At least according to the American Cancer Society in Ohio. I didn’t know working in a cigar bar would expose me to smoke! Please save us Mr. Government!

Heres a little article on Canada.com about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent trip to Canada. While hew as up there he made a stop in a local cigar shop within the Westin Hotel in Ottawa. He picked up a Partagas (they don’t mention which one exactly) and was on his merry way. It doesn’t seem like he made any attempt to hide the fact that he was purchasing Cuban goods blocked by the embargo, as he was escorted by 10 police officers. Who exactly would be out to get him in Canada that he needed that much protection… I am not sure.

This news comes from an article over at Cigar Aficionado

“Our goal is to bring the Dunhill brand to the forefront of consumers. It’s a prestige brand,” said Toraño president Charlie Toraño. “We will begin aggressively distributing the line in July.”

The deal is a first for Toraño, which up until now has only distributed its own brands. The cigarmaker has had a relationship with the Dunhill cigar for nearly seven years, first making the Dunhill signed range, then the reblended (and properly capitalized) Dunhill Signed Range.

This might be a good thing for the brand. I hope it means we will be seeing it in more places, and the price coming down. Though, this could be Toraño cashing in on the premium cigar market which has gained popularity.

I picked up a box of the new 601 brand “Box-Pressed Maduros” last week. For those who don’t already know, the 601 brand of cigars is a relatively new creation by EO Cigars/United Tobacco, having been introduced at the August 2006 RTDA conference. They are blended by José “Don Pepin” Garcia and manufactured at his new Nicaraguan Tabacalera Cubana factory.

The Box-Pressed Maduro is the third and newest product in the line, introduced in late March 2007. The MSRP on these are $9.15 each, but I have seen them selling for around $8.00 at cigar shops here in Dallas.
An interesting note about these cigars: this is reputed to be the very first box-pressed cigar made by Don Pepin, as well as being his first regular production maduro (not counting some special Tatuajes or cigars made during his stay at Tropical).

I am actually enjoying one right now. They have a typical bold Nicaraguan tobacco profile, but aren’t nearly as strong or as full bodied as the Tatuaje or Don Pepin brand cigars; in fact, they remind me more of a Padron — another fine Nicaraguan puro — than either of the two aforementioned brands. The cigar is very earthy, perhaps a bit mushroomy, with a floral sweetness to it, common of many maduro wrapped cigars. It’s a very pleasant cigar. On a scale of 1-to-5, I’d place it at a solid “4″.

601 Box-Pressed Maduro (box of 20):

Note the factory and date codes on the box; very Cuban-esque:

Also Cuban-esque is the use of a Schmale-brand latch on the SBN box:

Open box of cigars (Robusto size):

The 601 Box-Pressed Maduro cigar and band:

If you like Don Pepin’s other creations, or enjoy Nicaraguan maduro cigars in general, then I highly recommend picking some of these up. No, it’s not one of his “top shelf” cigars, but it’s a very solid performer that you’ll no doubt enjoy.

I have generally been impressed with the La Gloria Cubana cigars. Both the ones rolled in Miami and the Dominican Republic cigars I have tried I enjoyed quite a bit (especially the ultra toothy Serie R.) According to Cigar Aficionado the owner Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is almost complete in creating a new line. The Miami factory, which used to produce part of the cigars along with the Dominican factory will become the place responsible for producing the new Miami line. We might have to get our hands on some of these once they are ready and give them a taste testing. Anyone with a Cigar Insider account want to tell us if we are missing any other details?

An AP news item on Forbes mentions that the harvest of Cuba’s cigar tobacco fell 12 percent compared to last year because of heavy rains.

They also reported hiring 11,700 workers for the next harvest. Have the resulting cigars suffered? Perhaps next years batch will be even better with more tobacco to choose from.

You can check out over at the Toraño site their new Noventa (spanish for ninety) limited edition cigar.

The Noventa is a celebration of the Toraño family’s 90-year tradition as tobacco growers and producers of some of the finest hand-rolled cigars in the world. It is a blend made from the best 5 year old Nicaraguan tobacco, hand selected by the Toraño family from their farms in Nicaragua. The Cigars are aged in reserve until they reach their peak, resulting in elegant, rich yet smooth, perfectly balanced flavor in a medium bodied strength.

Wrapper: Habano Nicaragua

Binder: Habano Nicaragua
Filler: Pueblo Nuevo, Esteli, Jalapa and Condega (Nicaraguan Regions)

Sizes:
La Esperanza 6 x 52

Latin 6 x 54
Santiago 5 x 50

Looks like a nice nicaraguan puro. No word yet on when it will be released.

Via Luxist