any threads about the cigars from the Philippines(Known before as the Cuba of Asia), So i thought maybe i start a thread about it. I'm a Filipino born in Davao City. I just recently moved here to the US in 2007 for college but still go home every summer (I'll be flying back there June 26 this summer and come back here Sept 16 no trading during that time :( ) Okay lets go to the Cigars of the Philippines. Kinda drifted away to my personal life there for a bit.. hehe

Lets start it off with a little history of the cigars of my country. Cuban tobacco seeds were first introduced into our country in the 17th century by the Spanish. It was carried on the Spanish Galleon "San Clemente" bringing 200 ounces of Cuban seed tobacco and brought to Isabela province of Cagayan Valley.

Here's a pic of the locals in Isabela during the Tobacco festival.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...r27-155904.jpg
Yeah they go crazy with tobacco like that. We just love our tobacco.


In 1881 the company "La Flor de la Isabela" was born there making the most famous Cigar brands of the Philippines like "Don Juan Urquijo", "Alhambra"(President Kennedy Loved the Alhambra cigars"), and "Tabacalera". Tabacalera is the oldest and most popular brand of cigar in the Philippines. It has been for many years defined as the "Manila Cigar" and has been credited as the cigar that made the all the Philippine cigars world famous.

Here's a pic of tabacalera cigars:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...tab_cigars.jpg

Another notable cigar maker in the Philippines is the "Tabaqueria de Filipinas". These guys started in 1993 by Gabriel Ripoll, Jr.. These guys dont have much history yet but they do make good cigars specially the "Antonio Gimenez" brand.
Here's a pic of their cigars:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...d8d8e8695c.jpg

We also have really local cigars. Most of these are made by the farmers themselves. These guys are made without presses so these are usually not round and really ugly looking. These things are really cheap and i mean not even half a dollar cheap per pack. These are really good smokes to really taste the local flavor. These are not easy to find though. I cant even find these in our city. I had to fly to Isabela and go to the farms just to see these.

Here's a pic of the really local cigars:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26.../localcigs.jpg

I'll give you some translations too!
Blanco = white (most of you would know this as its spanish)
Magkaibigan = Friends
Matamis = Sweet
Mahaba = Long
Payat = Thin
Miss Philippines = I think this one is pretty self explanatory hhehehe

So there you have it guys! Thanks for reading!!

When I get back from the Philippines i'll try to bring back as much cigars as i can to let you guys try it. Maybe i'll also make a contest before coming back to the US and give the winner a Humidor made with Narra wood with your name engraved into it. You also get Tabacalera cigars in it! WOOO!! hahhaha

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Cool information and pictures, Benedic...thank you! :tu

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

:tpd:..I guess you do learn something new everyday

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Excellent information, thanks for sharing. Gonna have to get my hands on some of those when I get back home. :2-(P

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Thanks for the info and pics Benedic. Can you explain a little bit more about what's going on in the first pic? It looks interesting.

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Cool stuff Benedic,boy talk about hot boxing :D

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Look again, again, again, again and again ;) Some of my old reviews from Phillipian cigars.

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Hmmm i must be doing the search wrong LOL..

@Mario: The first picture is a contest part of the festival. The rollers (all women) are to roll the longest cigar they can and it has to be smokable. Longest one wins. In the picture the woman on the right is actually trying to light the other womans cigar by putting the ends together hahah.. :D

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Thats very cool. Thanks for that insight into cigars from your native land. I for one, would love to sample some of those local smokes at some point. I hope you can carry enough back to feed our desires, you may need to charter a cargo plane.

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

:tpd:

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

very cool indeed..

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Nice thread...

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Great post buddy, thanks.

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Very neat, good info.
I would definately get in on a competition for some of those.

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Thanks for the info! That first pic is freakin cool. Great post!

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

I love the Philippines and hated it when the Navy closed its base there. I have smoked many Philippine cigars but don't remember what they tasted like (Mojo has a tendency to erase your memory:r). I must have liked em though!:ss

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Thanks for the info.:tu

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Thanks for the info, Benedic! Lots of interesting stuff there. :tu

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

I never knew that they were known for cigars!!! My receptionist is from the Philippines, I'll have to ask her what she knows about them....... and if she can get me some!!!

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Very cool! Thanks for the info and pics!

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

La Flor de la Isabela are excellent cigars, have smoked the 1881 and the Don Juan Urquijo.

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

That pic looks kinda like some films ive seen before

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

nice info...
smoked the tabacalera robusto... not my cup of tea.. :)

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Great thread, thanks for the info!!!

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

My Filipino friends are always trying to get me to try Balut, had they included some of those Giant smokes in the deal, they MIGHT have talked me into it.:D

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Thanks for the information very cool-(P

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Thanks all :D
@gbum: Yep most people dont like it hahaha...
@jonumberone: You should try it... its good and full of protein... Maybe this will make you try it... "Balut in the Philippines is believed to enhance sexual performance and gives you stronger knees" *wink* *wink* yeah thats why i eat it all the time when im back home LOL XD

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Talked with my receptionist and she told me that her family used to be big in the tobacco farming. She's not sure how much they grown now, but said that she's heading back at the end of the year and will bring me back some of their own cigars!!!! Now I can't wait!!

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Wow, benedic08, thanks for this post. I'll have to give Phillipino cigars a try...anyone have a good place to buy them?

I'm generally a Nicaraguan or Dominican cigar fan but always up to try a new smoke...

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

I've got a couple of homemade cigars from the Philippines. I have a friend whose fiancé's mother rolls her own cigars and he brought me a couple of them back from his las visit. The ugliest little things ever but neat nonetheless.

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Thanks for sharing. :D

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

I know Jerry from Stogie Review has done a couple of them. Back in 2006, the common consensus was that the cigars of the Philippines like the Urquijo's were nowhere near as flavorful as those of South/Central America and the West Indies.

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Hi to all. Before anything else, I'd like to commend the creator of this forum.

I formed a small cigar club on Facebook, Tabaco Filipino Historical Society. We want to bring back the glory days of Filipino cigars. Our small way of lending a hand in nation-building. Helps the economy, too. See you there. Cheers.

Norm


http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/...5804240&ref=ts

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Does anyone remember Fighting C.O.C.K. and Double Happiness cigars? Both were from the Phillipines and good smokes at the time.........

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

I only remember Fighting C.O.C.K.... And its actually still around but its really hard to find now.... It was one of the best cigars before.... I was able to get one a few years ago and it was the worst cigar ever. 100x worse than the Cremosa... seriously hahahaha XD Dad told me they got really bad when someone bought out the company....

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

Good info...thanks! Yes, they do make good cigars. Has anyone tried the Fighting ****? Tried to find them but they seem to have gone bye-bye. Am saving the one's I have for special times.... heck, anyday, anytime is a special time when smoking a good stick.

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

I like your use of George Orwell's statement about equality... I have taken literary license (plagiarized/stole) his statement and substituted a change or two.
People...Everyone is equal but some are more equal than others...use this quite a bit for the narcissistic jerks who are never wrong!
Cigars...All cigars are equal but some are more equal than others... this is based upon one's palate and $$$$

Chuck

Re: Cigars of the Philippines
 

@Chuck: Are you talking about his signature below his actual post?

Back on topic, thanks for sharing the info Benedic.

I have a small custom box of cigars with custom bands with my family name on the box. This was given to me by my aunt on one of her trips back to the Philippines.