For wine read cigars. Not as preposterous as it sounds. Just as independent wine makers have been challenging the dominance of the established names in France and Spain, so we now have independent cigar makers taking that market by storm.

The global cigar market is relatively small compared to the sale of cigarettes, making about three billion dollars a year. Cigar companies nowadays tend to be largely independent. After hundreds of years of seeing big names dominate the cigar market, the tide has turned and independents are now more in control.

So, just as a wine drinker doesn't automatically choose French, a cigar smoker is no longer necessarily going to choose Cuban. Now countries such as the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua are all producing quality cigars that find favor with the avid smoker. Producers such as Cusano and Alec Bradley have come to the fore.

It is all good news for the cigar smoker. The independents tend to be people who love cigars themselves. They are younger concerns and are keen to find innovative ways of making cigars to coin their share of the market. Their interest in producing quality cigars coincides with what the customer wants.

Learn more about this author, Phil Hill.
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