5 Vegas Gold Churchill

Mild—just shy of middleweight—but full-flavored, the 5 Vegas Gold Churchill is the perfect selection for our newbie smokers, while having enough character to please seasoned smokers, too. With its shimmering honey-tan Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper and tight roll, it's an attractive stick. The blend—consisting of long-fillers from Honduras that have been aged for five years—makes for a smooth and flavorful smoke. Look for sweet grass and wood tastes, peppery nuances and a slight bitter nuttiness in the last third. A solid white, slightly gray ash forms instantly and burns evenly. The Gold blows bluish-white smoke with an aroma that reflects the cigar's overall sweetness. Perfect for any time of day, try it on a crisp afternoon with a Cuba Libre.

Honduras has been a tobacco growing and cigar manufacturing area for hundreds of years, but it was the Communist revolution in Cuba that really put Honduras on the map. In the 1960s, many Cuban cigar makers fled their homeland and arrived in Honduras to re-establish their way of life. The immigrants took advantage of the climate, soil, and geography, which were well-suited to tobacco growing, and began producing high quality cigars. The center of the Honduran cigar industry is the city of Danli and the nearby Jamastran Valley. The majority of the world’s pure Corojo tobacco is grown here, now that Cuba has stopped production of this iconic, spicy, and rich variety in favor of Corojo hybrids. Other important areas of Honduran cigar production include the Talanga Valley, Copan, and Trojes.