Thursday, September 28 2006
New York - For the last eight weeks, cigar enthusiasts in eight cities across the country have been vying to find a coveted hidden treasure. Named the "Excalibur® Quest," the treasure hunt had many a cigar lover scratching his
head and wracking his brain in trying to locate a
box of handcrafted
Excalibur cigars stuffed with $5,000 and hidden somewhere within each host city: Albany, Baltimore, Buffalo, Houston, Milwaukee, St. Louis, San Antonio, and Tampa.
Every week, participating tobacconists in each of the designated cities received clues as to where the box of Excalibur cigars was hidden within their city. The hints were unveiled during weekly "clue reveal parties," which were hosted in participating tobacco retail shops and heavily attended by cigar enthusiasts.
Albany was the first city in which the Quest was solved; it took two cigar enthusiasts in Albany only five weeks to cash in on the Quest. Clues such as "Sir Whit will upon you bestow a great gift" and "If you say 'EMS,' go now and be swift" led to the final treasure location, which was Albany's Washington Avenue Armory.
Several cities garnered multiple winners, even as many as five, as was the case in Houston.
Buffalo's clues proved a bit too challenging; no one walked away with the Excalibur cash in the City of Good Neighbors.
The winning sleuths from each city are:
Albany: Scott Passino and Benjamin Pierson III
Baltimore: Patty Gavrilis and David Lowe
Houston: Michael Bialka; Brett H. Davis; Michael Gisclair; Peter Sodeika and Jed Stewart
Milwaukee: John W. Brannan
San Antonio: David Eugene Cummins
St. Louis: Jerry Rainey
Tampa: James Gardner and Jeffery Kritz
"We applaud all our winners for their dedication to the Quest and most especially for their passion for Excalibur cigars," said Whit Beebe, director of marketing for Excalibur cigars. "We hope all of the champions enjoy their prizes!"
The Excalibur Quest is slated to return in 2007 where the treasure hunt will be expanded to a host of additional cities.
