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Los Angeles, August 27, 2010 – One of the consistently entertaining features of the quarterly Cigar Magazine is the "Cigar-bage or Cigar-tifact"section by Tony Hyman of the National Cigar Museum.
In the new Fall issue, he profiled - among other things - an excellent collection of 257 Havana cigar bands, bought by a reader at a flea market! Many bore the name of the brand, but were also personalized for a company, person or event. Hyman noted that this was commonplace in the pre-Castro days:
I can only tell you that all, or nearly all, of the Cuban export companies made custom shapes, blends and frontmarks by the hundreds, if not thousands. I don't know of any Cuban export companies, whether independent or members of the Tobacco Trust, that weren't willing to provide custom bands for customers worldwide who wanted the prestige: men's clubs, restaurants, spas, tobacconists, yacht clubs, politicians, royalty, corporations, hotels, country clubs, ocean liners, airlines . . . just about everyone wanted his "own" brand and Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, Bolivar, Henry Clay, La Corona and Bock y Ca. Were among those happy to provide them with one.
Some manufacturers made so many custom bands that they maintained printing departments within their factories. Cigarmakers usually didn't build a custom box or label, but often did have a brass die made, and order the name of their customer to be printed on the wooden part of the box by the boxmaker, as in "Especially selected for . . .".
Hyman was so taken by the pictures of the collection that he has offered to buy it! Bands are great collectibles and custom bands especially so. You can start your own collection by checking for cigar bands on sale on eBay.
There was a lot more in the Fall issue, including:
In Group I, the winner was the Hoyo de Monterrey Super Hoyo (Honduras: 5 1/2 inches by 43 ring; MSRP $3.75), earning an average of 86.3 points and best score on construction, 88. Second was the Genuine Pre-Embargo Counterfeit Cuban Corona Gorda (Nicaragua: 6 x 50; MSRP $3.75) with 85.8 points (and the best score on appearance, at 88) and third was the Casa Blanca DeLuxe (Dom. Rep.: 6 x 50; MSRP $3.75), which had the top score for taste at 84.
In Group II, two cigars posted averages of 87.3 points to share top honors: the La Aurora No. 4 (Dom. Rep.: 5 1/4 x 43; MSRP $3.75) and the La Finca Joya (Nicaragua: 6 x 50; MSRP $3.00). Both shared the top score for construction 89 points. Third place in the group went to the Maria Mancini Magic Mountain (Honduras: 6 x 54; MSRP $3.50), which had the top scores for both appearance (88) and taste (86). The fifth-place Las Cabrillas Cortez (Honduras: 4 3/4 x 50); MSRP $3.50) also shared the top score for appearance at 88.
In Group III, the big winner was the Punch Elite (Honduras: 5 1/4 x 45; MSRP $3.25), which had the top scores for taste (87) and construction (88) as well as the highest overall score of 86.8. Right behind it was the El Rey del Mundo Tino (Honduras: 5 1/2 x 38; MSRP $3.50), made in the same factory and taking honors for appearance (87) and tying the Punch with 88 points for construction. Third was the Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte Cordoba (Honduras: 5 1/4 x 44; MSRP: $3.75), also made by General Cigar in Honduras, with an 83.8-point average. Fourth-place Primo del Rey Robusto (Honduras: 5 x 54; MSRP $3.50) shared the top score for taste at 87 points.
There's a lot more, notably Hyman's great review of the evolution of the traveling cigar salesman from the earliest days of the United States to the present, and a grim story by Frank Seltzer on "Political 'Science',"noting the ever-closer tie being forged by Federal government-grant-hungry researchers between tobacco and global warming, and the very questionable science behind both. It's an important story to read, but it makes one so angry halfway that you're tempted to tear the magazine in half and bite an uncooked steak. It might be best to read Seltzer's report after a brandy and two cigars!
~ Rich Perelman
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