1689 Cigar Blog

If you’ve ever sat through a sermon that felt like a lukewarm cup of decaf, you haven’t read John Knox. This was a man whose voice didn't just carry; it thundered. He was the kind of guy who could stare down a queen and not blink, a man who prayed...

If you’ve spent more than five minutes in the world of Reformed theology, you’ve heard the quote. A young, somewhat uptight American visitor once asked Charles Haddon Spurgeon how a man of God could possibly justify smoking a cigar. Spurgeon, with the casual authority that made him the "Prince of...

The smell of premium tobacco has a funny way of making people uncomfortable: usually the ones who are more concerned with appearing holy than actually being it. For centuries, the simple act of lighting up a cigar has been caught in the crosshairs of moralists, kings, and popes. Is it...

Most cigar buyers are paying for a logo, not quality tobacco. If you’re reaching for a big-name brand because the band looks familiar, there’s a good chance you’re passing over a better cigar. The "Big Tobacco" machine sells recognition at scale and calls it premium. That’s the game. It isn't....

If you’re going to build something that lasts, you don’t start with a "feeling." You start with a standard. In the world of Reformed theology, that standard is the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF). In the world of 1689 Cigars, that standard is the Westminster Connecticut. We didn’t just slap...

"Boutique" has been dragged through the mud. In 2026, every mass-market factory pumping out millions of sticks a year tries to slap a "small-batch" label on a flashy box and call it artisanal. It’s marketing fluff, and if you’ve been in this game long enough, you can smell the desperation...

If you’ve spent more than five minutes in a serious humidor, you’ve heard the name. Don Pepin Garcia. It’s a name that carries the weight of an entire industry’s respect, and for good reason. At 1689 Cigar Co., we don’t just stock brands because they have a cool logo or...

In an industry obsessed with the "next big thing," the shiny new label, and the limited-edition boutique blend that’s here today and gone tomorrow: consistency is the ultimate flex. It’s easy to make one great cigar. It’s nearly impossible to make ten million of them that taste exactly the same,...

If you’ve spent more than five minutes in a humidor, you know the name AJ Fernandez. But do you actually know why his cigars occupy so much real estate on the shelves of serious smokers? It’s not just marketing. It’s not a fancy band. It’s the raw, unfiltered power of...

If you’ve spent any significant time in a humidor, you know the name Arturo Fuente isn't just a brand; it’s a benchmark. In an industry flooded with "boutique" startups and flash-in-the-pan labels, the Fuente family remains the undisputed gold standard. They don't just make cigars; they set the pace for...

Let’s be real for a second: the cigar industry is bloated. For decades, the market has been dominated by massive corporate entities: the kind of "Big Tobacco" machines that move with the speed of an iceberg and the personal touch of a DMV office. They’ve spent years coasting on heritage...

Let’s be real for a second: the cigar industry is bloated. For decades, the market has been dominated by massive corporate entities: the kind of "Big Tobacco" machines that move with the speed of an iceberg and the personal touch of a DMV office. They’ve spent years coasting on heritage...

Let’s be honest: the cigar industry loves a good myth. We’ve all seen it: the frantic hunt for a specific band, the "allocation only" lists, and the eye-watering markups that happen the second a box of Arturo Fuente OpusX hits the shelf. Don’t get me wrong, the OpusX is a...

Let’s be honest: the cigar industry loves a good myth. We’ve all seen it: the frantic hunt for a specific band, the "allocation only" lists, and the eye-watering markups that happen the second a box of Arturo Fuente OpusX hits the shelf. Don’t get me wrong, the OpusX is a...

Most people think being a cigar aficionado is about wearing a silk robe and sitting in a leather wingback chair while discussing the intricacies of 18th-century geopolitical shifts. It isn't. Being an aficionado is simply about respect. Respect for the leaf. Respect for the hands that rolled it. If you’re...

Forget what you learned in third grade. The American Dream wasn't founded on a search for religious freedom alone. It wasn't built on gold mines or tea parties. It was built on a leaf. Specifically, a broad, sticky, aromatic leaf that turned a failing swamp called Jamestown into a global...

Before the dollar was "as good as gold," it was as good as tobacco. Most people think the American Revolution was won purely on grit, muskets, and the high-minded ideals of the Enlightenment. Sure, that stuff helped. But if you really want to know how a ragtag group of colonists...

The history of tobacco isn’t all cedar-lined humidors and white-glove service. Most of it is dirt. Smoke. Sweat. And, if you go back about a hundred years in Kentucky and Tennessee, blood. Welcome to the Black Patch. It’s a region of about thirty counties straddling the border of Western Kentucky...

America wasn't built on tea. It was built on tobacco. Before the tea went into the Boston Harbor, the soil of the New World was already saturated with the seeds of an industry that would define a nation. While the modern world likes to pretend premium cigars are a strictly...

If you’ve ever sat back with a truly great cigar and wondered why that first puff felt less like a punch in the throat and more like a handshake from an old friend, you’ve probably tasted Jalapa. In the cigar world, everyone talks about strength. Everyone talks about power. They...