New Cigars, More Fakes and FDA by Frank Seltzer
Romeo box
Romeo has left Julieta…at least in the cigar sense. Since 1875, Romeo y Julieta have been a pair. But apparently Romeo is going out on his own…kinda. In late March, Altadis USA makers of Romeo y Julieta in the Dominican Republic unveiled its newest entry at the Tobacconists’ Association of America convention in Las Cabos, Mexico. It is the Romeo—a cigar the company says is bolder and more full bodied than the typical Romeo y Julietas which are known as mild cigars. Last week, Altadis Reps across the country got the new box to show retailers and cigar samples are due shortly. The new Romeo uses a dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over Dominican Olor binder and fillers of Dominican Piloto and Olor. It is made at the Tabacalera de Garcia and will come in four sizes–Churchill, Pyramid, Toro and Robusto. The Romeo is expected to be in tobacconists sometime in May.
New Master Maduro
Toraño Family Cigars is adding to its Master series with a new Maduro. The Master line launched two years ago as a partnership between master roller Felipe Sosa and Charlie Toraño — president of Toraño Family Cigar Company. The new Master Maduro will feature a Habano Maduro wrapper grown in Nicaragua. The Cigar will retail between $6 to $8.
Miami fakes
Yup I got me some Cohibas from a buddy in Miami and they are real. General Cigar has announced that the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco raided stores on Calle Ocho
Fake Cohibas
in Little Havana and netted over 10,000 fake Cohibas. General says the fakes have an extimated retail value of $200,000. Now when you look at the picture of these fakes…the people making them are none too bright. They use the Cuban artwork on the box and the Cuban band, but the band also says Dominican Republic on it. But my guess is since it is a “special edition”, like the famous glass top Cuban Cohibas, people buy it. You know if people would stop buying them, maybe the people making the fakes could put an effort into making real cigars. Last November General and federal and state authorities seized over 3,000 counterfeit Cohibas from seven tobacco retailers in Key West.
Cigars raise a million bucks
In 1993, financier Michael Milken was released from prison. He had plead guilty to secutiries and tax violations. Milken was the symbol for bad Wall Street in the 80s as king of the junk bonds. Milken came out of prision a changed man, also one with Prostate Cancer. He was able to beat the cancer and now he heads the Prostate Cancer Foundation. For the past 18 years, Milken and Cigar Aficionado’s Marvin Shanken throw a big cigar event in New York called A Night to Remember. This year about 200 people turned up for the cigars, wine and food. (Shanken also owns Wine Spectator). At the end of the night Milken and Shanken had raised more than one million dollars for Prostate Cancer research. And they say cigars don’t do good.
More FDA Madness
The appropriately named Senator Dick Durban and his buddy Senator Frank Lautenberg (who actually experienced Prohibition first hand–he’s 88) are working on urging the FDA to regulate cigars. The two Democrats are including it as part of the 2013 appropriations bill….even though the Senate has yet to pass a budget in the last 3 years.
Says Lautenberg:
The emergence of flavored cigars is a transparent effort by Big Tobacco to work around the new tobacco control law. These flavored cigars are clearly designed to attract young adults and hook the next generation of tobacco users from an early age.
Yeah kids really want to lay out several bucks for a flavored cigar. Oh wait isn’t Menthol a flavor? It sure is but it is ok in cigarettes when other flavors are banned. And as for those BIG tobacco companies like Drew Estate and Rocky Patel and brands like ACID, Makers Mark , Rocky Patel’s Java, Tabak Especial, and CAO Flavors…all of these could go bye bye if Lautenberg and Durbin get their way.
Hmm, if you believe the people in Washington, Drunk Driving is a huge problem and teens abusing alcohol is happening. Why don’t they crack down on the flavored Vodkas? Cuz the bullseye is on us now.
That’s why we need to take action. The White House Petition hit the minimum 25,000 signatures, but we need to make that go higher. 150,000 is a good number. Tell all your friends and email them the link.
Also don’t forget the petition to Congress to keep the FDA out of premium cigars. Over 179,000 have sent petitions have you?
