 Also: cigar brand & trademark sold on eBay for $2,325
Los Angeles, October 8 – The Griffin’s was always the little sister in the Davidoff of Geneva cigar line-up.
Behind the high-profile Davidoff brand came the many varieties of Avo and more recently the heavily-promoted Zino Platinum Crown and Zino Platinum Scepter series. Even the second-line Private Stock brand had a devoted following for years thanks to rumors that these cigars were actually Davidoff seconds (not true today, as the brand now has its own blend).
Although introduced way back in 1984, The Griffin’s marched along, lagging a little behind.
But the runt is catching up to the litter. Maduro wrappers appeared on three of the shapes in 2000 and led to the introduction of the well-received Griffin’s Fuerte line in 2002. Now, the brand has come into the sunshine with the introduction of The Griffin’s Special XX Edition, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the brand. It’s easily the best of the line yet introduced.
How does it compare? Let’s look at all three lines, cigar vs. cigar:
• The Griffin’s:
The original blend is mild-to-medium in body and offers a firm, slightly caramelized flavor with a hint of sweetness on the finish. It’s firm, but not assertive and can be a little too mellow and easy to keep the experienced smoker interested. It’s a nice, relaxing cigar.
• Griffin’s Fuerte:
A much more forthright blend, offering a full-bodied taste with plenty of flavor from start to finish. The emphasis is on flavor, with a prominent, deep, woody taste that has just the barest undertone of sweetness. Here is a cigar with character, but it exudes a calm which keeps the smoker mellow. A dramatic upgrade over the standard blend.
• The Griffin’s Special XX Edition:
This is a special blend offered only in the meaty Toro (6x50) size. The caramelized, full-bodied flavor of the blend is immediately apparent, but with a deep and tangy presence that is unique. There’s energy in this cigar! The flavor is calmer as the cigar hits mid-course and while the ones we tried burned a little hot at times, it was an attractive smoke all the way through. A winner and the boldest of The Griffin’s line.
Made at Tabadom in the Dominican Republic, all three blends naturally have an easy draw and burn evenly for an enjoyable smoke. If you get a chance, try the “double X” and you’ll be in for a treat.
Want to own a cigar brand?
You had your chance on eBay to bid for the brand name, trademark, bands, glass tubes, World Wide Web domain name and artwork of Don Primo.
We’ve had a listing for Don Primo for several years in our Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars and it’s a mild blend with a sweet tip, manufactured in the Dominican Republic. Owner Bob Koch, who also runs the Primo Pipe Company in Vashon, Washington, noted in his offer that he “lacks the capital to take this trademark to the next level. Only modest capital would be required to take this company national, and would be ideal for a small investor or an established company to take on.”
He got his wish, as 11 bidders chimed in and the final price was set at $2,325.
Although sold in stores for a while, the brand exists now only as a mail-order brand, but has potential. Let’s see what the new owner can do with it.
Hammer time:
A brilliant Cartier-made “cigar service” from about 1910 started at $20 ten days ago but ended up with 27 bids and a final price of $897.97. The set included a five-inch silver plate on which were mounted an oil-fueled lighter with two lighting rods, a hinged box to hold matches and a holder for a Sterling silver V-cutter. It’s an elegant piece and was sold to what appears to be another U.S. dealer.
On the CigarWire:
Thanks to a suggestion by Famous Smoke Shop’s man-in-motion, Arthur Zaretsky, we have made a helpful upgrade to our CigarWire comparison-shopping catalog, listing street prices from our eight top national mail-order and on-line vendors: color!
For each of the vendors and our 509 brands, we now show new entries in blue, price decreases in green and price increases in red. Happy shopping!
~ Rich Perelman
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