The global financial crisis hit all fields of life, including Cuban cigars manufacturing. It was reported that despite the 4% rise on Cuban luxury cigars last year that didn’t help saving the situation this year.

The UK-based Imperial Tobacco holds the half of the Corporación Habanos S.A. joint venture that has duplicated its gains last year. According to their annual report, their income has set US$55 million, after they have paid taxes in the amount of 10 million US$15.72 million. This is considered a successful year, as in comparison to the 2010 outcome with revenues of US$61.3 million after paying taxes in the amount of US$7.8 million.

The Imperial Tobacco is very optimistic about the results of their annual report. They declared their luxury Habanos Cigar branch has showed another good performance thanks to the high demand on Russian, Chinese and Brazilian markets. This happened due to the new limited editions of Cohiba and Montecristo cigars. However they didn’t say a word about the situation on the European cigar market.

Imperial Tobacco has the global marketing monopoly for Cuban cigars of first degree due to the Habanos joint venture with Cuban state company CubaTabaco.

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Snoop Dogg is considered an amateur of tobacco and tobacco products. According to him, he has traveled the world and tried different types of tobacco, and finally found something he wanted to bring back with him to the United States.

The singer was so impressed with the quality of their cigars, he decided he must bring the company “Executive branch” that was situated in the Caribbean region into the United States. They plan on launching new vitolas and flavors with the highest standards and releasing them to the US market.

The first joint cigar of Snoop Dogg and “Executive branch” company to be released – the Executive Branch cigarillos. They are expected to be sold for $0.99 a pouch, with 2 cigars per pouch. The cigarillos are rolled by Dufort Holdings SA and sold by Good Times USA.

Snoop Dogg is going to present his new brand at the Coachella Festival where he will be the leading host together with Dr.Dre.

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A lot of people from around the world, famous and common like me and you, are expected to be attending the show paying tribute to smoking and Cuban cigars in particular. In connection with this event, the festival will do homage to such famous Cuban brands as Cohiba and Romeo Y Julieta.

Everyone attending the festival (selected people from 60 countries) will have the honour to enjoy new cigar vitolas from Habanos they are going to present at the event. Guest will be taken to the famous Vuelta Abajo and Pinar del Rio regions where the best Cuban tobacco is grown. And of course, Havana factories will open their doors for a single day only to welcome international guest from around the world and show them the art of rolling cigars.

The festival organizers have changed their tactic and announced a competition aimed at highlighting Cuban farms and farmers rolling cigars, etc. The contest is called “Habanos in images’ and is addressed to producers of audiovisual works.

The Cohiba Welcoming event will be held at Havana’s most prestigious theatre Karl Marx where guests will have the honour to listen to the famous Cuban singer Augusto Enriquez, along with some international celebrities, like Phil Manzarena and Jack Bruce with their show “Ecletic-Us”. The evening promises to be very hot lots of son, rumba, bolero, rock and Afro-Cuban jazz ahead.

The festival will close on March 2 with a special dedication to the Romeo Y Julieta brand, its long history and many other details, paying tribute to one of the most romantic Cuban cigar brands ever.

I doubt I will be able to visit this festival and enjoy all the fascinations this event could offer, like rumba and Cuban cigars. So if you’re the lucky one to see Cuba with your own eyes in a couple of weeks, then don’t forget to get back to us and share your Latin experience with us. Good Luck!

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The brand possessor Litto Gomez made it a rule for the past 3 years to release a Small Batch line every year and a half. The Small Batch IV of this year is constructed from Dominican tobacco and is distinctive for its Pelo de Oro seed wrapper cultivated at Gomez’s La Canela farm.

According to Mr Gomez, he never used this wrapper before but is amazed on the impact it had over the older tobacco blends in cigars which are from 2006. The Pelo de Oro seed wrapper is two years old and adds much sweetness to the older tobacco in that blend.
The length of these cigars is 7 inches with a 52 ring gauge; they come in packages of 105, each cigar worth $19. The quantity is limited, with only 240 boxes released to the market.

The other cigar released – Factory Press IV- is a squared-pressed stogie, 6 ½ inches long with a 60 ring gauge. This fatty baby is designed for those who like bigger smokes to enjoy them after meal. They are packaged in slotted trays, each stogie being protected by a separate plank. The cigar is rolled from wrapper of Mexican origin and Dominican binder and filler.

Litto Gomez said he purchased the Mexican wrapper a few years ago but let it age and ferment for a period to blend well with other components. Now that he finally liked its flavor, the wrapper was blended with another tobacco.
The price of such cigars is $11 for each; they come in boxes of 120 cigars that hold 10 trays of 12 pressed cigars. This is a limited edition, with only 300 boxes released.

The last cigar from this lot is a limited edition version of Chisel sampler with a Cameroon wrapper. Gomez made up his mind to create the brand Chisel and release it in a limited version this month only.

The Cameroon wrapper Chisel was very popular among consumers, so La Flor Dominicana received many requests both from retailers and cigar smokers to continue its release. They did release the cigars but didn’t want to make them as a regular line, releasing total of 500 boxes.

The Chisel with Cameroon wrapper cigar is blended off La Flor Dominicana’s Cameroon Cabinet line. However it is not intended as strong bodied as the Double Ligero Chisel, but it won’t be too mild either. They come in boxes of 20 and will cost $8 each.

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The Cuban based company has announced a 6% export of machine made cigars growth for the entire 2011.

This year has been especially tough for all tobacco manufacturing companies due to various anti-tobacco laws and plain packaging introduced in Australia and some other countries. However, the Cuban officials are quite optimistic about it and predict a 12.6 % growth in the machine made cigars and a 13.6 value increase in the following year. They are also expecting $20 million earnings next year which means they do believe cigars will be in high demand, in spite of various obstacles.

The Internacional Cubana de Tabaco S.A is globally known for producing best-selling luxury cigarettes and handmade cigars. They release more than 10 brands and 44 lines of their products – all of them are made of genuine Cuban tobacco, with no chemical additives.

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The first pack with the new design will hit local markets in August, 2012.

The majority of international tobacco manufacturers has been already presented 5 copies of the chosen pictures to dress the future packs and details that will be obligatory on the new packaging, according to the federal Anti-Tobacco Law. The meeting was held on Monday and was the first from the series of informative sittings with the shareholders.

Thus, tobacco products without an Emirates Standardisation and Metrology Authority (Esma)-approved certificate won’t be permitted into the country by August 2012. This law will affect local tobacco companies as well; they, too, will be enforced to stop their current packaging at the given timespan. According to Mohammed Badri’s words (the Director-General of the Esma) at the gathering, the organization will see the manufacturers after the given period finishes in order to determine necessary terms of erasing the stock with current labels.

Companies have also agreed to provide Esma with samples of their new packaging before releasing their products to the market. However most of their representatives renounced commenting on the subject.

Local manufacturers are not happy with the new law. One of them who wasn’t even present at the gathering, said the innovation will add to the price significantly. He also added that they need some special equipment, like colour printers and scanning assets. He was also concerned with the annual price increase, since these two factors altogether will make the customer think twice before he would buy another pack of cigarettes next time.

The good news is that the new law doesn’t affect cigar industry yet. Cigars could still be packed differently, offering more than 50 ways of wrapping.

According to the manufacturers, cigars need to be aged, so those of them that need seasoning cannot be destroyed till July. However, Mohammed Badri said that the new law applies to all types of tobacco, so the issue still needs to be discussed later.
Well, the clouds are gathering over the world of tobacco little by little but I do not lose hope that sometimes in future everyone will get everything he/she wants without legal restrictions and won’t need to break the law.

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According to the Ashton’s vice-president Sathya Levin, these sizes are the smallest and biggest in this line.

The La Aroma de Cuba brand has been introduced to the market in 2003 and has immediately gained a reputation of a premium class cigars brand. It was first manufactured at the Altadis U.S.A. Inc. owned Flor de Copan factory however in 2009 Ashton decided to pass its production to José “Pepin” Garcia in Nicaragua. Anyway, the cigar has changed the composition of its blend, renovating the brand and enlarging its vitola range from 5 to 10 formats. The cigar has always been of a high value, and when it started to regain its past popularity, Ashton added some shapes to the line.

Levin states that the brand is expanding by leaps and bounds, the company being contacted by a lot of people and asked to add some new sizes.

The Corona is of a 5 ½ inches length with 44 ring gauge and could be bought at $5, while The Double Corona is 7 1/2 inches long with 52 ring gauge, at an average price of $6.35.

The entire brand is made of Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and a Nicaraguan tobacco blend.

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The cigar is said to possess a special shape that will allow smokers enjoy a real Cuban cigar “under any circumstances”. It has a 44 ring gauge and is of 99 mm long – which is considered to be one of the most favorite dimensions in the cigar world.

This cigar has a nice flavor with some light aromatic nuances. It is smooth to the tongue with a medium bodied personality that is perfect for people with stable opinions and peaceful personality.

The new H. Upmann Half Corona cigars come in beautiful dress boxes of 25 cigars and are already available on the international market. Habanos S A has also announced that their smaller version – H. Upmann Half Corona in packs of 5 cigars will be released on the market in 2012.

Let’s hope I am able to buy from my local cigar store as soon as possible, otherwise I’ll die of impatience right here or there !

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*”MUWAT Bait Fish… a little fellow with a HUGEEE personality!! Coming soon!!!@JonathanDrew1 @drewestatecigar”

The Muwait line has been released this summer and was conceived as a medium bodied cigar in general. However their new format “Bait Fish” is considered to be a little stronger than medium, that’s why it received the EF mark – as extra fuerte (i.e. strong).

This is a cigar with a 4x 44 dimensions that will be sold only through NewHavanaCigars.com and is officially called the Bait Fish EF. Its smoking period will last from 30 to 40 minutes and recommended mostly as a winter smoke. As Jonathan Drew has mentioned in his open letter, it would please most men during a winter time and would be able to warm their hearts.

Well, let’s hope the new cigar will be released a little sooner than winter comes into our houses, otherwise we’ll need something very strong to stay warm and be still waiting for the arrival of MUWAT” Bait Fish”.
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*Jonathan Drew from Drew Estate mentioned in the tweet has the marketing and distribution rights from Joya de Nicaragua cigars.

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The heads of Fuente and ProCigar, Carlos Fuente Jr. and Hendrik “Henke” Kelner, met at a charity event in Santo Domingo. The Fuente owner told his ProCigar colleague, who is also the manufacturer of Davidoff’s cigar brand, that his company would be glad to join the association.

Here is the exact statement made by Carlos Fuente Jr. while giving interview to the “Cigar Aficionado” magazine:
“We have to have a fresh start to unite the industry. I’d like for the new generation not to make the same mistakes the old guard did.” End of quotation.

Hendrik Kelner, from his part, said in an interview to the same magazine that he was very happy with the news. He didn’t hesitate a second when Fuente president told him about his wish to return to ProCigar, telling him “Carlito, you were one of the founders—you are a member of ProCigar.”

The ProCigar president met with the other members of the association yesterday, on November 16, 2011 but didn’t vote for the Fuente’s return because it wasn’t necessary.

Fuente was one of the founding members of ProCigar when it appeared in 1990’s – in the times of the cigar business boom. The main goal of their appearance was to create a joint force among Dominican cigar makers in order to meet the demands of the rising interest in cigars in the United States.

The list of other members from this organization:
La Aurora S.A. (Guillermo León, Leon Jimenes), Tabadom Holding (Davidoff, Avo), Tabacalera de Garcia Ltd. (Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta), Tabaquisa S.A. (Juan Clemente), Corporacion Cigar Export (Augusto Reyes, Fittipaldi), General Cigar Dominicana (Macanudo, La Gloria Cubana), MATASA (Fonseca, Quesada).

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