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

STEALS AND DEALS

Plus: has the mail-order shipping war begun?

Los Angeles, June 21 – There’s never a bad time to buy good cigars, especially if they’re on sale!

BestCigarPrices.com:
Our friends at New Global Marketing have been featuring some nicely-priced five-packs of late:

• Hoyo de Monterrey Governors, full of flavor with a maduro wrapper in a marvelous Toro size (6 1/8 inches by 50 ring), offered in packs of five at a pathetically low price of $16.35, the lowest we have seen.

• Macanudo Gold Label Somerset (5 x 54), which ranked no. 2 on our list of the best mild-bodied cigars on the U.S. market, offered in a sampler pack of five for $26.15, also the lowest price we have seen.

• Punch Rare Corojo El Doble (6 x 60), named in honor of General Cigar’s late Senior Vice President of Marketing, Bill Roethel, offered two ways at nice prices:

> Sampler pack of six, each in individual coffins, for $36.50, or

> In the presentation box of 24 for $134.50, the best we have seen on this new shape so far.

We tried the El Doble recently and it’s a mouthful at nearly one inch in diameter. But it’s surprisingly mild, just like Roethel was (despite being a Golden Gloves boxer, he was one of the most gentle people you could ever meet). The cigar drew easily and the flavor was amazingly light on the palate with a citric tone and a slight sweetness on the finish.

It develops a little more spice and tang in mid-course, but the ones we tried were mild-to-medium in body. Frankly, we expected more “punch” from a Rare Corojo series shape, but it accurately salutes the demure Roethel, who lost his battle with cancer earlier this year. Perhaps it needs maturing; we’ll try it again in a few months.

The sheer size of the cigar means you shouldn’t puff on it too hard or it will tire you quickly.

Cigars International:
Keith Meier has jumped on the sampler and small-box bandwagon and has some great bargains on two premium brands:

• Indian Vintage, an outstanding cigar from Rocky Patel in both the 1990 and 1992 vintage lines, now offered in sampler packs of five and on sale!

> Robusto (5 1/2 x 50), in either the 1990 or 1992 blend, was $25, now $18.50!

> Toro (6 1/2 x 50), again in either the 1990 or 1992 blend, was $40, now $25!

• La Gloria Cubana, offered for a short time in specific sizes in boxes of 10, a favorite way to sample this brand if you’re a novice, or just have been smoking other brands lately:

> Churchill (7 x 50), in boxes of 10 were $39.95, now $35.50, the lowest price we have seen;

> Corona Gorda (6 x 52), in boxes of 10, were $36.95, now $32.95, and

> Wavell (5 x 50), in boxes of 10, were $32.95, now $29.95, right near the lowest prices on our charts.

J-R Cigars:
Lew Rothman’s back from vacation and offering big breaks on two high-profile brands:

• ISOM, a Tabacalera Perdomo brand whose name is an acronym for “island south of Miami,” now being offered in all sizes for $39.95 for boxes of 24.

Regularly these cigars go for $58.95 to $69.95 the box. They’re now quite a bargain, but also quite strong. If you drink motor oil for breakfast, this is a cigar you’ll love!

• Punch Rare Corojo El Doble, offered at what is easily the best value on the market, with a full box of 24 available for $130.

Also available from the same Rare Corojo series – but with more character than the El Doble – is the Rothschild (4 1/2 x 50). This time, J-R is offering a box of 50 of these cigars for the best value on the market at just $125.00.

The shipping wars begin?
A popular concept in auto sales in the past decade has been the “total cost of ownership.” This evaluation analyzes the “true cost” of a car when fuel, maintenance and resale value are considered.

For cigars, the “total cost of ownership” is often no more difficult to figure than the price of the cigar, any local or sales taxes and the cost of shipping. However, it’s the shipping cost which is now at issue.

The undisputed leader in the value-in-shipping area has been Rothman’s J-R Cigars. Since the start of 2003, the J-R policy has been to charge a meager $2 per item shipping, raised to $2.50 on the sixth item or beyond. It’s quite a deal, especially if you live on the West Coast and J-R ships from North Carolina.

Now J-R has company. Famous Smoke Shop has introduced free shipping on orders which include any box or bundle of 31 different brands, including Arturo Fuente, Davidoff, Padron and Zino (Connoisseur or Platinum series), among others.

Will this start a shipping war? Perhaps, but it’s a good reminder that consideration should be given not only to the price of a box, bundle or sampler pack of cigars, but how much – and how long – it will take to get to you. It’s the “total cost of ownership” approach to cigar buying.
~ Rich Perelman

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