I returned Saturday, 20 February, from Santiago, DR where I attended ProCigar Festival 2010. Inasmuch as I filed an article every day, reporting on the day’s events, I don’t think there is much for me to say here. I will, however; repeat what I have said since the first ProCigar Festival in 2008: This is the greatest opportunity for interested cigar smokers to enjoy cigars, learn about cigars and spend time talking with some of the greatest names in the cigar industry. It comes with great dinner parties, great camaraderie, great entertainment and a wonderful glimpse of Dominican culture.

That said, I know that Pro Cigar will continue to limit the number of attendees to about 200 – in order to maintain the intimacy of the events – so, my advice is, check the website (www.procigar.com) and buy your ticket as soon as they start selling them. 

My personal view is that there will be a significant change in the Festival in 2011, as I believe that Pro Cigar, for the first time since it was founded, will accept new members. That will mean the factory tours and farm visits will offer opportunities that we have not previously had.

I have long been an advocate of such expansion and have spoken with Guillermo Leon, Manuel Quesada and Daniel Nunez, on occasion, about this. When I raised the question at the Festival Press Conference, Manolo Quesada responded that they had “…taken the first step by amending our by-laws.” I think that was among the most significant news items to come out of the press conference.

And now, three days later, I am on a plane to Managua, Nicaragua, and not looking forward to the two hour drive that will take me to Estelí. My purpose,  a long awaited visit to the completed My Father Cigar factory of Jose ‘Pepin’ Garcia and his son, Jaime, along with a stay at Los Arcos – the best hostelry in the town. I had visited the factory in its early stages, but was unable to attend the Grand Opening. I am travelling with Jorge Valdes, Aquiles Legra (Miami’s tobacconist extraordinaire) and Bart Espinosa of Sabor Havana, as well as a group from Boston. John Gonzalez, Vice President of Sales, will shepherd us around the farms and the factory complex.

The group from Boston is composed of Brandon Solomon, principal of Cigar Masters (745 Boylston Street, Boston, MA – 617.266.4400 – www.cigarmasters.com) a few of his customers and several of his employees. Hearing from Rene Castaneda that Brandon was to be on the trip brought back a fond memory.

I was in Boston on some occasion in 1994, and had walked out of the Ritz-Carlton – Cesar Ritz’s original Ritz-Carlton on the Boston Gardens- and walked up the block to Louis a very fine Boston clothier and haberdasher. After my visit, I walked back to Newbury Street and headed for Alfred Dunhill, knowing I would later stop, further up Newbury, at Gloucester Street Tobacco – a newer emporium than Dunhill.

As I glanced across the street I saw a sign in a window that read “Cigar Masters.”

So, I crossed the street and entered Cigar Masters. If my memory serves me, it was in a building, akin to a town house, on what would be the first floor, although you walked up a short flight of steps from the street.

With two sofas at the front of the shop, in the window; a fireplace, sofas and coffee tables in the back, the place offered opportunities to be comfortable everywhere. With wooden floors, the shop had the patina of age which was a plus and contributed to the atmosphere.

 I will check my recollection with Brandon, when we land. If I am wrong, rather than rewrite this with the facts he will provide, I will add the corrections and acknowledge that I was in error. There are so many people that would like to see that.

Sorry folks; I just spoke with Brandon and my description is spot on!

 

The cigar boom of the 1990s had brought a rash, no, a fantastic number of new cigar stores (not all rated the appellation ‘Tobacconist’). I made it my business to visit as many of these as possible in my travels. Upon the first visit, I could usually recognize two things about many of them, all across the country: (1) they had opened just to cash in on the boom; and (2) they would be gone even before they did that! 

That Brandon was not one of that ilk was apparent when your entered the shop and met him.

Once inside I encountered a young man, I think he was still in college, who was the proprietor. He was so hyperactive that today he would be on Ritalin! The hyperactivity paid off and there are now three Cigar Masters. In addition to the original in Boston, which relocated around the corner to Boylston Street, the newer locations are Providence, RI – with a full bar; and, Worcester, MA (this shop is something of a licensing arrangement).

If you’re in those cities, and haven’t been to Cigar Masters, or are travelling to those places and want a nice cigar lounge in which to buy and enjoy a good cigar, I would highly recommend them.

There are several reasons that Pepin Garcia (My Father Cigar Company) is considered the finest cigar maker of the 21^st Century, and one of those reasons is his extraordinary palate. He is always experimenting and innovating, and he often tweaks blends, at the last minute, before the cigars go into production. Nor is he afraid to make changes if it will make for a better cigar.

A case in point is Tabaco Baez, a cigar that was introduced in 2008. A classic  Garcia creation, it smokes beautifully, looks beautiful and had that full, rich, spicy flavour we look for in a cigar by Pepin. It was a rare cigar from him: it has a Connecticut wrapper.

Several months ago, Pepin was ‘playing around’ with wrappers, and put the Habano wrapper, from his famous My Father, on a few Tabaco Baez cigars. Pepin and Jaime smoked them and were impressed with the change’s impact on the caliber of the smoking experience.

Not one to delay, he switched the wrapper on current production and created Tabaco Baez Serie H, elevating a good smoking experience to an excellent one. The combination of a full bodied, flavourful smoke with extraordinary smoothness is remarkable.

In these columns, I suggest a lot of cigars. They are new cigars and old cigars…Tabaco Baez Serie H are what, a revised cigar? In any event, I highly recommend you give it a try! I assure you, you won’t be disappointed.

If, per chance, you’re not totally satisfied, send me the ashes, and I’ll send you a cigar of your choice from the amazing portfolio of the My Father Cigar Company.

By the way, on this current visit to Nicaragua, I learned that Pepin and Jaime are starting production of the promised limited edition (20,000 cigars) that will be rolled exclusively by Pepin. They had an exquisite, elegant rolling table built (see the photo), and Jaime will be the ‘buncher’ (“bonchero, in Spanish) for his father while Pepin will be torcedor.

Last night I was asked by Pepin to smoke one of the prototype cigars and give him my opinion. The wrapper is exquisite; the construction is exquisite and the burn was even and precise…like all Garcia cigars.

All I can say is I looked like a smoker who was smoking his last cigar. I smoked it down to the point where I could no longer comfortably hold it!

There’s no name, as yet, for this work of art, but as soon as there is…I’ll let you know so you can put in your order at one of the select tobacconists that will be authorized to sell it.

Jaime also confirmed, last evening, that the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial will be available to retailers in late March.

The cigar had a pre-release at “The Miami Cigar & Company NYC Extravaganza,” at Cigar Inn. It was well received by those in attendance.

Another offering from the Garcias, this spring, will be La Relova, an old Cuban name from Placetas. The cigar will come in five vitolas: a torpedo, petite robust, toro, Churchill and a 6 X 60. It will be available in a Nicaraguan Habano as well as an Ecuador Sumatra. Based on the couple I smoked, I think we’re in for a real treat.

No doubt, the Garcia’s will have more highly rated hit on their hands.

In the meantime, you can smoke Tabaco Baez Serie H.

Mike Cuisano’s resignation at Cusano, a recent acquisition by Oettinger-Davidoff, came as a complete surprise. As yet, there has been no official comment from Davidoff, while Mike’s announcement was very pro forma: He’s resigning to pursue other interests. I’ve long been tired of that as a reason for resignations. Likewise, the one about ‘spending more time with the family’. It would be refreshing if a little imagination could be used and different reasons claimed. Or, perhaps, the truth would be more interesting than anything.

Talking about Davidoff and acquisitions; when they acquired Camacho, they gave Christian Eiroa a two year contract. Not quite an affirmation of a desire to have him remain on board. Christian, on the other hand, is said to be unhappy. Perhaps no one told him that when you sell your company you wind up with a boss.

Jorge Valdes, of Sabor Havana in Miami, acquired a first class Nikon camera and purchased a series of thirty-six photography classes. Jorge has a great eye for composition – judging by the photos he took last week in Nicaragua. 

I think Miami’s noted photographer in the cigar industry had best watch his back. And, if Jorge decides to get into creating ads, who knows what will happen.

Xikar’s Vice President of Sales, Jerry Dear was formerly in the agri-business, one of the few industries that can do business with Cuba. Dear has a photo of himself with Fidel Castro.

I’m wondering, however; what prompts him to wave that photo around in an industry that has so many Cubans and Cuban-Americans in it. Is he unaware of, or insensitive to the feelings of those people and what they have been through?

Miami Cigar & Company will launch their new Nestor Miranda Collection Dominicano this month. The much anticipated cigar is being produced by My Father Cigar Company with an exquisite Dominican wrapper supplied by Guillermo Leon’s La Aurora S.A.

The official release date is 19 March at New York’s Grand Havana Room – the event is being held in conjunction with Boris Grossman’s Matador Cigar Lounge (38 Lincoln Avenue, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577 – 516.626.4966 – www.matadorcigars.com).

A launch party, on MC&C’s home turf, will take place 26 March at Sabor Havana (2600 N. W. 87^th Avenue, Doral, FL 33172 – 305.486.8860 – www.saborhavana.com). Judging by the events I have attended there, it should be quite spectacular.

Our last afternoon in Nicaragua was spent with Jonathan Drew at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate. It was, as always, a pleasure to see Jonathan, even if we had just parted company in Santiago last week. He took us on a tour of most of the 95,000 square foot factory – which, along with Pepin’s, is one of the very few truly purpose-built cigar factories in Estelí.

Jonathan, knowing of my loathing for flavoured or even infused cigars, made an excellent point: Drew Estate’s enormously popular “Acid” cigars are important ‘gateway’ cigars for new smokers. I couldn’t argue with him as I have observed the fact in tobacconists all over the nation. I am just happy that I didn’t need any such corridor to lead me to the pleasure of the true cigar.

Having said that, I complimented Jon on Drew Estate’s foray into making ‘real cigars’, their very successful and flavourful medium bodied Liga Privada. I first smoked the Liga #9 when they were being made for company CEO Steve Saka. I have since enjoyed the recently introduced T52.

If a medium bodied cigar is the profile you prefer, and you haven’t done so, give Drew Estate’s Liga Privada a try. I haven’t found anyone who had regretted taking my advice on that.

As a little postscript to my comments on the Liga Privada T52, I was having lunch Sunday, 28 February, at Segafredo in the Bal Habour Shops and a visiting Brit and his wife stopped to ask me where he could get that cigar on Miami Beach – the aroma had so enthralled him!

Need I say  more.

“What this country needs is a good five cent cigar.”

Thomas R. Marshall, 28^th Vice President of the United States 1913 - 1921