The Arturo Fuente and J.C. Newman families are auctioning off dozens of highly prized cigars to raise money for their foundation, the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which donates proceeds to impoverished children living in the Dominican Republic, where the lauded cigars are produced. The foundation has already raised over $3 million for needy kids.
The auction will go on for another several days, though cigar connoisseurs are already in a bidding war over a selection of OpusX cigars from Carlos Fuente Jr.'s personal collection. With three days left before this particular auction's end, 37 eager bidders have notched the price to $6,500.
The hot cigar to get your hands on might just be the new offering from Dunhill. Per Cigar Aficionado, the Dunhill Anniversary Edition, which celebrates 100 years of the Dunhill cigar brand, will be limited to 20,000 cigars. , The cigars will be made in Nicaragua by the Toraños and distributed by C.A.O. International Inc. So far all that is known is that the cigars will have a blend similar to the Dunhill Signed Range which uses Nicaraguan and Dominican filler tobaccos aged three years and bound in authentic African Cameroon leaf and a Cuban seed Nicaraguan wrappers. The new cigars will, according to Dunhill brand manager Bruce Lewis, have a little more finesse and sweetness. Want yours? They should be out mid-fall of this year.
Gentlemen, save the date: From Thursday, October 16 - Sunday, October 19, The Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix is offering the ultimate guy getaway: the Stogies & Sticks Foursome Mancation. Brace yourselves for a long weekend of lighting up fine cigars, sipping premium bourbon, dining on delectable American Lodge Cuisine and teeing off on two of Phoenix's best golf courses.
The three-night/four-day vacation package for four kicks off at with a Bourbon & Cigar Dinner in the resort's signature restaurant, Wright's at The Biltmore. An array of top-brand cigars will be offered and selections from the Jim Beam Small Batch Bourbon Collection will be poured. Friday and Saturday will be golf days on the Arizona Biltmore's two outstanding courses, with 18-hole Adobe one day and 18-hole Links the next.
The mancation package includes accommodations for three nights, the Bourbon & Cigar Dinner, and two rounds of golf with daily breakfast: $450 per person, double occupancy, per night. Add three days of golf and a total of 54 holes with an instructional option at the Hilton Golf Academy:$300 per person.
The Carnegie Club, one of Manhattan's only cigar/cocktail lounges to survive the draconian smoking ban in style, is celebrating the onset of warmer weather with a "Cigars of Summer" selection specifically tailored to New York fat cats who head out of town on the weekends. The club's "Summer Beach Pack," for $45, includes three light, creamy robusto cigars, an Avo Classic Robusto, Fonseca Vintage Robusto, and Romeo y Julieta Exhibition #3, all of which are specially chosen to suit strolling the sands. The "Hamptons Weekend Pack," for $125, consists of a Montecristo #2, Greycliff Château Grand Cru Pirate, and a Davidoff Anniversario #3, all high-end smokes suited to the pricey vacation spot. The Carnegie Club is part of Mark Grossich's sophisticated cocktail lounge empire, which includes the amazing Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Station, one of our favorite spaces in all of New York.
Books can be used to hide all sorts of things. I've seen hollowed out books used to keep jewelry safe but this vivid box from Assouline is meant to house your cigars. Don't look for this one to rest discreetly in your shelves. The Assouline library humidor measures 13.7 x 13.7 x 13.7 in and is made of wood covered in black leather. The doors display the titles of Assouline publications (even one called "No Smoking") and the inside has a humidity gauge. It sells for $2,000.
Swiss cigar manufacturer Oettinger Davidoff has announced their latest creation, a cigar named after the famous Sir Winston Churchill. The Churchill Millenium Blend is set apart from many of Davidoff's other cigars in a couple of ways, including the fact that it's quite a bit stronger in flavor and is wrapped in a rare variety of tobacco leaf that leaves it with a darker than average appearance. The Churchill range of cigars will be made of tobacco grown in the Dominican Republic, Peru, Nicaragua and Ecuador.
Record-setting cigar roller Jose Castelar is working on a new champion stogie in Havana, Cuba. Castelar is in the process of rolling a more than 65-foot cigar by Wednesday which could bring him his fourth world record from the Guinness Book. His previous record is 66.9 feet. He has been working on this project eight hours a day since Sunday and plans to finish on Wednesday. This event is timed to coincide with the 28th International Tourism Fairground and the cigar will be displayed there once it is finished.
UPDATE: The IHT reports that Castelar is still working on the cigar which will likely be 98 feet, not long enough to beat the current record. Guinness says Puerto Rican cigar-maker Patricio Pena made a 135 foot cigar last year.
At £220 per cigar, you better be smoking this for a special occasion not just a day on the golf course. But certainly the slow-burning tobacco will be immensely enjoyed by those who are willing to pay the price. Only 4,000 of these beauties have been produced making their smokers part of an elite club. With forty cigars per box, ringing up at £8,800, hopefully you have a group of deserving friends to share it with...or who will even share the enormous cost!
For your December cigar gift-giving needs, Davidoff has come out with something new and pricey. The Davidoff Royal Salomones have a 21-centimeter, extralong Salomones format with a 57 ring gauge. It has a slightly bulbous shape at the cigar's lower end. Only the four best Davidoff cigar rollers are put to work creating the cigar in the factory at Villa Gonzalez, in the Dominican Republic. The cigars use a blend of seven tobaccos which are fermented and matured for at least seven years. The binder leaf and filler tobaccos originate from the Dominican Republic and are grown in the Cibao Valley. The cigar is a medium strength smoke with a full rich flavor. The cigars come in a box of 50 which is made of mahogany wood with cedar wood trays. The cigar is available in a limited edition starting this month. I haven't heard any word on official pricing but rumors earlier this year put the price at around $2,000 a box.
Cigars are often a symbol of special occasions and holidays, and so is generosity and giving to charity, so it seems perfect that Fuente has combined the two during the Christmas season. Their OpusX cigars have been packaged up in 500 boxes of 22 cigars and called Opus 22. Full of "wild new sizes," each set includes cigars that aren't typically available retail -- like the BBMF shown in this picture. It's a large figurado with a bulbous foot, a moptop, and a tip of maduro wrapper. Each Opus 22 box sells for $750, with proceeds going to underprivileged children through the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation.
If you have a cigar lover on your list but you aren't quite sure what style of cigar they like the Davidoff 12 cigar assortment must be the right answer. The box features 12 different blends and shapes. The inside lid of the box includes tasting notes and strength information on each cigar. It's a great way to sample a bunch of styles without having to buy a whole box. The assortment sells for $161.60.
CAO cigars is opening up their vault. They have announced that they are releasing 200 CAO Humidors each containing 105 CAO Gold Maduro cigars obtained from the CAO Escaparate, a giant walk-in humidor at their Nashville headquarters. The CAO Escaparate holds over 400,000 prototype cigars and the CAO Gold Maduro was one of 11 original 'Concept Series' cigar blends housed within the Escaparate. Each of the 200 CAO Humidors will contain 105 of the original Gold Maduro cigars that have been aging within the CAO Escaparate since 2004. The cigars will be available in the following shapes: Corona, Robusto, Corona Gorda, Churchill, Torpedo, and Double Corona and will be shipped to retail tobacconists in November.
Gurkha is famous for their strong cigars but their latest, the G5 avenger looks particularly powerful. The new cigar is a full-bodied Nicaraguan puro. it is available as a 6 x 50 Toro and 6 x 52 Torpedo which is sold in a rather villainous-looking box of 20 for $186 and $190 respectively. The company has also introduced the Gurhkha Status, a medium-bodied cigar that is a Dominican blend with a Connecticut shade wrapper. These cigars are available in a 7" x 50 Churchill and a 6.5" x 52 Torpedo and come in cool frosted glass tubes. They sell for $380 and $390.
Want to get your nicotine fix but don't want to annoy others with your smoke? You could chew the nicotine gum like some of my friends do but perhaps a more elegant option is the Crown7 electric cigarette. The cigarette includes lithium batteries and cartridges that contain water, propylene glycol, nicotine, and a tobacco flavor. Doesn't sound too appetizing compared to a fine cigar but it is a smokeless way to get your nic fix. The cigarette starter kit costs $99.95 and there are also pipe and cigar options available.
Author, songwriter and former candidate for Texas governor Kinky Friedman is famous for his cowboy hat, his sense of humor and his cigars. He is now turning his love of cigars into a business with Kinky Friedman Cigars. The Honduran cigars are available in five styles with witty names: the Kinkycristo, the Governor, Willie, Utopian and Texas Jewboy. They are working on more lines including one called the Clinton. Friedman is a serious cigar smoker, an article in the San Antonio Express-News has him quoted as saying he smokes seven to 10 cigars a day. Profits from the Utopian cigar, which sell for $130 a box benefit Kinky's Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch. Kinky's priciest cigar is The Governor, a Toro Gordo, 5 3/4 in. x 60 ring gauge which is a medium bodied cigar and sells for $200 a box.
The Arturo Fuente and J.C. Newman families are auctioning off dozens of highly prized cigars to raise money for their foundation, the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which donates proceeds to impoverished children living in the Dominican Republic, where the lauded cigars are produced. The foundation has already raised over $3 million for needy kids.
