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STILL PLENTY TO BE THANKFUL FOR

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A Happy Thanksgiving to all our cigar-smoking friends!

Los Angeles, November 27 – Charles Dickens’ famous opening in his 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities is fully apropos for cigar enthusiasts on this Thanksgiving:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness. . .”

Despite many challenges for cigar lovers, there was still plenty to be thankful for:

Whether from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua or elsewhere, when has there been a time of more aged tobacco, better knowledge on the part of manufacturers or more enthusiasm to make great cigars?

The quality of cigars and the enormous choices available on the U.S. market are unrivaled in recent history. The 2009 edition of our Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars included profiles on 1,360 cigar brands in all, including a sensational 1,209 handmade brands, the second-most in our 15 editions. Only during the Cigar Boom was the number of brands higher, but the overall quality of today’s cigars are second to none.

In addition to more brands than ever before, the variety of shapes expanded considerably in 2008 with a raft of short, fat shapes that offer plenty of flavor but in a format that can be enjoyed more quickly. That’s critical considering the compressed opportunities to smoke in most major cities in the U.S.

Among the best-sellers in many shops are the short robustos of less than five inches in length and ring gauges of 50 up to 64! The Nub line from Oliva established what may be the outer limits on this type of smoke with six sizes ranging from a 3 3/4-inch by 54 or 58-ring robusto up to a four-inch by 66-ring robusto or torpedo.

And yet, at the same time, the elegant Lancero – 7 inches and just 38 ring – also made a substantial comeback this year. And almost everyone is making perfectos again.

Cigar packaging is also better than ever, with more and more brands being offered in packs of three, four or five cigars each. And many makers are expanding the number of shapes which are offered in air-tight tubes, making it easier to take fresh cigars on the road.

Previously reserved mostly for cigarillos, manufacturers are also beginning to introduce elegant tins to handle cigars of standard sizes, even up to Toros and Churchills. The stunning new Crest Sampler tins from Gurkha may be the vanguard of a new way to look this kind of “case” for the future.

Although the pressure on retail smokeshops has never been greater, there are many now which have added extensive lounges and even full bars to allow cigar lovers to smoke inside the shops. This isn’t possible in some cities or even states (such as the state of Washington), but where smokeshops have been protected, at least some have become true havens for cigars and the people who love them. The well-known J.C. Newman Cigar Co., makers of the popular Cuesta-Rey, Diamond Crown and Quorum lines, went so far as to create standards for the best in lounges and has designated nearly 50 shops as “Diamond Crown Cigar Lounges.”

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Did you know?

“"Sandwich" filler includes both long and short pieces, with the long pieces folded over to form the "sandwich."