Past Newsletters
Vol. 8 No. 9
Member of the Month
Linda Nordstrom Sparks a Punch Rare Corojo!
What’s
up Guys!
I took this picture with my boss Sandra, the feisty looking one on the right (sure she looks all cute and sweet in the photo, but man can she crack the whip!) after a long week at the lab at a party of one of my co-workers. We work in a lab that does research on drug development for varied neurological brain disorders and you could say it can be a bit stressful at times so we’ve got go out, get funky and blow some steam!
We all like to partake in a little fine tobacco consumption from time to time so I brought some of my coveted club smokes to a bash and passed them out. Later, after several well-made Long Island Ice Teas, I too passed out. But not before enjoying the Punch Rare Corojo you guys sent out in June! That was a damn tasty smoke, I must say! Very full bodied and packed with flavor. I didn’t eat it with Beef Stew like you suggested though. Enjoyed it with the fine chips and cheese dips supplied by our gracious host, Freddy! I really dig the club. I’ve been a member for 3 years now and always like the selections you send me!
Take it easy,
Linda
SUBMIT YOURSELF OR YOUR GROUP PHOTO FOR CONSIDERATION! And if you're selected, we'll send you a variety pack of 25 hand rolled smokes from past selections! Get your submissions in now before everyone else does or you gotta wait 3 months to see your pretty mug adorning the front page! Send your photos and letter to: Cigar of the Month Club Attn: Member of the Month, PO Box 1627, Lake Forest, CA 92609 or email your photo and letter to customerservice@cigarmonthclub.com
Featured Cigar Dimensions
| Brand Name: | Shape | Size | Strength | Country | Panel |
| Rating | |||||
| A. Black Diamond Oscuro | Presidente | 7 x 52 | 7 | Nicaragua | 90 |
| B. Cohiba Oscuro | Torpedo | 5 x 50 | 5 | Dominican | 91 |
| D. Joya del Jefe Centennial Reserve | Presidente | 7 x 50 | 7 | Nicaragua | 92 |
| C. Monte Cristo Tubo | Corona | 6.6 x 42 | 3 | Dominican | 90 |
| E. Santa Damiana #800 | Churchill | 7 x 50 | 5 | Dominican | 91 |
Featured Cigars
Black Diamond Oscuro Presidente
Rolled by Kiki Berger in Esteli, Nicaragua, Black Diamond is a delicious medium to full-bodied long-filler premium, offering a gorgeous dark brown Nicaraguan Oscuro wrapper and all Nicaraguan long-filler leaves, and slow, even-burning character. For those who don’t know Kiki, he is the mastermind who blended Cupido and 5 Vegas cigars. A legend in Esteli after less than five years there, Kiki is one of those unique personalities that always seem to know and be liked by everyone. Born in Cuba, he moved to the U.S. as a child and got involved in politics in Miami. It was, in fact, the president of Nicaragua that convinced Kiki to open his factory there!
For those who like a maduro or Colorado maduro wrapper, you’ll love this cigar. A spicy, yet sweet taste is ever-present in this medium to full-bodied beauty. The panel was very impressed by the silkiness of the wrapper and even burn of this cigar and agreed that it is worthy of the purchase of a box or two.
Considered the pinnacle of Cuban cigars, Cohiba is now also rolled in the Domincan Republic. The Cuban version was initially developed as a medium-bodied protocol cigar for presentation only by officials of the Cuban government. In 1982, however, Cohiba began widely marketing the brand. The initial sizes were the Lancero, the Corona Especiale and the Panetela, with the Esplendido, Robusto and Exquisito added in 1989. The Cohiba series was initially made in the El Laguito factory in Havana, but is now also produced at the Fernando Perez German factory. Quite a few myths surround the Cohiba brand including one that relates directly to its name that was said to be the aboriginal Taino Indian word for "tobacco," but is now understood to have meant "cigar." While the Cuban and Dominican versions are certainly different (besides the fact that one is legal and one is not), any lover of the leaf will enjoy both.
A medium bodied cigar with a nice dark wrapper, everyone was eager to light up and puff away. Spicy, but not terribly, and sweet, but not too sweet, made this a well-balanced smoke that provided all the happiness a quality smoke should.
Joya del Jefe Centennial Reserve Presidente
Now run by Gilberto Oliva, Tabacalera Oliva is a family business that has passed through five generations. Gilberto was born in Cuba (across the street from the Hoya de Monterrey plantation no less), so you can bet he knows a thing or two about tobacco. Once Castro came into power, the family moved to Nicaragua, where they were once again forced to move in 1979 because of the revolution. Six years ago he moved back to Nicaragua and is producing some of the best lines around. The Joya del Jefe Centennial Reserve is one line from Gilberto that we fell in love with.
Yummy, yummy, yummy. At first we all wanted to eat this cigar since it looks like a cigar shaped chocolate, but when we all realized it was actually made from tobacco and not chocolate, the drool started running down our chins. A box-pressed gem with a beautiful Cameroon wrapper and all Nicaraguan long filler, the wrapper is a joy to touch and the flavors from each puff scream espresso bean and cocoa. Smoke this one with a porter or stout.
Originating in Cuba in 1935 as a new brand from Menendez, Garcia y Cia., then the owners of the H. Upmann brand, the name is reported to have been inspired by Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel Le Comte de Monte Cristo. The cigars are all hand made and are medium in strength. The Dominican version of Cuba’s most widely smoked brand uses Dominican grown Cubano Piloto and Olor for the filler. The binder is Dominican grown Cubano Piloto. The natural wrapper is U.S. grown Connecticut Shade. The result is a medium to full-bodied cigar with a sweet aroma. Consolidated’s Tabacalera de Garcia factory in La Romana, Dominican Republic manufactured the Montecristo.
Just looking at the cigar you can see that it was rolled by expert hands. No soft spots, no hard spots, no glue on the wrapper, just a perfect looking cigar. An easy draw brings in earthy smoke with a slight creaminess to it. Some members of panel have burns on their fingers from smokin’ this one a little too close to the nub.
This brand originated in Cuba and today's Dominican manufactured cigar was introduced in 1992 with the Cabinet Selection. The Yellow Series (which is what you have received) and Cabinet Selection utilize a Connecticut Shade wrapper with Dominican binders and fillers, while the Blue Series offers a Habana 2000 wrapper grown in Nicaragua with a Dominican binder and Brazilian, Dominican and Connecticut Broadleaf fillers.
Without a doubt, this cigar has the softest wrapper we have ever felt. Absolutely beautiful to hold and even better to smoke, we can see why so many people swear by this one. A medium-bodied cigar with a nutty character and dry finish, this will go well with a Cabernet or Merlot. As smooth a cigar as you will find, make sure you have plenty of time to smoke this since we guarantee we aren’t going to want to put this out.
Tobacco Bits
ALMOST READY TO ROLL - Leaves to be used for binder and filler are taken through the de-stemming process, and the left and right sides of the plant are separated and sorted by size, color, and quality of leaf. Leaf used for long-filler cigars (all those in the premium and ultra-premium category) is usually de-stemmed before fermentation, but only a small part of the stem is removed, so the leaf does not fall apart during fermentation. These leaves are again sorted, graded, and finally categorized as leaves suitable for filler, wrapper, or binder.
STILL BREWING - While the bales of tobacco are being aged, a mellower, less volatile fermentation takes place. To control this process, bales are regularly inspected, unpacked, and remoistened. This is called casing. This process ensures that the leaves do not completely dry out, making them unsuitable for rolling. When the aging process has been determined to be of sufficient length, the bales are re-moisturized once again, and allowed to drip dry.
DRYING BUT NOT DRIED - During the curing process it is important that the tobacco leaves do not become dry and brittle, or they will be ruined. If the sun beating down on the curing barn is too hot, the farmer will water the ground in the barn to increase the humidity. If the weather is too rainy and humid, the farmer will light fires under the leaves so they don't become so wet that they begin to decompose. Careful attention to the leaves during this period produces a leaf that is light brown, slightly oily, and pliable enough to handle with care.
HUNG OUT TO DRY - Once the premium leaves have been sorted out, they are threaded in bunches, or hands, of 20 leaves and hung on long poles. These poles are left in curing barns for one to three months, where they will mature, developing a light brown color. This is a result of the chlorophyll leaving the leaf, because it lacks the sunlight needed to maintain its deep green color. It is in this process that the tobacco leaf shrinks in size and thickness, and the flavors are initially concentrated in the individual leaf.
NO TOBACCO BEFORE ITS TIME - One type of young tobacco is a leaf that has not been properly fermented. The fermentation process, which releases ammonia and decreases nicotine content, usually takes 40 days or longer for strong tobacco. Cigars made with improperly fermented tobacco often will note burn properly, can smell of ammonia, and become mushy after lighting. They will taste sharp, hot, and bitter, with little complexity in flavor. Cigars that were made with improperly fermented tobacco are so flawed that they'll never improve.
HARVEST TIME - Tobacco seedlings are ready for the first harvest, or priming, 45 days after they are placed into the ground. At that time, 2 to 4 leaves are removed by hand from the plant. An average tobacco plant will undergo roughly six primings in its growth period, eventually yielding anywhere from 8 to 16 leaves that will be made into cigars.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF SMOKING PATCH! - Girl Scouts of America announced at a recent conference sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Serice in Washington D.C. that it would offer a merit badge for not smoking. To earn the patch, the first of its kind, girls need to take part in an anti-smoking program and remain smoke free. The Girl Scouts awarded the first honorary patch to Hillary Rodham Clinton, a former scout herself.
DON'T SMOKE AROUND THE BABY! - Cigar smoking is not allowed near any young tobacco plants, as it is thought that a harmful virus may be transmitted to the seedlings through tobacco ash.
GROW, LITTLE GUY! - Tobacco seeds are germinated in flat nursery beds, under carefully controlled conditions. Fledgling seeds are covered to protect them from the hot sun, usually by cloth, and will remain covered for up to 45 days, when the strongest seedlings will be transplanted to the tobacco fields.
A LITTLE SEEDY - The tobacco plant, nicotiana tabacum, grows from a seed so tiny that thousands of seeds can be found in a single tobacco pod. While soil and climate determine the taste, aroma, ash color, and burning qualities of the tobacco in a cigar, the type of see dictates the size, color, and texture.
Ask Murl
Dear Murl
I really love your cigar club, but I’m catching a lot of heat from my wife about the general mess I make as a direct result of my newly acquired passion. Specifically, nasty looking ashtrays seems to draw the most fire. Any thoughts as how to best approach this particular situation?
Benny Campbell
Houston, TX
Yo Yo Benardo!
You know Benny my Boy, there are really two dramatically different tactical approaches to discuss here. There’s the compromising justification tact that is preferred by those that actually intend to maintain a physical relationship with their spouse and then the blatant disregard approach which works only if you live in a state which condones multiple wives...which you don’t.
On the issue of the preponderance of ash lying around the house, I’m leaning toward a rather cleaver tactic. That of repositioning your by-product. Marketing 101 baby. Cigar ash does in fact possess some amiable characteristics. Argument goes something like this: "Honey, you should really consider the fact that cigar ashes don’t have to be just another mess for me to clean up (operative word in that sentence being "me"). Actually, it's well known that ash makes an excellent dentifrice, though it isn't known if it is a successful tartar buster. None the less, 4 out of 5 tobacconists recommend it. I’m gonna start brushing with it today. Additionally, when mixed with oils, it makes a beautiful gray paint for applying to canvas. And you were just talking about how much you’d enjoy learning how to paint. Why did you know that loose ash will also polish silver and other precious metals quite nicely. No need to spend all that money on Brasso as long as my subscription remains active." So what do ya think, Orville? Will it fly? Do let us know, will you.
Woof!
Murl.
For Members Only
Give Your Friends FREE Beer, Wine, Cheese, Chocolate,
Cigars & Flowers!
Through our Customer Appreciation Program
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. Black Diamond Oscuro Presidente | 25 | $78.50 | $21 |
| B. Cohiba Oscuro Torpedo | 25 | $110.50 | $27 |
| D. Joya del Jefe Centennial Reserve Presidente | 25 | $72.50 | $20 |
| C. Monte Cristo Tubo Corona | 15 | $78.50 | $31 |
| E. Santa Damiana #800 Churchill | 25 | $95.50 | $24 |
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-paks 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.
