Richmond, VA— Wayne Newton will join representatives of the USO Las Vegas in accepting a $20,000 donation from General Cigar on behalf of the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) on Monday, July 18 at 2:00 PM at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in the Venetian Hotel.

General Cigar and the IPCPR are making the donation to support the “$1K a Day” campaign created to help fund the USO Las Vegas facility in McCarran Airport. Doug Bradford, center director of USO Las Vegas says it takes about $900 a day to operate the facility, which has been visited by more than 17,000 people with military ties since its opening last Veteran’s Day.

The “$1K a Day” campaign is the perfect way for businesses and individuals to show their support for our nation’s armed forces,” said Bradford. “The importance of letting our men and women in the military know that we do not take for granted what they do for our country, every day, cannot be stressed enough.”

“Entertaining the men and women of our armed forces overseas has been one of the highlights of my life,” said entertainer and USO tour veteran Wayne Newton. “I have been associated with the USO for decades and am honored to join the organization in accepting General Cigar and the IPCPR’s generous donation which will go a long way in helping fund the USO’s new Las Vegas center.”

General Cigar and the IPCPR will be in Las Vegas for the 79th annual IPCPR tradeshow which brings premium cigar manufacturers and retailers together to celebrate the industry and debut new products.

“We chose to represent the premium cigar category by contributing to the USO because we value the organization’s heritage and long-term commitment to supporting members of the U.S. Armed Forces bravely serving our country all over the world,” said Dan Carr president of General Cigar. “We are honored to assist the USO in enhancing their presence in the city of Las Vegas which has graciously welcomed the IPCPR tradeshow for many years.”

The USO has more than 160 locations worldwide that serve as a home away from home for our military. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the organization and its mission to lift the spirits of America’s troops and their families.

General Cigar’s commitment to supporting the USO stems from its comprehensive corporate citizenship program which is underwritten solely by the company. Since 1992, General Cigar has actively provided agricultural, environmental and educational support in the Dominican Republic and Honduras, where its premium cigars are handcrafted.

About General Cigar
General Cigar Co. Inc., a division of Scandinavian Tobacco Group, manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar’s skilled artisans produce Macanudo®, Cohiba®, La Gloria Cubana®, Punch®, CAO, Partagas®, Hoyo de Monterrey®, Excalibur® and several other leading premium brands in the company’s Dominican, Honduran and Nicaraguan factories. In addition, the company cultivates proprietary tobacco which is used exclusively in its blends. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide and also exports select products to 62 countries. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

About the IPCPR
With more than 2,000 members throughout the U.S. and 31 foreign countries, the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association is the leading non-profit industry organization representing retailers, manufacturers and distributors of hand-made cigars, pipes and accessories. Stores displaying the IPCPR logo are recognized as premier purveyors of premium tobacco products. Members of IPCPR have access to IPCPR market research, trade shows, services, publications, and participation in community, constitutional and legislative action programs.

About USO
The USO (United Service Organizations) lifts the spirits of America’s troops and their families millions of times each year at hundreds of places worldwide. We provide a touch of home through centers at airports and military bases, top quality entertainment and innovative programs and services. We also provide critical support to those who need us most, including forward-deployed troops and their families, wounded warriors and their families and the families of the fallen.

The USO is a private, non-profit organization, not a government agency. We rely on the generosity of our volunteers and donors. In addition to individual donors and other corporate sponsors, the USO is supported by Worldwide Strategic Partners: American Airlines, AT&T Inc., BAE Systems, The Boeing Company, Clear Channel Communications, The Coca-Cola Company, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Procter & Gamble and TriWest Healthcare Alliance. We are also supported through the United Way and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-11381). To join us in this patriotic mission and to learn more about the USO, please visit www.uso.org.

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

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By J. Glynn Loope, Executive Director
Cigar Rights of America

The cause of liberty just took a step forward, as the City Council for Galveston, Texas voted 4-3 to roll back the city’s draconian smoking ban. Galveston joins a growing list of communities and states (and even countries…”thank you Netherlands!”) which are amending existing smoking laws, in response to voter backlash, economic demand, and political pressure.

The ordinance had only been on the books since January 1, 2010. Cigar Rights of America first noted the situation in Galveston during its seminar to the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association meeting in August of 2009. We highlighted through a video feed the absolute absurdity of the City Council’s deliberations over the proposed ordinance, and the lack of thought that went into the original policy. It banned smoking across the board in tobacco shops, bars, restaurants, and made outdoor smoking virtually impossible.

In February a coalition of bars and restaurants filed suit against the city and city council over the smoking ban, claiming that the ban adversely affected their property values, while also stating that the ban did not comply with state law by failing to conduct a ‘takings analysis’ before enacting such a rule. A truly outstanding action.

The new policy creates a category for smoking in “adult venues,” which in this context simply means no one under the age of 18 is allowed. The new ordinance also reverses the ban on smoking in private clubs, fraternal organizations, and outdoor seating areas, by allowing smoking within five feet of a building, instead of the original fifteen feet. The new policy also allows for on-premises alcohol consumption in retail tobacco shops. A truly great measure that is a victory for small business in Galveston, and a model ordinance for others across America.

Read the rest here…

This is evidence of the good that CRA does for the cigar smoking community. If you’re not a member, you should be.

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HAVANA – Cuban tobacco grower Alejandro Robaina, an international symbol of the island’s cigar-making prowess, died Saturday. He was 91.Cuban state television announced his death, and the state tobacco concern Habanos SA, which produces the Robaina brand cigar, said on its website that he was the “victim of a somber illness.”

The only Cuban grower with a cigar brand named after him, Robaina traveled for decades as an unofficial global ambassador for the island’s stogies. Into his final days, he could be found smoking cigars in a rocking chair on his front port in San Luis, in westernmost Pinar de Rio Province.

He worked the fields in Vuelta Abajo, Cuba’s most-famous cigar-growing region, where Habanos — a joint venture between the communist government and Britain’s Imperial Tobacco Group PLC — produced Robainas.Born in the town of Alquizar on March 20, 1919, Robaina began working his family’s fields from the time he was 10. He remained in Cuba when that land was nationalized after the revolution that toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista and brought Fidel Castro to power on New Year’s Day 1959.

Robaina became famous for the top-quality tobacco he helped produce and was honored numerous times by the Castro government.

“He left an indelible mark on the history of Cuban tobacco,” Havana’s Radio Reloj reported.

There was no immediate word on funeral arrangements.

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Havana, Cuba (CNN) — Faced with a two-year slump in sales, Cuban cigar makers have unveiled a new weapon in the hunt for consumers: Julieta, a slim smoke made just for her.

The global recession, combined with anti-smoking laws, have put the squeeze on Cuba’s hand-rolled stogies, one of the quintessential symbols of privilege.

International sales fell 8 percent in 2009 to $360 million following a 3 percent drop in 2008, according to Habanos S.A., a joint venture between Cuba and Britain’s Imperial Tobacco Group.

Read more…

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KOLKATA: The next time you crave for a cigar, you needn’t a splurge Rs 2,000 on a Havana. ITC, the country’s largest cigarette maker, will soon
offer premium handrolled cigars at less than half the price.

The $6-billion cigarettes-to-hotels conglomerate has teamed up with La Aurora, one of the oldest cigar makers run by the Leon Jimenes family of Santiago in the Dominican Republic, to unveil a mint-fresh line of premium handrolled cigars, a person close to the matter said.

The cigars will be rolled out under the Armenteros brand and be manufactured at La Aurora unit in the Caribbean.
“Their blending expertise is unique and is likely to give this new offering a differentiated positioning,” said the person requesting anonymity.

An ITC spokesperson confirmed the development, but did not share details.

The development makes ITC the first Indian company to enter the Rs 30-crore fledgling cigar business in the country.
The Armenteros brand of cigars will jostle with imported varieties including Romeo Y Juliata, Monte Christo, Partagas, Cohiba and Davidoff.

“Though cigars as a category is still at a nascent stage, the segment is now seeing an upsurge in demand with a new section of upwardly mobile Indian consumers exploring cigars as a category,” a person involved in cigar trade said.
Although La Aurora will manufacture them, the Armenteros cigars will be customised to ITC’s specifications and adhere to its stringent quality standards.

“The range of Armenteros handrolled cigars portfolio reflects ITC’s unparalleled tobacco lineage,” said the person quoted first.

Makers of Gold Flake, Classic and Navy Cut brands, ITC dominates the country’s cigarette market with more than 80% share.

Trade sources close to the development said ITC is uniquely positioned to develop a cigar portfolio for the Indian connoisseur as the company has decades of experience in the tobacco business.

The Armenteros cigars, which will be available in myriad shapes and sizes, will be priced between Rs 450 and Rs 900 a stick and available exclusively at tobacco selling outlets, at select hotels, fine-dining restaurants and exclusive clubs.

The portfolio will be available in eight different packs comprising 3, 5 and 10 cigars.

ITC plans to launch its cigars in Delhi NCR and Mumbai that together account for a major share of the Indian cigar market. Subsequently, it will introduce the brand in other metros as well.

They attribute the fascination to increasing disposable incomes and exposure to global lifestyle, driving expenditure growth rates of 20% per annum in this category.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Tobacco/ITC-bites-into-cigar-biz-ties-up-with-La-Aurora/articleshow/5744628.cms

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CLASICO® MAKES ITS DEBUT
New Brand to Deliver Exceptional Value and Craftsmanship

MIAMI – Berger & Argenti Premium Cigars today announced that CLASICO®, a boldly crafted new cigar blend created by the unique collaboration of Enrique Berger and Michael Argenti, is now available at fine tobacconists throughout the U.S.

CLASICO® is comprised of meticulously blended bold and deeply aged Nicaraguan filler tobaccos cultivated at Tabacalera Esteli, its rich farmland widely considered by cigar makers as among the finest in Nicaragua for filler tobaccos. The Cuban seed Nicaraguan fillers are sheathed in a sumptuous Nicaraguan Corojo binder and skillfully enveloped in a stalk-cut, molasses-colored Ecuadorian Connecticut seed ‘Desflorado’ wrapper; exhibiting a well-balanced, full-bodied character bursting with a confluence of sweet and spicy flavors. CLASICO® offers exceptional value through its impeccable craftsmanship: the new brand is hecho a mano totalmente – completely crafted by hand – without aid of any mechanical devices and fashioned with a mounted, triple cap at the head of each cigar.

CLASICO® is available in four exquisite sizes: ‘Corona Gorda’ (4 ½”x 46); ‘Rothschild’ (5” x 50); ‘Belicoso (5 ¾” x 50); and ‘Churchill’ (7” x 50). Twenty (20) CLASICO® cigars are thoughtfully presented in unpretentiously elegant Spanish cedar boxes with a suggested retail price ranging from $4.50 to $7.50 per cigar, offering exceptional value and affordability.

“For many years, Michael and I have discussed creating a fuller bodied, ‘Cubanesque’ cigar brand of the highest integrity in terms of materials and craftsmanship at a widely affordable price,” stated Enrique Berger of Berger & Argenti Premium Cigars. “I’m proud to say that CLASICO® is that brand. It is a wonderful blend of deeply aged, exceptional tobaccos that is robust, complex and flavorful. I am truly proud to associate my name with the CLASICO® brand.”

“CLASICO® is in a league of its own, it is the epitome of superior value,” stated Michael Argenti, president of Berger & Argenti Premium Cigars. “From its rich tobaccos to its exacting craftsmanship and bold, complex flavor, this brand represents our vision of delivering satisfaction and value to even the most discriminating cigar enthusiasts.”

Berger & Argenti Premium Cigars is a privately-held company headquartered in Miami, Florida with agricultural and production facilities in Esteli, Nicaragua. The company serves as the exclusive manufacturer, importer and distributor of world-class, super-premium cigar brands including ENTUBAR®, CLASICO®, EXILE®, EXILE® Wired and Rodrigo de Xerez®.

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ARTESANOS DE TABAQUEROS

Richmond, VA—General Cigar is pleased to introduce Artesanos de Tabaqueros®, the second edition in the critically-acclaimed Artesanos series from La Gloria Cubana®.

Created to showcase the artistry of La Gloria Cubana “tabaqueros” (artisan cigar makers), Artesanos de Tabaqueros cigars are a stunning embodiment of the time-honored craft of cigar making. So exacting is the skill required to handcraft cigars of this complexity that Benji Menendez personally selected an elite group of just 18 master cigar makers, representing the cream of the crop from El Credito Cigar Factory in the Dominican Republic.

According to Debo Mukherjee, vice president of marketing for General Cigar, parent company of Artesanos de Tabaqueros, “This exciting collection represents the brain trust that is Team La Gloria Cubana. They pooled their collective talents to showcase the best that General Cigar has to offer: aged and proprietary tobacco, passionate and talented cigar makers and an unwavering commitment to innovation. It is with pleasure that I commend Benji Menendez, Michael Giannini, Yuri Guillen and Rick Rodriguez on yet another exciting addition to our portfolio of brands.”

Meticulously crafted to combine two different wrappers and two distinct tastes in one eye-catching cigar, Artesanos de Tabaqueros is a world-class smoke that opens to a rich and intriguing spice and ultimately reveals a depth of flavor that can only be achieved through a precise balance of unique and rare tobaccos. Hand selected from General Cigar’s extensive library of Dominican and Honduran tobaccos, the cigars are dressed in both a supple Connecticut Shade and hearty Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper. The blend is made solely of proprietary tobaccos, each aged five years or more.

Presented with two different wood treatments to promote the unique tastes promised in each cigar, Artesanos de Tabaqueros cigars are protected in boxes of 25. The collection will debut in early April with three frontmarks, each named to according to its dimensions: 650 (6” x 50, SRP per cigar is $8.00), 652 Belicoso (6” x 52, SRP per cigar is $9.50) and 750 (7” x 50, SRP per cigar is $9.00).

“To truly experience this gem of a cigar is to smoke it and taste the masterful artisanship that comes to life when one wrapper ends and the other begins in balance and harmony,” noted Michael Giannini, director of marketing for La Gloria Cubana.

About General Cigar
Artesanos de Tabaqueros are produced by General Cigar Co. Inc., which 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.

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

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TACOMA, Wash. —

He’s an outlaw who endangers the public health.

Or he’s a lone voice defending the right of consenting adults to privately enjoy the occasional fine cigar.

Either way, he has been served.

The Tacoma Pierce County Health Department on Monday hand-delivered a notice to Paul Mackay, the owner of Tacoma’s upscale El Gaucho, ordering that he no longer allow smoking in the VIP Lounge of his Pacific Avenue restaurant.

Mackay reopened the room in mid-February, after spending $15,000 on renovations. It had been built as a cigar lounge at an original cost of $100,000, and it closed in 2005 after a state law banned smoking in public places. A month ago, Mackay said he believed his VIP Lounge met all criteria in the law.

The health agency disagrees.

“We took a look at their facilities, and they’re clearly in violation,” said Joby Winans, the department’s public information officer, on Tuesday.

The “notice of violation,” she said, allows El Gaucho five business days to stop allowing patrons to smoke on the premises.

Two particular violations are the thrust of the order, she said. First, she said, employees of El Gaucho serve drinks and food in the lounge. Also, the public is allowed to smoke in the lounge.

Both acts are prohibited by the law – RCW 70.160 – that was enacted after an initiative campaign to ban smoking in public places.

After an appropriate warning, the statute allows a fine of $100 for every day smokers violate the law. Mackay denies the law is being broken.

Last month, he said that he had contacted his attorneys and asked them to find a way for the restaurant to both to follow the law and allow patrons to smoke cigars.

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“Here we are trying to stay alive, and they keep dumping new rules, regulations and taxes on us. I looked at it; we rolled over, and it’s not that strong of a law,” he said. “There is a crack that goes right through it. We ended up with attorneys, structured a walk through the maze of the law, found that crack and wove through it.”

Mackay said this week that no employees serve customers in the lounge and that those customers are invited guests, not members of the public.

“We don’t have employees there,” he said. “We have three people who own the business.”

The invited VIPs, he said, are “people who eat dinner with us.”

“If everybody rolls over every time somebody lays on them, the bureaucrats will take care of everything,” he said this week.

He emphasized that he will fight the violation and any subsequent orders.

“If they can prove to me I’m wrong, I’m wrong. If they can’t, I’m right,” he said.

Mackay said customers at the lounge- where cigars, food and beverages are sold – were happy when the lounge reopened.

“They love it,” he said. “They love sitting there and conversing with each other and smoking a cigar. It’s a nice thing we’re doing for the community. We’re taking those guys who smoke cigars at home away from the house. We’re doing it for the children.”

Winans said the health department learned about the alleged violation in a newspaper report.

Since 2005, when the anti-smoking law went into effect, the department has received about 500 complaints about smoking in public, she said.

Most of the complaints focused on people smoking within 25 feet of a doorway, she said.

She was aware of no facility, such as a restaurant or bar, that since 2005 has legally allowed smokers to smoke within public facilities in Pierce County.

At least one other facility in the state – Frankie’s Sports Bar in Olympia – allows customers to smoke.

According to Art Starry, environmental health division director for Thurston County Public Health and Social Service, Frankie’s established a well-ventilated private club on the second floor of its facility. Food and beverages in the club are served by volunteers rather than employees.

“They were able to show us how they could meet the law,” Starry said Tuesday. “They were able to provide documentation. It met the letter of the law.”

Based on the documentation, he said, his agency “will not take action.”

Frankie’s has been operating with smokers since July 2008.

In Pierce County, however, the battle has only just been joined.

“We are assuming they will respond, and then we’ll take a look at however they respond. We’ll do an assessment,” said Winans, of the county health department.

“We’re trying to make sure people are healthy,” she said. “That means if they have employees, or the public is allowed, we’re going to follow up on that act.

“We’re concerned about the public health. The public said to us, to public health departments, you’re the ones who need to carry out this law. We took a look at their facilities, and they’re clearly in violation. They have five working days to respond.”

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011426388_apwacigarlounge.html

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SOMERSET COUNTY — Somerset County’s Park Commission rejected a plan to continue the sale of cigars on their public golf courses this week after a proposal to do so created a maelstrom of controversy among elected officials who contended the plan would be the tacit promotion of tobacco products by the government.

Ray Brown, secretary director of the Park Commission, said the addition of humidors and cigars at the county’s five public courses — Green Knoll, Quail Brook, Spooky Brook, Warrenbrook and Neshanic Valley — would not only be a convenience for golfers but could be a financial windfall. He said the sale of cigars in the county, which was conducted up until 2007, previously brought in upwards of $15,000 of revenue annually.

“We had it years ago and we’ve had requests from the golfers ever since we’ve stopped selling,” Brown said.

Somerset County Freeholder Director Jack Ciattarelli, Raritan Councilwoman Maureen Wilson and Franklin Councilman Phil Kramer assailed the plan when it was first floated earlier this month and were joined by 13 Democrats from municipalities around the county ahead of the Park Commission regular meeting Thursday.

“It is beyond reason that a governing body would seek to profit from the sale of such a product, and a betrayal of the public trust,” Wilson and Kramer said in a joint statement.

The practice is fairly uncommon at other county run golf courses in the state. Morris, Middlesex and Union counties all said they do not sell tobacco products on their courses, nor has such a plan ever been considered.

Hunterdon County does on its one course — Heron Glen — but Park Commission Director John Trontis said they only keep a single box and sell “two or three a month.”

“It’s not a big deal to us,” Trontis said. “We trust that the golfers would use their discretion. We certainly don’t condone smoking around children or even others though.”

The Somerset Park Commission decided to reject a single bid submitted to sell the cigars and place humidors in the course clubhouses Thursday and passed a resolution formalizing its position against tobacco sales, arguing it would send mixed signals to the public because the commission promotes healthy lifestyles.

Ciattarelli, who led the fight to halt the sale of tobacco by the county in 2007, praised the decision but said he was unhappy money drove the idea back to the forefront.

“I’m glad the park commissioners have given it second thought and paid seemingly greater attention to the public discourse,” he said. “I remain disappointed that one of the drivers of this seemed to be economics. If that was the case I can think of other ways they can make their operation more financially efficient.”

http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/03/no_sale_cigars_wont_be_sold_at.html

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The company will be run by the Plasencias, Nestor Sr. and Nestor Jr., who own an 80 percent share of the new company.

RICHMOND, Va., March 18, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Swedish Match AB announced today it has signed an agreement with the Plasencia Group (PG) to form a new tobacco growing/procurement operation for its Swedish Match International (SMI) cigar business. Swedish Match will acquire a 20% interest in the newly formed Caribbean Cigar Holdings. This follows the strategic goal of Swedish Match in developing its global cigar business to be best in class. The Plasencia Group will remain in charge of operations.

PG is a family owned tobacco growing and premium cigar production operation located in Honduras and Nicaragua. The company is highly regarded within the cigar industry for its leaf growing, processing, and cigar making expertise.

Swedish Match International manufactures and markets both premium and mass-market cigars primarily for the US market and machine-made cigars for the European and the International market, as well as pipe tobacco, matches and lighters in Continental Europe, Latin America, Australia and Asia.

The JV agreement provides Swedish Match International with additional tobacco expertise and increases the manufacturing flexibility of the SMI cigar business with Honduran and Nicaraguan-origin products.

SOURCE Swedish Match

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