Don't know a great deal about them, and haven't smoked one in years. I believe they are of Italian origin, or made along those lines. They used to be all tobacco and are a pretty good smoke, at least for the first half. One advantage they have are being "fire-cured" or "dry-cured." This method supposedly allows them to go for much longer periods of time with little or no humidification. As you are aware, they are densely packed and I guess would be impossible to draw if they had very much moisture in them. I believe the American version is the old fashioned cheroot. Don't really see them anymore but they looked like a dryed tree limb. My understanding is that they are "hand finished" but obviously would not require much hand-rolling skill. That's about all I can recollect, and I'm not sure I would vouch for it's absolute accuracy, but perhaps it will help some.
