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HOW ABOUT A KINKYCRISTO?

Plus: the social swirl as the 75th RTDA closes in Houston

Los Angeles, August 9 – Seen on the final day of the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America trade show in Houston:

• Although celebrity-themed cigars are less common today than during the Cigar Boom of the late 1990s, there’s always room for one more.

How about the Kinky Friedman Cigar?

It’s made by the Habana Cuba Cigar Company, famous for its Oliveros lines, in the Dominican Republic in five unforgettable sizes:

> The Governor (5 3/4 inches by 60 ring gauge);

> Kinkycristo (a 6 1/4 x 54 torpedo);

> The Willie (6 x 48 with a twist head and shaggy foot);

> Texas Jewboy (6 x 56 torpedo) and

> Utopian (6 x 52).

The cigars themselves are medium in body with a Honduran-grown wrapper, Costa Rican binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan filler leaves. All are adorned with a giant band that pictures The Kinkster himself, complete with cowboy hat. A Kinkycristo?

• Davidoff introduced its annual limited edition for 2007, continuing a program that started with what was probably the first-ever limited-edition cigar for the U.S. market, the Davidoff 535 in 1997.

The 2007 edition is a 5 3/8-inch by 52-ring robusto with a pigtail head. It features a three-year-aged Dominican-grown wrapper along with Dominican-grown binder and filler leaves. It’s full-bodied with a peppery bent and is presented in elegant boxes of 10 with a suggested retail price of $180.00 per box of $18.00 per cigar.

• On the accessory front, Cigar Classics introduced its popular one and two-tube Pocket Humidors for 60-ring cigars in both 6 1/2 and 8-inch lengths. The single-tube models retail for $35.99 or $37.99 depending on length with the two-tube models going for $71.99 or $75.99.

As always, the tubes are virtually crushproof and offer perfect protection for your cigars.

Social scene as hot as the weather in Houston:
There were plenty of big and small parties every night during the RTDA and we tried to get to all of them!

• Before the trade show floor opened on Sunday, the RTDA threw a massive 75th anniversary party that was well attended on Saturday. There was plenty of food and drink, which was much appreciated not only by the retailers, but also by some tired exhibitors, who had been setting up on the floor during the day.

• On Sunday evening, Altadis U.S.A. hosted its annual retailer appreciation party for more than 1,500 in the cavernous Ballroom of the Americas at the Hilton Americas Houston, which served as the host hotel. It was a contrast to the wild shindigs to come with quiet music, plenty of tables and chairs, eight food stations and an equal number of open bars. Despite the huge attendance, entry restrictions were strongly enforced: only retailers or other guests with personal invitations could enter. Everyone who did attend received a terrific Montecristo gift set with five cigars (one each of five blends) and the combination Montecristo pen and cigar punch.

For those who enjoyed meeting friends, loading up on shrimp, roast beef and other delicacies and having a couple of drinks courtesy of Altadis, this was the party of the show. Hardly sedate, it didn’t have the pounding music of the galas on the following two nights, but coming after the first day of the trade show, it was a great way to relax and find old and new friends at the start of the show. The colorful and bright decor in the room and easy-to-appreciate layout and very well organized distribution of the gifts upon entry made the atmosphere relaxed and friendly.

• On Monday night, General Cigar put on a big show for the second year in a row, this time in a club facility called The Warehouse Live not far from the Hilton Americas.

Also very well organized, attendance reached about 1,500 for this program. There was live music, lots of hors d’oeuvres and tsunami of dessert items. But the biggest hit was the three open bars with serve-yourself frozen margarita stations!

On the stage, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo of La Gloria Cubana fame joined the band for a drum set – he was a professional drummer in New York for a couple of years before deciding to help his father in the cigar-making business in Miami – showing his talent on a rendition of Carlos Santana’s famous “Oye Como Va.”

And there were tons of cigars to try: Macanudo Gold Label, Excalibur, Partagas, Don Tomas Maduro, Punch and La Gloria Cubana. Every attendee received a walk-away bag of party souvenirs including a one-pound bag of Dominican-grown coffee, a Punch-emblazoned T-shirt, an identification badge holder, a cutter, an elegant black leather cigar case embossed with the Cohiba logo and a new Stradivarius cigar.

One much-appreciated aspect of this program was the addition of a patio area which was much quieter and allowed people to actually hear each other in conversation. What a concept!

• On Tuesday, the long-awaited C.A.O. “secret” party was on, starting with bus transportation from the Hilton Americas that took about 20 minutes to reach its destination, but no one minded. There was plenty of beer for everyone on every bus!

The party itself was held at a giant former warehouse called Hush. The program was hardly quiet, however, as the thump of never-ending music emanated from the main stage. Naturally, the C.A.O. Flavourettes were in attendance, as were go-go girls in 1960's-style dance cages on either side of the stage.

To celebrate the introduction of the C.A.O. America brand, two dancers were outfitted (sort of) as Uncle Sammy and Lady Liberty!

The party didn’t stop on the ground floor, however. There were two levels to the club as well as a V.I.P. room and plenty of cigars available, including C.A.O. The Sopranos Edition, C.A.O. l’Anniversaire Maduros, flavours by C.A.O. Moontrance and the new C.A.O. America. The casino games on the second level – blackjack, roulette and craps – were quite popular.

All of the 1,500-plus attendees also received parting gifts, including C.A.O. playing cards, a C.A.O. M.E.R.C.H. red, white and blue “America” hat, a poster and more.

• If you needed to warm-up or warm-down from the party scene, you could attend one or more of the hospitality suites offered by other manufacturers.

> Camacho Cigars installed a nightly hospitality presence, requiring a not-easy-to-get green wristband, in the Hilton Americas’ tony Spencer Steaks and Chops restaurant. In addition to plenty of top-quality Camacho Corojo, Camacho Select and Camacho Havana cigars, there were also specialty mixed drinks offered in a collectible, souvenir glass. And the party was on from 6-7 p.m. and 10-11 p.m. nightly, so you could go before and after all of the other parties!

> La Flor Dominicana had an elegant hospitality suite on the 21st floor of the Hilton Americas, with refreshments and plenty of La Flor cigars, also open before and after the other parties.

> Torano Cigars, which now distributes the Dunhill Dominican and Dunhill Signed Range cigars, put together a welcome center in the hotel in a meeting room on the third floor, also with refreshments and a chance to better appreciate the ultra-high quality of the Signed Range blend and production program.

And there were plenty of other chances to score a free drink, like La Perla Habana’s daily wine tasting! This RTDA was just exhausting . . .

And the winner is:
Congratulations to Jeff Cowan of Ukiah, California, winner of our “Register & Win” drawing for a free box of Aristoff Perfectos from our Perelman, Pioneer & Company humidors, courtesy of Mike’s Cigars.

Up for your pleasure this week is an elegant box of 25 Cibao Robustos, made by hand and named for one of the top tobacco-growing regions in the Dominican Republic. They’re mild to medium in body and offered in the classic robusto size of five inches by 50 ring gauge, provided courtesy of our friends at Mike’s. The box will be awarded in our drawing to be held on Sunday, August 12.

To enter, just click on the “Register & Win” tab above and fill out the required information. If you have entered in the past, there is no need to re-enter; all past entries are carried forward to future drawings. You must be 21 or older to win; good luck!
~ Rich Perelman

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