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CIGAR MYTHOLOGY GETS A BOOST IN INDIA

Plus: Padron Serie 1926 humidor on auction

Los Angeles, November 30 – Was the image of the gorgeous young girl rolling a cigar on her thighs created from fact, or a cultural fantasy that grew out of Georges Bizet’s Carmen, which debuted in 1875?

Probably both.

Now, the New Delhi-based Indian Express is contributing to the continuation of this popular myth with its recent story “65 Steps to a Roll.”

The story features the adventures of 23-year-old Dominican roller Jessica Maria Travieso Irizzary, who now makes promotional appearances on behalf of Altadis, which owns half of Cuba’s Habanos S.A. distribution company and makes dozens of brands for the U.S. market including Dominican versions of Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Trinidad and others.

“Whether you swear by Cubans or cigars from another country, if you’re the sort who believes that ‘cigar smoking is a religion,’ chances are you’d find an increase in converts to your faith if the preacher were this lady,” reads the near-breathless lead to the story.

Two paragraphs later:

“Did you know that cigar rolling involves as many as 65 steps? That’s it’s not an uncommon profession for women in the Dominican Republic? And that they often roll cigars on the insides of their thighs?”

Aarrgh!

Cigars are rolled on a table, period. The only people who think cigars are rolled on anyone’s thighs are drunk; fans of the late, notorious Puerto Rican womanizer of the 1960s, Porfirio Rubirosa, or the not-surprisingly-unnamed writer from the Express who wrote this story!

Thighs are used in the cigar-manufacturing process, however. Once the leaves come into the factory from the curing barns, they are dry and need to be re-hydrated. After being unpacked, the leaves are wetted and then distributed to women who smooth the leaves, make sure they regain their supple nature, remove the stems and stack the half-leaves on their thighs. These stacks are then ready to be reclassified for use in the rolling process in the galeria where the rollers work on tables.

At least the Express doesn’t launch into a storm of criticism of smoking, noting that Chetran Seth, the exclusive importer of Cuban cigars into India, is planning a luncheon for female cigar smokers to promote the activity and that Indian native Rocky Patel is expected soon. Patel is saluted as the creator “of one of the world’s most highly-regarded cigar brands.”

At least they got that right.

Hammer Time:
The entertaining CigarAuctioneer site has another noteworthy item up this week: one of 400 humidors containing 40 of their Padron Serie 1926 40th Anniversary torpedos (6 1/2 inches by 54 ring with maduro wrappers).

These are special-edition cigars introduced in 2004 with the peppery, full-bodied taste for which Padron is famous.

The humidor is no. 105 of the limited edition of 400. It’s a carved cedar chest with an interior painting by Nicaraguan artist Marco Diaz. The exterior features a bas-relief of the Padron cigar Co. logo and brass hinges and magnet closure.

The retail on the humidor and cigars is $1,600, but the bidding started at $1 (ha!). The auction closes on Friday at 9:59 p.m. Eastern time.

Hammer Time, part II:
Also a good week on eBay, especially for fans of collectible cigar jars, including two favorites from Cuba:

• A Cuban Partagas Sevilla Humijar, made in Spain and probably from the 1960s or 1970s, in excellent condition and pictured above is on eBay with the auction ending on Wednesday, December 1 at 6 p.m. Pacific time. Jars like this had gone for $300 or so in the past, but bidding had reached $610 by Monday evening from nine bidders.

• A hard-to-find Cohiba Millennium Reserve Piramides jar from Cuba, also in excellent condition. This auction will end on Friday, December 3 at 6:34 Pacific time. By Sunday afternoon, there were five bids with the top offer at $102.50.

• A more available jar for the Dominican-made Montecristo Delacroix series is available with the auction ending tomorrow (Wednesday) at 6:12 Pacific time. The starting price is just $9.95 and it’s an elegant way to get into “cigar jar” collecting. It’s one of three in the Delacroix series: this one is the daylight “Delacroix” version of Paris at dusk, prominently adorned with a Montecristo logo.

There’s also a nice Cohiba commemorative ashtray issued for the 35th Anniversary of the brand in 2003, complete with box, available with bidding stating at $200. The reserve price is higher than that, but it’s a unique, showy item. Bidding ends on December 6.

Last Chance to Flip Out:
It’s the last day of November, so it’s the last day to sign up for the CigarWire and get a free Rankings Flipbook! It’s a 3-by-5-inch, pocket summary of our rankings of mild, medium and full-bodied cigars, plus our list of “Top Ten Cigar Gadgets” for good measure.

It’s normally $6.95, but your for free if you sign up for the CigarWire today!
~ Rich Perelman

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