HE Igar Allery: Issue 3 March 2008

Issue 3 • March 2008
THE CIGAR GALLERY

from
Special coverage inside:
A S H OW C A S E F O R C I G A R S , A C C E S S O R I E S A N D T H E C I G A R L I F E S T Y L E !
THE CIGAR GALLERY • THE CIGAR GALLERY • THE CIGAR GALLERY
In this issue:
Montecristo 3
The Dominican On Display 6
Pro Cigar Festival 2008
Gurkha 8
Pro Cigar2008 11
at the Tabacalera de Garcia
Felipe Gregorio 13
Pro Cigar2008 16
with Hendrik Kelner
Macanudo 17
Pro Cigar2008 20
at La Aurora and MATASA
La Perla Habana 22
Pro Cigar2008 25
with General Cigar
Andre Garcia Cases 27
Pro Cigar2008 at Night 30
Barrington House International 32
Cigar Gallery Giveaway 35
The Cigar Gallery is published monthly as a showcase for cigar brands, accessories and related products
on CigarCyclopedia.com. © 2008 by Perelman, Pioneer & Company, Inc.; all rights reserved.
For information about appearing in this showcase, please contact Pat Harris at (213) 365-7965 or
via electronic mail at pharris@perelman-pioneer.com.
2
Montecristo www.altadisusa.com
Is there a more famous cigar in the world than Montecristo?

The answer is decidedly no.
Created in Havana in 1935, Montecristo was an instant success.
The yellow box and crossed-swords logo have become synonymous
with quality in cigars.
In the U.S., of course, the brand disappeared after the Cuban
trade embargo was imposed in 1962, but re-appeared in 1995 in a
medium-to-full-bodied blend with a glorious Connecticut
wrapper. Like its predecessor 60 years before, it too became
known as the benchmark for truly fine cigars.
Today’s line-up allows connoisseurs to enjoy the heft and depth of
a Montecristo in six different styles:
N In 2002, fans of spicy cigars were rewarded with the introduction
of the Montecristo Platinum Series. This line features a
Mexican-grown wrapper and beginning in 2007, is offered in boxes
of 27 cigars instead of the standard 25.
N A year later, the Montecristo White Label debuted in a
medium-bodied, smooth style with an Ecuadorian-grown,
Connecticut Shade-seed wrapper and Nicaraguan and Dominican
interior tobaccos. This elegant blend was also re-packaged in 2007
in boxes of 27.
N When you offer a brand that’s as famous as Montecristo, what can
be achieved with aged tobaccos? Master blender Jose Seijas took
more…
3
Montecristo …continued
that challenge and created the Montecristo Classic Collection in

2005. Only the choicest Connecticut Shade leaves are used for the
wrapper with aged Dominican-grown binder and filler leaves that
offers a wonderfully balanced and eminently subtle flavor with a
perfect draw.
N Cigar enthusiasts are well aware of the special qualities of
Cameroon wrapper. So naturally, there had to be a Montecristo
that took advantage of its unique features, the Serie C, introduced
in 2007. The African wrapper leaf was combined with leaves from
the Western Hemisphere: the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and
Colombia.
N Also in 2007, a special edition of the Montecristo with an
Ecuadorian-grown, Sumatra-seed wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf
binder and Dominican, Nicaraguan and Peruvian filler leaves was
created. It’s full-bodied and distinctive, this “Cabinet Seleccion”
offered in slide-top boxes of 22.
Each of these are true Montecristos: all at the highest level of
construction, craftsmanship and quality. Their diversity gives
smokers of all interests an opportunity to enjoy the legend that
has enchanted so many. «
4
5
The Dominican On Display:

ProCigar Festival 2008
THE INAUGURAL PROCIGAR FESTIVAL was held in Santiago for three days
from March 5-7 and it won’t be the last.
A happy group of more than 120 attendees toured the fields and factories
of four major cigar makers, was lavishly entertained on three consecutive
evenings and a select group went on to the Casa de Campo resort and had
an opportunity to see the world’s largest cigar factory and play some first-
class golf courses for two more days.
Put on by ProCigar, the association of Dominican cigar manufacturers,
the event revealed – in a well-managed and organized way – the process of
growing tobacco and converting it into cigars in an open and fun way. Each
of the manufacturers toured – Tabadom, La Aurora, MATASA and
General Cigar (plus Altadis U.S.A. on the weekend for those at Casa de
Campo) – ends up with a product that looks the same, but is arrived at in
a very different way.
Perhaps the lasting impression of the tours and commentary by the heads
of each factory was the enormous number of steps, the endless number of
hands and time required to turn microscopic seeds into green leaves and
then into brown cigars. At the risk of yet another price increase, most of
the attendees agreed that they had a new perspective on what more…
6
…continued
went into the cost of their favorite cigars.
And those attending the Festival showed their appreciation with spirited
bidding for 17 different lots during the auction segment of the closing gala.
A specially created Davidoff humidor with 72 cigars that included limited-
edition blends from 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, 16 of the 2006 100
Aniversario Robusto and two of the magnificent Davidoff Diademas Finas
100 Aniversario perfectos of 9 1/2 inches and 55 ring sold for $5,500, the
highest-priced item of the night.
But it wasn’t the wildest items of the night. A box of Davidoff master
blender Eladio Diaz’s personal blend for his 54th birthday went for $2,800
and a pair of signed straw hats from Avo Uvezian earned $1,100 at auction,
all for a good cause, the Hospicio San Vicente de Paul.
The first ProCigar Festival was an unqualified success and you’ll find a
brief journal and photo album of each day’s activities so you can share in
some of the fun. «
7
Gurkha Black Dragon www.gurkhacigars.com
Kaizad Hansotia created a five-of-a-kind smoking experience in 2006

with his $115,000 chest of specially made Gurkha Black Dragon
cigars that was featured in the holiday edition of the Robb Report.
The five chests were each filled with 100 of a new blend he called
“Black Dragon Edicion Especial” that featured 15-year-old tobaccos: a
Connecticut maduro wrapper, Cameroon binder and Dominican-
grown filler. Offered in one size, a massive 8 1/2-inch long by 52-ring
giant, it was packaged in a 75-year-old antique camel bone chest hand
carved by East Indian artisans. Wow!
At $1,150 a cigar, there weren’t many takers, but
Hansotia said he sold three of the five chests to
buyers from the Middle East. But that’s not the
end of the story.
The cigars were such a sensation that
Hansotia re-blended the Black
Dragon with currently-available
tobaccos and has made it available to
smokers around the world… at
substantially reduced prices!
The Gurkha Black Dragon is
now available in three sizes at
retail prices of just $10-13
each, plus local tobacco taxes.
more…
8
Gurkha Black Dragon

…continued
The blend is still full-bodied, but is now made with a five-year-aged

Cameroon wrapper, a Dominican binder and Nicaraguan and
Peruvian filler leaves. It’s well constructed at the Torano family factory
in Danli, Honduras.
The sizes include a Robusto (4 1/2 inches by 52 ring), offered in boxes
of 40; Presidente (8 1/2 x 52) in boxes of 20 and Torpedo (6 1/2 x 53),
also in boxes of 20.
The presentation is outstanding, but not quite as over-the-top as the
2006 carved chests. The cigars are cradled in a lift-out tray inside an
all-black box with a grained leatherette surface. The interior surface is
a stunning red velvet.
“We are confident the market awareness of our quality and unique
presentations,” said Hansotia, “will create a rush to experience some of
the opulence of the original, ultra-exclusive Black Dragon release. The
new, more accessible Black Dragon will give them an opportunity
to live that dream.” «
9
ProCigar 2008
at the
Tabacalera de Garcia
H
ow does one describe the world’s
largest cigar factory, the Tabacalera
de Garcia? How about impressive.
This massive facility, originally opened in
1975 in La Romana toward the eastern edge
of the Dominican Republic and close to the
Casa de Campo resort, now encompasses
four buildings: two tobacco warehouses, a
factory that turns out 300 million machine-
made cigars a year and the famous
handmade factory, which creates 35-40
Vice President and General Manager Jose Seijas with
million of the finest cigars in the world
tobacco leaves tied in “hands,” getting ready to be annually in 48 different brands and more
stemmed and sorted for use in handmade cigars. than 1,000 sizes.
It takes about 3,800 staff members under
the direction of Vice President and General Manager Jose Seijas to make
the facility run and it’s a popular destination for tourists coming from
nearby Casa de Campo. In fact, when that resort was being developed by
Gulf & Western in the 1970s,
the company also owned
Consolidated Cigar more…
Hands of tobacco being slowly revived

after fermentation and storage through
a gentle hydration process.
11
ProCigar 2008
at the
Tabacalera de Garcia
…continued
at the time and decided to place its new Dominican factory nearby.
You can’t help but be overwhelmed by the organization of this vast
complex, especially the movement of tobacco leaf from the warehouses,
through the refreshment and preparation processes and then to the
seemingly endless galleries of 1,100 bunchers and rollers who create
brands including Romeo y Julieta (the largest brand the factory makes),
Vega Fina (the second-biggest seller, primarily in Spain), Montecristo
and many others. «
Just one of many bunching galleries where the filler and binder are combined and Once the cigars are finished and checked
then pressed, awaiting only the application of the wrapper to be completed. The giant for quality, they are stored in the factory’s
presses help the bunches form into the familiar cylindrical shape inside the molds. “cigar room” where the humidity is
harmonized at 14% throughout the cigar.
This room holds about 5,000,000 at any
one time for about 21 days.
12
Felipe Power www.felipegregorio.com
“I am celebrating my 15th anniversary with a premium cigar like

nothing the market has ever seen. Introducing the Felipe Power,
featuring an exclusive Costa Rican wrapper derived from ancestral
pre-embargo Cuban seed.
“The variety is Pelo de Oro (Golden Hair), and tobacco from these seeds
has not been available anywhere – not even Cuba – since before Castro
seized power. It turns the clock back 50 years to Cuba’s Golden Age of
cigars.”
That’s Philip Wynne’s introduction of the Felipe Power from 2006, a
special cigar to mark a decade-and-a-half of his Felipe Gregorio cigar line.
Wynne was breaking new ground with the cigar as the first commercial
cigarmaker to use of the ancestral tobacco grown at John Vogel’s Tabacos
de la Cordillera in San Jose, Costa Rica.
In the early 1990s, when American tastes ran toward
lighter-bodied cigars with pale, Connecticut wrappers,
Wynne’s Felipe Gregorio brand offered full power and
taste with dark wrappers and plenty of ligero in the filler.
He was ahead of his time.
But with the Cigar Boom, smokers who
craved flavor discovered his brands
and he’s been a favorite boutique
brand ever since. The Felipe
Power line represents a bold new
initiative.
more…
13
Felipe Power
…continued
Beyond the wrapper, Wynne used a Nicaraguan Habana 92 binder and a

mix of Dominican and Nicaraguan-grown filler tobaccos for a full-bodied
cigar that offers a uniquely light, balanced flavor. There’s a special
sweetness from the Pelo de Oro wrapper and a smoothness and mellow
balance that’s enticing and unforgettable.
The blend earned a grade of “A: Exceptional” in a CigarCyclopedia.com
tasting.
All of this in nine different sizes with fat ring gauges that run from 50 at
the “small” end for the Petit Torpedo (4 3/4 x 50) and the Double C (7
1/2 x 50), up to 60 for the Full Power (6 x 60). There are four shaped
cigars in the like, two are standard torpedo shapes but the other two are
stunners.
The Obus is a 5 1/2-inch by 55-ring perfecto, with a narrowed head,
bulbous middle and a tapered foot that does not quite come to a full point.
The must-be-seed-to-be-believed Leopard is the same shape, but the Pelo
de Oro wrapper is marked by round spots (like a leopard, get it?) of
Connecticut shade leaf applied by hand to the exterior of the cigar!
All of the Felipe Power sizes are offered in all-cedar boxes of 26, including
a lift-out tray. It’s a blend that offers the best of today’s craftsmanship with
a taste of long-ago Cuba that you’ll find irresistible. «
14
ProCigar 2008
with
Hendrik Kelner
D
avidoff is one of the most famous names in
cigars and the man who makes these cigars is
Hendrik “Henke” Kelner. His operation at
Tabadom Holding in Santiago comprises three side-
by-side factories, with the Davidoff plant in the
middle and flanked by the OK Cigars factory and
the Occidental Cigar factory.
Kelner toured a 25-acre farm and processing facility in
Jicome where binder and filler are grown and where 13
million seedlings are developed in 52 greenhouses for use Hendrik Kelner with a seedling that,
when grown and harvested, is destined
by his staff and by all 82 of his contract farmers. for binder or filler in a Davidoff cigar.
The factories are clean and elegant and produce
about 31 million cigars a year. That’s a long way from 1984, when Kelner
started with six rollers and made 17,000 cigars in his first year. But now
his facilities produce 10.5 million Davidoffs a year, plus 4.4 million Avos,
2.5 million Zinos and 1.7 million annually of The Griffin’s. All together,
there are 560 rollers working in teams of one buncher to one roller
producing 14 different brands, including boutique marques such as
Cusano and Alec Bradley. «
A roller finishes a cap on a
cigar; perhaps a 6-inch by
50-ring Avo No. 2? >
< The last of the 2008

tobacco crop in Jicome,
already being harvested. If
you look closely, you can see
that the leaves on the
lowest part of the plant have
already been removed. Each
level which is removed is
called a “priming” and two
primings out of seven have
been cut so far.
16
Macanudo www.cigarworld.com
Macanudo is the largest-selling premium cigar brand in the United

States, but it was not always so. In fact, the name Macanudo barely
registered with cigar smokers as recently as the 1960s.
Heads turned when General Cigar purchased the well-known Gradiaz Annis
& Co. and its famed Gold Label cigar brand in 1969. Not many, however,
noticed another transaction by General in which it acquired the Temple
Hall factory in Jamaica and with it a little-known trademark for Macanudo.
Mostly known previously as an inexpensive size within the Punch range,
made in Havana, Macanudo was specially blended to be “the best of the
best” and debuted in its modern-day form in 1971. Using Connecticut Shade
wrappers from General’s own farms, its consistency, quality, mild taste and a
heavy promotional campaign have made it the nation’s leading handmade
cigar brand for nearly 30 years.
Although developed and made for many years in Jamaica, all Macanudo
production finally shifted to the Dominican Republic in October 2000.
But the brand in the light-green box was only the beginning of the
Macanudo story:
N A special version, with extra-aged leaves, the Vintage Cabinet Selection, was
introduced in the 1980s. These cigars are each more than four years in the
making and include filler leaves from the Dominican Republic and Mexico and
have a richer flavor than the standard line. Vintage Cabinet cigars have been
offered only in the following years: 1979, 1984, 1988, 1993 and 1997
(introduced 2002). The 2000 edition debuted in 2006 featuring year-2000
tobaccos, notably a Connecticut Shade wrapper and a medium body.
more…
17
Macanudo …continued
N The Macanudo Robust line debuted to gasps at the Retail Tobacco Dealers of
America show in 1998: a “robust” Macanudo? But it became a hit and as tastes
moved to even stronger cigars, the blend was re-made for 2003, with a full-
bodied flavor thanks to a dark Connecticut Shade wrapper and Connecticut
Broadleaf wrapper.
N Given the success of the Robust line, it was no surprise with the Macanudo
Maduro blend was introduced in 1999. Although Macanudo had certain shapes
with maduro wrappers previously, this specially blended line that was introduced
offered a full-bodied, smooth taste in the most popular shapes.
N Despite the move to heavier cigars, Edgar Cullman had an idea: how about a
mild blend that was even lighter than the standard Macanudo line? Introduced
in late 2002, the Gold Label is a limited-edition winner that uses Connecticut-
grown wrapper leaves from the first and second primings to provide a lighter and
sweeter taste than on the standard Macanudo “Café” line.
So now the Macanudo family numbers five: Café – the original – followed by
Vintage, Robust, Maduro and Gold Label. And it should be noted that
although the Café line is easy to recognize by its light brown wrapper, there
are a few shapes which are produced in the green Candela wrapper so well
known in the U.S. in the 1960s. If you can find them, they’re known – in
Macanudo parlance – as “Jade” wrappers.
Today, Macanudo remains the standard, mild taste by which all other U.S.-
marketed premium cigars are measured. And considering their long reign at
the top of the sales chart, no others have measured up yet! «
18
ProCigar 2008
at the
La Aurora & MATASA
T
wo important but smaller factories
were also part of the ProCigar tours:
La Aurora and MATASA.
The La Aurora factory holds a special place in
Dominican cigar history as Don Eduardo Leon
Jimenes founded the country’s first cigar factory –
called La Aurora – in 1903. The current facility
is new, opened in October 2007 and just a short
distance from the old plant. Airy and open, some
La Aurora’s Jose Blanco giving Festival participants
300 employees make 21 million cigars a year, of a smell of the leaves – still tied in hands – as they
which about nine million are handmade. come into the factory from the warehouses, ready
for stemming and sorting.
Chief executive Guillermo Leon and
marketing director Jose Blanco are forever trying new blends and are
devoted to creating more cigars with all Dominican-grown tobacco in
them. For that, more wrapper leaf is needed and La Aurora is working
feverishly on growing Corojo leaf that can be made into flavorful,
stimulating cigars. At present, the factory’s top brands are Leon Jimenes,
then La Aurora and the Aurora Preferidos line, which is made at a
separate location.
At the nearby MATASA factory, Cuban-born Manuel Quesada is the
fourth generation of his family to be involved with tobacco. more…
One of the roller’s gallery at MATASA,

which produces close to seven million cigars
a year. The giant wheel set between the
rollers is a horizontal press for the bunches.
20
ProCigar 2008
at the
La Aurora & MATASA
…continued
For three generations, the Quesadas were in the leaf business, but Manuel
founded MATASA in 1975 and is making almost seven million cigars a
year there. The factory is best known for its Fonseca brand, but also makes
much-admired brands such as Casa Blanca, Cubita, Licenciados and the
Nat Sherman Metropolitan Selection, among others.
The very clean and neat factory floor is arranged with 90 rolling teams of
one buncher and one roller working together. The entire process is precise
and thoroughly checked, right down to counting leaves out like dollar bills
to assemble the “packets” of different kinds of tobaccos in just the right
proportion that the bunchers and rollers will work from the next day. «
The leaf sorting operation at MATASA. See

how they place the leaves on the tables in front
of them, but also on their thighs? That’s how
the legend of “rolling cigars on the thighs of
women” was started. It’s not true, of course, but
now you know the truth behind the legend!
< One of the cigar-making machines in the
La Aurora factory, producing some of the 12
million machine-made cigars produced each
year there.
21
La Perla Habana www.laperlahabana.com
The “Pearl of Havana” was an ancient Cuban brand, but its modern history in the U.S.
cigar market started in 1997.
Doug Wood and his Burlwood Group introduced a marvelous blend featuring an Indonesian
wrapper, medium body and a beautiful band that could not be ignored. A new La Perla Habana
had been born.
As the Cigar Boom peaked and ebbed, La Perla Habana gained a foothold as a brand of quality
and value. It wasn’t too long before smokers wanted a maduro-wrapped version of the blend and
in 1999, the La Perla Habana Maduro became available with a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper that
gave the blend a full-bodied taste that increased the brand’s popularity.
But Wood wasn’t satisfied that there weren’t even better blends out there. After some
experimentation with La Perla Habana blends made in Honduras, he found a new formulation
that had a richness and depth not
available in the La Perla Habana series,
this time made from Nicaraguan tobaccos.
The result debuted in 2003 in his Black
Pearl brand, with two different styles, the
Cobre (“copper”) and Rojo (“red”):
N The Black Pearl Cobre has depth and a
medium-to-full body and features an
Ecuadorian-grown, Connecticut-seed
wrapper that gives it a gentle touch.
N The Rojo is richer and full-bodied, using a
gorgeous, dark Nicaraguan-grown wrapper
along with Nicaraguan-grown binder and
more…
La Perla Habana …continued
Black Pearl Morado Habana Maduro Habana Classic
filler leaves. It’s full-bodied and came out as the top-rated cigar in a tasting of Toro-sized cigars by a
national cigar magazine.
Both of the Black Pearl blends were offered in elegant cabinets of 20 cigars each that underlined
the serious efforts made to create a cigar of importance. But Wood wasn’t through.
He had planned to create a 10-year anniversary cigar in 2005 to commemorate the beginning of
the La Perla Habana brand. Although the blend had been decided upon, the tobacco he wanted
wasn’t available.
But by 2007, the Cameroon wrapper leaf he wanted was acquired and with Nicaraguan-grown
binder and filler leaves, he could finally offer the full-bodied Black Pearl Morado (“purple”) brand
that offered smokers the peak of flavor he had sought in an anniversary cigar.
The Morado is finally available, but the
experience is not limited to cigars. At the same
time, a Morado gourmet coffee and a Morado
wine have been developed as part of the La Perla
Habana “Lifestyle Collection” to offer a
complete set of tastes worthy of the purple worn
by royalty and after which the Morado series is
named.
Pearls are only found inside of rough-shelled
oysters and while Wood endured the exaltation
of the Cigar Boom and the rough times that have
followed, his “Pearl of Havana” has now grown
into a full array of pleasures for all of the senses
to be enjoyed at any time. «
23
ProCigar 2008
with
General Cigar
T
he maker of Macanudo, America’s best-selling premium cigar,
is General Cigar and the brand is made at General Cigar
Dominicana in Santiago.
But first comes the leaf and Daniel Nunez, General’s president, spends
endless time making sure that the quality of Macanudo and other brands
is maintained over 10,500 acres of fields in the Dominican Republic alone.
He took Festival attendees on a tour of the 1,200-acre plantation in Mao,
where General has been growing tobacco for more than 38 years. There, he
oversees a staff of agronomists who have developed specific techniques to
get more usable leaf from the plants, then passed on the knowledge to
General’s contract farmers. The crop
he showed attendees was destined for
Macanudo cigars that would be rolled
in 2011! more…
One of General’s massive sorting rooms, where leaf is sorted and

graded and placed in giant, wheeled bins for sizing.
< Just a small part of an enormous curing barn, in which 20,000
pounds of tobacco is turned from green to brown while tied on strings
and organized not just by type, but by priming – the level on the
plant from which it was picked by hand.
25
ProCigar 2008
with
General Cigar
…continued
Once cured, fermented and aged in both the Dominican Republic and the
U.S., the leaf finally comes to the General Cigar Dominicana factory, where
it is sorted, sized, stemmed and organized into packages which a gallery –
working in teams of one buncher to two rollers – converts into up to 38
million handmade cigars a year, plus an additional 40 million machine-
made cigars annually.
It takes about 4,000 people to create all those cigars, but not just in this
factory. There’s also the El Credito factory nearby, with a capacity of about
10 million and all together, the factories and warehouses cover about a
half-million square feet. «
< One of the rolling galleries
at General Cigar Dominicana,
where Macanudo, Partagas,
Cohiba and many other
brands are made.
A sizing bin for long-filler

leaves that eventually go into
Macanudo cigars. Each leaf is
sized individually to help
determine which size of cigars
can be made from it. >
The gorgeous tobacco

fields in Mao, where
General Cigar has 1,200
acres that yield binder and
filler tobaccos. This is the
last of the 2008 crop, in
the process of being
harvested, level by level.
26
Andre Garcia Cigar Cases www.andregarciacases.com
There are plenty of cigar cases on the market. What’s so special

about Andre Garcia? Quality and innovation, of course.
Made in the centuries-old tradition of India, first-quality leathers and hand-
crafted workmanship are hallmarks of each case. Each will last a lifetime, with just
a minimum of care.
And the variety of styles is geared not to fashion – although they’re all elegant
and striking – but to function, allowing you to keep your cigars protected and
ready as well or better than any models on the market. Consider:
N St. James Collection: Perhaps the most innovative case on the market, here is a
case that combined not only space for cigars, but also for accessories! The cigar
section is a telescoping case with space for 6-16 cigars, depending on model, with a
zip-around section on the top to keep your lighter, cutter and other accessories handy
and in one place. You can choose from both smooth leather finishes and a crocodile-
style finish, both in multiple colors.
N Manhattan Zippered Collection: This line of cases offers a choice of sizes, for
four, six or ten cigars in various leathers with a zip-around top to keep your cigars
easy to access. There are smooth and crocodile-style
finishes, plus a combination case called the Latte
Mistro Collection. It’s a specially styled case that takes
the zip-around format and adds a top of Buffalo horn
for an extra touch of class.
N Buffalo Horn Slider Collection: Here’s a series of
hard-leather, two or three-finger cases
in a variety of finishes:
smooth leather in multiple
colors, woven leather, Croco
more…
27
Andre Garcia Cigar Cases …continued
or Ostrich patterns. Each sliding case can accommodate cigars of various lengths in
hard-shell protection, including the most densely packed suitcase. And the top of
each telescoping case has a hard, Buffalo horn top in a marvelous, glossy finish that
makes each one unique.
N Travel Collection: Need to take your cigars on the road? Here’s the solution, in
eight models in varying sizes from 16 up to 40 cigars! There are even uniquely
finished cigar “briefcases” with spaces for 16, 20 or 40
cigars and additional front pockets for accessories,
enough to satisfy everyone you invited to the party!
All Andre Garcia cases have interiors specially
fitted for cigars, with Spanish Cedar linings and a
unique, multi-chamber, hard-wood divider that
provides excellent protection for your cigars.
The Andre Garcia line is available from
better tobacconists as well as online. For cases
that you’ll buy only once, they’re reasonably
priced from $79.99 for a two-finger case up
to $399.99 for the almost unbelievable
40-finger Cigar Briefcase. «
28
ProCigar 2008
at
Night
Ocean World’s Bravissimo Show featured exotic costumes and pulsating music that reminded everyone that they were in the Caribbean!
T HE TOBACCO FIELDS AND CIGAR FACTORIES were fun during the day, but there
was plenty to do at night at the ProCigar Festival in Santiago.
An opening night reception and dinner at the Centro Cultural Eduardo Leon
Jimenens highlighted the history of Dominican baseball – the national sport – and
former San Francisco Giants star pitcher – and Hall of Famer – Juan Marichal was the
guest of honor.
On Thursday evening, a cocktail reception was held at the Monumento de los Heroes
de la Restauracion, sponsored by the City Hall of Santiago and one of the most
dramatic buildings in the city, followed by dinner and dancing at El Centro de Recreo.
The grand finale on Friday came at the Centro Espanol, a private club in Santiago,
where Don Amilcar Romero and Fernando Leon received recognition for their
contributions to the cigar industry of the Dominican Republic. After a wild Carnaval-
style dance performance, an auction of limited-edition cigars and related items raised
$50,000 to benefit the Hospice St. Vincent de Paul.
Then a fireworks display started the after-party that lasted to about 5 a.m., leaving
just enough time to make it back to hotels, pack the bags and head more…
30
ProCigar 2008
…continued
to the airport for flights that
at
Night
A gathering of some of the attendees at the base of
began leaving around 11 a.m. the Monument de los Heroes on the second night
Maybe there will be some of the Festival. A reception for all attendees was
hosted by the City of Santiago, underscoring the
later flights next year so we importance of the cigar industry to the region.
don’t have to leave… «
No matter what the occasion, there were always cigars available The wild Carnaval Around the World troupe of more than 100
for sampling at every ProCigar event over all three days. dancers filled the stage and the audience with an energetic show
that mesmerized the guests during the final gala on Friday evening.
31
Barrington House
Jamaican Cigarswww.barringtonhouseinternational.com
Sure, Cuba is the historic heart of the cigar industry, but Jamaica
has been its strong right arm for hundreds of years.
Jamaican cigars have been celebrated for nearly as long as cigars have
been around, but after the tumult of the Cigar Boom and too many
hurricanes on the island, the only factory still producing authentic
Jamaican cigars is Barrington House International, located in Kingston.
And it’s not just producing one brand to keep the island’s cigar heritage
alive, either! Instead, there are seven different series to offer smokers a
wide variety of choices:
N Fundadores Jamaica is a clean, easy-to-enjoy line with a Connecticut
Shade wrapper and authentic Jamaican tobacco in the filler, offering a mild
smoke that is gentle and pleasant.
N Guaranteed Jamaica continues to offer elegant, mild flavors in a blend
which Jimmy Chang created for the American market in the 1960s. Both
the Founder’s Series and Heritage Series use Jamaican leaf in the filler and
Connecticut Shade wrappers in a cigar that remains a great value.
N Jamaica Heritage, an old brand now re-blended for 2007, with a four-
nation blend of tobaccos to offer a mild-bodied cigar with subtlety and
complexity at very reasonable prices.
N Montalvo returned to production in 2007, in two different blends! One is
suitable for smokers in the U.S., with a Connecticut Shade wrapper,
more…
32
Barrington House
Jamaican Cigars
…continued
Jamaican filler and a full-bodied presence. But for the European market,
Montalvo adds Cuban-grown leaf that adds a special kick to the flavor,
mirroring the Jamaican-Cuban blends of the 1940s and 1950s.
N Pride of Jamaica, still going in the 21st Century, continues to offer
its rich flavors using dark Maduro wrappers from Cameroon as well
as Connecticut Shade wrappers on some sizes for those preferring a
lighter touch.
N Santa Cruz, a mild petit corona that can be enjoyed at any time. It’s
inexpensive and mild, offered in two styles in easy-to-carry five-packs.
N Last but not least is Barrington House’s flavored line, Harvill, which is
hand made with a full-bodied presence in the mouth, but a mild flavor in
passion fruit, rum and vanilla flavors.
Jamaica’s cigar heritage is secure thanks to the continued efforts of
Barrington Adams and his team, which produces cigars that have found
fans on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Famed brands such as
Macanudo, Partagas and Royal Jamaica have all made their reputations
as Jamaican cigars and you can still enjoy the authentic product of the
world’s great cigar nations from Barrington House International. «
33
How about some free cigars? This month’s prize is, of course, from a ProCigar
manufacturer, General Cigar Dominicana: a box of 20 Partagas Black Label Piramides!
Thomas Thorp of
T
hese are massive 6-inch by 60-ring, CONGRATULATIONS TO
torpedo-shaped beauties with a jet- Utica, New York, winner of our Cigar
black wrapper that just overflows Gallery Giveaway for February, a box of
with rich and deep flavors. Introduced in Alec Bradley MAX “The Curve” cigars!
2001, the Black Label is the fullest-bodied
Once you have entered, it’s not necessary
of all of General Cigar’s Partagas blends.
to enter again; you will be re-entered in all
This box of 20 is provided to us by our future contests. Please note that once an
friends at Mike’s Cigars and will awarded in individual has won, he or she is ineligible to be
a special drawing at the end of the month. selected in a future drawing during the same
The winner will be announced in this space calendar year. «
next month; this is a separate drawing from
our weekly “Register & Win” program.
However, all entrants in our Register &
Win pool are eligible to win. If you haven’t
entered yet, click on the “Register & Win”
tab above and get in the game!
35

HE Igar Allery: Issue 3 March 2008

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HE Igar Allery: Issue 3 March 2008

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Issue 3 • March 2008

THE CIGAR GALLERY

Special coverage inside:

Is there a more famous cigar in the world than Montecristo?

that challenge and created the Montecristo Classic Collection in

The Dominican On Display:

Gurkha Black Dragon www.gurkhacigars.com

Kaizad Hansotia created a five-of-a-kind smoking experience in 2006

Gurkha Black Dragon

The blend is still full-bodied, but is now made with a five-year-aged

Hands of tobacco being slowly revived

Felipe Power www.felipegregorio.com

“I am celebrating my 15th anniversary with a premium cigar like

Beyond the wrapper, Wynne used a Nicaraguan Habana 92 binder and a

< The last of the 2008

Macanudo is the largest-selling premium cigar brand in the United

One of the roller’s gallery at MATASA,

The leaf sorting operation at MATASA. See

La Perla Habana www.laperlahabana.com

La Perla Habana …continued

Black Pearl Morado Habana Maduro Habana Classic

One of General’s massive sorting rooms, where leaf is sorted and

A sizing bin for long-filler

The gorgeous tobacco

Andre Garcia Cigar Cases www.andregarciacases.com

There are plenty of cigar cases on the market. What’s so special

Andre Garcia Cigar Cases …continued

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