PRAGUE. Ok, so we "got Cuba on our minds." The FT last week was chock full of pieces about Cuba, but this time, about the perfect golf and beer companion: smokes. The author picked up some cigars and met up with two of London's famous cigar aficionados, Edward Sahakian, from Davidoff of London, and Paul Bielby of JJ Fox & Robert Lewis. They sampled lesser-known, and non-exported (not that it matters much to Americans, who can't buy anything from Cuba), cigars, including Reloba, El Colosso, Bauza, and a few bought from a tobacco farmer in Pinar del Rio (the western-most part of the island, known as having the best tobacco). The farmer cured his leaves with fruit juice and sugar. The verdicts? The Bauzas and the farmer-rolled, no-names. The others were "hot air" and "a bit harsh." But, even though they were rolled pretty loosely and burned unevenly, and were not as smooth as they could have been, the experts labeled everything as a 'good bargain." Which is not too surprising, considering the author paid about one Cuban peso each (about 4 U.S. cents).