One of the most massive launches of a new cigar ever undertaken started on September 18 at Jungle Jim's of Fairfield, Ohio and Liberty Smokes of Philadelphia as
General Cigar rolled out the Macanudo 1968 National Tasting Tour.
"We've scheduled 450 retail events nationwide," noted Victoria McKee, General Cigar's national director of public relations. "We're going to give away 60,000 Macanudo 1968 cigars for consumer trial at retail."
The program is a blitz, covering more than 40 states in just about five weeks, with the final event scheduled for October 26 at the Belicoso Cafe in Wyandotte, Michigan. Forty members of General's national sales team will be involved along with senior executives including General's president, Daniel Nunez. McKee explained that at each event cigars will be available for sampling, but also "branded cigar cutters, shirts and party favors, and a chance to win a limited-edition Macanudo 1968 humidor." One humidor will be allocated per store, even though the tasting event may run for several days at that location.
Additional events will be held by individual stores that do not include a General Cigar staff presence, but cigars, snacks, gifts and prizes are being sent along. General will follow up with more exposure at several major consumer events in November, with another 11,000 cigars allocated for tasting.
There's also a special promotion on a three-cigar trial pack (only 25,000 are available, though), which is being advertised in cigar publications and in male-oriented publications including Esquire, Golf Digest, Inc., Men's Journal, Playboy, Yachting and others.
The cigar itself marks the 40th anniversary of the acquisition of the Temple Hall factory in Jamaica by General Cigar in 1968. Along with the purchase came some cigar brand trademarks, including Temple Hall and a little-known brand called Macanudo. Re-blended and heavily promoted, it debuted in 1971 and shot to the top of the U.S. premium cigar charts almost immediately and it has been the best-selling premium brand in the U.S. ever since.
It's also noteworthy as the first Macanudo to be offered that did not use a Connecticut-grown wrapper; it features a Honduran San Agustin wrapper leaf instead. "This product has already generated a lot of buzz," wrote McKee in an e-mail message earlier this week. "And there is much more to come."
>> The 2008 edition of the God of Fire Charity Dinner at the swank Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles not only featured plenty of celebrities, good food, drink and plenty of cigars, but also raised $228,600 for charity from a wild auction on September 13.
Organized by Keith Park of Prometheus International, which distributes the Fuente-made God of Fire line, the event supported two charities this year: the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation founded by the Fuente and Newman families and the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center in Rancho Mirage, California.
Carlito Fuente and Bobby Newman spoke movingly about the effort being made to help children at the Cigar Family complex in the Dominican Republic, which includes a K-12 school, playground, medical clinic and community center and Sinatra described the work of the children's center, which assists abused children throughout the Coachella Valley. She accepted an award as the "God of Fire" Woman of the Year.
The auction included some wild bidding on a variety of items, smoothly handled by Master of Ceremonies Joe Mantegna and assisted by Jim Belushi. All together, the auction raised $228,600 and sent the total raised at God of Fire dinners over the $1.1 million mark.
>> When Jean Villiger began making cigars by hand in Switzerland in 1888, it's unlikely that he envisioned his family's cigar-making empire that celebrated its 120th anniversary in September over four days, concluding at the famed Lenzburg Castle in Aargau, Switzerland.
Heinrich Villiger is the grandson of the company founder and now oversees an 800-employee group which makes cigars in Indonesia, Germany and Switzerland and sells 600 million cigars a year worldwide, bringing in more than $163 million (U.S.) annually.
According to London-based travel retail news site The Moodie Report, Villiger told an audience of more than 200, "I am looking ahead with optimism. Thanks to modern technology, strong bands, a global distribution network and a good management team, we are well equipped to face the task ahead."
Best known for its machine-made brands such as Villiger, Kiel and Braniff, Villiger also distributes hand-made brands such as La Vencedora from Nicaragua and La Flor de Ynclan and Villa Dominicana from the Dominican Republic in the U.S. In Europe and elsewhere, Villiger distributes well-known hand-made brands including Bock, La Intimidad, the highly-rated La Libertad, two editions of Santa Damiana and others.
At the 120th anniversary celebration, Villiger announced the introduction of a new, handmade cigar from the Dominican Republic, created to celebrate the company's milestone: 1888. Made in three sizes – a corona, robusto and short robusto – it is not yet known whether this brand will be available in the U.S. when it is introduced in 2009. Noting that the blend will be kept secret, Villiger said "I am confident that it will be a great success on the market."
Short fillers: Find our latest tasting review, of six cigars that were the stars of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association convention & trade show, in our News & Views archives for September 19.
- Rich Perelman in Los Angeles
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Reprinted by permission. "Heard in the Humidor" is a publication of Perelman, Pioneer & Company. Copyright 2008; All rights reserved.
