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SMOKERS EN FUEGO!

Cigar imports zoom ahead again!

Los Angeles, June 22 – Summer is here, but it can’t be hotter than the cigar trade right now.

Even after a sensational 2004 with a mighty 282 million cigars imported, the Cigar Association of America reports a surge in imports to the U.S. for April, fully 15.2% ahead of April 2004.

After a dismal January in which imports lagged considerably, strong reports in February, March and now April have pulled the year-to-date figures well ahead of last year. Through the first third of the year, U.S. cigar imports are now 9.9% ahead of 2004, standing at a total of 77.8 million.

Naturally, the big producer is the Dominican Republic, which has provided almost 53% of all cigars imported into the U.S. this year. Next comes Honduras at 28.3% and Nicaragua at 17.4%, with no other country over 525,000 for the year.

Prices from these top producing nations are actually dropping for the Dominican Republic and Honduras. The average declared value per 1,000 cigars from the D.R. is $905.81 (that’s right, 90.58 cents per cigar!), down from $971.82 in 2004 while Honduran values per 1,000 cigars dropped to $709.14, down from $731.27.

The declared value per 1,000 Nicaraguan cigars went up slightly, to $519.38, up from $488.98, but is still remarkably low considering the high profile of Nicaraguan-made brands such as Padron.

It’s a considerable show of strength, even with widespread smoking bans and much anti-tobacco propaganda. If imports continue at a rate near 10% growth for the year, they will crack the million barrier not seen since 1998 and only previously achieved that year and in 1997 (an all-time record of 417 million).

A medal-winner from Alex Bradley:
Best known for their unusual, triangular-shaped Trilogy series, Alan Rubin and his Alec Bradley Cigar Company are forging ahead with a new line aimed at the smoker who seeks flavor and quality in a mid-priced cigar.

After re-shaping the Trilogy series into a round format to make it more accessible to smokers, Rubin has introduced the “Medalist” line, with full body and a reasonable price.

“It was developed to satisfy the more experienced palate,” noted Rubin. “Veterans, as well as newer enthusiasts who have graduated from milder cigars, will appreciate the rich, full flavor. We gave it a sophisticated blend of five different tobaccos, which harmonize and smooth out its power.”

The Alec Bradley Medalist line comes in five shapes, with four available now:

> Churchill: a 7-inch by 54-ring double corona;

> Cuban Belicoso: a 5 1/2 x 52 torpedo;

> Gordo: a fat 6 x 54 toro, and

> Robusto: 5 inches by 52 ring.

A tubed Medalist measuring 6 inches by 47 ring is coming soon.

The blend features a Costa Rican-grown wrapper paired with a Connecticut-grown binder and filler leaves from Nicaragua – from Esteli, Jalapa and Jamastran.

Best of all, it’s aimed at the middle of the price range, about $5 per cigar before any local tobacco taxes. Says Rubin of Medalist: “It delivers a lot of flavor and body for a $5.00 cigar, and is aimed at a higher market plateau than our present value-priced premium cigars. This higher quality requires higher-grade leaf and tighter factory quality-control standards, which make the cigar worth the extra cost.”

The entire series is offered in elegantly-dressed boxes of 10 (shown above), which also make them quite affordable.

Take it from Thompson:
Every once in a while, we find an interesting item in one of the wildest cigar catalogs on the planet from Thompson Cigar Co. of Tampa, Florida.

Amid the hyperbole of wild specials on a crazy assortment of high-profile and house brands comes a combination of two names we trust: Macanudo and Andres Garcia.

The Macanudo referred to is the now-hard-to-find 1988 Vintage line. Andres Garcia is the manufacturer of elegant, marvelously protective, cedar-lined hard-leather cases in India. The combination is almost irresistable, especially for the longer eight-cigar base we like so much as a travel humidor once you add in a thin humidifier such as the DryMistat.

The Nos. 1, II, III and IV are offered, ranging in price for a sleeve of eight inside a great case from $102 for the 5 1/2 x 54 No. III to $126 for the No. I, a 7 1/2 x 49 Double Corona. The case alone is sold elsewhere for $35 by itself, so that makes the Mac Vintage ‘88s almost reasonable!
~ Rich Perelman

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