Thursday, July 13 2006
When Caribe Imported Cigars introduced its Camacho Corojo blend in 2000, no one could have foreseen the impact of a powerful, all-Corojo cigar on the U.S. market. It virtually exploded on the market and helped to move the direction of the industry toward the more full-bodied, full-flavored cigars widely enjoyed today.
Even with this success, however, Julio and Christian Eiroa, the father-and-son combination behind what is now known as Camacho Cigars, still had to import Mexican tobacco to use on the two sizes which were offered with maduro wrappers, the Diploma and the Monarca (both 5 inches by 50 ring). No more.
A sensational crop harvested in 2004 has yielded enough maduro wrapper leaf to offer the entire Camacho Corojo line in maduro, as well as the El Legend-Ario brand introduced last year.
Camacho grows tobacco on about 1,000 acres at Tabacos Ranchos Jamastran in Honduras, but harvests about 600 acres annually, gathering about one million pounds of tobacco. The creation of maduro wrappers maduro means "mature" or "ripe" in Spanish is often achieved by leaving the plants on the stalk longer, or by curing them longer. Camacho does both.
"For the Maduros, we use the fourth and fifth priming," noted Camacho marketing director Angel Diaz. "The tobacco stays out in the field a couple of extra days.
"Then they ferment an extra 90 days, give or take. The tobacco itself determined the amount of time for fermentation. It is not uncommon for it to extend itself to 90 days."
The new Camachos should be available in stores soon.
The Habana Cuba Cigar Company joined the growing list of cigar manufacturers with their own branded retail outlet with the opening of the Habana Cuba Cigar Lounge in Miami Lakes, Florida.
Well known for their Habana Cuba Premier and Oliveros lines, the lounge offers many brands of cigars, space to relax, have a drink or play a game of dominoes. Its the latest in a line of branded retail stores/lounges that started with the famed Club Macanudo in New York (opened 1996) and includes the Casa Fuente at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Corona Cigar Companys Avo Lounge in Heathrow, Florida. Of course, Davidoff of Geneva has operated its own retail shops in the U.S. since 1987, but these are more focused on retail activity than food, beverage or other club-style activities.
Short fillers: General Cigar revived one of its ancient brands, Shakespeare, in a new edition that will be distributed by Cigars by Santa Clara. Its a mild-bodied blend offered in bundles in six sizes; the brand was apparently introduced in 1872 and was made for decades by the Tampa firm of Sanchez & Haya . . . Cigars by Santa Clara is also introducing the Nat Sherman Cameroon line, offering a blend that has been available in the Sherman store in New York and in duty-free shops for years, but never available to U.S. retailers. It features a Cameroon wrapper, of course, has a medium body and will be offered in three sizes in cans of 10 cigars each . . . Habanos S.A. is redesigning its cigar tubes to follow the lead of the slide-apart tubes used for the Cohiba Siglo VI. The new tubes will be used for the Romeo y Julieta Churchill and Short Churchill sizes, although the other tubed sizes will retain the current screw- cap format. The same upgrade will eventually be applied to tubed cigars in the H. Upmann, Montecristo and Partagas lines . . . find our latest tasting review, of "under the radar" cigars including Adan y Eva, American Stogies, Dynamite, Flor de Jardin and Topper Danli, in our News & Views archives for July 14.
- Rich Perelman in Los Angeles
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Heard in the Humidor is a publication of Perelman, Pioneer & Company.
Copyright 2006; All rights reserved.
