Welcome to the Cigar-Mogul Web Site!

(Effective May, 2008, this site is getting a much needed update.  If you've not visited for a while, please wander around a bit and see if there are any new or interesting write-ups!)

My name is Ben Askew and I live in Houston, TX, USA.  Please take a moment to read the story below - it explains how the "Cigar-Mogul" name came to be.  The links above will take you directly to pages that will show you a little about my love of fine cigars.

The Cigar-Mogul Story

Since 1999, I've been a cigar smoker and have been very interested in learning more about how cigars are made.  This has led me to take a couple of vacations (so far) to the Dominican Republic so that I could see some cigar factories and tobacco fields.  I have also read everything I could get my hands on about cigars and the cigar manufacturing process and have pestered several people with an endless stream of questions.  

This home page got its start back in May of 2000.  I was lucky enough to arrange for a short visit with my wife to the small Oliveros cigar factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic, right before I took her on our first cruise.   Remember, this all took place in 2000 - a full 2 years before Habana Cuba Cigar Company acquired the Oliveros brand and injected the company with substantial investments of capital, imagination, process improvements and relocation to a new and larger factory location in Tamboril.   Please see more about the "new" Oliveros brand by following the "Favorite Cigars" link button above.

Back to my trip in 2000, here's where the story gets interesting and a little humorous:

Apparently, having a couple of Americans tour their small factory was too much for the fine people at Oliveros cigars to handle and I was actually asked to invest in their small, family-owned company to help them pay for the tobacco inventories that would ensure cigar making for many years in the future.  I guess they thought that all Americans were rich and could afford things like that!  I was very honored that they would think of me as a potential investor in their company but I politely declined their offer.  I love cigars, the people that make them, and the country itself but I'm just not knowledgeable enough about the business to make any kind of intelligent investment in it.

Well, we no sooner got back to the hotel that night than my wife was laughing at me and calling me the "Cigar Mogul".  We had a good time with that but then it struck me.....there was a good chance that I could register an Internet domain name and have a little fun with a website!  Checking a little further, I discovered that I could register "www.cigar-mogul.com".  

So, you're getting a look at the new home of Cigar-Mogul.com!  I'm going to add a bunch of pictures of our most recent trip to the Dominican Republic so that I can share with you the beauty of the country, its people, its history, and most importantly, the art of cigar making.  I'll also give a little information about the particular cigars I smoke and what I've learned over the last year.

As I make more trips to the Dominican Republic or learn more interesting tidbits about cigars in general, I'll be posting them on this website for all to see and enjoy. 

Thanks for visiting and please enjoy your stay!

Ben Askew (The Cigar Mogul)

If you have feedback or suggestions about this site, please check below for my email address.  If you have complaints about the site, let me know.  I'll do my best to take care of you.

Email me - mogul at cigar-mogul dot com

This page was last updated on 05/24/08.