Plus: Adding it up, the PokerSmoker at Yamashiro’s and more

BULLETIN: Daniel Nunez was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of General Cigar on Thursday. More coverage coming Monday.

Los Angeles, April 29 – We get questions, like this one from J.J.:

I wish to purchase around 25 cigars in silver cases and would ideally like the cases engraved. They are for my wedding, but have no idea how much these things cost. Can you give me an idea of my options, please?

Sure!

First, congratulations on getting married. Next, let’s find you some cigars that everyone in your wedding party can enjoy . . . either for smoking or as a souvenir:

• Cigars in aluminum (silver) tubes are easy to come by, but we’re not aware of anyone who engraves or personalizes tubes. Sorry about that. But . . .

• One of the best, easiest to smoke and most romantic – as well as fairly priced – cigars in aluminum tubes is the Romeo y Julieta 1875 line from the Dominican Republic. Picturing the famous lovers on the box, the blend is medium in body and a joy to smoke with its richly caramelized taste, toasty aroma and hint of spice on the finish. You can try the Churchill (7 inches by 50 ring gauge), the Clemenceau (6 x 50) or the Rothchilde (5 x 50) in tubes in boxes of 10.

Or, if you prefer a glass tube, you have a choice of the RyJ Deluxe No. 1 (7 x 50) or Deluxe No. 2 (6 x 50), also in boxes of 10. Prices range from $50 to $65 the box of 10, plus local taxes.

• If you’d like a personalized cigar for your wedding, how about a cigar with a personalized band?

Payless Cigars of New Orleans, Louisiana offers this service on any of four great brands: Excalibur, Excalibur 1066, Hoyo de Monterrey and Punch (shown above).

Go to the Payless Cigars website and click on the personalized cigars picture and you’ll see the choices available. You can buy one box of 25 and have a second band put on the cigars with your wedding information on up to 13 characters per line, such as:

Fred & Wilma
June 10, 2005

It takes about 3-4 weeks to get your customized cigars. For novices, we recommend the Hoyo de Monterrey line, which can be a little heavy, but should be fine in the Double Corona (6 3/4 x 48) or Governor (6 1/8 x 50) sizes with natural wrappers. More experienced smokers will appreciate the Punch and Excalibur lines.

Prices are good, too, in boxes of 25, from $72.45 to $75.45 for the Hoyos noted above, plus shipping.

• If you’re willing to splurge a little more, go to your local tobacconist and ask about the Montecristo Monogrammed program. This is a special presentation of the famed Montecristo line, often used for weddings and births.

You can order special boxes of 25 Montecristos in any of five sizes, wrapped in blue leather with the famed crossed-swords logo in gold and three lines of type commemorating your wedding. Or you can ask about “Personalized Double Corona Individuals” which offer Double Corona-sized Montecristos (6 1/4 x 50) in individual cedar coffins which are personalized with one line of type! Not a tube, but a stunning gift nonetheless and reasonably priced at $10.75 per cigar (plus local taxes).

The process of ordering and delivery takes from four to eight weeks and there may be minimum order quantities beyond your range, but it’s worth checking out at your local smokeshop. Personalized Montecristos! Now that’s the way to start life together . . .

Ad-ding it up:
As you can see at the top of this page, we have added banner advertising to our site and will add some additional ad spots on the home page and on interior pages of this site. We’re proud to welcome General Cigar as our inaugural advertiser.

Ads like these give us an opportunity to expand our resources and bring you more coverage and more features. We’re already working on a nationwide retailer listing, promotions calendar and some more cigar information features we can’t talk about yet.

We’re very grateful for the great response we’ve had to the site in our first 10 months and we’re determined to bring you a daily dose of news and views from the world of cigars that will inform and entertain. Thanks for your support and we hope you’ll support our advertisers as well.

Opt in for the PokerSmoker:
As noted last week, the elegant Yamashiro restaurant in Southern California’s Hollywood Hills will be the site of the first “PokerSmoker” on May 5, co-sponsored by Caribe Imported Cigars, makers of the sensational Camacho Corojo line, and Smoke magazine.

There will be cocktails, dinner, a spot in the evening’s regional Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament, plus a box of Camacho cigars! The winner of the evening card play will receive a year’s worth of Camacho – 365 cigars in all – and an invite to the national PokerSmoker final in Reno, Nevada.

And you can smoke all you want . . . outdoors, of course, on Yamashiro’s luxurious terrace. Tickets are regularly $175, but readers of this space can obtain theirs for $145 by sending a request for a discount order form to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . You’ll receive back a special order form for the discount.

The grand prize for the winner of the PokerSmoker final in Reno is an all-expense-paid vacation to the Camacho factory in Danli, Honduras!

Last shot at our Rankings Flipbook Offer!
Here’s your last chance to get hold of our exclusive rankings of mild, medium and full-bodied cigars. Subscribers to our CigarWire service already have access; why not join them?

Through this weekend (ending Sunday), you can get our all-in-one package of (1) one-year subscription to our value-packed CigarWire, (2) one copy of our 600-page Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars for 2005, (3) one copy of our newPerelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Havana Cigars (third edition) plus (4) our 24-page, vest-pocket-sized 2004 Rankings Flipbook!

That’s normally a $61.85 value with shipping, but we’re offering all of this at 23% off at our special, discounted price of $47.50 through the end of the weekend 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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