 Views From A Smoke-Filled Room
Los Angeles, November 25 – With the holidays now upon us, it’s appropriate to think of the many things we should be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day 2004:
No. 10: Cigar Manufacturers:
They are better than ever. With beautiful, aged tobacco planted during the crazy days of the Cigar Boom, manufacturers are producing some of their best cigars ever.
During the course of our tastings to establish our rankings for mild, medium and full-bodied cigars, we tasted more than 200 brands. The vast majority were well made, smoked easily and were hard to separate from one another in terms of quality, style and taste. We appreciated anew the devotion to craft of big-name makers such as Altadis, Arturo Fuente, Davidoff, General Cigar, MATASA and many others.
And we especially enjoyed finding new brands which excited us. Out of nowhere came the no. 6 selection in our full-bodied tasting, Old Powder Keg, from Hazardville, Connecticut. Or our no. 13-ranked full-bodied brand, Nicarao from the reformulated Tabacalera Tropical. It simply underlines our longtime belief that ”The Best Cigar You Will Ever Smoke May Be The Next One You Try.”
No. 9: Cigar Catalog Copywriters:
Who says the age of stylish writing is over? Check this out:
“For decades, with only limited success, tobacco growers everywhere have been attempting to emulate the famed Cuban Corojo, the principal tobacco of Cuban cigar production. Reminiscent of the Colorado Claro, the deep red tinge of the Cuban Corojo is the grail of wrapper growers throughout the Caribbean Basin.”
Or:
“If Shakespeare could have experienced the pleasures of a Romeo y Julieta cigar while writing his famous play, perhaps it would have had a happy ending.”
And, of course:
“Without exception, this is probably the world’s hardest-to-find cigar.” Without exception . . . probably? Say what?
This is just a sample of some of the great prose found in cigar catalogs from well-known companies such as Thompson, Mike’s, Famous and, of course, the wild and unpredictable J-R. It’s one of the great pleasures of our work to read these catalogs cover to cover and they are filled with enough humor – intentional or otherwise – to earn the writers ah honorary membership in the Friars right here in Beverly Hills.
No. 8: Torch Lighters:
Lighting a cigar should be a pleasant, not laborious, task. With so many of us forced to smoke outdoors now, the arrival of the torch lighter is a welcome development.
Today, you can buy inexpensive torch-style lighters that have two or even three flames, ensuring – as the catalogs say – “lighting even in a full gale.”
Just as important for travelers has been the creation of lighters with altitude adjustments. You will not soon forget trying to use an elegant Dunhill lighter to no avail in the mile-high city of Denver. Thanks to Colibri in particular, for making quality, altitude-adjustable lighters that meet the needs of travelers who wish to enjoy their cigars wherever they are.
No. 7: eBay:
The world’s largest marketplace makes it possible to bid on useful and pathetic cigars, accessories and pieces of history.
Jars? Up for bid almost continuously. How about vintage cigar ads? Humidors? Cases? Statues? No problem.
Although eBay announced earlier this year that they were going to crack down on the sales of actual tobacco products, there are still opportunities to buy some of the harder-to-get brands at auction such as Fuente Fuente Opus X and some Cuban brands.
It’s a supermarket out there: I just added a leather case in good condition that was a premium from the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis!
No. 6: Sampler Packs
Possibly the most smoker-friendly development in the past two years has been the emergence of sampler packs.
Both manufacturers and catalog retailers have been assembling a record number of brand tasters or packs of five, eight or ten cigars to allow smokers to try them out without investing in full boxes of 20 or 25 cigars.
Even better of late has been the re-introduction of cigars in tins by Altadis, offering sizes up to Toros (6 x 54) of premium brands such as Don Diego, H. Upmann, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and Trinidad in gaudy metal push-up tins of three of four cigars. They’re not only classy, but some can be reused as a business-card holder or note case.
It’s a trend which we hope will continue and expand in the coming months, not only for samplers, but for boxes of 10 as well, to allow smokers to enjoy more brands more often!
Tomorrow: the top five reasons we have to be thankful this year!
~ Rich Perelman
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