Brand Name	Shape	Size	Strength	Country	Panel Rating
Avo #9	Robusto	4.75 x 48	5.5	Dominican	93
Bohemian Corojo Ginsburg	Toro	6 x 50	7.0	Dominican	92
Cusano Exclusivo C25	Perfecto	6.1 x 54	6.5	Dominican	90
Free Cuba	Churchill	7.25 x 50	6.5	Dominican	90
Petrus Etiquette Royal Maduro	Robusto	5 x 50	8.0	Dominican	93

Avo #9 Robusto

Prepare yourself for the perfectly balanced marriage of five different tobaccos that has made Avo one of the most exalted brands on the world market. The Avo line—introduced in 1987—is the result of a collaboration between some of the great cigar masters and a composer, Avo Uvezian (probably best known for writing “Strangers in the Night”). Born in 1926 the son of a family of musicians in Beirut, Avo Uvezian dreamed of becoming a great musician. Avo devoted himself to the piano, eventually studying at the famous Julliard School of Music in New York City. Avo had realized his dream—he had established his career as a musician. In the early 1980s Avo opened a restaurant and piano bar in Puerto Rico and discovered his love for cigars. Around1982 he met the master cigar maker Hendrik Kelner in the Dominican Republic and within six years the first AVO was sold in New York.

Creating fine cigars is not unlike musical composition—talent, passion and expertise that must come together to create something that will last through the ages. And like the well-known tunes that live on beyond their composer’s passing, a great cigar line will endure long beyond its makers. Avo is just such a line—destined to be around for many years to come. Kelner and Uvezian started with 100,000 cigars in their first year of operation in 1988 a number that rose sharply to 750,000 in 1991. Today they sell over 2.5 million a year!

These beauts are constructed from the very finest premium leaves, including a silky Connecticut shade wrapper and Dominican binder and filler leaves. You can’t miss the excellent construction—well rolled and perfectly dense. Expect a medium-bodied cigar with some spice to it. This spice is gently tamed by a soft creaminess, making this a fairly complex smoke with a bit of bite, yet with the feel of a more mild smoke. Try it with Puerto Rican Anejo Rum.

Bohemian Corojo Ginsburg Toro

Now this is a rare treat indeed! The Bohemian Red Corojo is a tasty blend of Dominican, Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers wrapped with a Dominican Ligero binder and a Brazilian Corojo wrapper. The reason it is so rare is that the wrapper is true “first seed” Corojo—not a hybrid like many others (you can tell by the color, texture, and thickness of the wrapper). Most so-called Corojo's are Corojo/Sumatran hybrids bred to make the plants more stable and more resistant to disease, particularly the devastating Blue Mold, an airborne pathogen that kills entire tobacco crops and forces farmers to plow entire harvests to the ground because it is otherwise impossible to contain.

Corojo is a much sought after leaf; it has its origins in pre-Castro Cuba, beginning with seeds planted in Vuelta Abajo, Cuba at a farm named Corojo by Daniel Rodriguez. At one point, it became the standard wrapper for Cuba’s legendary cigar brands. But Corojo is no longer planted in Cuba due to its high susceptibility to Blue Mold. These days, Corojo hybrids are grown in Ecuador and Honduras with very few plantations growing true, honest to goodness first seed, non-hybridized Corojo. Jose Dominguez's Victor Sinclair factory in the Dominican Republic pulled out all the stops when they made this gem. Your eyes will naturally be drawn to the unique appearance of this cigar—pigtails at the cap and untrimmed at the foot. We found it medium-to-full-bodied, providing tons of rich tobacco flavor. Look for an easy draw with an interesting, spicy, pleasing aroma. Its flavor offers some spiciness which is complemented by a wonderful cedar flavor. Partner it up with your favorite single malt scotch.

Cusano Exclusivo C25 Perfecto

“Fascinating” was the way a couple of our panel members chose to describe this remarkable cigar, which was created by Davidoff as a special anniversary blend commemorating their 50th year of selling cigars in China. Part of the intrigue lies in the fact that Davidoff cigars, including the popular Cusano line, are generally regarded as being on the milder side. But this cigar is quite full-bodied. Yet it is so remarkably smooth and creamy that you actually get the peculiar sensation that you are sipping the flavors off of the cigar!

The Xclusivo is the premier line from Cusano made by Hendrik Kelner in the Dominican Republic (a fellow who gets around in the cigar world—he was mentioned in our Avo #9 write up above), everything about the Xclusivo is special. From the choice wrappers and exquisite construction, to the very rare filler leaf that stimulates the taste buds on the side of your tongue and actually makes your mouth water! To sweeten the deal, they use a hybrid Cuban/Connecticut Shade wrapper (same as that found on the Cuban Sancho Panza line) which they’ve double-fermented to leathery perfection. This wrapper has a true dual nature—it is strong and smooth. The wrapper’s strength comes from its Cuban pedigree and its smooth creaminess from its Connecticut Shade side; both elements are blended together to disguise its power under a cool, smooth, literally mouth-watering smoke!

Note a gorgeous oily leaf and a beautiful build, we loved this cigar, and we know you will too! Highly praised by the cigar critics too, SMOKE magazine says: "Very reminiscent of a Cuban cigar… Lots of flavorful smoke up front with excellent character and a big finish… excellent construction and big, big taste without the big, big bite…”

Free Cuba Churchill

“Free Cuba!” A phrase you might not hear very often on the streets of Cuba, but a sentiment shared by many who live there. The call for the return of Cuba to its citizens is one we can hear echoing through the Cibao Valley of the Dominican Republic and uttered in cigar-smoke filled downtown bars where cigar masters gather and discuss their lingering discontentedness surrounding their flight from their homeland. Not surprisingly, the “Free Cuba” sentiment is popular in the Dominican Republic, which helps explain the origins of our 4th featured cigar this month—Free Cuba.

Formerly produced by the makers of Signature Collection by Santiago Cabana, Havana Classico, Calle Ocho, Morro Castle, Domino Park, West Indies Vanilla, Island Amaretto, Celestino Vega, Regalos, and Rum Runner, the Free Cuba Robusto was first introduced in 1996 by the Caribbean Cigar Company. In 1998, they focused their marketing efforts on four of their premium brands, Free Cuba included. And during the cigar boom, the old-fashioned quality construction helped propel Free Cuba to tremendous success. Unfortunately, a shortage of quality wrappers and the financial problems of the manufacturer caused the brand to be pulled from the market, and until very recently, it has been seen only scarcely. But it’s back now baby, and how! Today Free Cuba is still made handmade in the Dominican Republic, but by a new manufacturer. The able hands of cigar maestro Jochy Blanco have made this smoke even better than ever. Thanks to his use of a Java wrapper and blended filler, Free Cuba lives up to its fiery name with premium flavor. Note the attractive Indonesian wrapper, medium-brown and perfectly oily. It conceals a combination of Habano seed and Dominican Piloto Cubano long filler, as well as some choice tobaccos from Nicaragua. It is a medium-to-full-bodied smoke with hints of cocoa and sweet spice flavors on the palate with a sweet wood finish. Quite nice when paired with a full-bodied Merlot.

Petrus Etiquette Royal Maduro Robusto

The Petrus Royal Maduro is a smart, espresso-black maduro that is absolutely loaded with flavor. Created by Felipe Gregorio to “fill demand from smokers and tobacconists for an extremely dark Maduro wrapper,” this new, delicious addition to the popular Petrus line brings home the bacon! Ah, how things have changed… the Petrus line, created by our good buddy Philip Wynne of Felipe Gregorio cigars (at least, we like to think he’s a good buddy of ours—we feature his smokes all the time!) was pretty much a failure when first released in the states back in 1989. Because Philip grew up in an area where Cuban cigars were legal (Switzerland), when he decided to get into the cigar business, he wanted to produce cigars evocative of the many Cuban brands he grew up with—in other words: strong! The cigar industry in the states in those days was really in its infancy, with many American cigar seekers less than comfortable with fuller-bodied cigars. As such, Petrus did not sell well in the States (though it did quite nicely in Europe and the Middle East where palates were accustomed to higher intensity smokes). As the U.S. cigar boom came, demand for cigars went way up, and cigar smokers developed more sophisticated palates. Eventually, Philip recognized that it could be time for Petrus to be reborn. It was re-released in 2000 with a blend of aged Dominican Piloto Cubana and Brazilian Mata Fina tobaccos wrapped up with a beautiful dark Cameroon wrapper. There are now multiple sub lines in the Petrus catalog, illustrating how far this line has come since its rocky beginnings.

We love Maduros here, and strive to get at least one in every month’s line up. This one is about as picture-perfect as they come. Note the deep, dark, chocolaty-brown Oscuro wrapper, bound to its powerful San Victor Piloto Cubano all long-leaf filler by a Dominican Piloto Cubano binder. These cigars are made with tobaccos that have been carefully aging since 2000. They’ve got plenty of age on them, and the years of mellowing of this powerful tobacco has resulted in a depth of character and complexity of flavor that is tough to match. Look for rich spices with a real bite, with notes of toasted caramel and leathery tones. This well-balanced and forceful smoke burns slow and smokes cool. Enjoy with a spiced robust porter or Imperial Stout.

ASK MURL

Dear Murl,

I am totally new to this cigar smoking thing and at times I am confused by terms in the Premium Cigar of the Month Club newsletters. Now, I’m full of questions, but I don’t want to monopolize your time, so I’ll just fire off my most pressing: How does long filler differ from short filler?

Thanks pal!

Danny Clemens
Nashville, TN

Yo D.C.!

Oh Danny my boy, it sounds like you have a lot to learn, but hey, we were all there at one point. Considering the fact that you restricted yourself to a brief and reasonable question, and that you clearly recognize how valuable my time is, I’m inclined to help you out.

You see Dan T. Man, Cigars are made with a number of tobacco components, the majority of which runs through the center and makes up the bulk of what you are smoking—the filler. Take a look down the foot of your cigar (the end you light)—what you’re seeing is almost entirely the filler tobacco—it’s the bunch of tobacco that runs through the center of your cigar. As you have pointed out, there are two types of filler, long and short. Long filler means that the leaves are complete, not chopped up, and run from the head to the foot of the cigar. Short filler is comprised of scraps of tobacco—often the trimmed ends of long fillers used in other cigars (in other words, the leftovers). A premium cigar may contain two, three or even four leaves of filler tobacco that are bunched together within the cigar. This is typically a difficult thing to do, requiring experienced and able hands—thus, the distinction “hand made” carries real meaning in the cigar making business (since you are new Danny, I’m going to omit my typical double-entendre word play here, but I want you to realize that it pains me to let the phrase “experienced and able hands” slip by without making ‘better’ use of them). The vast majority of machine-made cigars use short filler tobacco—chopped up shreds of leaf. Short filler burns quicker and hotter than long filler and generally makes for a less pleasing smoking experience.

Stick with it kid, you’ll learn. And remember, I’m always… well, almost always, here to help. Sometimes I’ll just insult you, but hey, I gotta try to keep this column entertaining. Plus, the female pooches go crazy for the wise guys, and I got a rep to maintain.

Woof!
Murl

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For Members Only

Original & Super Grab Bags!

That's right babies, help us put a little bit of our humidor into your humidor at insanely cheap prices! We've got some extra smokes that need a caring home to take them in so check it out! Choose between:

Discounted Box Re-Orders!

Members can take advantage of our volume purchasing and re-order their favorite cigars in box quantities at just over our wholesale costs. Re-order any selection featured in the box quantities listed below or order them in convenient 5 paks! Other cigar shapes and sizes not actually featured, but from a featured brand line may also be re-ordered. Call for pricing.

Featured Cigar	Box Quantity	Box Cost	5 Pack Cost
A. Avo # 9 Robusto	25	$115.50	$28
B. Bohemian Corojo Gunsburt Toro	15	$60.50	$25
C. Cusano Exclusivo C25 Perfecto	20	$85.50	$26
D. Free Cuba Churchill	25	$67.50	$19
E. Petrus Etiquette Royal Maduro Robusto	20	$72.50	$23

Please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery and add $7.95 for S&H for your first box and $3.00 for each additional box or grab bag. S&H for 5-packs is $4.95 and $1.50 for each additional 5-pak. All reorders are sent Priority mail unless otherwise requested. CA residents please add 7.75 % Sales Tax. S&H for International re-orders must be calculated on an individual basis. Prices are subject to change.