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China’s Cigar Bar Trend Hits Luxury Hotels

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The Compass Bar. Photo courtesy of The Peninsula Shanghai/VFM Leonardo Inc.

Forbes recently ran an article on the rising popularity of premium cigars in China, and we also posted an article about how more than 1/3 of the world’s cigar smokers are now Chinese.

Long Bar. Photo courtesy of Hilton Worldwide.

So now, even more good news for Chinese cigar smokers. It looks like The Peninsula Shanghai, The St. Regis Beijing, Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, and the Mandarin Oriental are all now sporting quality cigar bars (photos). I’ll leave the rest to the actual article, but now I know where I’ll be spending most of my time if I ever spend significant time in China!

Click here to read the article on Forbes.

Wine Recommendation: the Lot 49 Reisling

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photo courtesy sipology

Josh over at Sipology just released a review of the Chateau Grant Traverse Lot 49 Riesling that you might consider reading, and perhaps even buying the next time you are out shopping for a white wine. His description sounds pretty enticing, reading:

“On the palate: Full-bodied. Rock candy, bartlett pear, crème brûlée, white mulberry. Finish: Meyer lemon, grilled peach, angelica.”

I’m fairly new to the world of wine, but I have come to the conclusion that I enjoy Rieslings, so this is one I will definitely keep my eye out for. At about $22 per bottle, it doesn’t break the bank either.

Read the full review here.

Cigar Review: El Tiante Habano Rosado

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El Tiante Habano Rosado

FTNYC received these cigars for review from an exclusive El Tiante event at the Nat Sherman Townhouse a few months ago. We’ve already reviewed the El Tiante Habano Oscuro, which I thought was a really fantastic cigar that showed the fingerprints of Don Pepin. This cigar is the Habano Rosado, which I eagerly looked forward to smoking as I’m a big fan of most cigars featuring an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. For this review I’m sitting on my back patio, though the photos were taken near the garden.

Blend Specifics

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Piramide (6×52)

Appearance & Construction

This cigar features a textured brown wrapper, with a few veins, and solid construction that is springy to the touch (but not spongy). The band is a rich, maroon-like red, with “El Tiante” taking center stage, and “Habano Rosado” below. The scent off of the foot is slightly spicy, with hints of sweetness and woody.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The Habano Rosado opens with a very distinctive spice that brings dry wood to mind. I suspect this dry texture has a lot to do with the rosado wrapper. This holds stready for about an inch, when (just like FTNYC reviewer Kelvin mentioned to me a few weeks ago) an interesting note of peanut comes in, and the smoke transitions to take on a bit more sweetness. In the second third, the sweetness backs off a bit, and the note that is introduced is one I can’t quite place, though it strikes me as somewhat bitter. Throughout the smoke, the burn remained pretty straight, the draw has been good, and the ash was almost snow white. The final third smokes pretty similarly to the second, with the sweetness fading in and out.

Conclusion

The Habano Rosado, though enjoyable, doesn’t match the Habano Oscuro in complexity or enjoyability. It does, however, have great construction and a distinctive flavor profile.

Final Grade: B

Press Release: Camacho Signs Partnership With The Legendary Mike Ditka

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PINELLAS PARK, Fla., July 27, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Camacho, the world’s boldest cigar and a core brand in the Oettinger Davidoff Group portfolio, is pleased to announce a new partnership with legendary hall of fame football player and coach, Mike Ditka. Under this new partnership, the “Coach” and Camacho will develop a series of new cigar lines carrying the Ditka name, which will be made at Tabacos Rancho Jamastran in Honduras. Ditka will also serve as a brand ambassador at select nationwide events, beginning with the Davidoff Golden Band Awards, which are to be held during this year’s IPCPR trade show in Orlando, FL. The first installment of the Ditka cigar line is set for launch in late 2012, with more releases set to follow in the early part of 2013.

“Ditka is an absolute legend and I cannot express the excitement felt about this new partnership. Coach truly embodies the bold and outspoken spirit of our brand and it’s great to have him as an ambassador and partner moving forward,” said Dylan Austin, Head of Marketing for Camacho.

“If I am going to put my name on something, it’s gotta be the best. The product and the package are outstanding. I am really looking forward to this relationship,” said Mike Ditka.

About Camacho:Founded in 1961 by Simon Camacho, the brand was acquired by the Eiroa family in 1995. Now part of the Oettinger Davidoff Group, Camacho Cigars is one of the key players in the international cigar market. The flagship Camacho brand, made at Rancho Jamastran in Danli, Honduras, is comprised of 11 premium and super-premium line extensions: (super-premium:Diploma)(super-premium:10th Anniversary Corojo)(super-premium:Liberty Series)(super-premium:Triple Maduro(TM), Select) (premium:Corojo)(premium:Connecticut)(premium:Coyolar)(premium:Havana)(premium:SLR and Room101). Camacho Cigars also has 7 core brands, including Baccarat The Game, one of America’s top selling premium cigars. www.camachocigars.com

New Nat Sherman Bench Collection Now Available

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Looks like Nat Sherman is continuing its big push forward with more new blends. Take a moment and read this release from Michael Herklots’ blog about their newest Bench release. I picked up a few of these the other day and a review will be forthcoming.
~~~
La Aurora, the Dominican Republic’s oldest cigar factory, has teamed up with Nat Sherman to offer two very special cigars to the Tobacconist’s loyal customers at their Flagship Townhouse Store.
These cigars were manufactured in 2007 in their Dominican factory.  The blends were part of the development of the La Aurora Excepcionales, a cigar made exclusively available to a small group of New York City retailers.
“We had three blends we really liked”, said Michael Herklots, who worked closely with La Aurora’s Manuel Inoa on the project.  “Ultimately we chose a blend for the Excepcionales, but there were two other blends that we really liked and decided to make a very small production of them to use sometime in the future.” On a recent visit to La Aurora, Herklots inquired about the small production of the other two blends.  And, fortunately for Nat Sherman, they were resting in the company’s vast aging room.
La Aurora agreed to make the small amount of cigars avialable for Nat Sherman’s exclusive Bench Collection- a series of small production cigars that use harder-to-get tobaccos in more artisenal style blends.
Both cigars are available in limited quantities boxes of 20 cigars
L-IDD
Format: Lancero
Size: 6.5″ x 40
Wrapper:  Indonesia
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
$140 + Applicable Taxes
B-IDD
Format: Belicoso
6″ x 52
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
$160 + Applicable Taxes

Press Release: Miami Cigar Announces the Release of Añoranzas Line of Cigars

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What is Añoranza? The newest cigar from Miami Cigar & Company will have many wondering how to pronounce it (Ahn-yor-ahn-za) and what does it mean? The word which is Spanish, means nostalgia; a sense of yearning. Often when we smoke, we reflect on times gone by and look back to a period of our lives we miss and wish we could go back to. This is Añoranza.

The cigars which are made in Nicaragua feature a Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro wrapper, with Nicaraguan grown binder and fillers. They will be available in both 10 count and 20 count boxes in the following sizes.

  • Robusto ($6.50 MSRP)
  • Toro ($7.50 MSRP)
  • Belicoso ($7.80 MSRP)
  • Gran Toro ($8.50 MSRP)

The cigars which come in a soft box pressed format will debut at IPCPR in Orlando in 2012.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyP7kiUjpMg]

Event Recap: Havana Wednesday at Ravel Rooftop

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This last Wednesday, the FTNYC community came together for another great smoke-session. And what a night it was! We were on the penthouse level of the Ravel Rooftop in Queens. We had live salsa music, some of the guys took a beginner salsa lesson, a cigar roller rolling fresh stogies, bar service, and about 25 BOTL/SOTL there to hang out with.

Thanks to everyone who came out to make the event a success, and for BOTL Kelvin Batista for setting it up. What a great venue!

We’ll definitely  be doing more events at Ravel soon, so stay in touch! Join our event mailing list to get notice of our events.

 

 

 

 

 

Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Sun Grown Chateau Fuente

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Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Sungrown

For many smokers, Arturo Fuente cigars are the first examples of fine tobacco that get them hooked on the art and enjoyment of smoking a cigar. For this review, I chose the Chateau Fuente Sun Grown, which I’ve had occasionally in the past and never really nailed down as far as flavor profile goes. For this stick, I paired a glass of water and some Spanish guitar music by Jesse Cook.

Blend Specifics

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic

Appearance & Construction

This cigar features the classic Arturo Fuente label, framed in black, with the AF crest in the center. The cigar is packed in a decorative cedar strip, with another decorative band on the foot. Pretty great presentation for such a value priced cigar. In any case, these cigars haven’t tended (in my experience) to have the greatest construction. On this particular stick there are two very large veins, which I imagine will probably throw off the burn. The cigar is triple capped, and off the foot are faint scents of granola and earth.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

It takes a few minutes for me to really get a good grasp on what is happening here as far as flavor goes, but from what I can tell there is an earthy spice, but not one typically associated with maduro cigars – i.e. not a lot of sweetness alongside of it, more of an almost savory taste. The smoke is medium bodied, and also has a very unique sort of bitter taste that could be interpreted as citrus notes.

In the second third, I’m beginning to sense that the aroma of this cigar is going to be more enjoyable then the taste on my tongue, which seems a bit too earthy for my palate. In the final third, not a lot changes, but the spice does drop a bit.

Conclusion

I smoked two of these cigars for this review, and though I love Fuente cigars, I have to say I’m not really impressed with the sungrown. More Fuente reviews to follow.

Final grade: B-

The Nat Sherman “Timeless Collection” To Expand Offering

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Michael Herklots from Nat Sherman writes on his blog that Timeless Collection (reviewed by me here) is set to expand!

After the incredibly successful launch of the Nat Sherman Timeless Collection, in February of 2012, the line is expanding.  The first Timeless Collection cigars were manufactured in the Dominican Republic by MATASA.  Now, a new blend will join the ranks of the Nat Sherman Timeless Collection made in Nicaragua by Plasencia Cigars S.A..  These Nicaraguan puros will be available in three box-pressed formats, 4″ x 52, 5″ x 56 and 6″ x 60.  The cigars will be packed in black boxes of 21 cigars adorned with Nat Sherman’s signature in Gold.  The new additions will be featured at the 2012 IPCPR convention in Orlando, FL and are scheduled to ship to retailers by September.

Nat Sherman Timeless 452   $140/box of 21 cigars MSRP
Nat Sherman Timeless 556   $160/box of 21 cigars MSRP
Nat Sherman Timeless 660   $180/box of 21 cigars MSRP

In Addition…

We’ve also added two new sizes to the Dominican-made Timeless Collection. These new formats will be offered in the same slide-top 20 count boxes as the rest of the Dominican-made Timeless Collection.  The Especiales will be a traditional lancero format at 6″ x 38 with a pigtail cap.  The Divinos is a small perfecto measuring 5″ x 32/50/36.

Nat Sherman Timeless Especiales $124/box of 20 cigars MSRP
Nat Sherman Timeless Divinos $160/box of 20 cigars MSRP

Honduran Cigar Vendors Attempting an Asian Break-In

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We recently posted a story about how China now represents more than one third of the cigar smokers of the world. And it seems like the cigar industry is beginning to react to that news. Focus Taiwan reports that Honduran cigar manufacturers like Rocky Patel and Don Humo Cigar Company are trying to establish ties with importers. They hope to gain access to the large Taiwanese cigar market, but the long-run goal is direct access to the massive Chinese market.

Read the full article here.

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