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THERE’S LIFE AFTER CUBA

Pinar series nears end as supplies of old Cuban leaf finally dwindle

Los Angeles, August 3 – Like most folks in the trade, I was waiting for the end.

The end of the Cuban tobacco found in New Jersey in 1998 and the subsequent additional purchases of authenticated, pre-embargo Cuban tobacco from a Florida warehouse which led to the creation of the Pinar line of cigars by Puros de Armando Ramos (PdAR).

The Pinar 1958, Pinar Serie B, Pinar 2000 and Pinar 3000 lines have either featured or been entirely composed of old Cuban leaf and have offered enthusiasts a full-bodied and sometimes spicy flavor. With limited distribution, it seemed there would never be an end to this latter-day Cuban resurrection brand. Until now.

At last week’s Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (RTDA) convention and trade show in Las Vegas, Paul Magier of PdAR shared the news that the 46,000 pounds of Cuban tobacco which had been obtained from what was the Red Dot Cigar Co. of Trenton, New Jersey and the Grossman Cigar Co. of Tampa, Florida would be exhausted in about two years. No new retail accounts were being opened and each retailer was on a specific allocation which would empty out the inventory by 2006.

But Magier was quick to introduce his new, powerful blend, the Pinar Suprema. Made in PdAR’s Guayaquil, Ecuador factory, it features an Ecuadorian-grown wrapper, Costa Rican binder and filler blend of Honduran, Nicaraguan and Panamanian tobaccos. The blend was developed with the idea to replace the Pinar experience (if not the mystique of old Cuban leaf) when the pre-embargo tobacco stocks were finally exhausted.

“We started on this blend the day we began producing Pinar cigars,” noted Magier. “We knew the day would come when our Cuban tobacco would be at an end.”

We’ll have a tasting of the new Pinar Suprema soon.

Staying wet: It’s a given that cigars need to maintain their moisture content to retain their peak of flavor. One of the concerns of cigar manufacturers is the difficulty in doing this while cigars are in transit between the factory and your walk-in humidor.

Now Torano Cigars has joined Tabacalera A. Fuente as the only makers to include a remarkable humidification regulator called “Humidipak” inside their boxes.

Smaller than an index card and almost as thin, the Humidipak sits inside the box and regulates the interior relative humidity to within a point or two of 70 percent. With the Humidipak inside, a box can be maintained in quality conditions for as much as six months. It’s a wonder that more manufacturers haven’t included it in their boxes.

I’ve used the Humidipak and can vouch for its effectiveness, both in full boxes and in small to medium-sized humidors. It’s easy to use, easy to replace and cost-effective. It’s not easy to find at retail, however, so you may wish to get more information from http://www.humidipak.com

Mighty Macanudo lights up St. Louis: Think the Macanudo “American Passion” bus tour is just a gimmick?

It is, but General Cigar’s flagship brand scored a hit in the St. Louis area where the bus stopped at Robusto’s in Belleville, Missouri and then at Briars and Blends in St. Louis proper. Even better: an 18-paragraph feature story by John McGuire in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

McGuire duly reported the Surgeon General’s warning on the side of the bus about the health impacts of cigars, but also noted that “firefighters and off-duty police officers were among the scores smoking $4 to $14 cigars in the touring lounge” as well as that the bus previously served as a tour bus for Elton John in its younger days.

There’s a reason why General’s brands rank so highly and beyond their obvious quality, no manufacturer promotes its brands so vigorously. Even the Post-Dispatch noticed.

Open Sesame: I always enjoy reading the latest issue of the Thompson Cigar Company catalog. The prices aren’t always the lowest, in fact they rarely are. But the selection is wild and there are bargains if you look hard.

Thompson’s latest book includes one of the all-time great accessories for the cigar hound, buried at the bottom of page 56 of the July II issue. It’s their chrome-plated, yellow-and-black-handled “Cigar Box Opener.”

This thing is heavy and fearsome, but a great friend if you have to open a well-sealed cigar box. It has a serrated side to cut through cellophane and guarantee seals. It has a smooth side to gently pry open a box top without destroying it. And it has a notch to allow you to force up a box nail that doesn’t want to move.

No smoker of full boxes should be without one; the opener will be on our soon-to-be-released list of the “Ten Cigar Gadgets You Have to Have.” The full list will only be available to our CigarWire subscribers.

In the meantime, call the Thompson folks at (800) 237-2559 or visit www.ThompsonCigar.com.
~ Rich Perelman

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