Phase 1: Core Six
The Complete Beginner's Guide to Cigars
Finally, a cigar book that actually makes sense. Nearly three decades of factory knowledge, blind-tasting data, and straight answers. No gatekeeping. No pretension.
Lead Author, The Modern Cigar Library
Miguel Solano
Cigar industry consultant. Smoking since 1997. Author of 14 books in The Modern Cigar Library.
Miguel Solano started smoking cigars in 1997 when his friend Augusto Reyes handed him a Fuente Hemingway Short Story at a lounge in Coral Gables. That cigar changed his life. Since then he has built a career in the premium cigar industry that has taken him to factories in Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, to fermentation warehouses in Cuba, and to every PCA trade show since the late 1990s. He consults with boutique producers, maintains relationships with distributors and retailers across the Americas, and writes the books he wishes had existed when he was learning. He lives in South Florida with his wife Liliana, who manages the spreadsheets that track his cigar spending, and their cigar friends who fill the screened porch his late father Gerardo used to sit on every night.
Smoking since: 1997
Location: South Florida
Books: 12
Voice and approach
Anti-gatekeepingEvidence-basedDirectWarm with strangersSkeptical of received wisdomHonors his father
Ask Miguel about
- Choosing a first cigar
- Tobacco fermentation
- Cuban authentication
- Cigar storage and aging
- Bourbon and cigar pairing
- The cigar industry M&A history
- Why most cigar advice is wrong
Books by Miguel Solano
Phase 1: Core Six
Tobacco Science & Origins
Why does a Padrón taste like cocoa while a Liga Privada hits like dark chocolate ganache? The answer is tobacco science. Most cigar books skip it.
Phase 1: Core Six
Lifestyle & Culture
Cigars aren't just about tobacco. They're about people. The lounge conversations, the herfs, the community, and the culture that forms around a shared ritual.
Phase 1: Core Six
Brands & Pairing Guide
There are over 1,000 cigar brands. Most are mediocre. Some are exceptional. A few are legendary. This guide is the filter.
Phase 1: Core Six
Storage & Collecting Manual
Most cigar storage advice is outdated, overcomplicated, or flat-out wrong. This manual is the system Miguel wishes he had read twenty years ago.
Phase 1: Core Six
Industry Intelligence Report
The premium cigar industry is a $10 billion global market most people don't understand. This report tells you what's actually happening and why it matters.
Phase 2: Bourbon Series
Cigars & Bourbon
The only cigar and bourbon pairing guide written for people who like both but know neither well enough to pair confidently.
Phase 2: Bourbon Series
The Bourbon & Cigar Pairing Guide
Beyond the beginner principles. 50+ specific pairings across mash bills, proofs, and cigar profiles for the drinker ready to get serious.
Phase 2: Bourbon Series
Master Class: Cigars & Bourbon
The advanced framework. Vertical tastings, allocated bourbons, single barrels, and the fusion principles for the pairer who has graduated from CB1 and CB2.
Phase 2: Cuban Series
The Cuban Cigar Primer
Most first Cuban cigars are fakes. This book covers how to avoid that, what's worth buying, and what the mystique is actually about.
Phase 2: Cuban Series
The Cuban Cigar Collector's Handbook
The serious collector's reference for vintage Habanos. Authentication at depth, vintage valuation, LCDH navigation, and collection-building strategy.
Phase 2: Investment
The Cigar Investor's Guide
Most people who try to invest in cigars lose money. This book shows you how the people who don't lose money do it.