Cuban Cigar Conviction

A quick news story from the Associated Press.

A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a Florida man for selling counterfeit Cuban cigars under trademarks registered in the United States after Fidel Castro took power.

Juan Jose Penton claimed he did nothing illegal because his shop sold replica “Cuban” brands taken over when Castro nationalized cigar manufacturers in 1960. The Cuban trademarks are not recognized in this country, but the names are also owned by companies registered here.

A jury convicted Penton of violating the Trademark Counterfeiting Act after he sold 60 boxes of cigars in October 2005 to a Miami-Dade undercover officer, including purported Cohiba Esplendidos and Montecristo products. He was sentenced to five years probation and fined $7,500.

An 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld the conviction Wednesday.

Ambos Mundos

The current economy is in turmoil and putting a pinch on a lot of us cigar smokers.

Budget minded people, and cigar smokers who love the Pete Johnson creations, should be presently surprised to know that Tatuaje is releasing a low cost, long filler, cigar brand called the “Ambos Mundos“.

Tobacco used in the Ambos Mundos will come from the same farm, soil, and plant as the regular Tatuaje cigars. The bails used will however be of lower grade (but still good tobacco) and may require more time to rest in your humidor.

The cigar production will be limited in size to a robusto and a toro. Unlike most popular “budget” cigars you will also have a choice of a Ecuadoran Sumatra or a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper.

Price will be set at $4.75-$5.

A specific release date has yet to be mentioned for the Ambos Mundos. However it is rumored that the cigars should be released no later than March of 2009 and even as early as January.

PuffingCigars Updates

Excuse the dust…Or excuse the lack of the dust that has been flying around the site.

The reviews, news, and general information has been slowed at PuffingCigars.com the last week or two as some major changes were underway.

The site, PuffingCigars.com, has gotten some usability upgrades:

Users (that’s you) have the ability to Subscribe to comment/comment discussions on specific posts. You can do this in two ways. The first is to make a comment in the posting and check the subscription box below. If you do not want to make a comment but wish to follow anyways you can simply fill in your email address below the comment box and hit the “Subscribe” box.

Once this is done you will be taken to a subscription section that will let you click a link back to the posting or manage your other conversations/subscriptions you are following.

Please know that PuffingCigars.com will never share, sell, or spam anyone who wants to take advantage of this feature.

And in more exciting updates…

PuffingCigars.com has been working closely with some great cigar companies to bring you whole weeks dedicated to their line and products. Each week will close with an interview. That is all we are willing to release for now, but you will see it when it comes - and it’s just around the corner.

And now for the final update…

We have a new contributor to the site! That’s right - we have a new writer willing to share his ideas, views, and… whatever else.

Our new contributor is a true cigar connoisseur with an amazing amount of knowledge.

His postings will be under the name “The Critic” and you will soon find out why.

So enjoy the site,

PuffingCigars.com

Oliva Event + B-Day

The weekend is here, the weather is still perfect, and it’s time to head out to that local cigar lounge.

Can I make a little suggestion for this weekend?

Remember that little cigar lounge / bar I wrote about here? Well this Saturday (November 22nd) they are bringing one heck of a day.

From their online calendar we can see that Richard, the store owner, is celebrating his birthday. According to the information posted this should start around 1:00pm. I’m urging everyone to not only attend this event (I will tell you more about that in a second) but stop by and wish him a happy birthday.

Richard is a down to earth, cool, and personable guy that you always want in your smoking establishment (or owning your local smoking establishment). He has provided us, in Arizona, a great location where everyone feels welcomed.

So - From PuffingCigars.com - Happy Birthday Richard.

This day also brings in the Oliva and NUB event that kicks off at 5:00 P.M. If you have never been to an Oliva and/or NUB event I would suggest checking it out. They are always tons of fun and lots of great deals can be had. Rumor has it that this event will have a buy 3 get 1 free on Oliva and NUB.

Wash everything down with with $2 Bud Light and Bud Light Limes.

Enjoy great LIVE music from STARR.

I will be attending, so see everyone there.

Have a great weekend.

Cash To Burn

Gurkha’s Majesty’s Reserve

His Majesty’s Reserve is the official name of this limited production cigar. Fewer than 100 boxes are produced each year. Twenty sticks come per box and each cigar is placed in a crystal tube and sealed in green wax.

The wrapper, filler, and binder are all from the Dominican and is said to have a mild-medium strength. What is most interesting of this 7.5×50 sized cigar is that it is generously (an entire bottle) infused with Louis XIII Cognac. Technically this would make the cigar a “flavored cigar“.

President of the Gurkha company personally decides which retailer qualifies to receive the $15,000 box of flavored cigars.

Doing the math: Individually the cigars sell for $750.

Cigar in a Bottle (Forbidden X Bottle)

Walking through the Fuente booth at the 2008 IPCPR one would see a beautifully lighted display sticking out like a sore thumb. Inside the display was a bottle of Grand Pommier XS Calvados brandy, and inside the bottle of apple brandy was a Forbidden X cigar.

Fuente Fuente Forbidden X is the unique cigar especially made to sit inside the capsule of the bottle. It is rolled to a size of 6 3/8 x 49 and made of tobacco grown on the grounds of Chateau de la Fuente. The X cigar is then placed in imported empty French oak Calvados casks for 45-60 more days (to add a hint of apple sweetness).

The brandy / cognac like liquor is made of hundreds of green and red apples that grow locally in the French region. Apples are removed at different times in the growing season, washed in purified water, and pressed to make juice. The apple juice is then double distilled and placed in the casks for 30-40 years.

The cost of this unique item is around $600 per bottle or around $60 a shot (at Casa Fuente).

Cohiba Behike

Cuban cigars are generally more expensive when purchasing them while on vacation or having the sticks shipped into the USA.

Cohiba Behike cigars were named after the cheif of one of Cuba’s indigenous tribes. 4,000 of the honorary cigars were produced by Cohiba and every single last stick was rolled by hand. In fact Norma Fernandez, the cigar roller at the El Laguito factory in Havana was the lone roller.

These cigars come with an Elie Bleu designed humidor. It is made with Galuchat, black ebony, mother of pearl, sycamore, cedar and ox bone. The humidor will also be personalized with the production number, the cigars are numbered and the owner’s name. Only 100 humidors, with 40 cigars each will be sold upon exclusive order of Habanos distributors, double ringed and numbered from 1 to 4000.

Gurkha Black Dragon

This is not the Black Dragon that you can pick up at your local cigar lounge. I do not know if the cigars that come in the box are similar (except aged).

Black Dragon cigars are hand-crafted by the Gurkha factory in Honduras. Each cigar contains African Cameroon, Dominican, and Connecticut tobaccos wrapped in a dark chocolate maduro wrapper. Aged for 12-15 years the 7.5×52 cigar is said to be very strong and very spicy.

The beauty of the 100 count cigar package has to be the box. The box is made in India of camel bone and solid brass.

The production package was limited to just 5 boxes and retails for $115,000.