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WOMEN’S LIBERATION ... HABANOS STYLE!

Plus: award-winning Mexican cigars coming to the U.S. in the fall

Los Angeles, August 18 – The newest issue of the European Cigar-Cult Journal hit the stands during last week’s Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (RTDA) convention and trade fair in New Orleans. It’s a great one with a terrific salute to four Cuban brands celebrating anniversaries during 2005: Partagas (from 1845), Hoyo de Monterrey (1865), Romeo y Julieta (1875) and Montecristo, the baby at 70.

Katja Gnann’s exclusive story from Havana was entertaining as well as thorough:

• In the Partagas factory, the lead rollers for both the new Partagas Serie P No. 2 torpedo and the Seleccion Reserva Serie D No. 4 are both women. Natasha Visilievna, a Ukrainian immigrant, rolls the Serie P No. 2s (6 1/8 x 52) and has lived in Cuba for the past 17 years. She’s been a cigar roller for eight.

Beatriz Chacon rolls the Seleccion Reserva Serie D. No. 4 robustos (4 7/8 x 50), also in her eighth year as a roller.

Moreover, the manager of the Partagas factory – perhaps Cuba’s most recognizable cigar industry landmark – is also a woman, Hilda Baro, who came over after ten years at the La Corona factory.

• Like Jaime Partagas, Jose Gener – the founder of Hoyo de Monterrey – met an early death, in 1900. Unlike Partagas, who was shot in Cuba in a dispute, Gener died in Spain but at the height of his career. His factories were the largest in Cuba, employing 350 people and churning out some 50 million cigars a year.

• The Romeo y Julieta brand introduced the “Churchill” size in 1946, based on the British statesman’s love of the size known as a Clemenceau – named after the French prime minister of the World War I period. Gnann notes Churchill’s famous comment, “I always have Cuba on my lips.”

Today, the Cuban factory name for the 7-inch by 47-ring size is still “Julieta 2.”

The fame of the Romeo y Julieta brand is also a product of the ready customization program that Pepin Fernandez introduced after he bought the brand in 1903. At one time, he was reported to have 20,000 different personalized bands available for production in his factory. Few to brands offer such a service today.

• Montecristo may be the kid of the bunch, but the most famous worldwide. The brand did not start in the H. Upmann factory, but in fact at the Particulares, S.A. factory in 1935. After buying Particulares, Alonso Menendez introduced Montecristo as a new brand in mid-1935 and was so successful that he had enough money to buy what was then a depressed H. Upmann factory from the British firm of J. Frankau S.A. in 1937. Production then moved to the H. Upmann factory where it has been ever since.

Havana uber alles?
Habanos executives were certainly on fire talking about their sales in 2004 during the Habanos Festival earlier this year. Gnann quoted Habanos Vice President Manuel Garcia: “Habanos will remain the world market leader in the segment of premium cigars.”

The story mentioned estimates of 130 million cigars produced in 2004, but Habanos now only provides sales figures, which it claimed to be $300 million U.S., up from $250 million in 2003. If accurate, the Habanos total would be perhaps 25-30% of the cigar market in the U.S.

Garcia noted that excluding the U.S. market (in which Cuba cannot compete), Havana cigars enjoy a 70% market share and 80% of sales volume. “Today we no longer speak about the quantity but the quality of cigars,” Garcia said.

A sidebar noted that the two million annual visitors to Cuba buy between $60-70 million U.S. in cigars in Cuba and the island has 11 of the Casa del Habano franchises. Currently, the Casas feature three sizes of San Cristobal de la Habana available exclusively there: the Oficios (5 1/4 x 43), the Mercaderes (6 5/8 x 48) and the Muralla (7 x 54 torpedo).

Torpedoes in review:
The issue’s tastings produced some surprises. The main review was of 39 torpedoes, with six scoring a full five-star rating:

• Ashton Virgin Sun Grown Torpedo (Dominican Republic);

• Davidoff Short “T” (Dominican Republic);

• Camacho Corojo Figurado (Honduras);

• Perdomo Edicion de Silvio No. 2 (Nicaragua);

• Partagas Serie P. No. 2 (Cuba) and

• Montecristo No. 2 (Cuba).

Six others: the Cantero Torpedo, Joya de Nicaragua Celebracion and Padron 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo (all Nicaragua), and Dannemann Artist Line Torpedo, Zino Platinum Scepter Series Stout and Bossner Rolando Torpedo (Dominican Republic) all scored 4 1/2 stars.

Viva Santa Clara!
It’s good to be the champ!

Mexico’s Santa Clara 1830 received the European Cigar-Cult Journal award for best brand in Mexico last week during a ceremony held in conjunction with the RTDA show. Now the Mexican cigar champ will be imported to the U.S. this coming fall.

In accepting the award in New Orleans, Puros de Santa Clara director Jorge Ortiz told the attendees, “As you can see, Mexico is not only Tequila, Corona beer and Cancun beaches! Mexico also has very good cigars, and proudly present our cigars to the demanding connoisseurs around the world.”

Lew Rothman’s Cigars by Santa Clara will distribute the Santa Clara 1830 Havana Reserve line, clothed in a spectacular, near-black maduro wrapper. All of its leaves are grown in Mexico and with a medium-to-full-bodied flavor, could be an immediate hit for U.S. smokers looking for new, bold tastes.
~ Rich Perelman

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