Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Happy Birthday To Me
Okay; so every year I have bought myself a birthday present. Last few years it has been a box of REALLY good cigars. Last year I bought a box of Partagas Lonsdales from 1998 and a bundle of AVO 22's . Well this year I hemmed and hawed trying to decide what to get myself, well I finally ordered this past Monday a box of AVO Tesero LE 2008 and a box of AVO 787 Perfectos... Happy Birthday to me.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Makers of cigars fear bill's burn -- chicagotribune.com
Makers of cigars fear bill's burn -- chicagotribune.com: "Makers of cigars fear bill's burn Nicaragua, other exporters say U.S. proposal to raise excise taxes will devastate economies
By Oscar Avila | Tribune foreign correspondent August 28, 2007 ESTELI, Nicaragua -
This town's residents have gotten a taste of prosperity. And a whiff. The savory odor of tobacco from Esteli's cigar factories is a reminder of how this region helped Nicaragua become the third-largest foreign cigar supplier to the U.S. At the Grupo Plasencia factory, William Espinoza and other workers earn comfortable salaries by drying, cutting, sorting and rolling squares of tobacco leaf. But instead of satisfaction, the workplace is full of unease and dark humor these days, such as when a co-worker points out the duffel bag near Espinoza's work station."
More
By Oscar Avila | Tribune foreign correspondent August 28, 2007 ESTELI, Nicaragua -
This town's residents have gotten a taste of prosperity. And a whiff. The savory odor of tobacco from Esteli's cigar factories is a reminder of how this region helped Nicaragua become the third-largest foreign cigar supplier to the U.S. At the Grupo Plasencia factory, William Espinoza and other workers earn comfortable salaries by drying, cutting, sorting and rolling squares of tobacco leaf. But instead of satisfaction, the workplace is full of unease and dark humor these days, such as when a co-worker points out the duffel bag near Espinoza's work station."
More
Labels: cigars, National Politics, News
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Rocky Patel Speaks Out On The Cigar Tax
Friday, July 20, 2007
Cigar Aficionados Want Tax Plan To Go Up In Smoke
cbs4.com - Cigar Aficionados Want Tax Plan To Go Up In Smoke: "Men, and women, who love a good cigar may go into stogie sticker shock if Congress has its way.
A measure making its way through the halls of Congress would not only raise the tax on cigarettes and cigars, it would raise the tax on some cigars through the roof.
Cigarettes, which account 95 percent of tobacco tax collections, are the main focus of the bill. Federal taxes on a pack would jump from 39-cents to $1.
As for cigars, currently the federal government levies a flat tax of 5-cents per cigar. If the proposed legislation passes, it would increase the tax up to $10 per cigar, depending on the price of the cigar. In some cases that would be an increase of up to 20 thousand percent.
Under measure being considered, a cigar would be taxed at 53-percent of its wholesale price. For example, if a cigar costs $5 now, under the new tax plan the price would increase by more than half - to just over $7.50. A cigar that costs $20 would be taxed $10 under the new plan.
The impact of cigar dealers, large and small, would be enormous.
'I have a thousand open boxes of cigars,' said Jorge Valdes of Sabor Havana Cigars in Doral. 'Put 20-thousand percent on top of each cigar and you tell me what that number is.'"
A measure making its way through the halls of Congress would not only raise the tax on cigarettes and cigars, it would raise the tax on some cigars through the roof.
Cigarettes, which account 95 percent of tobacco tax collections, are the main focus of the bill. Federal taxes on a pack would jump from 39-cents to $1.
As for cigars, currently the federal government levies a flat tax of 5-cents per cigar. If the proposed legislation passes, it would increase the tax up to $10 per cigar, depending on the price of the cigar. In some cases that would be an increase of up to 20 thousand percent.
Under measure being considered, a cigar would be taxed at 53-percent of its wholesale price. For example, if a cigar costs $5 now, under the new tax plan the price would increase by more than half - to just over $7.50. A cigar that costs $20 would be taxed $10 under the new plan.
The impact of cigar dealers, large and small, would be enormous.
'I have a thousand open boxes of cigars,' said Jorge Valdes of Sabor Havana Cigars in Doral. 'Put 20-thousand percent on top of each cigar and you tell me what that number is.'"
Labels: cigars, National Politics, News, tabacco
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
WTF- Cigarmakers in a panic
This is a MAJOR WTF: the government is really getting out of hand. I am wondering what is next. tax this tax that.
Business: Cigarmakers in a panic: "Eric Newman punches the numbers on his calculator and gapes at the results one more time.
It's no mathematical error: The federal government has proposed raising taxes on premium cigars, the kind Newman's family has been rolling for decades in Ybor City, by as much as 20,000 percent.
As part of an increase in tobacco taxes designed to pay for children's health insurance, the nickel-per-cigar tax that has ruled the industry could rise to as much as $10 per cigar.
'I'm not sure in the history of man, since our forefathers founded the country in 1776, that there's ever been a tax increase of 20,000 percent,' said Newman, who runs the Tampa business founded by grandfather Julius Caesar Newman. 'They had the Boston Tea Party for less than this.'"
More info at Cigar Afcionado
Business: Cigarmakers in a panic: "Eric Newman punches the numbers on his calculator and gapes at the results one more time.
It's no mathematical error: The federal government has proposed raising taxes on premium cigars, the kind Newman's family has been rolling for decades in Ybor City, by as much as 20,000 percent.
As part of an increase in tobacco taxes designed to pay for children's health insurance, the nickel-per-cigar tax that has ruled the industry could rise to as much as $10 per cigar.
'I'm not sure in the history of man, since our forefathers founded the country in 1776, that there's ever been a tax increase of 20,000 percent,' said Newman, who runs the Tampa business founded by grandfather Julius Caesar Newman. 'They had the Boston Tea Party for less than this.'"
More info at Cigar Afcionado
Labels: cigars, National Politics, News, tabacco, WTF
Monday, July 02, 2007
END OF THE DISCOUNTER?
CigarCyclopedia.com - Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedias of Cigars: "END OF THE DISCOUNTER?
Supreme Court reverses precedent on retail price fixing!
Los Angeles, July 2 – If you think the Supreme Court isn’t important, guess again.
In a decision which did not get as much play as those on school integration and campaign funding, Justice Anthony Kennedy’s decision in Leegin Creative Leather Products vs. PSKS, Inc. dba Kay’s Kloset now makes it potentially legal for manufacturers – including cigar manufacturers – to set minimum retail prices for their products.
Announced on Thursday, June 28, the decision – by a 5-4 vote – overturned a 1911 decision in Dr. Miles Medical Co. vs. John D. Park & Sons Co., (220 U.S. 373) in which the Court held that it is illegal “for a manufacturer to agree with its distributor to set the minimum price the distributor can charge for the manufacturer’s goods.”
Instead of this immutable rule, Justice Kennedy prefers the “rule of reason” and wrote that:
• “Minimum resale price maintenance can stimulate interbrand competition – the competition between manufacturers selling different brands of the same type of product – by reducing intrabrand competition – the competition among retailers selling the same brand.”
• "A single manufacturer’s use of vertical price restraints tends to eliminate intrabrand price competition; this in turn encourages retailers to invest in tangible or intangible services or promotional efforts that aid the manufacturer’s position as against rival manufacturers. Resale price maintenance also has the potential to give consumers more options so that they can choose among low-price, low-service brands; high-price, high-service brands; and brands that fall inbetween.”
• “Absent vertical price restraints, the retail services that enhance interbrand competition might be underprovided. This is because discounting retailers can free ride on retailers who furnish services and then capture some of the increased demand those services generate.”
• “With price competition decreased, the manufacturer’s retailers compete among themselves over services.”
Supreme Court reverses precedent on retail price fixing!
Los Angeles, July 2 – If you think the Supreme Court isn’t important, guess again.
In a decision which did not get as much play as those on school integration and campaign funding, Justice Anthony Kennedy’s decision in Leegin Creative Leather Products vs. PSKS, Inc. dba Kay’s Kloset now makes it potentially legal for manufacturers – including cigar manufacturers – to set minimum retail prices for their products.
Announced on Thursday, June 28, the decision – by a 5-4 vote – overturned a 1911 decision in Dr. Miles Medical Co. vs. John D. Park & Sons Co., (220 U.S. 373) in which the Court held that it is illegal “for a manufacturer to agree with its distributor to set the minimum price the distributor can charge for the manufacturer’s goods.”
Instead of this immutable rule, Justice Kennedy prefers the “rule of reason” and wrote that:
• “Minimum resale price maintenance can stimulate interbrand competition – the competition between manufacturers selling different brands of the same type of product – by reducing intrabrand competition – the competition among retailers selling the same brand.”
• "A single manufacturer’s use of vertical price restraints tends to eliminate intrabrand price competition; this in turn encourages retailers to invest in tangible or intangible services or promotional efforts that aid the manufacturer’s position as against rival manufacturers. Resale price maintenance also has the potential to give consumers more options so that they can choose among low-price, low-service brands; high-price, high-service brands; and brands that fall inbetween.”
• “Absent vertical price restraints, the retail services that enhance interbrand competition might be underprovided. This is because discounting retailers can free ride on retailers who furnish services and then capture some of the increased demand those services generate.”
• “With price competition decreased, the manufacturer’s retailers compete among themselves over services.”
Labels: cigars, National Politics, News, tabacco
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Arturo Fuentes: Head of the Family
Arturo Fuentes: Head of the Family: "In our culture, hearing someone say “head of the family” often makes people think of Vito Corleone: images of Marlon Brando fill our head, our voices deepen and our stomachs pang with an unflinching desire to eat a cannoli… or twelve. “Head of the family“ reminds so many of us of The Godfather. This is, of course, unless we are cigar fans. Then, “head of the family” garners up a whole different image. Sorry Vito… er, Mr. Corleone, but, when it comes to tobacco, there is another family heads above you.
For lovers of the leaf, the title of “head of the family” belongs to Arturo Fuente; they are arguably the most famous cigar family in the entire world. If every tobacco grower in the world were kin, Arturo Fuente would be their patriarch.
To truly get to know the Arturo Fuente family, we must travel back to 1800 Cuba, to a time when tobacco growers were not only cultivating tobacco, but they were also cultivating a new way of life."
For lovers of the leaf, the title of “head of the family” belongs to Arturo Fuente; they are arguably the most famous cigar family in the entire world. If every tobacco grower in the world were kin, Arturo Fuente would be their patriarch.
To truly get to know the Arturo Fuente family, we must travel back to 1800 Cuba, to a time when tobacco growers were not only cultivating tobacco, but they were also cultivating a new way of life."
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
AVO’S LOUNGING EVERYWHERE!
CigarCyclopedia.com - Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedias of Cigars: "Los Angeles, June 6 – Avo Uvezian is everywhere, or at least it seems like it.
Having just passed his 81st birthday, Uvezian is getting ready to open his second “Avo Lounge” in the United States, this time at Burns Tobacconist in Chattanooga, Tennessee on June 24.
A part of the massive Chattanooga Billiard Club and Conference Center, Burns opened in 1998 but now offers an inventory of more than 1,000 different cigars and some 100,000 cigars in total. In typical Avo fashion, the opening of the Avo Lounge will be marked with cigars, food, spirits and entertainment from Uvezian and his jazz trio.
The first Avo Lounge in the U.S. resides inside the Corona Cigar Company store in Lake Mary in central Florida, opened in 2005."
Thursday, April 05, 2007
WHAT IS HABANOS WORTH?
CigarCyclopedia.com - Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedias of Cigars: "Los Angeles, April 5 – With the continuing question of whether Altadis, S.A. will be sold, to who and for how much roiling the European financial markets, one of the central questions is “How much is the cigar business worth?”
And inside that query is the hard-to-figure query: “What is Habanos worth?”
The Times of London explored the question, starting with Javier Terres, the development director of Corporacion Habanos. “If the U.S. market opened tomorrow, it would triple the size of our global market. But right now we cannot sell a single cigar there.”
The Times story, written by Robin Pagnamenta, noted that the U.S. cigar market – largest in the world – is estimated at $1.8 billion and up to 220 million premium cigars annually. But there are issues, starting with the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.
“There are many legal questions over the rights to market Cuban brands in the United States,” wrote Pagnamenta. “Already, many premium cigars are sold in America under the same brand names but made with Dominican, Honduran or Nicaraguan tobacco because other companies, such as Swedish Match, own the U.S. rights to them.
“At the same time, there are still Cuban exiles living in the U.S. who claim ownership o"
And inside that query is the hard-to-figure query: “What is Habanos worth?”
The Times of London explored the question, starting with Javier Terres, the development director of Corporacion Habanos. “If the U.S. market opened tomorrow, it would triple the size of our global market. But right now we cannot sell a single cigar there.”
The Times story, written by Robin Pagnamenta, noted that the U.S. cigar market – largest in the world – is estimated at $1.8 billion and up to 220 million premium cigars annually. But there are issues, starting with the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.
“There are many legal questions over the rights to market Cuban brands in the United States,” wrote Pagnamenta. “Already, many premium cigars are sold in America under the same brand names but made with Dominican, Honduran or Nicaraguan tobacco because other companies, such as Swedish Match, own the U.S. rights to them.
“At the same time, there are still Cuban exiles living in the U.S. who claim ownership o"
Friday, March 30, 2007
Counterfeiter convicted in Ft. Lauderdale:
CigarCyclopedia.com - Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedias of Cigars: "Counterfeiter convicted in Ft. Lauderdale:
Altadis U.S.A.’s continuing campaign against the sale of counterfeit cigars received a boost with the arrest of Allen Boyd, manager of the Carolina Cigar Company in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on February 7.
This week, Boyd entered a no contest plea to a third-degree felony charge resulting from the sale of counterfeit goods.
%%pagebreak%% The case was especially important to Altadis U.S.A., also headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale and another message to the trade about counterfeiting. The company, which has its own investigators developing leads for law enforcement, has run hard not only after street counterfeiters, but also retailers who sell such cigars, even if they also carry authentic Altadis U.S.A. products.
“In today’s competitive world, protecting brand names and trade designs is critical,” said Altadis U.S.A. Chief Executive Officer Theo Folz in a statement, “particularly those that have established a loyal following like Montecristo and our other famous brands.”"
Altadis U.S.A.’s continuing campaign against the sale of counterfeit cigars received a boost with the arrest of Allen Boyd, manager of the Carolina Cigar Company in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on February 7.
This week, Boyd entered a no contest plea to a third-degree felony charge resulting from the sale of counterfeit goods.
%%pagebreak%% The case was especially important to Altadis U.S.A., also headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale and another message to the trade about counterfeiting. The company, which has its own investigators developing leads for law enforcement, has run hard not only after street counterfeiters, but also retailers who sell such cigars, even if they also carry authentic Altadis U.S.A. products.
“In today’s competitive world, protecting brand names and trade designs is critical,” said Altadis U.S.A. Chief Executive Officer Theo Folz in a statement, “particularly those that have established a loyal following like Montecristo and our other famous brands.”"
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Cigars Versus Cigarettes: A Tobacco Showdown @ Blogcritics.org
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/25/074554.php: "When it comes to tobacco, smokers — sans the snowman and the Sherlock Holmes’ of the world — typically choose cigarettes or cigars. This results in a tobacco war between the two choices: in a scene straight out of West Side Story, one group claims cigarettes are better and one group counters, declaring the cigar’s superiority. Ashes fly, cigars cry on one another’s shoulders, cigarettes filter out, and items get burned.
To the cigar lover, the items that get burned are cigarettes. Cigar lovers believe their cigars are just better. True cigar lovers typically look at cigarettes with a sense of disdain. To them, a lover of tobacco who smokes a cigarette is like a lover of fine food eating things made in an Easy Bake Oven. Some cigarette lovers may disagree, believing that cigarettes are the best choice of smoke, but other cigarette lovers may simply be intimidated by cigars - scared of a Henry Clay or a La Aurora, they find comfort in a Benson and, of course, a Hedges.
It’s hard to blame these people. Cigars can appear scary, like a stick of tobacco lurking in a bedroom closet, waiting for night to fall. Yet, like so many things, the fear of cigars is unwarranted. People can crush cigars in an ashtray, on a sidewalk, or on a garbage can. For this reason, cigars should be more afraid of people than people are of them.
Once cigars are welcomed into the hearts of tobacco lovers, they will usually find they are not intimidating and are just the opposite. Besides providing luxury, cigars offer a handful of other satisfying avenues, avenues that cigarettes get lost going down. It is because of this that we will now list the top five reasons cigars are better than cigarettes. "
To the cigar lover, the items that get burned are cigarettes. Cigar lovers believe their cigars are just better. True cigar lovers typically look at cigarettes with a sense of disdain. To them, a lover of tobacco who smokes a cigarette is like a lover of fine food eating things made in an Easy Bake Oven. Some cigarette lovers may disagree, believing that cigarettes are the best choice of smoke, but other cigarette lovers may simply be intimidated by cigars - scared of a Henry Clay or a La Aurora, they find comfort in a Benson and, of course, a Hedges.
It’s hard to blame these people. Cigars can appear scary, like a stick of tobacco lurking in a bedroom closet, waiting for night to fall. Yet, like so many things, the fear of cigars is unwarranted. People can crush cigars in an ashtray, on a sidewalk, or on a garbage can. For this reason, cigars should be more afraid of people than people are of them.
Once cigars are welcomed into the hearts of tobacco lovers, they will usually find they are not intimidating and are just the opposite. Besides providing luxury, cigars offer a handful of other satisfying avenues, avenues that cigarettes get lost going down. It is because of this that we will now list the top five reasons cigars are better than cigarettes. "
Monday, March 12, 2007
Gurkha Black Dragon Cigars - Luxist
Gurkha Black Dragon Cigars - Luxist: "The Black Dragon from Gurkha is even more expensive than the Cohiba Behike. The Black Dragon cigars hand-crafted by the Gurkha factory in Honduras,with African Cameroon, Dominican, and Connecticut tobaccos. They are extra-aged for 12-15 years. THe 7-1/2' x 52 dark maduro cigars have a strong and spicy flavor. They come in a box made in India from aged carved camel bone and solid brass. The box of Black Dragon Especial cigars sells for $115,000 for 100 cigars and there are only five boxes available."
Labels: cigars
Boehner's Favorite Smoke-Filled Room - The Sleuth
Boehner's Favorite Smoke-Filled Room - The Sleuth: "His own party's club won't let him light up, so House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has been sneaking over to the National Democratic Club to smoke. Ironic, and a tad scandalous -- considering Boehner sits on the board of the Capitol Hill Club, where Republican members of Congress do their boozing and schmoozing.
But the Capitol Hill Club, unlike the Democratic Club, never got an exemption to get around the District's new smoking ban. And Boehner and other members are no longer allowed to smoke in the House Speaker's Lobby, thanks to Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) new rules. So what else is a Republican to do when he's jonesing for a smoke?"
But the Capitol Hill Club, unlike the Democratic Club, never got an exemption to get around the District's new smoking ban. And Boehner and other members are no longer allowed to smoke in the House Speaker's Lobby, thanks to Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) new rules. So what else is a Republican to do when he's jonesing for a smoke?"
Labels: cigars, National Politics, tabacco
“IT’S ALMOST BECOMING A BETTER MARKET THAN DRUGS”
“IT’S ALMOST BECOMING A BETTER MARKET THAN DRUGS”
CigarCyclopedia.com - Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedias of Cigars: "Los Angeles, March 12 – U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) and his fellow travelers who introduced the bill to allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to control tobacco might want to consider the real impact of what they are doing.
Because if they think they will somehow be able – through legislation – to eliminate smoking in the U.S., they might want to talk to prison officials in California.
An explosive story from The Associated Press, reported last month, noted that in the aftermath of California’s total ban on tobacco in prisons in July 2005, packs of cigarettes are still available . . . at about $125 a pack!"
CigarCyclopedia.com - Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedias of Cigars: "Los Angeles, March 12 – U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) and his fellow travelers who introduced the bill to allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to control tobacco might want to consider the real impact of what they are doing.
Because if they think they will somehow be able – through legislation – to eliminate smoking in the U.S., they might want to talk to prison officials in California.
An explosive story from The Associated Press, reported last month, noted that in the aftermath of California’s total ban on tobacco in prisons in July 2005, packs of cigarettes are still available . . . at about $125 a pack!"
Friday, March 09, 2007
Cigar Tax Proposed for Pennsylvania
Cigar Aficionado Web Features Cigar Tax Proposed for Pennsylvania: "Posted: Friday, March 09, 2007
By David Savona
Pennsylvania may soon have a tax on cigars, but any levy would likely be very small.
In February, Gov. Ed Rendell announced his new budget. Included in those plans, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was a 36-cent-an-ounce tax on cigars, smokeless tobacco and other tobacco products other than cigarettes. The budget also called for a cigarette tax increase of 10 cents a pack.
The OTP tax, if passed, would be noticeable to smokers of cheap machine-made cigars, but barely perceptible to those who enjoy premium, handmade cigars. Pennsylvania currently has no tobacco tax on cigars. The proposed tax will now go before the state senate and house, along with the other items in the budget."
By David Savona
Pennsylvania may soon have a tax on cigars, but any levy would likely be very small.
In February, Gov. Ed Rendell announced his new budget. Included in those plans, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was a 36-cent-an-ounce tax on cigars, smokeless tobacco and other tobacco products other than cigarettes. The budget also called for a cigarette tax increase of 10 cents a pack.
The OTP tax, if passed, would be noticeable to smokers of cheap machine-made cigars, but barely perceptible to those who enjoy premium, handmade cigars. Pennsylvania currently has no tobacco tax on cigars. The proposed tax will now go before the state senate and house, along with the other items in the budget."
Labels: cigars, PA News, PA Politics
The Stogie Review » Equus Limited Ligero
The Stogie Review » Equus Limited Ligero: "You know we had someone comment a few weeks ago who said we should have a Top 10 list of The Worst Cigars. I think if we actually had a list like that, the Equus Limited Ligero would take the #1 spot. This cigar doesn’t even deserve a picture in this review."
Labels: cigars
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
100 cigars for Rep. Tom Tancredo
TheHill.com - 100 cigars for Rep. Tom Tancredo: "100 cigars for Rep. Tom Tancredo
Lawmaker refers to Rep. Ellison as a ‘lifestyle Nazi’
The recent standoff between Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) and his Longworth House Office Building neighbor, freshman Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), has prompted Tancredo sympathizers — including Ellison constituents — to send Tancredo cigars.
In the last two weeks, Tancredo has received 100 in total, three of which came from people in Ellison’s Minneapolis-area district. “We have cigars all over the joint!” Tancredo boasted last week.
Ellison’s press aide, Rick Jauert, recently called the Capitol Police on his boss’s behalf after he alleged smelling smoke and seeing it come through the walls from Tancredo’s office.
To be safe, Tancredo checked with the House ethics committee to find out whether he could keep the cigars. He said he contemplated giving them away. “If I have to donate them, who am I going to donate them to?” he asked. He has since been assured that he can keep them.
Tancredo, who has three air purifiers in his office, said he thought about sending Ellison “an air cleaner, but I think I’m going to send an exorcist,” he said, expressing doubt that smoke really traveled through Ellison’s walls. "
Lawmaker refers to Rep. Ellison as a ‘lifestyle Nazi’
The recent standoff between Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) and his Longworth House Office Building neighbor, freshman Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), has prompted Tancredo sympathizers — including Ellison constituents — to send Tancredo cigars.
In the last two weeks, Tancredo has received 100 in total, three of which came from people in Ellison’s Minneapolis-area district. “We have cigars all over the joint!” Tancredo boasted last week.
Ellison’s press aide, Rick Jauert, recently called the Capitol Police on his boss’s behalf after he alleged smelling smoke and seeing it come through the walls from Tancredo’s office.
To be safe, Tancredo checked with the House ethics committee to find out whether he could keep the cigars. He said he contemplated giving them away. “If I have to donate them, who am I going to donate them to?” he asked. He has since been assured that he can keep them.
Tancredo, who has three air purifiers in his office, said he thought about sending Ellison “an air cleaner, but I think I’m going to send an exorcist,” he said, expressing doubt that smoke really traveled through Ellison’s walls. "
Labels: cigars, National Politics
"NOTHER BIRTHDAY, ANOTHER LIMITED EDITION
CigarCyclopedia.com - Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedias of Cigars: "NOTHER BIRTHDAY, ANOTHER LIMITED EDITION
Plus: bidders get crazy for Arturo Fuente Anejos
Los Angeles, March 7 – Avo Uvezian was born on March 22, 1926, so he’ll shortly be 81 years young. Time for a new Avo Limited Edition.
In the seventh of what is now an annual series, the 2007 Avo Limited Edition – the L.E.07 – will debut at a series of 12 dinners hosted by leading tobacconists around the country beginning on March 16.
The first stop will be with his friends at Corona Cigar Company of Lake Mary, Florida, home of the Avo Lounge, to be followed by another event with the Corona Cigar Co. store in Orlando, Florida in the evening following.
The highlight will be the introduction of the L.E.07, a 5 5/8-inch by 48-ring short Toro, offered unbanded and uncellophaned (!) in elegant boxes of 20 (pictured above). As in the past, the blend features a sun-grown Ecuadorian wrapper, Dominican-grown binder and filler leaves, this time emphasizing the Piloto Cubano and San Vicente strains. The result is a cigar “on the fuller side compared to the standard lines,” notes Avo brand manager Matthew Kern of Davidoff of Geneva. Kern further wrote that the blend is “still very rich, aromatic and balanced.”
In the case of the Avo limiteds, this cigar really is a limited edition. A total of 7,000 boxes (140,000 cigars) will be produced in total, with 4,000 boxes (80,000 cigars) reserved for the U.S. market.
The Avo Limited Edition tradition began in 2001 with the Avo 75, a salute to the composer’s 75th birthday. The 7-inch by 50-ring double coronas were so popular that the blend was quickly moved into regular production as the Avo Signature Series and the popularity of the limited-edition concept was proven.
Since then, Davidoff has issued the Avo 22 (5 7/8 x 50 unbanded perfectos), the Avo 77 (6 1/2 x 50), the Avo Legacy (5 3/4 x 48), the Avo LE5 (5 3/8 x 52) and, last year, the Avo 80 (6 x 52 perfecto).
The L.E. 07 dinner tour will end in Nashville, Tennessee on April 23 with an event hosted by Belle Meade Premium Cigars.
Davidoff is easily the leader in limited-editions for the U.S. market, issuing limiteds annually for its top three brands: Avo, Davidoff (beginning 2002) and The Griffin’s (beginning 2004). It started the concept in the U.S. in 1997 with a special “535" cigar to mark the 10th anniversary of its flagship store at 535 Madison Avenue in New York, well ahead of the Cuban Edicion Limitada program that began in 2000."
Labels: cigars
Monday, March 05, 2007
Cuban festival draws cigar aficionados from all over the world » PopMatters | News and Commentary | PopWire
Cuban festival draws cigar aficionados from all over the world » PopMatters | News and Commentary | PopWire: "HAVANA - For some Americans, Cuba’s annual cigar festival is an enticing, forbidden fruit for which they risk hefty fines for violating the U.S. ban on travel to the island.
“We don’t do anything illegal against the government policies,” said Prabpeet Singh, 45, a heart surgeon and Stanford University professor from San Jose, Calif. “But I think to visit any country is the basic right of a human being. We are not taking in any contraband. We just enjoy and finish the cigars here and we go back.”
Cuba’s 9th annual Habanos Festival, which ended Friday night with a lavish $500-a-head banquet, drew more than 1,000 aficionados from more than 40 countries for a sampling of new product lines, tours of factories where the cigars are hand rolled and visits to tobacco plantations hours outside Havana.
No participants were more tight-lipped than the dozens of Americans who slipped onto the island illegally through Canada or Mexico for the five-day celebration of the world’s finest cigars. Under Washington’s 43-year-old trade embargo, U.S. citizens and residents are prohibited from traveling to the island in an attempt to stem the flow of dollars to the communist government."
“We don’t do anything illegal against the government policies,” said Prabpeet Singh, 45, a heart surgeon and Stanford University professor from San Jose, Calif. “But I think to visit any country is the basic right of a human being. We are not taking in any contraband. We just enjoy and finish the cigars here and we go back.”
Cuba’s 9th annual Habanos Festival, which ended Friday night with a lavish $500-a-head banquet, drew more than 1,000 aficionados from more than 40 countries for a sampling of new product lines, tours of factories where the cigars are hand rolled and visits to tobacco plantations hours outside Havana.
No participants were more tight-lipped than the dozens of Americans who slipped onto the island illegally through Canada or Mexico for the five-day celebration of the world’s finest cigars. Under Washington’s 43-year-old trade embargo, U.S. citizens and residents are prohibited from traveling to the island in an attempt to stem the flow of dollars to the communist government."
Labels: cigars
Thursday, March 01, 2007
More Teens are Saying 'Have A Cigar' - Health Site
More Teens are Saying 'Have A Cigar' - Health Site: "lowly but surely, American kids have gotten the message that cigarette smoking is stinky, smelly and a hazard to your health. Now if only they would believe the same about cigars.
While cigarette consumption declined in the United States by 10 percent from 2000 to 2004, cigar consumption jumped 28 percent, according to a recent report published in The American Journal of Public Health. Other studies have found that teens who smoke cigars are definitely behind some of that increase.
For instance, a 2004 survey conducted in Cleveland found that 23 percent of the 4,409 teens polled preferred cigars, compared to 16 percent choosing cigarettes. And the increase may not yet have peaked, says John Banzhaf, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, a national legal action anti-smoking organization based in Washington, D.C.
'Many of the factors that began leading to the (cigar) increase are still present,' Banzhaf says. They include the perception that cigars look fashionable and the fact that high-profile politicians and others are seen smoking them regularly. 'We have Arnold (Schwarzenegger, California's governor) smoking cigars, and occasionally Bill Clinton,' he says. 'More and more women are smoking cigars.'"
While cigarette consumption declined in the United States by 10 percent from 2000 to 2004, cigar consumption jumped 28 percent, according to a recent report published in The American Journal of Public Health. Other studies have found that teens who smoke cigars are definitely behind some of that increase.
For instance, a 2004 survey conducted in Cleveland found that 23 percent of the 4,409 teens polled preferred cigars, compared to 16 percent choosing cigarettes. And the increase may not yet have peaked, says John Banzhaf, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, a national legal action anti-smoking organization based in Washington, D.C.
'Many of the factors that began leading to the (cigar) increase are still present,' Banzhaf says. They include the perception that cigars look fashionable and the fact that high-profile politicians and others are seen smoking them regularly. 'We have Arnold (Schwarzenegger, California's governor) smoking cigars, and occasionally Bill Clinton,' he says. 'More and more women are smoking cigars.'"
Labels: cigars
Smoking ban merely fans appetite for finer quality Cuban cigars
If they really want to increase the growth convince the US to lift the embargo so US smokers can try them...
Business Report - Smoking ban merely fans appetite for finer quality Cuban cigars: "Havana - Faced with public smoking bans around the world, cigar aficionados were spending more on finer smokes for the fewer opportunities they had to light up, boosting sales of Cuban cigars last year, cigar makers said on Monday.
Habanos, the joint venture between the Cuban government and Spanish-French tobacco group Altadis, said its sales of premium, hand-rolled cigars rose 8 percent to $370 million (R2.6 billion) last year, despite growing bans.
Smoking restrictions slowed unit sales, but not growth in sales value, said Habanos vice-president Javier Terres.
'We believe smokers of premium cigars are able to find the time and place to smoke. People are smoking less, but smoking better cigars,' Terres explained.
At Havana's annual cigar festival this week, cigar lovers and retailers will puff away at the world's finest cigars, tour factories to see them rolled by hand and visit tobacco plantations.
Moving to meet rising demand for finer cigars, Habanos is making more products with aged tobacco leaves. In the famed Cohiba brand, the firm will unveil at this week's festival the Maduro 5 line of cigars, with dark wrapper leaves aged for five years. It will launch an aged version of the Montecristo Number 4, the industry's most successful cigar: more than 1 billion have been sold since it first appeared in 1935."
Business Report - Smoking ban merely fans appetite for finer quality Cuban cigars: "Havana - Faced with public smoking bans around the world, cigar aficionados were spending more on finer smokes for the fewer opportunities they had to light up, boosting sales of Cuban cigars last year, cigar makers said on Monday.
Habanos, the joint venture between the Cuban government and Spanish-French tobacco group Altadis, said its sales of premium, hand-rolled cigars rose 8 percent to $370 million (R2.6 billion) last year, despite growing bans.
Smoking restrictions slowed unit sales, but not growth in sales value, said Habanos vice-president Javier Terres.
'We believe smokers of premium cigars are able to find the time and place to smoke. People are smoking less, but smoking better cigars,' Terres explained.
At Havana's annual cigar festival this week, cigar lovers and retailers will puff away at the world's finest cigars, tour factories to see them rolled by hand and visit tobacco plantations.
Moving to meet rising demand for finer cigars, Habanos is making more products with aged tobacco leaves. In the famed Cohiba brand, the firm will unveil at this week's festival the Maduro 5 line of cigars, with dark wrapper leaves aged for five years. It will launch an aged version of the Montecristo Number 4, the industry's most successful cigar: more than 1 billion have been sold since it first appeared in 1935."
Labels: cigars
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The Stogie Review » Punch Champion
Excellent Review on an Excellent Cigar...
The Stogie Review » Punch Champion: "Here we are once again for another cigar review and no, it is not Monday already. Brian had some family related business come up suddenly that he needed to take care of so I decided to get a quick review together.
Tonight I decided to fire up my last remaining Punch Champion. This particular cigar is a Perfecto weighing in at 4.5 inches by 60 ring gauge at its thickest point. The Punch Champion is found within Punch’s regular lineup, however it is a unique blend only found in this particular vitola."
The Stogie Review » Punch Champion: "Here we are once again for another cigar review and no, it is not Monday already. Brian had some family related business come up suddenly that he needed to take care of so I decided to get a quick review together.
Tonight I decided to fire up my last remaining Punch Champion. This particular cigar is a Perfecto weighing in at 4.5 inches by 60 ring gauge at its thickest point. The Punch Champion is found within Punch’s regular lineup, however it is a unique blend only found in this particular vitola."
Labels: cigars
HABANOS UNVEILS 2007 LINE-UP-Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedias of Cigars
Like I would be able to afford these even if they were legal...
CigarCyclopedia.com - Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedias of Cigars: "Plus: lots of Fuente cigars on auction!
Los Angeles, February 28 – As delegates looked for free samples everywhere, Habanos S.A. unveiled its 2007 line-up of new blends and sizes at the IX Festival del Habanos in Havana.
As expected, the highlight was the formal introduction of the third Cohiba line, the Maduro 5, named for the dark maduro wrapper aged for five years. Three sizes will be offered:
> Genios: 5 1/2 inches by 52 ring gauge;
> Magicos: 4 1/2 inches by 52 ring and
> Secretos: 4 1/4 inches by 40 ring.
But there was much more:
• The Reserva del Montecristo cigar was announced. Only 5,000 boxes of 20 cigars each will be produced in the classic No. 4 size (5 x 42), which – according to Habanos – has been the most popular Montecristo size of all time, selling one million cigars since its introduction in 1935. For the Reserva, the wrapper, binder and filler will all have been aged for at least three years.
• The Edicion Limitada line-up for 2007 was confirmed, with three cigars in this year’s class:
> Hoyo de Monterrey Regalos: 5 inches by 46 ring;
> Romeo y Julieta Escudos: 5 1/2 inches by 50 ring, and
> Trinidad Ingenios: 6 1/2 inches by 42 ring.
"
CigarCyclopedia.com - Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedias of Cigars: "Plus: lots of Fuente cigars on auction!
Los Angeles, February 28 – As delegates looked for free samples everywhere, Habanos S.A. unveiled its 2007 line-up of new blends and sizes at the IX Festival del Habanos in Havana.
As expected, the highlight was the formal introduction of the third Cohiba line, the Maduro 5, named for the dark maduro wrapper aged for five years. Three sizes will be offered:
> Genios: 5 1/2 inches by 52 ring gauge;
> Magicos: 4 1/2 inches by 52 ring and
> Secretos: 4 1/4 inches by 40 ring.
But there was much more:
• The Reserva del Montecristo cigar was announced. Only 5,000 boxes of 20 cigars each will be produced in the classic No. 4 size (5 x 42), which – according to Habanos – has been the most popular Montecristo size of all time, selling one million cigars since its introduction in 1935. For the Reserva, the wrapper, binder and filler will all have been aged for at least three years.
• The Edicion Limitada line-up for 2007 was confirmed, with three cigars in this year’s class:
> Hoyo de Monterrey Regalos: 5 inches by 46 ring;
> Romeo y Julieta Escudos: 5 1/2 inches by 50 ring, and
> Trinidad Ingenios: 6 1/2 inches by 42 ring.
"
Labels: cigars
Monday, February 26, 2007
Timing may be right for state to institute tax on snuff, cigars
Timing may be right for state to institute tax on snuff, cigars: "Kentucky, North Carolina and the rest of Appalachia's tobacco-rich states collect an excise tax on chew, snuff and cigars. With just a few exceptions, so does the rest of the country.
Not so in Pennsylvania, where an eclectic but effective mix of politicians, lobbyists and tobacco farmers has been able to block it for two decades.
Gov. Ed Rendell says he wants to change that. He's proposing an excise tax -- on top of the existing sales tax -- at a rate of 36 cents per ounce of smokeless tobacco and roughly 3.6 cents per cigar. It's part of his 'Prescription for Pennsylvania' plan to raise $151 million to improve health care.
It would seem that the Democratic governor's timing is right. Former legislative powerhouses like Rep. Mike Veon, D-Beaver Falls, known for his after-hours cigar sessions, and Sens. Chip Brightbill of Lebanon County and Noah Wenger of Lancaster County, who helped to scotch plans to collect a tobacco excise tax in the past, no longer roam the Capitol halls as lawmakers."
Not so in Pennsylvania, where an eclectic but effective mix of politicians, lobbyists and tobacco farmers has been able to block it for two decades.
Gov. Ed Rendell says he wants to change that. He's proposing an excise tax -- on top of the existing sales tax -- at a rate of 36 cents per ounce of smokeless tobacco and roughly 3.6 cents per cigar. It's part of his 'Prescription for Pennsylvania' plan to raise $151 million to improve health care.
It would seem that the Democratic governor's timing is right. Former legislative powerhouses like Rep. Mike Veon, D-Beaver Falls, known for his after-hours cigar sessions, and Sens. Chip Brightbill of Lebanon County and Noah Wenger of Lancaster County, who helped to scotch plans to collect a tobacco excise tax in the past, no longer roam the Capitol halls as lawmakers."
Labels: cigars, PA Politics
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Fidel Castro and Cigar Culture: A Brief History @ Blogcritics.org
Fidel Castro and Cigar Culture: A Brief History @ Blogcritics.org: "Many cigar lovers who have their roots in the United States view Fidel Castro as an enemy. He is, after all, partly to blame for Cuban cigars being banned from the US quicker than a classic novel. But his influence is not limited to Cuban cigars, it transcends cigar types: many Cuban citizens came to America to flee Castro’s reign. In one way or another, he took some cigars away from the US and gave some back. In the end, it is hard to think about cigars without visions of Castro dancing in our heads.
Many of us may know of Fidel Castro, regarding him the same way we regard a Stalin or a Mussolini, but most of us know little about him, other than his name is an “F” word. This article discusses some of the history behind Fidel Castro, his name, his reputation, and his legacy."
Labels: cigars, National Politics
Saturday, February 17, 2007
CIGARS - The Stogie Review » Tips and Tricks - Installment 1
A good read and a nice tip... click to read entire article:
The Stogie Review » Tips and Tricks - Installment 1: "A few weeks ago I was hanging out with a friend when I decided it was about time for a cigar. I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a cigar. Once removed from my pocket, I sat the cigar down in front of me while I reached for my Cutter and Lighter when I heard my friend say “What is that on your cigar”? He was talking about my home made cigar label."
The Stogie Review » Tips and Tricks - Installment 1: "A few weeks ago I was hanging out with a friend when I decided it was about time for a cigar. I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a cigar. Once removed from my pocket, I sat the cigar down in front of me while I reached for my Cutter and Lighter when I heard my friend say “What is that on your cigar”? He was talking about my home made cigar label."
Labels: cigars
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
CIGARS - Castro signing cigar humidors for big Habanos fest
Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Castro signing cigar humidors for big Habanos fest: "HAVANA (Reuters) - Cigar aficionados should not expect to see ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro strut out to greet them at the annual Habanos festival, but they will be able to bid for humidors signed by him.
The maker of Cuba's famous hand-rolled cigars said on Tuesday that five elaborate humidors to be signed by Castro will be auctioned for charity at the closing gala dinner on March 2.
'There'll be five humidors signed by the Comandante,' said Enrique Babot, marketing director for Habanos S.A., a joint venture between Cuba's communist state and Spanish-French tobacco group Altadis.
The chance to meet Castro has drawn well-heeled cigar smokers from across the world to the lavish banquets each year, but the ageing revolutionary has missed the last three.
Emergency intestinal surgery forced him to relinquished power to his brother Raul Castro on July 31. He has not reappeared in public since. A video clip released two weeks ago showed the 80-year-old leader had put on weight but still looked frail.
Humidors signed by Castro and filled with Cuban cigars were auctioned for 610,000 euros ($730,000) last year. The proceeds go to cancer research in Cuba.
Castro, once a cigar-chomping guerrilla, gave up cigars in 1986 and has said tobacco is a poison and boxes of cigars are best given to one's enemies."
The maker of Cuba's famous hand-rolled cigars said on Tuesday that five elaborate humidors to be signed by Castro will be auctioned for charity at the closing gala dinner on March 2.
'There'll be five humidors signed by the Comandante,' said Enrique Babot, marketing director for Habanos S.A., a joint venture between Cuba's communist state and Spanish-French tobacco group Altadis.
The chance to meet Castro has drawn well-heeled cigar smokers from across the world to the lavish banquets each year, but the ageing revolutionary has missed the last three.
Emergency intestinal surgery forced him to relinquished power to his brother Raul Castro on July 31. He has not reappeared in public since. A video clip released two weeks ago showed the 80-year-old leader had put on weight but still looked frail.
Humidors signed by Castro and filled with Cuban cigars were auctioned for 610,000 euros ($730,000) last year. The proceeds go to cancer research in Cuba.
Castro, once a cigar-chomping guerrilla, gave up cigars in 1986 and has said tobacco is a poison and boxes of cigars are best given to one's enemies."
Labels: cigars
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Cigar Aficionado | Atlantic City Ban is a Go
Cigar Aficionado | Web Features | Atlantic City Ban is a Go: "Atlantic City gamblers could have less room to puff very soon. The city council this week gave final approval to extend New Jersey's smoking ban to casino gambling floors.
If signed by Mayor Robert W. Levy Sr., the ban would go into effect on April 15 and eliminate smoking from 75 percent of the gambling floors in the city's 11 casinos, which include the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, Caesars Atlantic City and the Trump Taj Mahal. The other 25 percent of the floor would remain smoker-friendly, allowing smokers to stay inside and light up while they play. Per the measure, smoking sections would have to be walled off from the rest of the casino floor and equipped with their own air filtration system."
Read the rest HERE
If signed by Mayor Robert W. Levy Sr., the ban would go into effect on April 15 and eliminate smoking from 75 percent of the gambling floors in the city's 11 casinos, which include the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, Caesars Atlantic City and the Trump Taj Mahal. The other 25 percent of the floor would remain smoker-friendly, allowing smokers to stay inside and light up while they play. Per the measure, smoking sections would have to be walled off from the rest of the casino floor and equipped with their own air filtration system."
Read the rest HERE
Labels: cigars
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Plasencia Jr. Named Leader of Nicaraguan Cigar Association
Cigar Aficionado | Web Features | Plasencia Jr. Named Leader of Nicaraguan Cigar Association: "Nestor Plasencia Jr., a prominent tobacco grower and cigarmaker in Central America who works alongside his father, was named president of the Nicaragua Cigar Guilders Association in December. The association, created in the mid-1990s, seeks to strengthen the Nicaraguan cigar industry, much in the same way that Pro Cigar helps unify the cigarmakers of the Dominican RePublishpublic."
Labels: cigars
Cigar Wrappers: Judging a Cigar by its Cover @ Blogcritics.org
Cigar Wrappers: Judging a Cigar by its Cover @ Blogcritics.org
It may seem superficial, judging a cigar based on what it looks like on the outside. After all, we are led to believe that it is what’s on the inside that really counts. This may be true with some things - people, novels, Tootsie Pops - but when it comes to cigars, the outside is as important as the inside. You can judge a cigar, at least in part, by its wrapper.
The cigar wrapper, in simple terms, is made up of outermost leaves, composed from the broadest part of the tobacco plant. It is often the first thing people notice- a wrapper that is cracked or damaged will ruin a cigar’s reputation faster than Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office - and it plays a role in the flavor of the cigar: the wrapper also partly sets the tone for how the cigar is described.
It may seem superficial, judging a cigar based on what it looks like on the outside. After all, we are led to believe that it is what’s on the inside that really counts. This may be true with some things - people, novels, Tootsie Pops - but when it comes to cigars, the outside is as important as the inside. You can judge a cigar, at least in part, by its wrapper.
The cigar wrapper, in simple terms, is made up of outermost leaves, composed from the broadest part of the tobacco plant. It is often the first thing people notice- a wrapper that is cracked or damaged will ruin a cigar’s reputation faster than Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office - and it plays a role in the flavor of the cigar: the wrapper also partly sets the tone for how the cigar is described.
Labels: cigars
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Well... it's Been A While
So, it's been a while since I last updated this. Work, life and this and that have gotten in the way. That and surprisingly I haven't had a whole lot to say. Yeah, right Drifty you are saying. Well, actually I have been hanging out at Club Stogie, a forum dedicated to cigars. It is a community of cigar lovers where we discuss good and yes sometimes bad cigars. We also talk about life there as well. So, if you start to miss me, well I am still around.
Labels: cigars, parrot head, parrothead
