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

“CAN THEY BE REAL?”

Plus: Rolling Along in Lansing, Michigan

Los Angeles, December 29 – We get letters. Like this one from a CigarWire subscriber on a holiday trip:

“Looking for help.

“I’m in Costa Rica and have seen the best Cubans for $80 a box. Can they be real?”

Oh boy. All that glitters is not gold, so it’s worth repeating the marks you should look for in considering whether the box of so-called “Cuban” cigars you are being offered is real.

Real Havanas bear six indicia of authenticity and all should be present for you to be comfortable in buying – if you must – from a non-authorized dealer:

(1) Turn the box over and look for imprinting on the bottom that says, in black ink with a surrounding circle, "Hecho in Cuba," with “Habanos S.A.” on top and "Totalmente a mano" in script below, meaning the cigars were made in Cuba and totally by hand.

(2-3) Genuine Havanas also have month of manufacture and factory codes on the bottom, stamped in ink. The factory codes are generally three letters (example: “MKO” for the El Laguito factory) and the date codes have three letters and two numbers such as “ENE 04" meaning the cigars were made in Enero (January) 2004.

(4) Since 1912, all genuine Cuban cigars made for export have carried the familiar green guarantee stamp pasted across the opening of the box. Look closely: it is a color photocopy? Since 1999, the genuine stamp has included a red serial number at the bottom.

(5) Since 1994, all genuine Havanas carry a white sticker across a top corner of the box with gold stripes on the top and bottom and the word "Habanos" in red letters with a yellow outline and,

(6) Beginning in 2003, all boxes have a numbered, holographic sticker affixed to the top of the box (pictured above).

Look for all six very closely before you even think about buying. If the price is too good to be true, don’t count on getting what you paid for. Then, again, you probably will get just exactly what you paid for: a low-price imitation of some very famous cigars.

They’re Rolling in Lansing:
Cigars began in tropical climes. Today, almost all are still made in the Caribbean, in the sunny Canary Islands of Spain or similar locations.

Except for the Creole Cigar Factory in Lansing, Michigan.

In the frozen north, far from cigar hot spots like the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua, Marshall Kirk is celebrating his fourth year as founder and owner of the Creole Cigar Factory.

The emphasis is on “factory,” for without his rolling operation, the place would be – as Kirk told the Lansing State Journal – “just another cigar store.”

However, the 58-year-old Kirk has a deep understanding of what it means to work with your hands since he worked most of his life as a wood carver and still maintains his woodworking business from an office in Pontiac, Michigan.

Taking a suggestion from a customer for whom he made an elaborate humidor, Kirk took the name of a Lansing cigar shop of a century earlier – Creole – which opened in 1899 and closed in 1909.

Kirk’s team of Dominican rollers creates between 200 and 400 cigars a day. All are aged, from a minimum of 21 days to up to two years. He uses Cameroon, Connecticut and Sumatran wrappers, primarily Sumatran binders and filler leaves from any of five Caribbean nations.

“I’m always creating,” Kirk told the Journal. “We’re always looking for that perfect blend of tobacco.

“I’m not so much driven by money as the challenge of creating a better cigar.”

Naturally, he’s outfitted Creole with all the comforts a smoker needs to stay off the tundra outside. There’s a big-screen television receiving the best high-definition signals, a comfortable sofa and even a card table for a friendly game while enjoying your cigar. Techno-smokers will find an in-house WiFi signal to allow them to keep up with the home office while enjoying one of the nine sizes made in-house.

Kirk’s success has him thinking about expansion to locations in other Michigan cities including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and others. If you’re a Michigan State alum, or find yourself in Lansing, you’ll find Marshall at 406 South Washington Square, or by telephone at (517) 267-1474.

Hammer Time:
A rarely-seen vintage cigar jar is now up on eBay, offering a souvenir of a long-past era in Havana.

It’s a glass jar and humidor that once contained 50 Benson & Hedges Coronas, made in the old H. Upmann factory in Havana. Benson & Hedges was a leading tobacconist in England long before they were known for cigarettes and they commissioned private-label cigars from the Upmann Factory for decades.

This jar appears to be in pretty good condition, although the label is slightly mottled. The jar is complete with its metal collar and the familiar leather carrying strap that adorned all of the H. Upmann-produced jars of the 1940s and beyond.

The auction for this souvenir of one of the golden periods in cigar-making ends on New Year’s Day. Through Tuesday, it had drawn two bids and was up to $127.50. Happy hunting!
~ Rich Perelman

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