Never Forget by Frank Seltzer
Remember this date
Today is the 11th anniversary of the day that changed everything. September 11. While you enjoy a cigar today, please reflect back on your feelings and emotions of that event. I do not mean to dwell on the tragedy, but we need to remember the largest attack on American soil so that it does not happen again.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program…
Avo goes big
I guess there is no fighting these huge ring gauges. Davidoff of Geneva is launching a new addition to the AVO Heritage series with the AVO Heritage Special Toro. The cigar will be produced in limited quantities and will measure 6” x 60, a first for the AVO line. According to the release, the cigar uses a large percentage of Ligero tobaccos to provde a spicy flavor. The wrapper comes from Ecuador and is a specially fermented Cuban seed. The binder is Dominican San Vicente and the fillers are Dominican Ligero, Dominigsn Seco and Peruvian Seco. The cigar was introduced at the show with only 1,000 boxes being available at that time. (huh missed my sample.) The AVO Heritage Special Toro will retail for just under $10.
More Affordable
Now if money is no object, I wrote at the show about the cigar from Regius of London which is the world’s most expensive cigar. This single double corona costs $70,000. In fairness, you do get more. If you buy the cigar, Regius CEO Akhil Kapacee will come to where you are and personally light it for you. And then the buyer and his or her tobacconist will get an all expenses paid VIP trip to Nicaragua where they will be able to blend and name a cigar according to their taste. The buyer also gets 1,000 of the custom blend. A total of ten cigars have been made and they will be sold in London and in a few select high-end shops around the world. But Akhil also has some much more affordable cigars. His black label is made in Nicaragua by the Plasencias range from $5.95 for his 4” x 50 Short Robusto up to $7.95 for the 7” x 47 Grandido. He also introduced a new white label line at the Orlando show which is made by Manuel Quesada in the Dominican Republic. (Akhil’s cigars are distributed by Quesada’s SAG Imports in the US.) Initially there are three sizes—a Royal Robusto 5.625” x 54 for $7.25, a Toro of 6” X 50 for $7.75 and a Torpedo 6.125” x 52 for $8.25. I have tried the torpedo and found the flavors very nice. It is a medium bodied cigar with full flavors and a razor sharp burn. Very ince indeed. Think I’ll save the $70k and go for these instead.
Really?
If you ever wonder about the minds of those who think we have to ban/limit or increasingly tax cigars “for the children” here is one for the books. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) has a new idea…it is for the kids after all. Apparently what keeps Chuckie up at night is worrying about whether kids will mistake detergent for candy. No I am not kidding. He wants warning labels and child protective lids on the pods of dishwashing gel and laundry detergent. Schumer claims there have been “dozens of isolated reports in New York of kids getting sick after eating the pods.” He is asking the Consumer Products Safety commission to look into the matter.
“These pods were supposed to make household chores easier, not tempt our children to swallow harmful chemicals. I saw one on my staffer’s desk and I wanted to eat it.”
Oh so YOU are the dummy….now I get it.
Question…what good would the warning label do for kids who can’t read? Second, how stupid are the kids to think a big pod for washing dishes or laundry is a candy? About as stupid as the people who fear second hand and third hand smoke. Damn nannies.
Happy Birthday
Tomorrow, Cigar Aficionado will hold its 20th birthday party at the Grand Havana Room in New York. (My invitation must be lost in the mail.) It is quite an achievement…Happy Birthday guys.
