JANUARY 1999

5.75" x 43

A well made corona that draws well and provides great flavor from the first puff. Solid medium-bodied cigar exhibiting a sweet cedar core, and roasted nuts with notes of sweet red pepper. Rated 87 by Cigar Aficionado.

Great Buy! Suggested Retail:  $125.00

5.5" x 44

5" x 50

A dark, solid maduro cigar with an oily wrapper. This cigar is rich and creamy with a medium body of honey almond notes and some spice. It’s also toasty with a light floral aroma. Rated 89 by Cigar Aficionado.

5.5" x 44

A supple corona with good fill. Burns even and provides a full draw. A very smooth cigar with a creamy texture. Rich body of flavors including nuts with undertones of wood and sweet herbs. Rated 88 by Cigar Aficionado

6.25" x 52

A gorgeous cigar. A rich, oily brown Indonesian wrapper surrounds this superbly constructed figurado. Draws beautifully with a full body. Strong spice notes mellow into a blend of nuts, coffee bean, and ripe fruit. Rated 89 by Cigar Aficionado.

  Great Buy!  Suggested Retail:  $156.25

Greetings from the Humidor

Start off the new year with a bang I say! Judging from the January 1999 shipment, the new year is already looking very promising. The variety of blends appear to be most prominent among this months coronas. One year later La Perla Habana once again makes it into our line-up, this time with their figurado. In addition, The Cigar Renaissance is featuring its first cigar from the Philippines this month.

One of the greatest highlights of the cigar sampling world is discovering a cigar that doesn’t get the spotlight, but certainly deserves the attention . The Caballeros cigar is one such brand that has sat on the ends of humidor shelves since 1993. Six years after it’s introduction, the Caballeros family sits next to some very high ranking friends. Those friends are pictured on the pages of Cigar Aficionado’s highest rated cigars in the world. The first puff alone will speak for itself. The Caballeros Corona is a "must have" puros that will complement any fine collection.

Our 2 ^nd feature of the month has roots that stem back to 17 ^th century when the Spanish galleon "San Clemente" on the Acapulco-Manila trade route brought 200 ounces of Cuban tobacco seeds to the shores of the Philippine islands. With land as rich and climate as favorable as that of Cuba’s, tobacco-growing soon flourished throughout the Philippine archipelago and gave birth to a burgeoning cigar-making industry under colonial Spain. From the Cagayan Valley, Isabela, a fertile region north of Manila, named after Queen Isabela of Spain, we bring you Don Juan Urquijo. This month’s Don Juan Urquijo Corona is one the finest examples of the Philippines’ ability to compete in the global marketplace of premium cigars. The Don Juan Urquijo Corona also receives an 88 ranking in Cigar Aficionado.

There are cigars that have a history that dates back to the 17 ^th century such as Don Juan Urquijo, and families that have been in the cigar trade for thirty years such as Caballeros, and then there are cigars such as Flamenco, our 3 ^rd feature of the month, which we’ve never heard of until a few of months ago. The truth is, it probably didn’t exist until recently. But, don’t let this dog-rocket fool you. The Flamenco Oscuros No. 5 is the maduro cigar everyone has been wishing for. It’s dark, solid, and delicious. Cigar Aficionado also recently ranked this cigar with at 89!

La Fontana goes to great lengths to allure people into smoking their cigars. Readers of the La Fontana product line literature are presented with the "quintessential epitome" of "family tradition" in a "A Return to Excellence." The La Fontana line is "truly a delightful and gratifying pleasure that seasoned cigar smokers should not deny themselves." La Fontana is available in five select shapes, "appropriately named, Michaelangelo, Dante, DaVinci, Puccini, and Galileo." Marketing geniuses? Maybe. Do they know how to make a great cigar? You betcha! Unfortunately, our featured La Fontana cigar of the month is left out of their illustrious line up. We suspect that "Verdi" didn’t fit in with the other renaissance men. Despite any mention of the La Fontana "Verdi" in their literature, this cigar actually surpasses many of its counterparts. With an 88 rating placed by its name, the La Fontana Verdi still remains one of the toughest corona sized cigars to find in the marketplace. It’s rich flavor, creamy texture, and undeniable size are just a few of Verdi’s fine points that are sure to win you over.

The La Perla Habana is a cigar reborn. The La Perla Habana was originally one of the most coveted labels in cigar history. Completed at the turn of the century, it represents a time where tradition, intuition, and artisan’s pride were at the heart of every fine cigar. Almost a century later, La Perla Habana is reborn. Dressed in an Indonesian wrapper from the 1994 harvest crop in Java and a Vesuli binder, the 89 rated La Perla Habana Figurado is one of the finest figurados in the world. It’s rich, full-bodied, and absolutely delicious! Try this one soon. Our "inside" members have already been reordering them by the box!

Happy Smoking!

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

As a cigar is smoked, a combination of moisture and tars build up near the head, creating harsh and bitter flavors. The faster a cigar is smoked, the quicker the buildup. Cigars need time to cool off between puffs--about 60 seconds, ideally. But don't worry too much if you can't wait that long. A 45-second interval is probably fine. If you're puffing every 30 seconds, however, slow down. You're overheating your cigars, hastening the tar buildup and shortening their lives.

A pre-Castro cigar was made in Cuba before Castro's rise to power January 1959. A pre-embargo cigar was made in Cuba before President Kennedy enacted the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba in 1962. So, all pre-Castro cigars are pre-embargo, but not all pre-embargo cigars are pre-Castro. Many cigars referred to as pre-embargo may in fact be pre-Castro as well. Often, when the owner doesn't know the exact date of production, he'll call the cigars pre-embargo to be on the safe side.

When cigars are comingled, the rich scents and oils of the older and best cigars will marry their with the younger ones, improving their bouquet. It might seem a trifle metaphysical and impractical, but the great cigars always throw off their aromas and oils into other cigars, as well as the cedar lining. The older, drier benefit from comingling as well, absorbing moisture from the younger smokes.

Purists, however, believe that keeping sticks separate preserves the signature aroma associated with each cigar. This belief is most prevalent with Habanos purists, but with the tobacco traveling that is prevalent today, (i.e., Dominican tobacco used in cigars from Honduras, Nicaraguan cigars containing Mexican tobacco, and--of course--Connecticut wrappers used worldwide) cigars today have less distinction than cigars in years past.