 Plus: new small cigars on the market
Los Angeles, June 6 – The California Legislature is controlled by Democrats. The only thing they love more than spending money the state doesn’t have is trying to bully Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Good luck.
The Sacramento Bee reported Friday that a new bill, AB 616, was passed 41-34 by the State Assembly to prohibit smoking in an outdoor area enclosed on all four sides by a “state public building.” The specific intent of the bill is to dismantle Schwarzenegger’s “smoking tent” which is a courtyard of the Capitol complex.
The voting was predictably along party lines; Democrats maintain a 48-32 majority in the Assembly and a 25-15 majority in the State Senate. The Bee quoted the expected blather from Democrats like Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood), who said “I think this is a good bill because it endeavors to set a good example for our children.”
Republicans were outraged, with Jay LaSuer (R-La Mesa) stating the obvious: “We didn’t do things this dumb in kindergarten. But we weren’t that devious in kindergarten.”
For Schwarzenegger’s part, his answer came in a May 8 interview that aired on the Fox News Channel:
“As long as I’m at the Capitol, I will be smoking my stogies down there, and I will be having people down there smoking stogies.
“This is my negotiation tent, and no one is going to take that away. Just remember one thing: They can be passing all the bills they want. There’s one person who has to sign it. That’s me.”
Schwarzenegger and the Democrats are headed for their next major confrontation in November when, once again, major statewide issues will be decided by referendum rather than by lawmakers.
Cigars getting small:
Even with the success of larger ring gauge cigars in the U.S. marketplace, a raft of smaller-format cigars are being introduced by some major brands:
• Davidoff Entreacto
This is a very short corona, measuring only 3 1/2 inches long, but with a ring gauge of 43, introduced in May. It’s part of the standard Dominican-made Davidoff line, but with a medium-bodied taste, offered in packs of four or boxes of 20.
It’s the sixth brand to offer U.S. smokers a cigar of 3 1/2 inches or less with a ring gauge of at least 40. One other boutique maker, Paul Garmirian, already offers a 3 1/2 x 43 cigar, called the Bombones.
• Nat Sherman Quickie
Now under the distribution of giant Cigars by Santa Clara, the once-vast Nat Sherman range has been reduced to two popular lines, the Host Selection made by Tabacos Rancho Jamastran (makers of Camacho) in Honduras and the Metropolitan Selection, made by MATASA in the Dominican Republic.
Now, to the Metropolitan Selection, with impressive shape names like University, Union, Anglers and Explorer comes . . . the “Quickie.”
It’s four inches long, but with a short panatela-sized ring gauge of 36, offered in packs of ten. It’s a medium-bodied smoke, with a Connecticut Shade wrapper and Dominican-grown binder and filler as is the others in the Metropolitan series.
By the way, the Metropolitan Selection shapes were originally named for private clubs in New York. I can claim some familiarity with the Metropolitan, University and Union Clubs, but am not aware of the “Quickie Club.” Then again, I haven’t visited the Bowery District in years . . .
• Maker’s Mark “538"
This is the unique brand which flavors its Dominican-made cigars with Maker’s Mark bourbon. For years, only a toro-sized 6-inch by 50-ring size was available and later a small cigarillo (4 x 28) was added.
Now the “538" has been introduced, with a five-inch length and 38-ring size, for a shorter, but proper smoke. Naturally, it features a Connecticut wrapper and is presented in the famous Maker’s Mark glass tube with red wax seal at the bottom. It’s offered in packs of three or upright boxes of 25.
Staying moist:
One of our all-time favorite products is the Humidipak, an inexpensive humidifying envelope which provides excellent conditions for maintaining cigars inside their original boxes or in smaller humidors. This thing really works.
Now the Humidipak folks have introduced a credit-card-sized insert for larger humidors called the Boveda. It’s simplicity itself: put one Boveda card for each 50 cigars of a humidor’s capacity, add one extra card, and forget about maintaining the correct humidity. Each card is good for two months; when it’s spent, just throw it away.
Smokers who like to keep their cigars a little wetter or dryer will also love Boveda because it comes in three different levels of “strength,” 65%, 69% or 72% humidity. And its two-way humidity control either adds humidity to your humidor if needed, or removes it if it gets too humid!
Best of all, the cards are only $3.97 each at retail, a pittance for the peace of mind that comes with a properly-humidified humidor. You can even sign up to have replacement cards sent to you every two months! For more information, call the Humidipak folks directly at (877) 892-1720, extension 14. The cigars you save may be your own.
~ Rich Perelman
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