JULY 1999

6.5" x 54

Great Buy! Suggested Retail:  $245.00

4.5" x 54

4.5" x 50

"...priced to enjoy by the box."

6" x 50

A nice looking cigar sporting a smooth shiny wrapper. It burns even and draws well producing a solid ash. It’s medium-bodied with some good nut and toast flavors, almost a richness in the texture. The finish is short and woody. Rated 86 by Cigar Aficionado.            

Great Buy! Suggested Retail:  $187.50

6.5" x 43

A smooth natural wrapper with an oily sheen and good constuction. Tasty from the first draw. A full-bodied cigar packed with solid flavors of leather and coffee. It is earthy and herbal, with a woody finish. Rated 88 by Cigar Aficionado.    

Greetings from the Humidor

This July its back to the roots. We explore some of the industry’s long-standing success stories developed from prevailing Cuban brands.

It’s inherently difficult to live up to a title like "King of the World," but no one does it better than El Rey Del Mundo. Spanish for "King of the World," El Rey Del Mundo never strays too far from the offering superb construction and strong flavor from the Honduran filler and binder, and Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. This month we pay special homage to the King by offering our best members with the 91 rated El Rey Del Mundo Flor de Llaneza Maduro Torpedo . Its rich flavor and slow, cool and even burn rank it up there in the high 80’s, but its the gorgeous appearance and elegant, mile-long finish that push it over the edge to create one of the world’s finest torpedos.

Our second feature of the month is an introduction of Cuban brand: La Flor de Cano. Founded in 1884 by two brothers, Tomas and Jose Cano, the J. Cano firm resisted the temptation to merge with the big companies at the end of the century and maintain its independence. Today this tradition is still maintained. It also accounts for a limited, albeit stupendous, line of cigars. This month’s 88 rated Dominican rendition of the La Flor de Cano Bouquet Figurado exhibits quality that would even please Tomas and Jose Cano.

Last month we recognized the La Finca corona for it’s consistent high quality and ranking over a period of several years. Our third feature of the month is a revisit to another phenomena of long term consistency in the cigar industry: the José Marti Robusto from Nicaragua. It’s still rated 89 after all these years, smoother than ever, packed with flavor and well-balanced too. And, like the La Finca, the José Marti Robusto is priced to enjoy by the box.

Always popular since the 1970’s when it was first introduced, this month’s fourth feature, the Joya de Nicaragua Torpedo has been reblended in the past few years to satisfy the smoker of the 90’s. Hopefully it have the same impact in the year 2000 as it has over the past 30 years. Joya de Nicaragua is a first time feature for The Cigar Renaissance and has turned out to be an ideal introduction. Sporting a medium body with good nut and toast flavors and a recent 86 rating, we welcome Joya de Nicaragua to our very special club of world class smokes.

In a recent address to the industry at the R.T.D.A. convention this July 12 -15 ^th held in Las Vegas, Marvin Shanken let the industry attendees know that the "Worst is Over." The glut of new brands entering the marketplace to capitalize on a shortage of cigars in the U.S. has come to a screeching halt. Producers that survived the overcrowding are now keeping pace with the world’s market demands for quality cigars at reasonable prices. It’s part of the reason The Cigar Renaissance has been so successful. We distinguish between the crap and the good stuff and we offer it to our members at a fair price. This is why we are so pleased to see some our old favorites come back in recent times packing a Punch. This month’s final feature of the month is the Punch Lonsdale from Honduras. Still strapped with an 88 rating it’s more precious than ever with it’s full-bodied character and unsurpassed taste and bouquet. Enjoy!!

Happy Smoking!

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

It seems that the world’s most highly coveted non-Cuban brand, Fuente Opus X, is making headlines every time we check the industry reports. Unfortunately, the news has never announced greater availability. Until now…for some at least…

If you didn’t already know, distribution of the Opus X cigar has been limited to specific regions east of the Mississippi. Whether or not "easterners" have had a better chance of finding Opus X cigars is debatable. Nonetheless, the Fuentes have succumbed to fairness four years after it’s introduction in New York City and select retailers in the Eastern United States. Opus X cigars are finally going on sale in the western half of the United States.

Does this mean "westerners" will be able to find them? "Possibly," sounds like a fairly accurate answer to that question. The decision to distribute west of the Mississippi comes after Fuente’s decision earlier this year to scale back total shipments in the U.S. to only 500,000 to 700,000 cigars. About 927,500 cigars were shipped last year, and Fuente had previously released a statement that he planned to ship 1 million to 1.2 million this year.

So why the change of heart? "I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching lately, and I really feel this is the smart thing to do," said Carlos Fuente Jr. There are two factors that also influenced Fuente’s decision: damage inflicted by Hurricane Georges last September and fear of another natural disaster of the same order. Georges leveled Chateau de la Fuente, the farm where Fuente Fuente Opus X wrapper is grown, destroying 14 of the 16 tobacco barns on the property. Though the barns were empty and no tobacco was lost at the time, Georges still managed to deal a painful blow to Fuente’s leaf supply. With just two barns to dry harvested tobacco, only 15 of the farm’s 196 arable acres were planted this past winter.

In 1999, fans of the Fuente Opus X cigar will continue to experience more torture as the already thin supply is spread nationwide. And although "westerners" may have the potential to finally buy Opus X at normal retail prices, this may turn out to be another case of the grass being greener on the other side of the river.