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In the rolling gallery, General uses one buncher to feed two rollers and once the cigars are produced, they are subjected to a battery of tests to check for proper thickness (ring gauge) and construction problems, then placed in a vacuum chamber to prevent mold. Finished cigars are aged anywhere from three weeks for most brands up to 12 weeks for specific brands and special projects. All cigars are harmonized at 14.5 percent humidity when sent to packing; Nunez noted that some humidity is lost during the banding, boxing and shipping process and so the cigars should be right at 14 percent when finally on the way to retail stores. While the factory hums at a consistent, measured and busy pace, Nunez is mostly concerned with the continuing development of both the staff and the executives to assure that the company’s brands can continue to grow. He is worried about how the cigar industry is being misrepresented to the public in some quarters, but he said he is not concerned with ownership of major cigar producers by cigarette companies. “We have been there before,” he noted. “Whoever owns them will have to have the respect.” What about a possible sale of General’s parent, Swedish Match? “It’s a public company,” said Nunez, “so it has always been for sale; anyone can buy the shares. It could happen any time and we all know that. So far, it’s rumors and that’s nothing new.” Whoever buys Swedish Match will find out quickly that they didn’t just buy a company, they bought into a family. Gala dinner and auction closes ProCigar I: Similar in style to the Festival del Habano in Havana, the final evening’s program included a sumptuous dinner, entertainment and an auction of rare cigar items to raise money for a home for senior citizens, the Hospicio San Vicente de Paul. There were eight lots in the program, but the auction quickly got out of hand once the catalog items were completed. Highlights: Once the formal catalog list was completed, auctioneer and MATASA chief Manuel Quesada started offering items that no one had expected to be available (including the people who provided them for sale!). Some of these were unbelievable: All together, the auction raised $50,000 for the senior care facility. A spirited fireworks show marked the start of the after-party that included a lot of cigars and even more Brugal rum. The party – and the Festival – ended about 5 a.m. An obvious success, it will be expanded for 2008 . . . once everyone recovers. ~ 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?
“"Clear Havanas" refers to cigars made in the U.S. but with tobacco imported from Cuba.
