 Plus: the new Avo 787 takes off!
Los Angeles, September 17 – Connoisseurs, experts and just plain fans are always asking, “what is the best cigar?”
As far as Habanos, S.A., is concerned, they have an answer for you . . . sort of.
In a meeting in Havana sponsored by Habanos and the rum Havana Club, a group of 27 Cuban sommeliers chose its own “top ten” list of the best Cuban cigars from among its 27 handmade brands under the direction of Fernando Fernandez, a professor at the Cuban High Hotel and Tourism School. The list:
• (1) Montecristo No. 4 (5 1/8 inches by 42 ring), which also happens to be the best-selling size from the best-selling brand in the world.
• (2) Romeo y Julieta Churchill (7 x 47), maybe the most famous shape in the Cuban cigar line-up.
• (3) Cohiba Lancero (7 1/2 x 38), an interesting and old-school choice since the Lancero was the original shape in what became the Cohiba line.
• (4) tie, Cohiba Esplendido (7 x 47) and Montecristo No. 2 (6 1/8 x 52 torpedo), the latter being – at one time – one of the only shaped cigars in the entire Cuban cigar catalog);
• (5) Partagas 8-9-8 (6 5/8 x 43); although not mentioned, this is undoubtedly the Cabinet Selection Varnished, a powerful cigar never to be smoked on an empty stomach!
• (6) Cohiba Robusto (4 7/8 x 50), one of the first Robusto shapes that helped to change the industry when the size was re-introduced by the Cubans in 1989.
• (7) Partagas Serie D No. 4 (4 7/8 x 50), another robusto, but one which was also produced in Cuba in pre-Revolutionary times by the Partagas factory.
• (8) tie, Cohiba Siglo VI (5 7/8 x 52) and Montecristo A (9 1/4 x 47);
• (9) tie, H. Upmann Sir Winston (7 x 47) and Romeo y Julieta Exhibicion No. 4 (5 x 48);
• (10) Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona (7 5/8 x 49).
That’s 13 cigars for ten places, but it’s interesting to note that the sommeliers picked only six brands in their “top ten” and only one post-Revolution brand (Cohiba). In fact, the top eight places (comprising 10 cigars) include only four brands: Cohiba (four selections), Montecristo (three), Partagas (2) and Romeo y Julieta (1). Those four, along with Hoyo de Monterrey and Quintero y Hermano, are marketed worldwide by Habanos; all other Cuban brands are marketed more selectively and not exported to all countries.
Moreover, of the 13 cigars selected, ten shapes are represented with three Churchills and two Robustos on the list. And the top-rated cigar of all was a tiny – in today’s day and age – Petit Corona of just 42 ring gauge! Only one shaped cigar – the Montecristo No. 2 – was tabbed.
Is this definitive? No, but it’s fun and is sure to start arguments from fans of specific brands. For example, don’t try to tell a fan of Juan Lopez about how great the robustos from Cohiba and Partagas are!
Avo 787 takes off!
Promoted but not shown at the recent Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (RTDA) convention and trade show in Houston, Texas, the newest blend in the Avo line – the 787 – is now ready to starting shipping to select retailers.
It’s the sixth production blend in the line, following the introduction of the original Avo in 1987 (now called “Avo Classic”), followed by XO in the early 1990s, Domaine Avo in 1998, the Avo Maduro group in 2000 and the Avo Signature line in 2001. Since then, a new limited-edition cigar has been produced annually, but no new full-production blends until now.
The 787 will only be available at specific retailers who are part of Davidoff of Geneva’s “Select Merchant” program. The line includes only three shapes: a Perfecto (5 7/8 x 50), a Robusto (5 1/4 x 52) and Toro (6 x 54) and the tobaccos include an Ecuadorian sun-grown wrapper and Dominican-grown binder and filler leaves.
What about the taste? Brand founder Avo Uvezian wrote that the blend “provides a complete, balanced and aromatic smoke that offer a medium intensity with a combination of coffee and dark chocolate flavors combined with notes of dried nuts that leaves a prolonged aftertaste of spice and sweetness.” Sound good and it had better be: retail pricing – not including local tobacco taxes – is between $11.00 and $13.00 per cigar. All three sizes are offered in cellophane sleeves inside boxes of 22.
Famed Belgian brands now distributed by DomRey:
Fans of all-tobacco small cigars are well familiar with the Royal Agio and Panter brands, which have been distributed in the U.S. market by Ashton Distributors of Philadelphia for many years.
Distribution will now change as of October 1, 2007 to DomRey Cigars of Bradenton, Florida, which is best known for its Cusano brands along with the newer Cuvee series.
It’s chance for DomRey, headed by Michael Chiusano, to expand its reach with more tobacconists across the country who already carry these popular Belgian-made small cigars. It will be interesting to see how many shapes are handled by DomRey as only a portion of Agio’s wide line-up has been sold in the U.S. in recent years.
~ Rich Perelman
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