Thursday, January 18 2007
Just a couple of days ago Bill Miller, art director for
Famous Smoke Shop, returned from a business trip to Danli, Honduras and Esteli, Nicaragua. Bill was also kind enough to bring me back some cigars, which I appreciated. But what really caught my attention was a
box of cigars in an opaque plastic shopping bag. Before showing me what they were, he had to tell me the story of how he procured them.
Bill was in the lobby of his hotel in Esteli, when he overheard a couple speaking English - a rarity in that part of the world. Curious, he asked them where they were from. The couple identified themselves as Americans who said they were living in Managua. But before he could continue the conversation, Bill was called away and that's the last he saw of them until...
...a few hours later when the couple showed up in one of the cigar factories Bill was visiting that same day. Reintroducing himself to the couple, the gentleman told Bill that he was working for the U.S. Embassy with regard to the tobacco and coffee industries in Nicaragua. The man was also holding an attractive looking box of cigars, which turns out were made for the inauguration of newly-elected Nicaraguan President, Daniel Ortega. Yes, "El Presidente" enjoys a good cigar, and this selection, made for Ortega himself, is especially tempting.
It's called the "Daniel Ortega Presidente" - a Double Perfecto rolled to a 6¾" x 64 ring (at the center) using a dark, oily Maduro wrapper on the bottom half, and an equally gorgeous Rosado wrapper on the top half. The cigars are presented in a box of 20 with the Sandanista Party symbol on the top. I wouldn't count on them showing up in the next edition of Perelman's Pocket Cigar Cyclopedia, but hey, you never know.
Too good to resist, Bill spoke to the factory boss and picked up a box for himself, which is shown in the above photo.
I can't tell you how they taste because Bill isn't ready to give any of them up just yet, but they sure look pretty hearty. I suppose they do make quite the collector's item, but maybe I can twist his arm. If he ever does decide to share one, I'll let you know how it was. £
~ Gary Korb
