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DAD TO FAMILY: I WANT CIGARS! NOW WHAT?

Suggestions for special cigars he’ll enjoy on Father’s Day

Los Angeles, June 16 – Dad loves cigars, so what to get him for Father’s Day?

A simple box of his favorites will be more than enough, for sure, but if you want to do something extra, try these suggestions at your local smokeshop:

Rare and exciting:
We’ve talked about the trend toward limited-edition cigars and without jumping on eBay to try to buy Fuente Fuente Opus X or Padron 1926 Serie 40th Anniversary cigars, you can offer Dad some really elegant – and soon to be unavailable – cigars that he’ll cherish.

Limited editions now on the market include:

• Avo Limited Edition 5, a 5 3/8-inch by 52-ring robusto packed in slide-top cedar boxes of 20 at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $240, not including any local/state tobacco taxes.

• Davidoff Robusto Real “Especiales 7,” a 5 1/2 x 48 robusto now getting hard to find, in boxes of 10.

• Just introduced, The Griffin’s Special XXI Edition, also in boxes of 10 for this 5 1/2 x 50 robusto at $100 the box.

• Partagas Cifuentes Seasonal Blend Fall 2004, also getting harder to find, but a luscious smoke in three sizes:

> A robusto: 5 1/2 x 49, also known as “Septiembre”;

> A fat toro: 6 x 54, a.k.a. “Octubre,” and

> A grand corona: 6 1/2 x 45, a.k.a “Noviembre.”

This line was offered in boxes of 20, with prices sometimes dipping below $100 in some low-tax markets. These are top-flight cigars that are truly limited.

A gift that keeps on giving:
What about cigars and something else? There are plenty of options for the cigar lover who enjoys something to remember your gift by. See if you local tobacconist has one of these:

• Jars
Always a favorite, cigars in jars have been around since at least the 1910s. In today’s market, this seemingly ancient packaging concept has made a comeback. You can try:

> Gurkha “Blendmaster” Jar, new from Cigars International. It contains 24 cigars, with eight each from three different Gurkha lines: Connecticut, Class Regent and Master’s Select, in a Bone China Stilton Jar, for $110. The cigars are nice and the jar is gorgeous.

> H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon glass jars, introduced last year and being closed out in some shops. You can buy 25 of these scrumptious cigars – perhaps the best of the H. Upmann line – and essentially get the jar for free if you shop carefully. Prices are quite reasonable at around $100-150 or so for 25 cigars before local taxes.

> Montecristo 70th Anniversary Jar featuring Montecristo White Label cigars in a choice of four different sizes, from Payless Cigars. The jar is elegant, as you would expect from Altadis U.S.A., but the tariff is high at between $212.50 for the 5 x 52 Rothchilde to $300 for the Montecristo White No. 2 torpedo, before local taxes. But, hey, it’s Montecristo!

• Golf:
Two manufacturers offer special cigars and golf sets, both for famous brands:

> Altadis U.S.A. has the Montecristo Golf Set, offered in an octagonal-shaped box with 27 cigars from the Montecristo Platinum, Montecristo Serie V and VI and Montecristo White lines. They are paired with golf balls and tees and are a beautiful gift for the golfer at about $129 per set retail (before local tobacco taxes).

> Davidoff is more austere, offering a nice package of four Davidoff-branded golf balls and two Davidoff Classic series No. 2 (6 x 38 panatelas) Tubos for $42 before applicable taxes.

• Coffee:
Last year, Altadis also introduced a wild Montecristo White Coffee Set, with a white ceramic Montecristo Coffee Jar, a box of Montecristo Blend Coffee, four Montecristo-branded espresso cups and saucers, a giant triangular Montecristo White ashtray and, oh yes, a bundle of 25 Montecristo White cigars in a choice of three sizes.

It’s an impressive set, priced at $225 to $300 retail before local taxes, but it’s one you’ll be using for years, long after Dad finishes the cigars!

The ultimate?
Use those frequent flyer miles and American Express Rewards Points to book Dad on a quick cigar trip? Consider these destinations . . . and you can go too!

• Las Vegas!
You can gamble or check out the shows while Dad shops at the new Casa Fuente at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, or see cigars made right in front of your eyes at Don Pablo Cigar Co.!

• New York!
Check out the flagship Davidoff shop in the U.S. at 535 Madison Avenue, where the first U.S. limited edition was introduced: the “535" in 1997. Then you head to one of the few places where smoking is permitted in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s New York: Club Macanudo on East 63rd Street.

• London!
Hmmm, that’s a city outside the U.S. where cigars from a certain Caribbean island are offered at historic shops with names like Davidoff, Dunhill, Robert Lewis and J.J. Fox, Sautter of Mayfair and many more. You can go to the museums and the shows; he’ll see you if you can make it over to St. James Street. Cheerio!
~ Rich Perelman

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