JANUARY2000

5" x 50

Great Buy! Suggested Retail:  $139.95

6.5" x 43

Great Buy! Suggested Retail:  $158.00

4.75" x 50

5" x50

This is a well-madecigar with an oily wrapper. It is earthy, but with a smooth texture. Amedium-bodied smoke. Rated 89 by Cigar Aficionado.

Great Buy! Suggested Retail:  $92.00

8.5" x 52

Thiscigar has an herbal character with a hint of cinnamon. There are alsohints of toastiness with a coffee-grind note. A short finish. A goodmedium body. Rated 87 by Cigar Aficionado.

Greetings from the Humidor

Happy New Year! Wehope that you have all enjoyed a wonderful holiday, a safe andmemorable New Year. For those that have been with us for some time,you’ll notice one difference in the monthly shipment. It’s not thehigh quality of the selections or even their striking appearance: it’sthe smell. What is that smell?

For years we havebeen trying to feature at least one of the very mysterious and veryexpensive Lars Teten cigars in our monthly club. For those of you havenever heard of Lars Tetens, let alone tried one of the cigars, you mayask yourself why it’s so mysterious? And what makes the Lars Tetenssome of the world’s most expensive non-Cuban cigars? Well, the oddincense-like smell is just the beginning.

The founder of LarsTeten has always felt that the American cigar market is a farce."Many cigar companies that sell to the American public put theiremphasis on elegant wrapper leaves and decorative rings, forgettingall about the taste and the draw. Perhaps they want you to think thatneither of these things are important. The flavor and the ease inwhich it comes are there for you and your experience. Let the flavorand ease of the draw transcend you to a peaceful plane. The seriouscigar smokers who know my reputation, know I only use the finest inaged tobacco along with master rollers."

Undoubtedly, hiswords are bold, but considering the caliber of many of his legendarypeers, is all this pretentious talk justified? The answer reallydepends upon how you classify yourself as a cigar smoker. The brandoffers a Gen-X type image but with the sophistication and mysticism ofthe Far East. If you’re a purist, this is probably not the cigar foryou. It doesn’t look, smell, or taste like a cigar. If you’re anaficionado or a person who enjoys trying something different (somewhatof a requirement of the cigar club) you just might fall in lovebecause it’s so unusual. As for the taste and draw; it’s reallyquite uncanny.

So after all of thistalk about the Lars Teten, we regret to write that the cigar has stilleluded us due to its exorbitant price tag. However, there is goodnews. A recent break-up of the Lars Teten family (for better or forworse) has spawned a near duplicate of the Lars Teten line at a morereasonable price under the Acid label. We hope the AcidAtom ’s flavor and ease of the draw transcend you to apeaceful plane.

Our second featureis not something you see everyday: an Anniversary cigar. If you’dlike to save it for your birthday or any other type of Anniversary inyour life then this might be the perfect cigar. However, this month’s C.A.O. 1968 L'Anniversaire 1998 CameroonBelicoso is a celebration of CAO International’slongevity and accomplishments; over 30 years worth. Not manymanufacturers have the time, money, or resources to develop a cigarthat celebrates their longevity in the industry. In addition, you can’tmake an Anniversary cigar that’s just ok; it’s got to be great!Judging from our panelists and industry aficionados, CAO’s brand newAnniversary line from Nicaragua is getting praise through the roof.Have a good dinner, enjoy this great smoke, and re-order quickly. Thelast time we featured the CAO Anniversary selection from Costa Rica,it sold out in the first 15 days.

Our next featurecomes from Mayorga. After battling through an industry wide shakeout,Mayorga is on the top of the charts. Most recognized for the puros,Mayorga has made some adjustments with the introduction of a CostaRican wrapper. The end result is this month’s 90 rated MayorgaMaduro Robusto . This alluring chocolate-coated robusto isbox pressed to perfection offering a pleasant richness that screamspure joy.

Our 4 ^th feature welcomes back the Petrus Dominicana line from Felipe Gregorio.Although Petrus has been most noted for it’s flagship Honduran line,it appears that the newer Dominican line has beat out it’s brother.The Olor Dominicana and Nicaraguan filler, Dominican Piloto Cubanobinder and Cameroon wrapper offer a light-to-medium bodied smokeconsisting of earthy, chocolate- like characteristics and sweet aroma.This month’s 89 rated Petrus DominicanaRobusto is another box-pressed beauty with a lot of guts.

We’ve saved thebig gun for last. Primera de Nicaragua was one of the first cigars toemerge from Nicaragua after the Sandinistas lost the elections andVioleta Chamorro was elected the head of that country. Literallymeaning "First of Nicaragua," the Primera de Nicaragua madea proud emergence from those troubled times. Coming from a factorylocated in Ocotal, the tobaccos used in this cigar come from two areasof Nicaragua: the Jalapa valley, known for its ability to producealmost Cuban-like leaf, and another popular tobacco area, Esteli.Master Blender Nestor Plasencia chose the US grown Connecticut shadewrapper "because the special flavors of the two types ofNicaraguan leaf worked well together, but needed the mild influence ofthis particular type wrapper to marry them for life." This month’s87 rated Primera de Nicaragua Viajante should yield about 2 hours of pure smoking pleasure.

Happy Smoking!

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

A True Story…

A Charlotte, NorthCarolina man, having purchased a box of 24 rare and very expensivecigars, insured them against…fire. Within a month, having smoked hisentire stockpile of fabulous cigars, and having yet to make a singlepremium payment on the policy, the man filed a claim against theinsurance company.

In his claim, theman stated that he lost the cigars in "a series of smallfires." The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obviousreason: that the man had consumed the cigars in normal fashion. Theman sued, and won.

In delivering hisruling, the judge stated that the man held a policy from the companyin which it was warranted that the cigars were insurable. The company,in the policy, had also guaranteed that it would insure the cigarsagainst fire, without defining what it considered to be"unacceptable fire," and so, the company was obliged tocompensate the insured for his loss. Rather than endure a lengthy andcostly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the judge’sruling and paid the man $15,000 for the rare cigars he had lost in"the fires."

However, shortlyafter the man cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrestedon 24 counts of arson. With his own insurance claim and testimony fromthe previous case used as evidence against him, the man was convictedof intentionally burning the rare cigars and sentenced to 24consecutive one-year prison terms.

Nice try, but no cigar!