Cigars, Cigar Information and where to find Premium Cigars, Discounted Cigars and even Cheap Cigars

STEALS AND DEALS

Plus: U.S. government throwing the book at a Catholic couple for visiting Cuba

Los Angeles, December 7 – After our odyssey to Portland last week, we finally got our CigarWire Comparison Shopper spreadsheet updated and found some nice sales for the holidays:

• Famous Smoke Shop:
> Avo Classic, nos. 2, 3, 5, 9 and Piramides, all $3 off in packs of four (for nos. 2, 3 and Piramides) or five (nos. 5 and 9).

> Domaine Avo Clasico Sampler, a nice way to try this brand if you’ve missed it so far: three sizes regularly $20.95, now $16.95.

> All B Line cigars, made by Tony Borhani of Bahia fame, now $29.95 for boxes of 20, regularly $33.95-38.95. Best bet: try the B1, a sumptuous 6-inch by 50-ring Toro!

> Don Tomas Special Edition (the smooth one with the Connecticut wrapper!), all 5-packs are now $3 off, from $10.95 to $16.95.

> Montecristo No. 4 (5 x 44) tins were $22.95, now $17.95 and the tins themselves are just great fun. If you’re a real tinhead, get five tins of four for $79.95 instead of the regular $98.95. Great gifts.

> Zowie! Out-of-production Montecristo “Tabac Delacroix” Collector’s Jar with 15 tubed, toro-sized (6 x 50) cigars, was $99.95, now just $49.95. Yowsah! The other collector jars – “Delacroix” and “Royal Delacroix” – are available, at $131.95.

> Oliva “O” Bold Churchill Sampler: 12 of their juicy 7 x 50 models, six each in natural and maduro, now $49.95, was $62.95. An excellent introduction to the Oliva brand with their richly-flavored “O” Bold line.

• J-R Cigars:
One of our favorite brands – pictured above – a historic favorite that is now sadly discontinued, is offered at a marvelous discount.

The Montecruz line was one of the first – and most important – to come out after the nationalization of the Cuban cigar industry. Created by the leadership of the Menendez & Garcia factory which owned and produced the H. Upmann and Montecristo brands in Havana, this was the available substitute for Montecristo in the U.S.

The Montecruz no. 200 was the best of all: a full Churchill at 7 inches by 46 ring with a deep flavor and perfect burning characteristics. The famous, yellow box of 10 is now available for $24.95 during J-R’s weekly special, a full $10 off the regular $34.95 tariff.

The Montecruz brand may have lost its prominence, but not its quality. Get ‘em while you can.

• Payless Cigars:
A really nice price of $69.95 on a box of 25 Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 Silver Series Torpedo Especials (6 1/4 x 52), regularly $79.95, but now on closeout for $10 off.

It’s a full-bodied blend made in Honduras. The only thing nicer that Carlos’s cigars is Carlos himself.

From the Cubador:
If you think the Bush Administration is not serious about its isolation policy for Cubva, think again.

The Associated Press reported Monday that an administrative law proceeding has been started against Michael and Andrea McCarthy of Port Huron, Michigan. Essentially a prosecution, the Office of Foreign Asset Control of the U.S. Treasury is seeking to impose a fine of $9.750 against the couple for violation of the government’s rules against unauthorized visitation to Cuba.

The McCarthys went to Cuba via Canada in 2001 without any U.S. license. They brought with them medicines that were delivered to nuns in Cuba, as they had done previously to sites in Haiti and Mexico. Devout Catholics, they attended religious services in Cuba and believe their faith requires them to make such gestures as a way to spread peace around the world.

Once their travel was discovered by U.S. border-control authorities, the McCarthys were offered a settlement of a fine of $1,000 each. However, they refused to pay, desiring a hearing to challenge the travel ban.

U.S. Administrative Law Judge Irwin Schroeder will determine what fine, if any, is to be imposed and believes he will complete his review by Christmas. Under U.S. law, fines for the couple could go as high as $110,000, but the Treasury Department calibrates its requested fine according to the amount spent on the trip. The AP states that the McCarthys say they spent $1,400 on the weeklong trip.

According to the Center for International Policy, an advocacy group working against the travel ban, there are about 20 cases like this before administrative law judges at present.

This makes Cuba – for both Cubans and Americans – definitely the home of the brave, but not the land of the free.
~ Rich Perelman

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