Cigarillos, which are small cigars that come in packs, have always been popular among the "boys night out" crowd. With or without filter tips, fishing and golfing and boating (and all the other things men do when left to their own devices) aren't the same without a little stogie to go along with it. Hav-a-Tampa cigars, Backwoods, Captain Blacks and Swisher Sweets are just a few of the popular brands that the casual cigar smoker will enjoy in those rare spasms of free time.

More Mild, Less Wild

Some cigarillos are actually made with pipe tobacco, as in Captain Blacks or Durangos, which cigar mavens tend to frown upon somewhat - pulp tobacco, they say, and made by machines. Still, these brands are popular on the market because of their mild flavor, and are reasonably priced. One fine cigar maker, though, thinks enough of the pipe-tobacco market to weigh in with some cakes of its own tobacco: Cuban heavyweight Partagás cigars.

A Cigar Giant Weighs In

Partagás makes its pipe tobacco from its Cuban leaves (cut in the flake style) pressed into 50-gram cakes that are 3 x 5 inches, measuring a third of an inch in thickness, called Partagás Picadura Granulata. Its strength and room note are considered to be very strong. Those who have smoked it recommend that you sip very gently on the pipe, as it can be harsh, as one would expect from cigar tobacco. Some suggest this is best used as a "blending" tobacco, to add some strength to your usual favorite.

Whether you enjoy cigarillos that are made from pipe tobacco or pipe tobacco made from the leftovers at the cigar plant, there is a smoke for everyone if they just explore around a little bit and find out what suits them best. For some people, cigars and pipe tobacco will be an acquired taste. For others it is purely a matter of preference.