Fourteen States Tried to Ban Cigars — Here’s Why Every One Failed

The 14 States That BANNED Cigars (And Why They All Failed) ✅

It sounds like modern outrage bait.

It isn’t.

Between the late 1890s and early 1920s, 14 U.S. states outright banned cigars, cigarettes, or both — not restricted, not taxed, but fully illegal.

Here are the states that tried it:

• Iowa

• Kansas

• North Dakota

• South Dakota

• Minnesota

• Nebraska

• Arkansas

• Oklahoma

• Tennessee

• Indiana

• Michigan

• Idaho

• Utah

• Washington

Some banned sales only. Others criminalized possession. A few allowed chewing tobacco but outlawed cigars entirely. Enforcement varied — confusion didn’t.

Why Cigars Were Targeted

This wasn’t about health science. It was about moral reform.

Cigars symbolized independence, political power, immigrant culture, and urban life. To Progressive-Era reformers, cigars weren’t a product — they were a problem.

Ban the cigar, they believed, and you clean up society.

Why Every Ban Collapsed

Despite loud support at the ballot box, all 14 bans failed for the same reasons:

• Enforcement was impossible
  Smoking didn’t stop — it went underground.

• Public sympathy flipped
  Once ordinary adults were fined or jailed for a cigar, voters lost patience.

• Tax revenue vanished
  States quickly realized they had outlawed one of their easiest income streams.

• Culture beats legislation
  Cigars were too embedded in social, political, and business life to erase.

By the early 1920s, repeals rolled in — quietly, often without explanation.

Editor’s Take 🪶

Here’s the part worth sitting with.

These cigar bans failed before lobbying machines, before social media, before modern marketing. They failed in a slower, simpler America — because people instinctively rejected the idea that government should police private rituals that harmed no one else.

That doesn’t mean cigars are harmless.
It means prohibition is often worse than the habit it tries to erase.

A century later, we regulate instead of ban — not because lawmakers grew kinder, but because history taught them a hard lesson.

Ignore human behaviour at your own risk.

Straight Cut vs V-Cut: Choose by Shape, Not Habit

Most smokers grab the same cutter every time without thinking about it. But the cut you choose can completely change how a cigar performs — especially the draw.

Here’s the simple rule that rarely gets explained:

• Box-pressed cigars usually perform best with a straight cut. Their squared shoulders already focus airflow, and a clean cut keeps the draw open without over-concentrating smoke.

• Large-ring-gauge cigars often shine with a V-cut. The notch channels smoke toward the palate, adds intensity, and helps control airflow on wider cigars that can otherwise feel flat or airy.

The key isn’t loyalty to a cutter. It’s geometry.

Match the cut to the cigar’s shape, and you’ll often fix draw issues before they even start — no touch-ups, no frustration, just a better smoke from the first draw.

Don’t Shake Whiskey Cocktails

Shaking a whiskey cocktail feels energetic. Confident. Almost cinematic.

It’s also usually a mistake.

Shaking aggressively aerates the spirit, over-dilutes it, and roughens the texture — what bartenders call “bruising” the whiskey. The result is a drink that loses structure and nuance before it ever reaches the glass.

Stirring, on the other hand, chills and dilutes slowly and deliberately, preserving the whiskey’s body while bringing the cocktail into balance.

If the drink is built on whiskey — Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Boulevardier — stir it.

Stir like someone who’s been through things. Calm. Controlled. No unnecessary drama.

Your glass will thank you.

Light Patiently

The most common mistake new cigar smokers make happens before the first real puff.

Rushing the light.

Instead of drawing right away, take time to toast the foot evenly. Hold the flame just close enough to warm the tobacco, rotating the cigar until the edges glow uniformly.

Only then should you take your first gentle draw.

This slow start sets the tone for the entire smoke — smoother burn, better flavor, and far fewer corrections later on. Cigars reward patience from the very first second.

Light calmly. Breathe. Let the cigar meet you halfway.

Affiliate Link to Home Wet Bar

Best Cigar Prices & AJ Fernandez Launch “Barn Cured” Exclusive

Best Cigar Prices has partnered with AJ Fernandez to launch Barn Cured, a new exclusive cigar line celebrating one of the most overlooked steps in cigar making: air-curing tobacco in barns.

The release includes three blends — Barn Cured (Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper), Barn Cured Red (Ecuadorian Habano), and Barn Cured Black (Mexican San Andrés). All feature Nicaraguan tobaccos, with the Red and Black blends adding Mexican and Honduran long-fillers for added depth and complexity.

Barn curing is the crucial early stage where harvested tobacco slowly loses moisture, chlorophyll breaks down, and foundational flavor characteristics begin to form. According to Best Cigar Prices leadership, extensive blend testing ensured all three cigars met quality standards while remaining accessible in price.

The result is a lineup designed to highlight craftsmanship, tradition, and everyday smokeability — without luxury pricing getting in the way.

Rum Aging Is… Not What You Think

If you’re coming from whiskey, rum aging can feel confusing — and that’s because it plays by very different rules.

Unlike whiskey, rum doesn’t follow strict global aging laws. What matters just as much as time is where that time is spent.

• Tropical aging (Caribbean, Central America) happens fast. Heat and humidity push spirit deep into the barrel, creating bold flavors and heavy oak influence in fewer years.

• European aging (often in Spain or continental Europe) moves slowly. Cooler climates mean gentler extraction, more balance, and longer maturation.

That’s why a 12-year rum from Barbados can feel intense and oak-driven, while a 12-year rum from Guatemala tastes softer, rounder, and sweeter — even though the number on the label is the same.

It’s not a flaw. It’s the magic.

Once you stop comparing rum to whiskey, you start appreciating it on its own terms — and that’s where the real fun begins.