APRIL 1999

6.25" x 52

Great Buy! Suggested Retail:  $123.75

7" x 48

6" x 52

Great Buy!   Suggested Retail:  $140.00

4.5" x 52

featuring the new Habana2000 wrapper

4.5" x 50

  Great Buy!  Suggested Retail:  $105.00

Greetings from the Humidor

Sorry we’re late folks. We tried to completely out-do ourselves by featuring the highly coveted, eternally adored, 91 rated, Padron Churchill. The problem is that Pardron continually shorted us on our requirements. Rather than shipping with a replacement we decided to give Padron an extra day or two. As you can see, they didn’t pull through and as a result, we got burned. So…you’ve got a replacement feature, the Padron will appear next month without delay, and April 99 has turned out to be one helluva shipment anyway.

Long after the Don Nobodies have slunk back into the cracks created by the cigar shortage, it’s families such as the Toranos that will prevail. The Carlos Torano family of cigars are "honest" cigars - consistent, flavorful, and well-crafted. The tradition began back in 1916 when Don Santiago Torano emigrated from Spain to Cuba to grow tobacco. By the late Forties and early Fifties, the Toranos became valued suppliers to many Cuban makers including Partagas and H. Upmann. In 1960, the Toranos lost everything to the Castro regime and fled to other Caribbean countries, finally settling to produce tobacco once again in the Dominican Republic. Since 1970 the Toranos have been dependable players with a modest profile. It is with great honor that we present to you the highly celebrated Carlos Torano Dominican Selection Torpedo . Recently ranked at the top of the charts in CA’s torpedo review, the Carlos Torano Torpedo stands out as the perfect easy-going cigar with great flavor, exceptional balance and overall smoothness.

Our second feature of the month, interestingly enough, comes from a humidor manufacturer. Now this is not some small time outfit that decided it would be a good idea to have a cigar with the company’s label on it. No, Daniel Marshall takes pride in everything they do. Since establishing his first workshop in 1983, DANIEL MARSHALL has created and private labeled for prestigious luxury gift houses such as Alfred Dunhill, Tiffany, S.T. Dupont, Fred Joaillier, Harrods, Garrard's of London to name a few, as well as serving the gift and personal demands of private clients that include four royal families, entertainment executives, captains of industry, well known performers and many special individuals who value his artistry in wood. Mr. Marshall has applied his commitment to investments in pleasure and excellence in artistry to a cigar worthy of carrying the Daniel Marshall name. Consistently recognized for it’s high ratings, this month’s Daniel Marshall "Red Label" Churchill from the Dominican Republic is a pleasant testimony to the love affair so many people have with cigars.

When a new brand pops up on the charts with a high rating, we often give it time to see how well the entire product line fares as opposed to one individual size. If the entire line of cigars fairs well over time, it’s a good indication that the producer is using high quality tobaccos, has experimented with their blends before release, and has paid attention to craftsmanship, among other things. Habano Primero is one such brand that passes our test with flying colors. While we expect to see more great things from Habano Primero, it’s time for them to get some recognition with our members. The 88 rated, Habano Primero Pyramid is sure to be an new and exciting addition for all figurado fans.

Despite the adoration for Cuban cigars among the majority of the cigar smoking public, it is becoming more and more evident that you really don’t need to spend a fortune to get the Cuban quality. And most certainly not when you have cigars such as our fourth feature of the month. It’s called the Maria Mancini de Gaulle , and it optimizes today’s cigar smoking trends. Besides being a visually stunning cigar, it’s box-pressed, wrapped with the all new Habana2000 wrapper, it’s rich and full-bodied, and is a prime candidate for improving with age. All this and a price tag of only $2 a stick. Now, that’s tough to beat!

Our final feature comes from the Troya family of cigars. Similar to the Torano family, we like Troya for its "honesty." Just take a look at this month’s featured Troya. Now that’s perfection! Always consistent, always flavorful, always well-made, and always affordable. If that doesn’t put a smile on your face, then just try smoking it! The Troya No. 18 Rothchild is a cigar that rewards the connoisseur every time.

Happy Smoking!

Hygrometer Highlights
(issues to keep an eye on & interesting topics)

Battling Cigar Beetles

A: A properly maintained humidor keeps beetles from infesting in the first place. But once they've hatched, your freezer is your weapon.

It's every cigar smoker's nightmare--a close encounter with tobacco beetles. These pinhead-sized insects can turn a humidor full of precious cigars into an unsmokable mess. Few things are as dangerous or annoying to the cigar connoisseur.

Your treasured smokes are both home and feast to the beetles, which exist in larvae form in tobacco leaves. Every reputable factory takes aggressive measures to keep beetles out of your smokes, but some survive the fumigation. When humidors get too warm and moist, they appear.

We've heard horror stories of smokers opening their humidors and seeing beetles crawling over their cigar collections, but such a dramatic outbreak is rare. Cigar smokers usually see only the damage, not the beetles themselves. Typically a cigar smoker will open the lid of a humidor, or crack open a new box of cigars, and notice one cigar with a neat, circular pinhole. That's evidence of beetle infestation.

If you have one cigar with beetle damage, you're likely to have others. Beetle larvae hatch at temperatures above 72 degrees and a humidity level above 72 percent, one of the primary reasons you should keep your humidor close to the proper level of 70 percent humidity and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. When rising humidity makes your smokes too damp, beetle larvae will hatch and tunnel out of a cigar, leaving holes in their wake. Left unchecked, the critters run rampant. In 48 hours a full-fledged beetle infestation can destroy every cigar in an average-sized desktop humidor.

Most beetle outbreaks can be stopped without too much hassle. If you see signs of damage, take immediate action. Put all the cigars from an infected humidor in a zipped plastic bag and place them in your freezer for three days. If the cigars are still in their box, put the whole box into the freezer. Treat all of your cigars, because if you have one damaged cigar, you have to assume they're all at risk.

Cold kills beetles and their larvae. After three days in the deep freeze, move the cigars into your refrigerator to avoid shocking the smokes from the temperature change, which could split their wrappers. In the meantime, wipe your empty humidor clean with a damp cloth. Don't use any type of cleaner or disinfectant--it will ruin the wood and leave an odor that will taint your cigars. After one day in the refrigerator, put the cigars back in the humidor. Include some strips of cedar to absorb the excess moisture being released.

Now it's time to address the problem that caused the beetles to hatch. Your humidor was probably too moist or too hot. Use a digital hygrometer/thermometer to get an accurate reading, and consider whether the room that houses your humidor isn't subject to temperature extremes when you're not around. Make sure it's not in direct sunlight, and check your humidification system. If you're using a homemade system, or have a cheap, ineffective product, invest in a high-quality device, such as a Credo or a Diamond Crown. Your cigars are worth it.