Thursday, May 24, 2007

Cuban cigars

Cigars manufactured in Cuba are widely considered to be without peer, although many experts believe that the best offerings from Honduras and Nicaragua rival those from Cuba. The Cuban reputation is thought to arise from both the unique characteristics of the Vuelta Abajo district in the Pinar del Río Province at the west of the island, where the microclimate allows high-quality tobacco to be grown.Cuban cigars are rolled from tobacco leaves found throughout the country of Cuba. The filler, binder, and wrapper may come from different portions of the island. All cigar production in Cuba is controlled by the Cuban government, and each brand may be rolled in several different factories in Cuba. Cuban cigar rollers are claimed to be the most skilled rollers in the world.The label on Machine-made Cuban cigars -- "Manufactured in Cuba"Habanos SA and Cubatabaco do all the work relating to Cuban cigars, including quality control, promoting and distributing and exportation. Cuban cigars are either hand made, or machine made. All bear the statement Hecho en Cuba, on the box or label, regardless of method of production. Hand-finished cigars previously bunched by machine add Hecho a mano, while fully hand-made cigars say Totalmente a mano in stylized text. Some cigars show a TC or Tripa Corta - meaning short filler and cuttings were used in the hand-rolling process.

www.schwartzbroscigars.com
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Thursday, May 17, 2007

C.A.O. Italia

Widely heralded as the producer of some of the world's finest wines, olive oils, and truffles, Italy has been largely overlooked as a source for premium cigar tobacco. "Historically, there have been two types of tobacco seeds that thrive in Italy," said CAO Vice President, Tim Ozgener. "The Geudertheimer seed is grown and used primarily for machine made cigars. The seed grown for CAO Italia, however, is an Italian Habano seed originally brought to Italy from Cuba some forty-plus years ago. This seed is grown in the Benevento region of the southern portion of Italy, located between Rome and Naples. We've experimented a great deal with Italian tobacco and we believe it lends a very unique earthy-sweetness to the blend, one that rounds out the robust, full-bodied flavor profile that is CAO Italia."

www.schwartzbroscigars.com

www.cigar-girls.blogspot.com

Thursday, May 03, 2007

The Montecristo brand

The Montecristo brand was created in 1935 by Menéndez, García y Cía, then the owners of the popular H. Upmann brand of cigars. Having just purchased the H. Upmann marque from J. Frankau & Co., Menéndez and García decided to produce their own subset of the regular H. Upmann line, called the H. Upmann Montecristo Selection.
The name for the brand was inspired by the Alexandre Dumas, père novel The Count of Monte Cristo, which was supposedly a very popular choice among the torcedores (cigar rollers) in their factory to have read by the lector on the rolling floor.
On the insistence of the John Hunter firm of Great Britain (which would later merge with J. Frankau & Co. to form Hunter & Frankau, Britain's sole importer of Cuban cigars to this day), the name was shortened to simply Montecristo and a new logo was designed for it: the yellow and red "crossed swords" logo the brand still bears today.
Through the efforts of Alfred Dunhill, Ltd., the Montecristo brand became incredibly popular worldwide and to this day accounts for roughly 50% of Habanos SA's worldwide cigar sales, making it the most popular Cuban cigar in the world. After the Cuban Revolution and the nationalization of the cigar industry in Cuba in 1961, Menéndez and García fled to the Canary Islands where they re-established the brand, but were later forced to quit due to copyright disputes with Cubatabaco. In the mid-1970s, the operation was moved to La Romana in the Dominican Republic and released for the US market, where Cuba's rights to the brand weren't recognized due to the embargo. Menéndez, García, y Cía is now owned by Altadis SA, who controls its distribution and marketing in the United States.
The original line had only five numbered sizes, with a tubed cigar added during the 1940s, but otherwise remained unchanged until after nationalization. With Menendez and Garcia gone after 1959, one of the top grade torcedores, José Manuel Gonzalez, was promoted to floor manager and proceeded to breathe new life into the brand. In the 1970s and 1980s, five new sizes were added: the A, the Especial No. 1 and 2, the Joyita, and the Petit Tubo. Three other sizes, the Montecristo No. 6, No. 7, and B, were released but subsequently discontinued, though the B can occasionally be found in very small releases each year in Cuba.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Montecristo continued to rise in popularity among cigar smokers and firmly entrenched itself as one of Cuba's top selling cigar lines. The Montecristo No. 4 is, itself, the most popular cigar in the world market.
In 2004, another new edition to the regular line was made with the Edmundo, a large robusto-sized cigar, named for the hero of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantès.
Montecristo is also regularly chosen to be featured in Habanos SA's annual Edición Limitada selection of cigars with a darker vintage wrapper and there are numerous limited edition releases of special Montecristo cigars for special occasions, anniversaries, the annual Habanos Festival, charities, etc.
Montecristo also produces three machine-made cigarillos: the Mini, the Club, and the Purito.

www.cigar-girls.blogspot.com

www.schwartzbroscigars.com

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

U.S. Legislators in Cuba to jump start dialogue

HAVANA (Reuters) - The largest delegation from the U.S. Congress to visit Cuba since 1959 arrived in Havana on Friday seeking to open a dialogue with the communist government of acting President Raul Castro despite White House opposition to such contacts.
The stepping aside of ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who has not appeared in public for four months, has set the stage for ending political hostility dating from the start of the Cold War, they said.
"We sense this is an important time and we hope to meet with officials and hopefully launch a new era in U.S.-Cuba relations," said Rep. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican. The six Democrats and four Republicans hope to meet with Raul Castro, who took over July 31 after his brother underwent emergency surgery for an undisclosed illness.
Raul Castro two weeks ago said he was open to negotiations with Washington to settle the longstanding dispute that emerged after the Castros seized power in a 1959 revolution and turned Cuba into a Soviet ally.
The Bush administration, which opposes a "dynastic succession" from one Castro brother to the other, has rejected talks in the absence of democratic reform to Cubas one-party state.
The State Department opposed the trip, delegation members said. "The bottom line is, we think it is the right thing to do," said Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern. "I have long thought our policy toward Cuba has been arrogant and dumb."
The visiting legislators said momentum was gathering in Washington for a new chapter in ties with Cuba and changes in U.S. policy are likely next year under a Democrat-controlled Congress.
"The U.S. Congress come January is under a different leadership and I think that on a bipartisan basis there is a desire to engage in dialogue and determine areas where we can agree, despite the fact that we will, I am sure, continue to have profound differences with the Cuban government," said Rep. William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat.
Assistant Secretary of State Tom Shannon, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America, on Wednesday criticized a greater crackdown on dissent since the younger Castro took over.
Delahunt declined to comment on whether the delegation will meet with Cuban dissidents who are seeking democratic changes.
Flake and Delahunt are co-chairmen of the Cuba Working Group in the House of Representatives that plans to work to relax a ban on travel and a cap on family remittances to Cuba next year.
They favor engagement and trade with Cuba rather than sanctions as the best U.S. policy to foster change on the island.
Delegation members said their requested meeting with Raul
Castro has not been confirmed.


www.schwartzbroscigars.com

www.cigar-girls.blogspot.com

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Edge by Rocky Patel

The Edge by Rocky Patel is waiting, so get your favorite smoking chair ready. Comprised of a dazzling array of superior, aged premium tobaccos including ample Ligero, Edge allows one to realize the combined blending and cigar-making skills of Rocky Patel and Nestor Plasencia. The Edge is no doubt one of the stronger cigars on the market: that's why the ads say 'for professional smokers only.' However, the power is controlled, the strength extraordinarly well-balanced, the flavor extremely smooth - a feat for any blender crafting such a full-tilt blend. The mature, crisp flavors coalesce at just the right moment, allowing you to gradually appreciate the complexity and strength of the cigar, as opposed to being simply overpowered by a potent blow to the palate. In the end, you're left with a full-flavored blast of spicy, well rounded accents that will fully entertain the most veteran of palates.

www.schwartzbroscigars.com
www.cigar-girls.blogspot.com

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Go-go bar innocent of health violations



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Tuesday, November 07, 2006

A Look Back in Time: Accord binds endeavors



Caspar Star-Tribune - Squeezed in with the weddings and other news were advertisements hawking items like petroleum products from Salt Creek, a suit for $12 to $35 from the Bloom Shoe and Clothing Co., and cigars from Curran & Anson. Under an arch with a bell made of

If spankings build positive traits, then thanks, Dad
Louisville Courier-Journal - George Burns smoked cigars and lived to be 100," Hunt said. "Should we encourage cigar smoking as a way to prolong life?" Hunt also points out that most CEOs are middle-aged white men who grew up in an era when physical punishment was accepted

today's cartoons
Slate - One magazine exec reportedly got so much loot last Christmas--Cuban cigars, "crates of wine," designer suits ("It was like a Spanish galleon")--that he needed three cars to cart it home. At yuletide, even midlevel fashion-mag writers and editors are

Thank you PR WEB.
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Go-go bar innocent of health violations



ROXBURY -- The Smiles II go-go bar has been acquitted of violating the state's health code by allowing a bartender to smoke behind the bar. The decision, made by Judge Carl Wronko in Roxbury municipal court on Monday, does not mean that people are legally allowed to smoke inside the go-go bar.

How Tobacco Conquered AmericaUntil Recently
Soon after he landed in the New World, Christopher Columbus received from the natives a gift of some dried leaves.

Flooding halts worlds largest underground uranium project
RENO, NV (Mineweb.com) --It was a case of d j vu all over again as the worlds largest uranium miner Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) experienced major flooding at another Saskatchewan uranium mine for the second time in three years.

... and now Kim has gone nuclear
HE MAY be a short man, but Kim Jong Il yesterday cast a long, dark shadow over the entire world.

Offers Cuban cigar brands including Cohiba and Montecristo

Sunday, November 05, 2006

BACIC sees basic solution on policing

Cigar Humidors for Storage & Display by Vigilant



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Zimbabwe: Who Will Have the Last Puff?



RESERVE Bank governor Gideon Gono has just raised the stakes in his increasingly bitter war with "speculators".

Geracie: In the wake of the week
The negative media never mention that the 49ers outscored the NFC's best team 10-0 in the second half Sunday. How 'bout them Raiders!

The days when men were men and Elize was Naas
I do not complain much about life and its vicissitudes because, as everyone and her mother will tell you at the drop of the proverbial hat, it doesn't help anyway. Don't get angry, get even, as they say, writes Karen Bliksem...

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Saturday, November 04, 2006

Stone and Hewlin win Partners Championship



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Cigar firm funds probe
Miami Herald, FL - Oct 10, 2006... In court papers, Altadis claims it holds the exclusive license for the US trademarks for the famous Cuban cigar brands Montecristo, H. Upmann, Por Larranaga ...

Mondo Vino: Jay McInerney on the world of wine
Independent, UK - Oct 15, 2006... To be more specific, a mature Haut-Brion smells like a cigar box containing a montecristo, a black truffle, a hot brick and an old saddle. ...

Give Eckstein credit where credit's due



Denver Post, CO - Oct 28, 2006... that.". MLB officials will discuss the feasibility of other teams using humidors at the general managers' meetings next month. Leading ...

World's most expensive smoke
Daily Telegraph, Australia - Oct 19, 2006... The Cohiba Behike, named after a tribal chief of Cuba's indigenous Taino tribe, can only be bought in special humidors - 15,000 ($25,000) for the 40 cigars. ...

Auctions | Freeman's offering cache of modern art
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - Oct 27, 2006... Among some of the more colorful designs are humidors shaped like human heads, including those of monks, clowns and skeletons; garden seats; and a George Jones ...