GENERAL CIGAR TO CELEBRATE ITS 50^TH ANNIVERSARY

National Cigar Event Series to Kick Off in July

Richmond, VA—General Cigar will commemorate its golden anniversary with a ten-city tour that will hit chic, cigar-friendly venues across the U.S. beginning on July 27 at Chicago’s swanky Vertigo Lounge in the Dana Hotel, and ending on November 11 at the legendary Foundation Room in Las Vegas. The complete event schedule appears on the General Cigar 50^th anniversary website www.cigarcelebration.com.

At each event, General Cigar will welcome tenured cigar enthusiasts and fellow connoisseurs drawn to the lure of handcrafted cigars to celebrate the company’s past 50 years of artistry in cultivating venerable brands such as Macanudo®, Punch®, Partagas®, Hoyo de Monterrey® and La Gloria Cubana®.

Benji Menendez, the legendary cigar master who recently celebrated his 58^th year in the premium cigar business will be on hand to regale event attendees with glorious stories spanning five decades of tobacco cultivation across Latin America, South America, the Caribbean and the U.S. Emerging cigar masters Michael Giannini and Rick Rodriguez and other key General Cigar staff will also be present to pair a selection of the company’s new and critically-acclaimed cigars with fine wines, spirits and hors d’oeuvres.

Debo Mukherjee, vice president of marketing for General Cigar comments, “At General Cigar, we take great pride in our heritage and our unparalleled tobacco expertise. We developed this event series to celebrate the people whose passion and mastery have made General Cigar one of the world’s foremost producers of premium cigars. Invited guests will not only have a chance to experience the premium cigar lifestyle in a connoisseur’s setting, but will also have a rare opportunity to learn about tobacco cultivation and blending from Benji Menendez, our cigar sage, and from the emerging cigar masters who will take our company into the next half century.”

General Cigar Co. Inc. manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar also produces Macanudo, Cohiba®, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur®, La Gloria Cubana and several other leading premium brands. In addition, the company grows its own premium Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco, as well as natural and candela wrapper in the Dominican Republic. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

®  Macanudo, Punch, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, La Gloria Cubana, Cohiba, Excalibur and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co. Inc.

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Yesterday afternoon while attending CAO Cigars Lady Liberty event I had the pleasure of meeting fellow blogger Jerry Cruz (aka. Don “Cruz”ado) from Stogie Review.  I mentioned to Jerry how much I enjoyed his video (and the commentary) on the La Palina Launch Event at W. Curtis Draper in Washington, DC.  We discussed the cigar for a few more moments along with some of the recent happenings in the blog world until Jerry had to break away and do some more filming.

Jerry responded to our conversation by meeting me outside and gifting me a La Palina 1896.  I asked him if I should smoke it then or if I should let it rest for a while, to which he responded, “smoke it now and see how it goes.”  The cigar has a nice oily wrapper that sports some veins and rough texture.  The pre-light aroma consisted nice sweet tobacco, a little spice, and cocoa.  The pre-light draw was a little loose and offered up notes of sweet tobacco followed by a lite cocoa note.  At this point I obliged Jerry’s kind gesture and sparked this beauty with my trusty Lamborghini Forza.

When I actually got into the cigar things only got better.  The cigar produced loads of creamy smoke that coated the palate with a wonderful sweetness.  I actually made the comment to several people that the first few draws reminded me of dessert.  I picked up lots of caramel notes, so much so that it reminded me of a bread pudding I ate once in Louisiana.  As the cigar progressed I started to pick up some of the cocoa that was present pre-light and a little black coffee.  The flavors were incredible and progressed nicely from start to finish.  I did have a few burn issues with my only sample, but I tend to place the blame on the terrible Tennessee heat and humidity that plagued us on Saturday.  This little issue is why I smoke multiple cigars for a full review, but in this case I’m excited because I’ll have to smoke a few more samples of a cigar I thoroughly enjoyed to produce a true review.

I’m not sure when I’ll be able to pick a few more of these up, but as soon as I do you can count on a full review to be posted.  The La Palina 1896 was really enjoyable and I loved the flavors that it produced.  If I had to give a bad mark at all it would be the price (MSRP of $19.00).  This one happened to be a gift courtesy of a kind BOTL so I can’t complain, but they are a little pricey.  But at the end of the day we all have different budgets so I would not hesitate to recommend this cigar, but for me it would be a special occasion purchase.  Stay tuned for a full review and thanks again to Jerry for sharing this beauty.

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Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending the CAO Lady Liberty giveaway party.  I realized I would not be the only blogger on hand when David Jones of Tiki Bar Online sent an e-mail saying he’d be there and another message the day before asking if I could direct Jerry Cruz (yes, Don “Cruz”ado himself) to any smoking destinations in downtown Nashville.  Hey, I always say the more the merrier and it’s always nice to see David and talk shop, plus I’ve been reading Jerry’s blog for some time so I was excited to finally meet the “Don”.

For those not familiar with the project the bike was built for CAO by Sucker Punch Sallys of Scottsdale, Arizona.  For the past year the “lady” has travelled the country, stopping at various cigar outlets along the way as part of CAO’s Lady Liberty tour.  Along the way a few lucky folks won entry into the sweepstakes at these events, and you also had the opportunity to get in on the action by entering online.

As far as the event itself was concerned; well let’s just say the folks at CAO really know how to throw a party, and for all of you guys that missed it you truly missed a knock-out event.  Upon entering the festivities you were greeted by two lovely young ladies who handed you a nice Lady Liberty t-shirt and a bag that included a few cigars and some nice CAO swag.  From the free cigars and swag to the food, no aspect of the party was overlooked.  Bartenders served libations from an open bar (yes, open bar) and there were two kegs of locally brewed Yazoo beer freely flowing outside under the tent.  By the way, they weren’t serving your typical “well” liquors; instead they poured Jack Daniel’s, Bulleit Bourbon, Crown Royal, and Finlandia Vodka just to name a few.  All of these paired really well with the complimentary La Traviata, America, and Gold that the young ladies had handed out earlier.

Then there  was the food which came courtesy of Morton’s Steakhouse.  The chef’s kicked out some wonderful items from their outdoor kitchen that would not necessarily be considered your typical cookout fare.  At any given time you could grab a Grade A slider, Maryland crab cakes, “huge” bay scallops with apricot chutney (my personal favorite), grilled asparagus, and fresh tomatoes with mozzarella.  I personally went with a plate that included a slider, a couple of crab cakes, and few of the scallops with the amazing apricot chutney.  My food choices also paired nicely with the America I had lit while waiting in line.

As soon as I had finished my lunch I made my way back outside for the big announcement.  This was the moment that everyone had been waiting for; the “giveaway”.  After a year long tour the lovely “Lady Liberty” would finally be awarded to one lucky semi-finalist.  I finally made my way out the door when I heard Cigar Dave announce that Keith Henninger was the lucky winner of the bike.  A fitting ending to a great contest.  I say this because I remember Keith being interviewed earlier in the day by the film crew from Sucker Punch Sallys and actually tearing up a couple of times.  I didn’t have the opportunity to meet all of the semi-finalists, but after meeting Keith I can safely say that the prize was well deserved.  Congratulations Keith and thanks to everyone at CAO for a wonderful day.

Thanks to Jerry for giving some great advice to the new guy in the blog world and for the beautiful La Palina, and thanks to David for hanging throughout the day and coming out to UPtown’s with the Nashville Cigar Club crew afterwards.  It was a true pleasure hanging with you guys yesterday and I look forward to doing it again.

For David’s view point on all the festivities check out his article at Tiki Bar Online.  Some of my pictures didn’t turn out so well, but thankfully David took lots of pictures that did turn out which you can view on his Facebook page.  As for Jerry’s take, there was no post available when I published my article (I’m sure he was still on the plane) so keep checking on Stogie Review for Jerry’s video documenting the event.

Photo of “Lady Liberty” courtesy of David and Tiki Bar Online.

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 Richmond, VA—On July 14, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of General Cigar in the latest round of litigation in the Cohiba® trademark case, affirming that General Cigar is the rightful owner of the Cohiba trademark in the U.S.  

According to Dan Carr, chief operating officer of General Cigar, “The Second Circuit court’s ruling upholds what we have always believed since we first filed a U.S. application to register the COHIBA trademark in 1978:  that General Cigar is the rightful owner of Cohiba in the U.S. We continue to remain confident that our exclusive right to the Cohiba cigar brand in the U.S. will be upheld even if Cubatabaco attempts further legal efforts to challenge these rights.”   

The appeals court concluded that Cuban-government-owned Cubatabaco’s argument that a change in a law justified re-opening this case was “without merit” and restored the U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling in 2005 in favor of General Cigar over Cubatabaco. 

In various court opinions beginning in late 2008 and into early 2010, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that there were changes to New York State Unfair Competition law that provided Cubatabaco the basis to re-open this case. Yesterday’s Appeals Court decision overturned the lower court’s rulings.  

Cubatabaco first filed suit against General Cigar in 1997, claiming rights to the Cohiba name in the United States under U.S. law, although Cubatabaco had failed to take any legal action against General Cigar for nearly 20 years. 

About General Cigar

General Cigar Co. Inc. manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar also produces Macanudo®, Cohiba®, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur®, La Gloria Cubana and several other leading premium brands. In addition, the company grows its own premium Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco, as well as natural and candela wrapper in the Dominican Republic. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com. 

®  Cohiba, Macanudo, Punch, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, La Gloria Cubana, Excalibur and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co. Inc.

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• Cigar – Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series
• Filler – Dominican, Nicaraguan
• Binder – Connecticut Habano
• Wrapper – Cameroon
• Price – $9.95
• Shape – Majestuoso/Corona Gorda (6 x 46)

So I know it’s been a while since we’ve posted any new content and for that I apologize.  Today I’m posting a long overdue review of the Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series Majestuoso.  When this cigar debuted I was a little hesitant to give it a try based on previous experiences I’d had with other Dominican Partagas cigars.  However, after much persuasion from a fellow BOTL I decided to give in and give them a go, and man am I glad I did.

In 2009 Benji Menendez celebrated his 57th year in the cigar industry.  In the same year he introduced the eponymous, Master Series which he crafted to pay homage to the Cifuentes family.  This is a limited edition offering of only 5,000 boxes of 20 cigars.  For those that aren’t aware, Mr. Menendez has worked with some of the largest names in the cigar business and has blended and/or been responsible for some true gems and this cigar is certainly no exception.

The cigar has a beautiful chocolate brown Cameroon wrapper that sports a few fine veins and a some tooth.  It’s a little rough to the touch which I find a lot with Cameroon wrapper tobacco.  The seams on the wrapper and cap are nearly invisible.  It’s firm to the touch and is very well packed with no soft spots.  Honestly, the four cigars I sampled for this review were near perfect on the construction checklist.

Prelight the cigar offered up a variety of aromas consisting of earth, cocoa, cedar, and a slight spice at the foot.  The prelight draw was effortless and offered up the same peppery spice along with cedar and cocoa.  To be honest the amount of spice caught me a little off guard at first as it was completely unexpected, but it was really nice along side the cocoa notes.

After lighting the cigar produced large amounts of smoke that coated the palate with a wide array of flavors.  The first third offered up a lot of peppery spice, especially on the retrohale.  Following the pepper were notes of cedar mingled with the cocoa and coffee, finishing with a nice woodsy tone.  Even with all of these flavors swirling around the cigar maintained a very nice balance.  The burn was absolutely spot on perfect with a very nice gray ash.  The ash only held for an inch or so before I noticed it leaning ever so slightly, so I quickly tapped it off to avoid a lap full of hot ash.

The peppery spice continued into the second third along with the cedar and cocoa notes.  I did pick up some coffee notes midway into the second third, which melded nicely with the cocoa and cedar.  The cigar did maintain the same nice balance and was still burning perfectly with a nice gray ash that held on for a little longer than it did at first.

Into the final third the cigar was still burning perfectly, it was cool throughout, never once hot.  The peppery spice was there until the final puff along with coffee and slight cocoa notes that took a backseat to the predominant woodsy/cedar notes.  The finish was still very smooth and the flavor maintained the same great balance all the way to the nub.

Overall, I really enjoy this cigar and would recommend it to anyone without hesitation.  I’ve actually purchased close to two boxes of these cigars to date and will continue to do so until they are long gone from my local B&M.  To borrow a quote from Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 Cigars of the Year edition, “this just might be the best Dominican Partagas I’ve ever smoked.”  Based on the balance of flavors and the box worthiness the cigar earns a whopping 9.5 out of 10.

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