 Honduras passed for second in number of U.S.-marketed brands
Los Angeles, November 10 – Compiling our annual Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars is a marathon we undertake each fall.
Now that we have crossed the finish line and sent our 600-page effort to the printer, we noticed another sign of Nicaragua’s remarkable ascension as one of the world’s great cigar-making countries.
It makes more brands for the U.S. market than any other country except the Dominican Republic!
That’s an almost unthinkable statement when you consider that Honduras is the home to some of this country’s favorite brands: Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur, Camacho Corojo and many more. But Nicaragua has arrived:
• Our survey tracked a total of 1,091 brands nationally and actively marketed in the United States, 951 handmades, 91 machine-mades and 49 brands of small cigars.
• In the handmade category, the Dominican Republic dominates with 427½ brands, or 44.9% of the total. That’s in the neighborhood with the import totals, as Domincan-made cigars account for – through August of this year – 55.7% of all cigars imported into the U.S.
(Why a “half-brand”? We account for brands made in more than one country by splitting them in half. Example: the Padron brand is made in both Honduras and Nicaragua and so each country gets credit for a “half-brand” in our count.)
• Nicaragua scored an amazing total of 198½ brands produced for second place, ahead of Honduras, which had 181 brands.
This is an amazing rise for Nicaragua, which due to political turmoil in the 1980s and 1990s had years with barely any production at all. Now, Nicaraguan-made cigars account for 20.9% of all brands marketed nationally in the U.S, while Honduras has fallen back to 19.0%.
• Moreover, imports from Nicaragua were at zero as late as 1994 and only 1.5 million in 1995. But for 2004, the projection is for more than 47 million cigars to come to the U.S. market.
In fairness to Honduras, however, it still ranks second in total imports and is well ahead of the surging Nicaraguans. Projections for Honduran imports for 2004 are at 75.2 million, 60% more than from Nicaragua, but not nearly the 2 1/2-to-1 ratio from 203
• At least so far in 2004, Nicaraguan cigars are less expensive than their Honduran or Dominican counterparts, at least on the producer level.
The declared value of Nicaraguan-made cigars coming into the U.S. was $0.51 for the first eight months of 2004, compared to $0.92 for Dominican-made cigars and $0.75 for Honduran-made sticks. This includes all large cigars, but it lumps unbanded bundles in with the Davidoffs, Hoyo de Monterreys and Joya de Nicaraguas.
These developments should not be interpreted to posit or predict a decline in Honduran manufacturing, but rather to salute the remarkable regeneration of the Nicaraguan cigar industry to its highest level ever. Happily, its star is likely to continue rising well into the future.
Brands., brands and more brands:
After leveling off for a couple of years, brand production increased in 2004 as shown in our Cyclopedia tabulations.
There were 100 more handmade brands than last year for a total of 951 and some of them will be memorable for their names and sizes, if not for their impact on the marketplace:
• High Monk from Nicaragua, which could be a statement either about religious zeal or someone’s state of mind while coming up with this blend.
• Hookah from Tabacalera Tropical, with an assist from the inventive Jonathan Drew and his Drew Estates team. Each of the three sizes in this line are equally at home as a cigar, or in a hookah with your choice of flavors: Peach Fizz, Tahitian Vanilla, Fruit or Melon!
• The special anniversary sizes from Miami’s La Tradicion Cubana, including “The Big One,” a 12-inch by 90-ring gauge monster that is the second-fattest cigar on the U.S. market. Only Nick Perdomo’s Cuban Parejo Galaxia (10 x 100) is larger.
• Thicker sizes in almost every line. The popular Nicaraguan-made Hoja de Florez is typical: new for 2004 is the “Big Willie Style,” named for brand co-owner Willie Flores, six inches long with a ring gauge of 60!
• Strange shapes, including Big League Cigars, a 6 1/4-inch cigar in the shape of a baseball bat, including a knob at the end of the handle! Made by Victor Sinclair for the Georgia-based BLC company, it requires you to guillotine both ends before smoking!
• Presidential Election, a 500-box brand from Habana Cuba Cigar Co. – the makers of the popular Oliveros line – with “red” and “blue” cigars in each box so you’ll have some available for Republicans and Democrats alike.
• Jericho, a serious cigar from Caribe Imported (makers of Camacho) which offers a balanced, medium-bodied taste . . . just the thing to enjoy watching the walls of some city come tumbling down.
What didn’t make it? We didn’t include a local brand – Bling Bling – which had more to do with looking good than with smoking good. I’m sure we’ll hear from them!
~ Rich Perelman
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