Past Newsletters
Vol. 9 No. 12
Member of the Month
Ted Catches the Big One in Style!
Dear
Cigar Club,
Here is a picture of me while spending the week-end at my brother’s vacation home on Lake Congamond in Southwick, MA. Going out on the dock with a fishing rod was an excuse to enjoy a premium cigar from my “Cigar of the Month” club’s latest selection. What’s better than one of your premium cigars in one hand and a fishing rod in the other. Love the club.
Ted
Old Saybrook, CT
PS - Your “Cigar Club” has made my holiday shopping a lot easier.
Yo Ted!
We can only think of one thing better than holding a cigar and a fishing rod and it looks like you’ve got it covered – A cigar and a fish! Nice job Tedster! You do realize that you have to be a current member to be a member of the month now, Ted…and according to our records…your membership is just about to expire! Now, we’re not saying that we’re not going to send you your 25 Free smokes unless you renew or anything…But…let’s just say, the order will get processed a lot faster if you do! And you’ll get the standard renewal discount of 50% off the first month when you renew on a month to month basis for at least 3 months! Now you can’t beat that! Not with a shoe. Not with a hammer. Not with a baseball bat. So pick up that phone Teddy ma boy! Give us a ring and keep the love coming every month!
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. Big Butt El Hefe | Churchill | 7 x 54 | 6 | Honduras | 89 |
| B. CAO Brazilia Gol! | Robusto | 5 x 56 | 7.5 | Honduras | 96 |
| C. Perdomo Squared Exponente | Corona | 6 x 43 | 6.5 | Nicaragua | 94 |
| D. Rastafari by Felipe Gregorio | Toro | 6 x 50 | 6 | Jamaica | 92 |
| E. El Rico Habano by La Gloria | Rothchild | 4.75 x 48 | 8 | Dominican | 90 |
Featured Cigars
The
Big Butt El Hefe line of cigars is manufactured by Altadis USA, proud
manufacturers of several highly regarded industry standards such as
H. Upmann, Montecristo, Te Amo, Royal Jamaica, and Romeo y Julieta.
The El Hefe featured this month is hand rolled in Honduras and offers
a medium to full bodied smoke. It’s wrapper hails from Indonesia,
the binder is Mexican, and the filler is a blend of Nicaraguan and
Costa Rican tobaccos. The blend offers earthy and spicy flavors. We’d
suggest pairing it with a dry martini or your favorite pilsner. I
suppose we could have made a joke about the name, but we couldn’t
get off of our big butts long enough to think of one. Ba Da Bump!
C.A.O
International, Inc. is the producer of one of the country's top lines
of premium cigars, cigar accessories, Meerschaum pipes, and pipe tobaccos.
CAO’s Meerschaum pipes are smoked by presidents, senators, actors
and other dignitaries. Their cigars will even be featured in the third
season of HBO’s “The Sopranos.” So they got that
going for them…which is nice. CAO was founded in 1973 by Cano
A. Ozgener; using his initials to name the company. They put five
years of planning into the production of this cigar before it was
released. It was well worth the wait though. This Robusto is a full-bodied
dandy of a smoke, made from the finest Brazilian wrapper leaves and
aged Nicaraguan long leaf filler and binder tobaccos. Look for a powerful
smoke, offering a strong, meaty flavor, with hints of cedar, cinnamon,
and pepper. Try pairing it with a smoky single malt scotch.
Perdomo Squared Exponente Corona
Just
about anything that comes out of Nick Perdomo’s company is worth
savoring and we feel that the Perdomo Squared line stands out amongst
a line up of exceptional brands. Each cigar is box-pressed with a
select, pure blend of Piloto Cubano Nicaraguan leaves aged in cedar
casks for over 5 years. Truly a satisfying cigar for anyone that can
appreciate unparalleled construction and exceptional tobacco flavor.
Handmade in Esteli, Nicaragua, the Exponente’s wrapper is rustic
and slightly oily. We found it flavor packed, offering a bit of spiciness.
Look for an easy draw and a pleasant, earthy finish with hints of
cedar. Consider pairing this up with a hoppy pale ale.
<>Rastafari by Felipe Gregorio Toro
The
Rastfari line is made by Felipe Gregorio in, as the name implies,
none other than Jamaica mon! While Jamaica is better known for its
other, slightly more controversial “tobaccos”, we found
that, once again, Felipe Gregorio has not let us down. The owner of
the line, Philip Wynne, was born and raised in Switzerland and is
the son of an American Foreign Service officer. Growing up in a country
where one could partake in Cuban products without worrying about breaking
the law inspired Philip to produce his own line, one that would compare
to the stronger, fuller Cuban brands he grew up with. At that time,
Americans weren't used to strong cigars and so his first brand, Petrus,
did not sell well in the States, but did do well in Europe and the
Middle East. Wynne then decided it would be better to introduce a
line of cigars that weren't quite so full bodied and that's when he
saw his US sales take off! He now sells nearly 10 million cigars in
the United States and there's a reason for it… they're damn
fine smokes. This Toro’s filler tobaccos were grown in Nicaragua
and the Dominican Republic, the binder is all Dominican, and it’s
all wrapped up with a beautiful West African Cameroon wrapper! Look
for this medium bodied cigar to have a woody and nutty flavor along
with some sweetness on the palate. A definite must try with a smoked
porter.
El Rico Habano by La Gloria Rothchild
If
your first thought was, “La Gloria Cubana,” you’d
have been close. The El Rico Habano by La Gloria Habano is the lesser
known, but even fuller-flavored, stronger blend made by Ernesto Carillo
of La Gloria Cubana fame. This line of cigars is probably one of the
most robust premium cigars on the market and closely resembles those
Cuban made beauties in appearance and flavor. This Rothchild is wrapped
in a reddish-brown Colorado wrapper, which helps provide this smoke
with its full, yet surprisingly smooth, flavor. We found this cigar
to offer rich, earthy flavors and hints of leather and wood. Best
when smoked with serious Barley wine. Might we suggest either the
Stone Brewing Company’s Old Guardian Barley wine or Sierra Nevada
Bigfoot Barley wine Ale?
Ask Murl
Dear Murl,
I’m kinda new to the whole cigar experience and have heard some terms being tossed around that I don’t really get. Like what’s the foot of the cigar. Or the tooth? Can you give me a run down on the basic components of a cigar ole sport? Thanks buddy! Got to tell you, your column is the first part of the newsletter that I read each month. Take it easy.
Brent James
Anaheim, CA
Yo Brent Baby!
Am I blushing or what? Hell, you couldn’t tell through all this fur if I was! Point is, thanks for the kind words. Something to be said for speaking your mind I guess. So you want to know about the anatomy of a stogie, eh? I always loved my anatomy class. Mostly because I was sittin’ next to this cute little French Poodle that had an entirely intriguing anatomy herself. Didn’t learn much about the frog we gutted, other than that the smell of formaldehyde and deceased amphibians combined makes me wanna yak. Cigar anatomy. Right! Let me lay some lingo on ya brother. We’ll do this real professional like with a list and all. If you’ve got any other questions after taking a gander through my well-organized thoughts, find some other pooch to do your homework for ya!
Woof!
Murl.
Barrel: The main body or shank of the cigar.
Binder: A strip of high quality 5th grade tobacco leaf that is wrapped around the filler leaf. The binder's thickness gives it its fuse-like ability to carry the coal the length of the cigar.
Blend: The particular mix of different strains of tobacco that give each cigar its unique character.
Bouquet: The smell of the unlit cigar, including the wrapper and filler through the open foot.
Cap: The small flag of wrapper leaf that the roller lays down and seals to the head of the cigar with a vegetable gum based glue.
Filler: The rolled up inner core of high quality 2nd and 3rd grade leaves in a cigar also referred to as the "bunch".
Foot: The end of the cigar that you light.
Hand Made: A cigar that is bunched, bound and wrapped entirely by hand with no machines being used whatsoever in the fabrication process (excluding the mold).
Head: The end of the cigar that you put into your mouth.
Long Filler: Tobacco leaf that is long enough to run the entire length of the cigar.
Ring Gauge: The diameter of a cigar's barrel, expressed in 64ths of an inch. A 32" "ring" is 32/64" or 1/2", for example.
Shoulder: The area where the head of the cigar meets the barrel.
Tooth: The natural occurrence of the almost-microscopic array of sandy bumps on the urface of some tobacco leaves.
Wrapper: The outer leaf of high quality, first grade tobacco which is wound around the binder of the cigar. It is chosen for its perfect complexion, elasticity, silky texture and delicate veins.
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. Big Butt El Hefe Churchill | 25 | $127.50 | $31 |
| B. CAO Brazilia Gol! Robusto | 25 | $65.50 | $18 |
| C. Perdomo Squared Exponente Corona | 25 | $72.50 | $23 |
| D. Rastafari by Felipe Gregorio Toro | 24 | $110.50 | $28 |
| E. El Rico Habano by La Gloria - Habano Club Rothchild | 25 | $65.50 | $18 |
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.
Membership Q & A
Note: Please do not use our email address to make any account related information changes such as address or billing changes, membership extensions, or terminations. To ensure timely processing of your request, please call us at 800-625-8238.
Q: What should I do if I’m moving or want to extend
my membership?
A: Please call us prior to the 10 th of the month to
make all account related information changes such as address changes,
membership extensions & terminations, or gift accounts desiring
to continue their memberships. Address changes made after that time
may require a $4.00 re-shipping charge.
Q: How will the charge appear on my credit card statement:
A: Your credit card statement will reflect our Incorporated
business name, C&H Clubs, U.S.A., Inc., NOT The Cigar Society.
Q: What happens if my shipment is damaged?
A: If you shipment arrives damaged, please call us immediately
toll free at 1-800-625-8238 and report the incident for a prompt resolution.
Q: What happens if my credit card is declined?
A: We will attempt to reprocess the card and if it does not
clear on the 2nd attempt, you’ll receive a courtesy notice
asking for an alternative payment method and your order will be temporarily
suspended until we hear from you. As we incur a $ 2.00 re-processing
fee each time your card does not clear, that charge is passed on to
you.
Q: What happens if I join under a special incentive program
and don’t stay a member for the entire term committed?
A: Not a problem. Although we want to do everything we can
to keep you as a member, we will allow you to cancel your subscription
early, however, you will be responsible to pay for the item which
was given to you as part of the promotion.
