Past Newsletters
Vol. 7 No. 7
Featured Cigar Dimensions
| Brand Name: | Shape | Size |
| A. Cifuentes Robusto | Rothchild | 4.75 x 49 |
| B. Cusano Hermano Vintage Perfecto Diablo | Perfecto | 5 x 52 |
| C. E. Trinidad By Sosa | Lonsdale | 6 3/4 x 43 |
| D. El Paraiso Grande | Giant | 8.5 x 52 |
| E. Plasencia Belicoso | Belicoso | 6.25 x 54 |
Featured Cigars
Long before Fidel Castro came into power in Cuba, Partagas cigars were crafted by hand in Havana under the direction of Ramon Cifuentes and his father. The last of the great cigar-makers to leave Cuba in the early 1960s, Ramon Cifuentes eventually discovered the ideal place to manufacture the Partagas line, Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Ramon Sr. first introduced the Cifuentes brand in Cuba in l876. In 1997, some 36 years after being exiled from Cuba, Ramon Jr. succeeded in recreating the Cifuentes cigar. And in tribute to his father, the portrait inside the Cifuentes cigar box is the same one that was used to introduce the brand over a century ago. The search for ways to recreate the Cifuentes cigar was a personal quest of Ramón's for several years. How could he echo the complex and subtle taste and character of a cigar that his father and he had crafted so very long ago exclusively with Cuban tobaccos? The answer came from three different worlds of tobacco.
For the blend, he began growing Piloto Cubano tobacco from the same seed that his father and he had used in Havana. Then, after having tried several different binders with indifferent success, he selected a Jember, one of the darkest, most supple binders in the world. And for the wrapper, he found that the best leaf for a Cifuentes cigar was Connecticut Shade.
We are please to bring you this extraordinary cigar. Limited to 150,000 cigars annually and aged for 2 full years before boxing, this dynamite brand was rated '90' by Cigar Aficionado and "Superior" by Rudman's. Enjoy!
Binder: Jember Piloto Cubano
Filler: Dominican Republic Piloto Cubano Olor
Wrapper: USA Connecticut Shade - Claro
Strength (Mild 1, Full 10): 6
Panel Rating: 93
Notes from the Panel:
If you like a good Partagas, you're gonna love Cifuentes! Hand-rolled in Jamaica, these rich, complex-tasting smokes are full of flavor and perfectly constructed. Note a gorgeous slightly oily Connecticut Shade wrapper encasing a firm and substantial cigar. It burned evenly to the very end and never needed relighting. The draw is a perfect as it gets. A solid, light grey ash indicates this cigar has been well-aged. We found this medium-to-full bodied smoke exceptionally smooth. Look for some spice, a hint of cocoa bean and even a bit of nuttiness in this complex smoke. We found the finish spicy. We loved this cigar and know you will too! Consider pairing it up with a full-bodied India Pale Ale.
Cusano Hermanos Vintage Perfecto Diablo
DomRey's Mike Chiusano went down to the Dominican Republic with the intention of producing a world-class cigar with classic flavor and the "punch" he felt was missing in other Dominican smokes. And that's exactly what he got. The Cusano Hermanos line has loads of character, good straightforward flavor, and enough strength to appeal to the connoisseur, without overpowering the palate. It's really all you could want in a cigar.
Twenty minutes north of Santiago on the road to Puerto Plata, is the Navarette region of the Dominican Republic. Within this major tobacco region is one of the secrets of Cusano Hermanos cigars: the DomRey plantation has grown tobacco for as long as anyone can remember and no chemical pesticides have ever been used.
When asked about the advantages of organically grown tobacco, Michael Chiusano, president of DomRey said, "Organically grown tobacco contains no chemical pesticide residue and is not infused with chemical fertilizer. While chemical fertilizer tends to enhance crop yield it can also cause the tobacco to retain less of the natural sweet flavor that our cigars are known for. Taste a Hermanos before you light it and you will understand the difference."
A rare blend of five tobaccos, two Dominican and two Cuban seed are combined to create what Smoke magazine called "a World Class Cigar." This line comes as highly praised as any we've featured. Cigar Weekly dubbed it "A New Classic". Cigar Aficionado's Cigar Insider ranked it in the "Top 50 brands in the World" and Smoke Magazine placed it in the "Top 20 Cuban-Like brands in the World!" You're gonna want more!
Binder: Dominican Republic Olor
Filler: 3 Dominican Tobaccos, Seco & Lighero
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Broadleaf - Maduro
Strength (Mild 1, Full 10): 8
Panel Rating: 96
Notes from the Panel:
In a word…WOW! We had the fortunate opportunity to speak with Michael Chiusano himself and let him describe for you what to look for in this smoke. His comments reflected our panel's review identically. "The Cusano Hermanos line is DomRey's flagship line. The one that put us on the map. It's first year out it was rated by Smoke as Highly recommended in the company of only two other smokes, Padron's Anniversario and Fonseca's Triangular. The cigar you're about to smoke is the same great cigar with 4.5 additional years of aging! Produced by Davidoff, it's no surprise that it's construction is perfect in every way. Note a perfect draw and lots of smoke volume. The wrapper is thick and oily and offers a very slow burn. You'll get tons of flavor without the bite, burn or any trace of harshness. This is a full bodied, mellow, incredibly smooth cigar. Pair it with Tawny Port or beefy brandy.
The Sosa family has been in the cigar industry since the early 1900's in Cuba. They began as tobacco growers and later transitioned into the manufacturing and distribution of premium hand rolled cigars. They began small at the turn of the century but by the 1920's, Santa Julia, their hacienda in the Las Villas region of Cuba, became known and respected for its superior quality products and the family moved its operation to the Dominican Republic.
Today the company, headed by master blender Juan B. Sosa, distributes six premium brands of cigars: Sosa, Sosa Family Selection, Macabi, El Imperio Cubano, E. Trinidad by Sosa, and Royal Honduras. The company also owns and operates a chain of cigar shops in the Miami area under the Macabi Shops name.
The E. Trinidad Reserve is a joint effort between the Sosa and Trinidad families. It's hand-rolled in the Little Havana section of Miami with a wrapper from Ecuador and long-filler from the DR and Nicaragua. After you light it up, you'll appreciate the vast experience brought together by these families to bring you this superb cigar.
Binder: Indo Dominican Republic Olor
Filler: Dominican Republic Nic Piloto Cubano
Wrapper: Ecuador - Colorado
Strength (Mild 1, Full 10): 7
Panel Rating: 91
Notes from the Panel:
Another fantastic cigar. We're pretty excited about the line up this month. Immediately note a wonderful dark brown, inviting Ecuadorian wrapper. We found the roll firm but offering an excellent draw and tons of smoke volume. Note a very pleasant aroma and even burn in this medium-to-full bodied smoke. It reminded several panel members of Arturo Fuente's Hemingway without the price tag. Like the Cusano Hermano, we found this smoke full, yet as mellow and smooth as they come. We got some spice and creaminess and smoked it to the nub! CA picked up "a Core of leather" which one has to assume is a good thing as they rated it an 88. Overall…Satisfaction with a capital "S". You're gonna love this cigar! Try pairing it with a full-bodied Merlot.
The proprietor of one of the world's largest cigars factories, Nestor Plasencia's road to success has been anything but smooth sailing. Like most Cuban exiles of the mid 1960s era, Nestor has sharp, bitter memories of the island's post-Revolution period. The Plasencia family had two large fincas dedicated to growing wrapper leaf in Cuba when, on October 3, 1962, at 6 am, they were confiscated by the Castro government. It took nearly three years to get permission to leave the country, and when they finally did, they were allowed to take only a few dollars and two changes of clothes. When the family arrived in Nicaragua, they had nothing except the reputation of Sixto Plasencia, Nestor's father, to rely upon. After rebuilding the business over a decade, the Sandinistas expropriated their properties in 1979, of which included 1,000 acres of prime agricultural land.
The 1980s put a stop to the Nicaraguan tobacco and cigar industries because there was blue mold in the fields, the U.S. imposed an embargo on the Sandinistas and the government was expropriating everything they could get their hands on anyway, so Nestor, rebuilt his business once more, this time based in Honduras.
Now, the 50-year-old Plasencia owns cigar operations that span two countries, with more than 4,500 employees producing 33 million premium hand-rolled cigars a year, all rolled from Cuban-seed tobacco. One of Plasencia's operations includes the El Paraiso factory, a small warehouse near the Nicaraguan border which was opened in 1994 to attract local workers that could not be persuaded to make the 12 mile trip to another nearby factory in Danli. The El Paraiso factory is home to 70 employees, all of which are either bunchers or rollers that work in one large room.
The Plasencia factories produce a number of varied cigar brands including, but not limited to, V Centennial, Thomas Hinds, La Finca, Mocha, La Maya and Don Juan. We are very pleased and proud to bring you two separate premium cigar brands from this highly respected industry leader.
The El Paraiso line, aptly named "The Paradise", tobaccos are grown in four different nations, giving each cigar a unique character of its own. We've featured the Giant because we just couldn't get enough of this good thang! We found it full-bodied, rich and packed with flavor and know that you'll appreciate the years of experience behind their production.
Binder: Mexican Piloto Cubano
Filler: Dominican Seco & Jamaican Ligero
Wrapper: Mexican Broadleaf - Maduro
Strength (Mild 1, Full 10): 8
Panel Rating: 89
Notes from the Panel:
We found the El Paraiso to be an expertly constructed, very flavorful cigar. Look for a near perfect draw in this rich, oily, full-bodied experience. Note a spicy, rich aroma that follows a nutty, slightly spicy flavor. A fine long white ash indicates the tobacco to be aged properly. This cigar would be a perfect end to a big, garlic-saturated Italian dinner. Consider pairing this smoke with a full-bodied, dry, roasted Stout.
The brand good enough to carry the family name on its band was made available to the United States in 1996. It's hand made in the Nicaraguan town of Esteli with a blend of two premium tobaccos. The line's binders and fillers are grown from Cuban seed at the Plasencia Esteli plantation, while the Ecuadorian wrapper is purchased just after harvest to be aged and fermented under Nestor's care at the Esteli factory. You'll find this line to be quite a bit different than the El Paraiso cigars, offering an amazingly smooth, medium-bodied smoke.
Binder: Nicaragua Piloto Cubano
Filler: Nicaragua Seca
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Grown CT Shade
Strength (Mild 1, Full 10): 5.5
Panel Rating: 94
What a month! We really loved this smoke too! It's well-constructed, smooth, offers and easy draw and it burned fantastically. This cigar is packed with flavor and offers plenty of quite pleasingly aromatic smoke volume. Note a nutty and woody character with, again, some floral notes evident. Overall, a medium-bodied, rich, very flavorful smoke. We smoked it with a small batch bourbon and had no complaints what so ever about the entire experience.
The Cusano Hermano Blend
Tobacco Types and Tastes
If you're like me, you know that some cigars contain a blend of different tobaccos but you're not sure why. And maybe you've even wondered how the different tobaccos affect the taste. At DomRey, tobacco blending involves three interrelated goals: 1.) Flavor - taste of the combination selected, 2.) Construction - Burn rate and leaf quality and, 3.) Availability and cost. To achieve the rich, unique taste of the Cusano Hermanos cigars, DomRey uses a rare blend of five different tobaccos, two of those from Cuban seed. The filler consists of Cuban seed Ligero, Cuban seed Seco and Dominican Seco. The binder is Dominican Olor and the wrapper is either USA Connecticut shade or Dominican Colorado Maduro.
They selected this combination of tobaccos to create a distinctive smoke while enhancing each single tobacco's flavor. Adjusting the allocation of each leaf allowed them to extract the exact proportion of the complementary flavors that each type of leaf offers. But again, how do the different tobaccos affect the taste? We asked DomRey president, Mike Chiusano that question and using his three blending goals as a guide, here are his answers:
"Let's examine what you taste and where you taste it.
| Tobacco | What you taste |
| Cuban seed Ligero | Deep, sweet, light, palate wetting taste with a peppery tingling in the sinus. |
| Dominican Seco | Dry, salty, light on the palate with a drying sensation in the throat. |
| Cuban seed Seco | Dry, salty, heavy on the palate with a drying sensation in the throat. |
| Dominican Olor (binder) | Bittersweet complement that marries the Seco and Ligero. Sweet yet powerful "Wow! What was that" flavor. |
| USA Connecticut shade (wrapper) | Sweet, creamy, walnut and honey. The perfect finish. |
"Our filler tobaccos burn at similar rates while the binder is a more coarse, stronger and heavier leaf which means it burns slower. These are the qualities that make it ideal for the binder, which holds the bunched filler tobacco in place. When the filler is burning, a stronger slower burning leaf is needed so the cigar doesn't "tunnel, "cone" or "canoe". "Wrapper is typically a more delicate leaf that when insulated by the binder and burns consistently with the cigar's body.
"Unlike some in the industry, availability and cost are the final, but not the primary consideration. The tobaccos that we chose were based on our commitment to making the best tasting cigar possible. One challenge with using specially selected tobacco is the accompanying premium cost. Because of the quality of the tobacco, DomRey's tobacco is valued at two to three times more than commonly available tobacco."
The Hermanos Cusano cigars are manufactured using only organically grown tobacco by Tobaccalara Cusano in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic. Organically grown tobacco contains no chemical pesticide residue and is not infused with chemical fertilizer. While chemical fertilizer can enhance the crop yield, it can also cause the tobacco to retain less of the natural sweet flavor that the Cusano Hermanos are known for. Mike suggests you taste the cigar after clipping the end and before lighting to understand the difference.
Tobacco Bits
THE CUBAN DATING GAME
Cigars of Cuban manufacture are marked with a two-part system of codes to indicate the factory of origin and date of manufacture. Factory codes are:
BM-Briones Monoto (formerly Romeo y Julieta)
EL-El Laguito (the Cohiba factory)
FGP-Francisco Perez German (formerly Partagas)
FR-Fernando Roig (formerly La Corona)
JM-Jose Marti (formerly H. Upmann)
HM-Heroes del Moncado (formerly El Rey del Mundo)
The second part of the code that indicates the date of manufacture on the bottom of a box of Havanas can be deciphered with the code:
N I V E L A C U S O
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Date of manufacture is determined by a four-letter code in which the first two letters refer to the month of manufacture and the remaining two letters refer to the year. For example, the letters OSSL would be decoded as 09/95, or September 1995.
HECHO A MANO MAN - There are three inscriptions stamped on the bottom of a Cuban cigar box that will indicate how they were manufactured. If a box reads, "totalmente a mano," it was completely handmade. If ti reads, "Hecho a mano," it was machine bunched and hand finished. If it reads, "Hecho in Cuba," then it was totally made by machine. And finally, if it reads, "Hecho by Rodrigo", you might want to have a good video and some Doritos near by after you spark it up!
Ask Murl
Dear Murl,
I've seen guys use a guillotine cutter to cut off the end of their cigars and some folks use a bullet-shaped gizmo to cut a neat little hole in the end and even others just poke a hole in with a pen or sharp object. So I'm sittin' here sayin' to myself, "Self, what up with that? Is one method better than another or what." And then I see one of my old newsletters on the floor with your smilin' mug staring at me and I get to thinkin' that you'd probably know. I mean, you're the Original Havana Hound, right? But then I get to thinkin' about how you lambaste just about every person that writes in a question and I start getting' a bit anxious about writing you. Then, I just thought, what the hell. Could be funny if he responds.
Rob Kramer "The Happy Pajama Guy"
Superior, CO
Yo Pajama Boy!
First off, Pal…You spend WAY too much time thinkin'. When I got done reading your question I figured you were just yankin' my tail, but then I remembered I don't have one. You had to have assumed you'd be the next one up on the rotisserie when you signed your letter "The Happy Pajama Boy". So do you want to talk about that or what? You got PJ's with Yoda's and shit on them? Little fire trucks? E.T.? Or you just happy when you're in them? I can't figure it out, but you've got me pondering it big time, that's for sure.
Anyway, to your question about the appropriate removal of the head of your smoke, there are, as you mentioned several methods to choose from. Personally, I subscribe to the Josey Whales school of thought and prefer to bit of the end with my teeth like the savage canine that I am. Of course this works much better if you've got a cool lid and a bitchin' poncho. But just don't go runnin' around spittin' on every dog you see like Clint did. Uncool. I'd of capped his Spaghetti Western ass if he pulled that crap on me.
Hell, I've seen my mailman use a letter opener, my vet use a thermometer (we have to assume sterile), and my favorite bartender use a toothpick that had been behind his ear for 4 days. Frankly, anything that opens the cigar's head without damaging the wrapper or having a negative impact on the draw will do the job. One of the more effective cigar cuts is with a guillotine. Opening the head in full allows the flavors of the tobaccos inside to mingle properly as the smoke is drawn into your mouth. Some guillotines have gotten very sophisticated, using cams and bearings to make sure that even pressure is applied around the cigar as it is cut. Another effective way is to use a punch, (the bullet shaped device you described), which cuts a small round hole in the head. Be careful to cut the wrapper lightly so the tobacco isn't compacted by the cut which might impede the draw. Many contend that using a V or notched cut offer the best of the punch and guillotine maximizing the draw while keeping a neater, cleaner cut. I personally think using scissor-type cutter is not a great way to go as it tends to squash the head and damage the tobacco inside the cigar. So do what you will, Pajama Boy, but keep the kinky stuff to yourself!
Woof!
Murl.
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Your name has real value to your friends, co-workers, and family members! Every time a friend, family member, or anyone else you know joins any one of our clubs, [or gives a gift] for 3 months or longer, we'll give them 50% off of their first month, but only when they mention your name. And we'll also give you 50% off your next month too which can either be applied towards your current membership or you can try one of our other Clubs out! (We can add one more month to your order at 50% off for prepaid memberships!)
The Fine Print: Members giving gift memberships do not qualify for referral credits and you can't give yourself a gift to qualify! This Program is mutually exclusive of any other promotions.
Discounted Box Re-orders!
5 Paks Now Available!
Cigar of the Month Society 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 box quantities of 25 cigars 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 Qty | Box Cost | 5 Pak |
| Cost | |||
| A. Cifuentes Robusto | 20 | $65.00 | $21 |
| B. Cusano Hermano Vintage Perfecto Diablo | 20 | $105.00 | $31 |
| C. E. Trinidad By Sosa | 25 | $92.00 | $23 |
| D. El Paraiso Grande | 18 | $52.00 | $19 |
| E. Plasencia Belicoso | 25 | $72.00 | $19 |
Please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery and add $6.95 for S&H for your first box and $2.00 for each additional box. S&H for 5-paks is $4.95 and $1.00 for each additional 5-pak. S&H for International re-orders must be calculated on an individual basis. Prices are subject to change.
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