I was pleasantly surprised to see Nicaragua written up in an unlikely place: Cigar Aficionado magazine. Then again, maybe it's not so unlikely. Nicaragua's been growing great quality tobacco for decades, and the cognoscenti have long admired the rich flavor and full-bodied aroma of Nicaraguan cigars. But it's just the latest in a growing body of literature that has forgotten about Nicaragua's dark years and is looking south with interest for business and for pleasure.

The article is "Under the Volcanoes" by David Savona, and you can find it on page 187 of the June 2006 issue.

Author David Savona concentrates more on a particular tobacco farm than on the thriving tobacco industry in general, but it's clear from the article he had a great time, and the accompanying photographs are splendid. A snippet of the article:

I climb into a Toyota Land Cruiser with tobacco growers Nestor Plasencia, his son, Nestor Jr., and Angel Daniel Núñez, the president of General Cigar Co. The doors slam shut. Before the car makes it out of the parking lot, all four of us have fired up cigars.

"This is the smoking car," booms Nestor with gusto.

It's 8 a.m.

Read the rest of the online version of the article at Cigar Aficionado. But better still, pick up the June 2006 magazine, which has the full article and more stunnning photography.