Smokin Aces Live

When we think about cigar tobacco, we often think of the world’s major tobacco-producing nations, and how we prefer one country’s tobacco over another Ecuadorian, or Indonesian). American tobaccos rarely enter that discussion, with two obvious exceptions: Connecticut shade and Broadleaf tobaccos. Connecticut shade, a tall, elegant tobacco variety widely praised for its mild flavor and smooth appearance, has been grown under shade tents in the Connecticut River valley since the early 1900s. These days, much of it is actually grown in Ecuador, whose soil and environmental conditions yield flavorful tobacco at a lower cost. Broadleaf, a short, hearty plant with very large, thick leaves commonly processed into Maduro wrappers, is also grown there, as well as in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Despite increased production stateside, the variety has picked up in Honduras and other countries. These two aside, there’s not much cigar tobacco to speak of. Whatever happened to the large-scale tobacco plantations that