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 More fun stuff from the NATO Expo!
Las Vegas, Nevada, April 1 – Some of the greatest cigars are synonymous with the people who created them.
Partagas.
Davidoff.
More recently, Avo.
The next in line might be a relaxed, smiling man with a firm handshake and a steady eye on the pool table who makes some of the best cigars in the world . . . for other people.
His name is well known to enthusiasts the world over: Hendrik Kelner.
Kelner rocketed into the spotlight when his Tabadom factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic was selected to produce the new Davidoff cigar that debuted in 1990. The prestige – and scrutiny – that came with being the home factory to what was arguably the cigar world’s most prestigious brand as it left Cuba and settled in the Dominican Republic was rewarded as the new Davidoff line was well received and continues today as one of the world’s great cigar brands.
But Kelner already had an impressive resume, having created – among others – the Avo brand that debuted in 1987. Cigars made at his factory complex gained a special cache.
Recently, Kelner has found his own name on cigars in a more public way. The Alec Bradley Cigar Company of Dania, Florida marketed an inexpensive line for several years called “Kelner Seconds.” But in 2003, this line was upgraded to a banded, bundled package named “Special Blends” and labeled “Product of the Occidental Cigar Factory and Hendrik Kelner.”
Now, Kelner is front and center in a new product that debuted in Las Vegas, distributed by Davidoff of Geneva: “3x3 Tubos.”
It’s a nine-cigar “bundle” of three rows of three tubes, available in three different sizes:
> Churchill (6 3/4 inches by 48 ring)
> Corona (5 1/2 x 43)
> Robusto (4 7/8 x 50)
It’s a medium-bodied blend featuring a Connecticut wrapper, Dominican-grown Olor binder and Olor, Piloto Cubano and San Vicente filler leaves, also from the Dominican Republic.
The bundles are shrink-wrapped around a label which proudly states “New 3x3 Tubos” under which is “Long Filler made by Hendrik Kelner.”
I doubt Henke made all of these cigars himself, but it’s the next step up in public recognition for one of the world’s finest makers. But when his own brand debuts, will it be “Kelner” like in “Davidoff” or “Hendrik” like in “Avo”?
More stuff from NATO:
We saw lots of new things we liked and some old things we remember fondly that have returned; a sampling:
• Ever have to snuff a cigar right away, but cringe at having to pound out a cigar as you would a cigarette? Specialty Products of Charlotte, North Carolina introduced the “Cigar Snuffer.” It’s a device that resembles a giant, hollow bolt. You simply put your cigar into the Snuffer and it goes out in a matter of seconds. No muss, no fuss.
It’s also the answer when you need to put out your cigar, but have the idea to relight it later. It can then be stored in an odorless tube until you are ready to enjoy it again. The Snuffer accommodates cigars up to 54 ring, empties easily and best of all, costs $4.95.
• We’ve often observed that companies die, but brands seem to live forever. Resurrected from the dead, the briefly-seen and not-much-noticed Adan y Eva brand (“Adam and Eve”) originally introduced in 2003 by Peter Bello’s Cuba Tobacco Trading Company.
Now the brand – with the same sizes and gorgeous porcelain jar humidors for the Robusto and Belicoso shapes – are offered by a new firm, Lemar Distribution from Huntington Beach, California. If the new edition cigars are as good as the elegant artwork, it will do well.
• Cigars from the Canary Islands of Spain were an important part of the U.S. market after the Cuban embargo was imposed in 1962. Today, these cigars are still excellent, but have receded in importance here and distribution is spotty.
One of the best was and is La Regenta, which we liked enough to rank in the top 15 of all mild-bodied cigars available on the U.S. market. It’s been hard to find, but resurfaced in Las Vegas with a new distributor, Cross Bridge USA of Miami, Florida. Three shapes are available and all will retail for less than $4 each (before local tobacco taxes).
In another sign that planning among manufacturers is well underway for the day after Fidel Castro dies and the U.S. market opens for Cuban products, plans for increased production of the European-only version of La Regenta are being made. That version of La Regenta is made with all-Cuban tobacco, primarily from the Santa Clara region in the middle of the island.
Last Shot at our “Everything at Once” Combo Offer!
We’ve extended our all-in-one March combo offer for the weekend, with everything we have in one big package at 28% off! You get (drum roll . . .):
• A one-year subscription to our value-packed CigarWire and
• A copy of our 600-page Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars for 2005 and
• A copy of our third edition Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Havana Cigars!
That’s normally a $54.90 value with shipping, but we’re offering all of this for a special, discounted price of just $39.99 to 11 p.m. Sunday evening (Pacific time) only.
Your subscription will also include our “Week in Review” newsletter sent each Thursday with a summary of our top stories of the week!
~ Rich Perelman
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