A: We store our products in a state of the art, all cedar humidor to protect the flavor and freshness of the cigars we sell. If you discover any problem with the quality or freshness of any our cigars, immediately notify our customer service department at helpdesk@cigarsaroundtheworld

Q: What are the shipping rates?

A: Our Standard shipping rates are 5.95 for the first item, and 50 cents per additional. This is an approximation, and the actual shipping tally will depend on your exact selection. When you reach the checkout counter, the specific shipping charge for your order will be indicated.

We typically use UPS ground, but at our discretion, we may opt to utilize other carriers such as FED-EX or US Postal Priority Mail in order to provide better, more reliable service to our customers. For example, we have found that to ship to Alaska and Hawaii, we get the best results with USPS priority mail. If you ever have a specific inquiry as to the method of delivery, please contact our customer service department at helpdesk@cigarsaroundtheworld

Q: What is the return policy for non-tobacco items, such as fragrances and accessories?

A: You may return any non-tobacco item within 30 days in its unopened, original packaging for a full credit, minus shipping charges. If the product is defective we will provide you with a same item exchange, and we will pay the shipping.

Q: How long does it take to process an order?

A: Typically, we process all order within 24 hours. This means that we do our best to ship it out the following day. All weekend orders, will be batched on Monday, or the next business day, in the event of a national holiday.

Q: Do you ship world wide?

A: No. We only ship to the United States, all of its territories, and to APO and FPO addresses.

Q: What is the return policy for cigars?

A: If you are not satisfied with the condition of the cigars (ex: craftsmanship, flavor), and you have not smoked more than 2 (of a box of 20 or more), then we will accept the return and issue you a full credit, minus freight charges, if you notify us within 30 days. This credit can be used for an exchange or a refund. If you have smoked more than 2, then we will only issue a prorated credit, per stick. Returns for cigars will only be accepted with original cellophane sleeves, tubes, and other "individual" packaging (such as cedar strips, coffins, etc..) still intact. All credits for cigars that were sold in packages of less than 20 cigars will be issued on a per-cigar basis when returned to us.  Cigars purchased as part of a sampler of any sort may only be returned for equal exchange.   If you would like to return any part of your order, please send an email to helpdesk@cigarsaroundtheworld for further instructions. Please include a description of the problem, and be sure to include your full name (mandatory) and any other order details (optional, but very helpful... we'll be able to respond to you more quickly).

A: There are several key points that all good humidors share. It is important that you chose the right one in order to protect your precious and delicate cigars. First, is the interior lining. It should be made Spanish cedar. A very small percentage of humidors on the market use a mahogany interior as an acceptable alternative. The next important feature to look for is the seal between the lid and the rim of the box. It should be a tight seal, but it can not be purely airtight. Lids that are very heavy, relative to the rest of the box, help to promote a sufficient seal. Another critical element to look at is the hinges on the lid. They must be heavy duty, and be secured with good anchoring. Often, as described earlier, the lids can be very heavy, and the hinging must be sturdy enough to support the stress that a heavy lid will put on them. Often, people will say that the most critical part of a humidor is the humidification element. However, I disagree. It is actually the only component than can actually be replaced, therefore, it is more important to have good seals and hinges, for without them, even the best humidification element will not keep the cigars in peak condition. These key features are what make a humidor.

Q: What are the do's and don't when holding or feeling a cigar?

A: Premium cigars are delicate and require care when handling. They can be damaged by squeezing, pinching, or dropping them. The two ends are the most susceptible to damage. The rounded, or closed end (nearest to the cigar band), is called a cap. The cap can be split if it is squeezed too tightly. The best place to hold a cigar is anywhere in its middle section, at least 1 inch away from the ends.

Q: Must I use distilled water in my humidification element?

A: Yes. Tap water and bottled spring water contain minerals that will collect and slowly "cake-up" on both the device and the interior of the humidor. These minerals turn into a whitish/tan crust, and eventually, will clog the pores of the humidification device and destroy the effectiveness of the humidor. Additionally, some tap waters often have a slight odor, that will taint the aroma of the cigars when compounded over months or years.

Q: Why do premium cigars need to be kept in a humidor?

A: A premium cigar, by definition, is handmade and in most cases, constructed with long-filler tobacco. It is 100% pure tobacco leaves throughout its construction. Unlike cigarettes or machine made cigars, they have no chemicals that are added that will keep them from drying out. Therefore, they must be stored at the correct humidity level to preserve its moisture content, or they will dry out and crumble.

Q: What are some other features that a humidor can have?

A: There are several "options" that your humidor can have. For example, some have locks, which would prevent people in your office or home from from snatching your stash without your permission. Other humidors have handles. These not only look elegant, but will aid you when you are moving the humidor from your beach house back to your winter home. Other important options that a humidor can have is shelves and dividers. These help you organize your cigars and keep different brands separated.

Q: How should premium cigars be stored?

A: The cigars must be kept at 70-72% humidity level to prevent them from drying out. This is best achieved by keeping them in a humidor. The humidor should have a Spanish cedar lining, to enhance the aroma and promote the aging of the cigar. If you are on a budget, there are cigar jars, made of glass, that will do an adequate job. If you are really in a pinch you can use tupperware, or a similar style food storage container. All of these storage devices must have a humidification element that releases moisture into the storage chamber.

Q: What is a "premium" cigar?

A: The term "premium", when applied to cigars, indicates that it is not a machine made, mass market style to cigar. In order to be classified as such, it will have the following characteristics: Premium cigars are constructed from three parts; The filler, the binder, and the wrapper. The filler is the interior of the cigar. When a cigar is examined from the open end, the filler can be seen as the leaves that are twisted in spirals within the center of the cigar. When the term "long filler" is used, it means that the filler was constructed from full leaves. These leaves are picked, stored, and aged intact, and are obviously handled with great care. Rolling long filler cigars takes great skill to insure that it burns evenly and smoothly. The second type of filler is short filler. Short filler consists of loose clippings of leaves that are leftover from the long filler production, or leaves that broke anywhere along the cultivation process. Premium short filler cigars are made from 100% tobacco leaves, but just not the same leaf from end to end. Short filler cigars are still technically considered to be "premium", so long as the cigar is still completely hand made, and is constructed only from pure, untreated or unhomogenized tobacco. The next part of the cigar consists of several layers of leaves that encircle the spirals of filler. These layers are termed "binder". As the name implies, it forms the filler into a circular shape, so that the next, and final component, the wrapper, can be applied.

Q: What is a "Puro"?

A: A puro is a cigar that was made entirely from the tobaccos of one county. An example of the most well known puros are Cuban cigars. In Cuba, the filler, binder, and wrapper is all grown in Cuba. Cigar manufacturers who make puros consider it a great honor to be able to achieve a such a level of sufficiency, as it gives them more control over the consistency and quality of the finished product. The difficulty in acquiring the necessary native ingredients in producing a puro make them very rare indeed. Other than Cuban cigars, which are unavailable in the American market, there are only a handful of puros out there. The Breton Corojo Vintage, Corojo2000, and the Opus X are all excellent quality Dominican puros.

Q: What do the two numbers mean when applied to cigar sizes?

A: They are the length and ring gauge (diameter). The length is measured in inches. The ring gauge is measured in units of 1/64th's of an inch. For example, a cigar that is called "8 x 48" is 8 inches long and 48/64th's of an inch in diameter.

Q: Does the cigar's name indicate its dimension?

A: Quite often they do. There are some basic shapes that fall within certain size parameters. These shapes are given names, so that there is some degree of universality in the industry. These descriptive dimensions are approximate, but here are some guidelines: Short is less than 5.5 inches. Long is greater than 6.5 inches. Thin is less than 42 ring size. Thick is greater than 47 ring. The group below are the most common shapes.

• Robusto: Short and thick
• Lonsdale: Thin and long
• Corona: Medium length and medium gauge
• Churchill: Long and thick

Please note that these are only generic shape names. For example, a Robusto from one brand may have slightly different dimensions than a Robusto from another brand.

There are other shapes that fall between and around these basics:

• Toro: Somewhere between robusto and churchill.
• Panatela: A skinny lonsdale.
• Rothchild: Somewhere between a robusto and a corona.
• Presidente: Either a little larger or smaller than a churchill

Manufacturers can also add one of these common adjectives to the name. They can help you to envision the size. Gorda, grande, gran, larga, extra, doble, or double always mean they are adding on to the size. Petite, slim, finos, or demi indicate some sort of reduction to the size. For example a "Corona Grande" is a long corona, and would be close to a londsdale.

On top of all this we will now add the Figurados. Here are the basic definitions. Note, you will find more disparity here among brands than you can imagine. When you are dealing with parejos, you can be positive that robustos from different brands will always resemble each other to some degree. However, with figurados, almost anything goes. One company's torpedo will be another's piramide or perfecto. These are the most common descriptions for the shape names on today's market. Remember, all dimensions described are approximations.

• Torpedo: The cap is a sharp point, the foot is open. The shape does not begin to taper until the last 2 inches near the cap. The foot will measure between 46 to 54 in ring size. The length can range from 5 to 7 inches.
• Piramide: The cap is round, the foot is open. The cigar will immediately taper from the foot right down to the cap. For this reason, many piramides will be described with two ring sizes. For example, 7 x 36-50. This means that it is a seven inch cigar, and the tuck is 50 ring, and it drops down to 36 by the time it reaches the cap.
• Triangulo: Similar to a piramide, but the cap is pointed.
• Belicoso: Similar to a torpedo, but usually a little shorter. Also, the taper will occur even more quickly than the torpedo, typically occurring within the last 3/4" near the cap.
• Perfecto: The perfecto will have both ends closed. The cap can be round or pointed. The tuck is typically tapered to the width of a cigarette. On some brands, you light the foot as is, and with others, if it is more than 3/8", you clip off a bit to expose the filler. The sides can be straight, or there can be a bulge in the first half of the cigar near the foot. The length of a perfecto can vary from 4-8"
• Diadema: Traditionally, this is a giant perfecto, measuring at least 8" long. However, it is can be used to name any huge scale version of the figurados described above.
• Culebra: Three panetelas twisted around each other and held together with either ribbon or a large cigar band. The segments of a traditional culebra will be composed of all ligero filler, not mild seco and volado fillers of a regular panetela. You must separate them before smoking. Do not attempt to straighten out the wavy shape. Smoke them in the curved way that they have been cured.

Q: How do you know where the cigar is from, if it is made from tobaccos of different countries?

A: A cigar's country of origin is classified by where it was rolled, regardless of where the wrapper, binder, or filler is from. Typically, the filler tobacco is usually grown in the same country as where the cigar is made. This is not an absolute rule, as cigars rolled in the US, (typically, Miami or Tampa regions) must import all of their filler. Another exception is Honduran and Nicaraguan cigars, as their native grown fillers are often too harsh to be used exclusively, and are typically blended with Dominican filler in order to produce an acceptable smoke.

Q: What are the basic shapes of premium cigars?

A: There are two shapes of cigars, Parejos and Figurados. A parejo is a straight sided cigar. A figurado is an exotic, irregular shape.

Q: How do I know what size is right for me?

A: You should pick a cigar for the amount of time you have available to smoke. If you are at a sporting event or on a golf course, choose a large cigar that will last for a long time. If you are in a cigar friendly restaurant and you want to have a nice after dinner smoke, (but don't want to stay there all night) choose one that will last about 30-40 minutes. These are just some examples. As you experiment with different sizes you will find one that you are most comfortable with.