 Views From a Smoke-Filled Room
by Rich Perelman
Editor-in-Chief
Los Angeles, August 11 – It’s still summer, but already we’re preparing lists of gift recommendations for the holidays and New Year’s for those long-lead magazines which prep three months ahead of their publication dates.
Why not? Holiday concepts were much in evidence during July’s Retail Tobacco Dealers of America convention and trade show and we saw some winners. So what about 2004 gifts or 2005 New Year’s presents for the cigar smoker?
For the holidays, you may wish to consider (or ask your spouse or friends to consider):
• For the novice, consider the elegance of boxes of ten cigars in aluminum tubes. The cigars stay fresh in the tubes, look great and are fun for the kids to play with after the cigars are gone. The best combination of actual and perceived values in ten-packs are five sizes of Dominican-made Romeo y Julietas: Churchill en Tubos or Deluxe No. 1 Tubos (both 7 inches by 50 ring gauge), Clemeneau en Tubos or Deluxe No. 2 Tubos (6 x 50) or the Rothschild en Tubos (5 x 50). These are modestly priced at $50-55 retail plus local tobacco taxes. Subscribers to our CigarWire service can select the best pricing on these boxes from among eight top national retailers. Romeo y Julieta ranked in the top five on our list of the top medium-bodied cigars available in the U.S.
• For the enthusiast, give a gift which keeps on giving long after the cigars are finished: ask your tobacconist to order an H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon Office Jar for you. The gorgeous, heavy glass jar will be useful forever, come in a festive gift box and include 25 or 50 tasty H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon cigars (depending on size). The cigars themselves go for between $100-150 the box, so expect to spend between $150-200 for cigars and jar, depending on size and state tobacco taxes.
• For the connoisseur, forget about impossible-to-find boxes of Fuente Fuente Opus X, Padron 30th Aniversario or prehistoric Cubans. Give an affordable, but not-too-available box of 12 Avo Legacys, released in honor of composer and cigarmaker Avo Uvezian’s 78th birthday. Only 6,500 boxes were made of these 5 3/4 inch by 48-ring short Toro-sized cigars, featuring an Ecuadorian-grown wrapper and Dominican binder and filler. The box even comes with a 12-song CD of some of Avo’s best-loved compositions. A little something for everyone for around $200 or less, depending on state tobacco taxes.
• For the true cigar hound on whom you must spend what seems like a small fortune, jaws will drop when he or she opens a stunning Davidoff gift box of 25 cigars in the small and medium sizes. This jewel, packed in a serious-looking, specially-fitted cedar box, will set you back from $230-300 depending on where you buy it. Alternative: a rather expensive box of Aurora Preferidos in gold-finished aluminum tubes. These are five-inch-long, perfecto-shaped cigars, pointed at both ends, just like the La Aurora factory made when it opened in 1903. The retail is $408 per box of 24, but they are perfect to touch, fun to smoke and ranked in the top dozen in our review of medium-bodied cigars sold in the U.S. It’s like holding a bit of history in your hand.
• What about a cigar for fun? Look no further than the seasonal favorite “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” cigar made for the Atlantic Cigar Company of Phoenix, Arizona. It’s a well-made, six-inch-long (52 ring) cigar from the Dominican Republic, nice and mild. Ask your tobacconist for it or call Atlantic at (877) 33-SMOKE to see who carries it in your area.
OK, all of the Christmas presents have been opened and you have polished off the leftover turkey during the glut of bowl games in the week before New Year’s. Now you need a New Year’s cigar!
New Year’s Eve is no time for robustos or other short smokes. Enjoy one or more of these selections, all of great distinction and equally applicable to bringing in the New Year or celebrating what you accomplished during the last one:
• Arturo Fuente Hemingway Series Masterpiece: With its perfect construction and perfecto tip, this nine-inch beauty screams class and elegance but is surprisingly mild. We ranked it in the top three among all mild-bodied cigars available in the U.S. and it is widely sold across the country (although shortages are common).
• Partagas No. 9: Superb rich and spicy taste in an 8 1/2-inch cigar at a very reasonable price. It’s offered in boxes of ten at mail-order prices of less than $6 each, allowing you to enjoy one yourself and share the box with friends.
• Montecristo Grande: This is a Dominican-made, double corona-sized stick of seven inches long with a ring gauge of 50, packed in an aluminum tube. Its excellent construction and balanced, slightly spicy character (less bitter than its Cuban cousin) make it a joy to smoke on an evening when you can appreciate it. It’s also available in boxes of ten.
• Ashton Aged Maduro No. 60: Stunning, deep sweetness in this double corona (71/2 inches by 52 ring) that makes you want to sip it rather than smoke it. Often hard to find, you will never forget this cigar once you try it. Fairly priced at $9.25 retail, plus local taxes.
• Paul Garmirian Celebration: A perfect combination of smoothness complemented by a hint of spice on the finish, we rank P.G.s in our top five in medium-bodied cigars available in the U.S. The Celebration is a monster at nine inches and 50 ring, but smokes smoothly and comfortably and has an agreeable aroma. It’s offered individually, or in boxes of ten. Expensive, worth it and appreciated among enthusiasts.
There are others, of course, as the “best” cigar is a matter of taste. But the holidays is a time to be happy, and all of these selections will do that, and much more. Plan now, order soon . . . and get ready to smile later.
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