Cuba supplies the world with its investment grade cigars. In fact, if it isn't hand rolled and made in Cuba, you can forget it from an investment point of view.

A pre-1992 Davidoff Dom Perignon cigar and the champagne it was named after

Cuba supplies four fifths of the globe's top-end cigars. The only place where Cuba has failed to penetrate is the US, where the trade embargo with the island has seen a ban on post-1962 made cigars.

And demand for the finest Cubans is rising fast.

Major distributor Habanos saw its sales increase by 9% during 2011, with sales to China, Hong and Kong and Macau particularly impressive, up 39%. The Chinese spend an estimated $335m a year on cigars, with the industry growing by around 30% per annum, states research from Market Avenue.

"The Chinese are quite heavy smokers and much more interested in luxury products. The best-seller there is the Cohiba, our most expensive cigar," Habanos development vice-president Javier Terres recently told the BBC.

Two of the most popular Cuban ranges with Western investors are Dunhills and Davidoffs from pre-1992, when production of the two brands ceased in Cuba. Both have shown strong price appreciation in recent years, with a box of 25 Davidoff Dom Perignons from the mid-1980s now auctioning for around £6,000, up from an initial purchase price of £250.

Boxes of 25 or more tend to show the greatest year-on-year rises at auction. Larger bodied cigars are generally most popular among investors, as they offer more sophisticated taste than their smaller counterparts.

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