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

EQUIPPING THE ROAD WARRIOR

Plus: Rapper Jay-Z flies in cigars from Cuba?

Los Angeles, September 7 – Summer’s over, so it’s back to business and that means figuring out what to do about cigars while on the road.

It’s fun to see the sights in a strange city and look for a unique cigar store, but there may not be enough time to find one. That leaves you with the chore of taking cigars with you, and some preparation is in order.

What should you take? Cigar case or travel humidor? Lighter or leave it home?

Cigar case vs. humidor:
If you’re only going away for a couple of days, it’s easy enough to stuff 2-3 cigars in your leather case, throw it in your satchel and you’re on your way. Longer trips demand more planning.

• In the case area, there’s now an excellent option to carry up to 10 cigars in a case hard enough to resist anything short of an elephant stepping on it. It’s the Savoy line from Holt’s Cigar Company, offered in three sizes for 4-5 cigars (the “Envoy”), 6-8 cigars (“Associate”) and 8-10 cigars (“Executive”) depending on the ring gauges. Made in India, the exterior leather is beautiful to look at, but hard to the touch. Prices range from $35-48, but you’ll only buy this case once . . . unless you want more than one size!

The Savoy cases are not humidified, but if you want to add humidification, add a cigar-shaped DryMistat or ClimaGuard humidification stick. Both are refillable, take up the space of one cigar and cost less than $10 each.

• If you’re worried about your cigars being attacked by elephants, however, the Cigar Caddy is for you. It’s made of fiberglass-reinforced ABS plastic so stiff that it is considered crushproof and watertight to depths of 100 feet! The interior has layers of cut foam to cradle your cigars, the strongest protection system yet seen in cigar cases of any type. There’s a small humidification device included in the five, 10 and 15-cigar models, but it’s almost unnecessary because the case is airtight when closed!

There’s a two-cigar model for the golfer, but for the road warrior, there’s an excellent five-cigar case (no. 3400) that retails for $24.49, a ten-cigar case (no. 3240) for $27.49 and a 15-cigar case (no. 3540) available for $29.95. All this protection has a price in terms of space in your bags: the 5-cigar case is about nine inches wide by five inches deep and two inches thick. The 10-cigar and 15-cigar cases are three and four inches thick, respectively. Dollar for dollar, however, these can’t be beat.

• While the Savoy and Otterbox cases offer elegance and protection, respectively, they don’t combine everything in one package. The leader is that sector is Csonka, which has engineered nearly everything you need in a travel case into one small box.

The two most relevant models are the 4-5 cigar “Cigar Traveler” and the 10-15 cigar “Cigar Valet” (pictured above). All of the Csonka cases have steel-case construction overlaid with Napa leather in a choice of four colors: black, burgundy, tan and pewter.

The inside is what sets the Csonka cases apart. They come fully accessorized with a humidifier, pipettes to hold water for refilling it, a hygrometer and a double-bladed cutter, all held in place with snap-in locks on one side of the case. None of the cases are more than two inches thick. No one else does this, let alone in such a small space.

Great to look at and easy to use, the Csonka models are reasonably priced at $79.95 for the Traveler and $129.95 for the Valet, although we have seen much lower street prices at some locations. They also have a custom laser engraving service for personalized items and business gifts.

• If you’re just cheap and can’t stand to spend a penny more than necessary, there are other options. We like:

> How about the EasyDor? It’s a carbon-polymer cylinder that holds about seven large cigars and has a humidification device at the top and a hygrometer outside. Fill it up, throw it in your bag and you’re ready to go. About $15 or so.

> The Perfecto XLT Travel Humidor is made of durable, hard plastic and has a unique internal divider system made of Spanish Cedar so that your cigars are protected and get cedar aromatherapy at the same time! It holds eight large cigars in slots, has a humidification device and hygrometer and is seven inches long, four inches wide and two-and-a-half inches thick. About $20!

There are many other choices of course, at varying prices. The Beau Brummell set will prefer the soft leather Cigar “Compendium” offered by luxury cigar merchants such as Alfred Dunhill and Nat Sherman over the years. Others will prefer a traditionally-styled travel humidor covered in woods or leather from top-flight makers such as Daniel Marshall. At $200 and up, such items are more a fashion accessory than a humidor for the business traveler. At such prices, could you stand to take a chance that it might be injured when you bags are unloaded?

Lighters and cutters:
Lighters must be taken in checked bags, although the Transportation Safety Administration has now allowed cigar cutters in both carry-on and checked luggage (Click here for the TSA’s current list of permitted and prohibited items).

Word to the wise: unless you’re ready to fight it out with the TSA folks on the spot (bring the Permitted-Prohibited List with you!), leave your cutter in your checked bags.

As to lighters, unfilled lighters can be taken in checked bags, but there’s a new product which will allow you to take your filled lighter in a checked bag. It’s the “Zippo Case” from Otterbox.

Like its CigarCaddy brethren, it’s everything-proof, will float and has a lifetime guarantee. But it also has a silicone gasket that creates a vapor-proof seal that makes it TSA-acceptable for checked baggage.

It has a foam cutout for Zippo lighters – that company was the driving force behind the creation of the item – but you can remove them and insert your favorite lighter for the trip. The Zippo Case retails for $12.95.

Coming tomorrow: A little more on lighters, especially if you do business in Denver!

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire:
The British tabloids were aglow again last week with news of rapper Jay-Z’s birthday party for his fiancé, Beyonce Knowles. Beyond the $3 million diamond ring and matching watch, the rap star jetted to London for a couple of days to introduce a new protégé and promote his Rocawear fashion label on his private plane.

The report in the Daily Mirror also noted that he insisted that his guests be able to enjoy Havana cigars, specifically La Flor de Cano Selectos (5 7/8 inch by 41 ring coronas), which were supposedly flown in direct from Cuba. The brand is a good choice, being made in small quantities and usually of high quality, but I guess he didn’t have time to visit St. James’s Street, home to some of the world’s top tobacconists, all of whom sell the brand. Thanks for helping the local economy . . .

Altadis help for Katrina victims:
We noted Monday that Altadis U.S.A. has organized a drive to support victims of Hurricane Katrina, but it turns out that’s only half the story.

In fact, Altadis has two drives going, one internal and one external, in which everyone can participate. The internal program will donate up to $500,000, with Altadis donating $100,000 to start and matching employee, customers and vendors up to another $200,000, for a total of a half-million.

The retail drive started with a donation of $250,000 reported previously by the World of Montecristo Relief Organization to the American Red Cross. Now, the proceeds of the Montecristo Relief Foundation sampler will also go to Katrina relief in the amount of another $250,000. You can participate by going to your local smokeshop and purchasing a World of Montecristo sampler for $35!

It includes three terrific Montecristo torpedoes of 6 1/8 inches by 52 ring in the Montecristo original blend (the No. 2), the Montecristo Platinum blend (Habana No. 2) and Montecristo White Label (also the No. 2). It’s a great way to try these cigars and to help Katrina victims.
~ Rich Perelman

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