WSJ Article on State of Cuban Tobacco Production

Smoked: Cuba's Cigar Industry Isn't Ready for Its American Moment

SAN LUIS, Cuba-The fertile soil here in the Pinar del Río valley has long produced a richly flavored, slow-burning tobacco that is, without exaggeration, the envy of the world. Some of Cuba's best-paid workers roll the cured leaves by hand into cigars carrying the names Cohiba and Montecristo and Partagás, luxury brands as coveted by aficionados as the sparkling wines of Champagne or the single malt whiskies of Scotland.