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| CIGAR IMPORTS ROLL PAST 300 MILLION |
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Page 2 of 2 The U.S. doesn’t export much in the way of handmade cigars or even machine-mades – only 116 million units through November of 2007, but little cigar exports have gone wild. U.S. little cigar exports are up 38 percent over 2006 at 187.3 million units and November exports were up 29.5% over the year previous. Cruz Real resurrected by Famous Smoke Shop: Remember Cruz Real? The brand was noticed by smokers in the mid-1990s, when it was introduced as a high-flying Mexican brand in 1994. It had some success – as did all cigar brands – during the Cigar Boom, but had run its course and left the scene in 2000. But no brand ever really dies; it’s just waiting to be reborn and Cruz Real is the latest brand to be brought back from the dead. This time it’s retail giant Famous Smoke Shop of Easton, Pennsylvania that breathed new life into an old trademark. It took ownership of the name in 2004 and has now debuted the new blend. No longer a Mexican-made cigar, the new Cruz Real is made in Danli, Honduras and was blended by popular cigar maker Rocky Patel in conjunction Famous’s energetic president, Arthur Zaretsky. It’s offered with a choice of a U.S.-grown Connecticut Shade wrapper in a blend described as medium in body and smooth and sweet, or an Indonesian-grown wrapper from Sumatra, creating a full-bodied taste with spicy elements. The interior blend includes a Mexican binder – just for old times’ sake? – and Dominican and Nicaraguan-grown filler leaves. There are five sizes in the line ranging from a Robusto (5 inches by 50 ring) on the short end, up to a 7-inch by 50-ring Churchill. All are offered in boxes of 20 at prices from $95.99 to $111.99 per box. Sampler packs of five are also available and run from $26.99 to $31.99. During February, Famous is adding in two bonuses for box orders: free shipping and a nine-cigar sampler of some of Famous’s other owned brands. Service to the memory of Dick Pokorski: Swedish Match and General Cigar reported the passing of their long-time senior customer service manager Dick Pokorski, aged 61, on January 26. He joined General Cigar in 1997 and moved over to Swedish Match in 2000. In more than a decade with the companies, he rose in responsibility and was managing fleet operations, field sales and a team of customer service personnel. He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Susan, his mother, two sons, three brothers and a sister, among others. Our condolences to the family and to his co-workers at Swedish Match and General Cigar. ~ Rich Perelman CLASSIFIED ADVERTISINGCigar Humidors and Cigar Accessories at Humidor Vault! Your online cigar humidor source, with rock-bottom pricing and fantastic customer support!Like sports? Get news and commentary you won’t see in your morning newspaper at TheSportsExaminer.com! Join the examination! A limited amount of classified advertising is available in this space on a weekly basis. For details, call Pat Harris at (213) 365-7965 or inquire by email by clicking here. Have an opinion? You can send it using the “Comment” button below! Don’t forget to register for our drawing for free cigars and accessories! Just click on the “Register & Win” button above; enter today! Looking for a cigar party? Take a look at our exclusive list of hundreds of cigar events across the country, listed by state and date, only on CigarCyclopedia.com!
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Did you know?
“Cigars were introduced to the American Colonies by British Col. Israel Putnam on his return from Cuba in 1762.
