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NEW CIGARS IN AN OLD, CHERISHED PACKAGE |
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 A Saturday Smoke special report
Yesterday, we detailed the history of cigars offered in glorious glass and ceramic jars in which they were packed from the 1910s up to the end of the H. Upmann Cristales in Cuba in the 1990s.
Villazon & Co., which manufactured Hoyo de Monterrey and Punch cigars for the U.S. market beginning in 1969, also produced a Cristales shape for both brands, duplicating the format of the Cuban offerings, but these were also phased out in the early 1990s.
Suddenly, however, with the Cigar Boom, everything old became new again. The Cubans were first to offer, with a gleaming ceramic jar for Cohiba for the 30 Aniversario series in 1996. That touched off a nostalgia for the jars which has seen activity right up to today.
In 2000, the Cubans offered three millennium selections in bright white ceramic jars with small humidifiers in the lids. Montecristo Robustos, Cohiba Piramides and Cuaba Distinguidos made their debuts in these beautiful jars of 25 cigars each. Also offered occasionally on eBay, these jars can bring several hundred dollars if in mint condition . . . and more if there are somehow still some cigars in them!
Manufacturers for the U.S. market were quick to see the possibilities for reintroduced jars as well. The ever-inventive Tony Borhani introduced a highly-decorated orange-and-black-colored ceramic jar for a special selection of his Bahia line in time for the millennium. But the biggest splash was made by the best-known name in cigars.
Consolidated Cigar Co. introduced a special three-jar series for three individual shapes of its Montecristo Cigare des Arts series featuring scenes created by French artist Michel Delacroix. Each jar contained 15 tubed Montecristos, made in the Dominican Republic:
> Delacroix (7 x 48), displaying a summer’s day in Paris;
> Tabac Delacroix (6 x 50), picturing a Parisian evening;
> Royal Delacroix (7 1/2 x 52) capturing a winter’s scene in the French capital.
Originally offered at a retail price of $148-179 depending on size, you can still find off lots of these jars at some tobacco shops or on-line merchants. They are as much artwork as they are a container for cigars and are a delightful reminder of the past come to life.
Even smaller manufacturers have gotten into the act. Last year, Peter Bello, who developed the well-respected Havana Sunrise brand, created a new cigar – Adan y Eva – or Adam and Eve to you and me. It was offered in nicely-appointed boxes, but also in elegant, tall ceramic jars of 25 in four different shapes. It was an acknowledgment of Zino Davidoff’s maxim that for cigars and their packaging, “a thing of beauty is a joy forever.”
~ Rich Perelman
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