Pedroni

Are cuban cigars the best in the world? Well, I'm sure a lot of people certainly think so and I am probably one of them. But it is also true that there are other good producers of cigars, be that close to Habana (for example, I find Nicaraguan cigars like Nubs to be very good, as well as Dominican like Davidoff to name a few). But being Italian, I also have to talk about our own cigars... I realised in fact that I have never really blogged about Toscano, although I once dedicated a post to an excellent Italian regional edition cuban cigar here. 

So, what are really Italian cigars? Let me start by saying that they are nothing like Cubans...

Toscani cigars are made with Kentucky tobacco, fire cured and grown in Italy. Usually the wrapper is also made in Italy, but sometimes they have a US wrapper... They are made in Tuscany (hence the name) in a growing number of formats and type. Due to their fermentation and production process they don't necessarily require a humidour (although some people still like to keep them in conditions similar to cuban cigars) and their taste is quite a bit harsher. I should probably clairfy that by all means not all cuban-cigar smokers likes Toscano as much as cubans... or even at all! 

 However, they are in my view more of an everyday smoke, more affordable and easier to enjoy even in open hair, due to their somewhat stronger aroma... I haven't been smoking many of them recently, but at Christmas my friend Leonardo gave me a box of Pedroni. Pedroni are a milder version of the more traditional Toscano. While now produced in Tuscany, Pedroni only recently joined the Toscano family since they used to be owned by a Swiss company. The founder, Rodolfo Pedroni, moved to Switzerland in 1848 and only in 2008 the Pedroni cigars were bought by the current owner of the Toscano brand, Manifatture Sigaro Toscano, controlled by the Maccaferri family. One of the Pedroni cigars,  reasonably common  in Italy, is called Anisette due to its anise flavour... See picture below.

I enjoyed my Pedroni recently. The Anise version comes in half, so it's a quick smoke (say 20 minutes), not strong, with a growing aroma of Anise continuously coming out at each puff. Not a demanding smoke at all, but still pleasant as a mid-afternoon smoke. I'm sure not all of you will appreciate Pedroni but if you haven't tried them yet, you should. If you enjoy the type, you could then "upgrade" to the real toscano, including some of the hand made special edition ones (like "Il Moro"). Will have to give more details on those in separate posts...