New Taxes And Truly Tasty Cigars

Source from:  M2Media360 06/26/2009

Summer is here and we can now enjoy smoking our cigars outside--at least in the few places where we're still allowed. The SCHIP cigar tax has pretty much settled in, although some who bought up big inventories may still be holding older prices for a while longer. The entire process has been confusing at best and a pain in the rear for retailers. All the manufacturers seemed to have handled it differently. Some started increasing their prices and charging 40 cents for the tax weeks before it went into effect. Some didn't begin passing it through until mid-April and at least one until May. Other manufacturers absorbed the additional 35-cent increase on part of their lines and passed on 20 cents or 40 cents for others. Every new shipment seems to take the retailer back to the pricing machines. Customers for mid- to higher-priced cigars are mostly taking it in stride with a grumble. Those buying at the less-expensive end products are seeing a big percentage increase and are vocal with their unhappiness. Unfortunately, several states, including my home state of Florida, are continually revisiting increasing tobacco taxes even more. This month I enjoyed the Cohiba from General Cigar, the Casa Toraño Maduro from Toraño, a Miami-based manufacturer, and the La Vieja Habana from Drew Estate in Nicaragua. General Cigar is based in New York and is now majority owned by Swedish Match, but a significant share is still owned by the Cullman family. Toraño recently sold its factories to the ST Group but retains control of its brands, fields and the management of its factories in Nicaragua and Honduras. CAO does the marketing and sales for the company. Drew Estate is best known for its ACID and other infused cigars but this particular line is a traditional blend. General Cigar's Cohiba is a Dominican-made cigar and not the Cuban variety, which is a totally different animal. It has a Cameroon wrapper over a Jember (Indonesian) binder with a Dominican (Piloto Cubano) filler. The wrapper is rich with milder filler tobacco, making it a flavorful smoke but not overpowering. It's a higher-end stick price-wise. The toro tube version runs around $17. This price is more approximate due to the recent changes and each retailer's implementation of the new tax and mark-up to maintain margins. Thirteen different sizes define the line. The smallest is a miniature 3.875 x 24 and the largest is the "A" size at 8.5　x 47. Other sizes include corona minor, Pequeño, robusto, robusto fina, corona, crystal corona, toro, triangulo, Lonsdale grande, corona especiale, and a Churchill at 7 x 49. These are collectively known as the "red dot" Cohibas-depicted by a solidly filled red "o" in the cigar name--to differentiate them from the Cuban version with yellow and black bands. The Casa Toraño Maduro is a dark cigar that will fool you if you don't know the smoke. It's actually a mild and flavorful cigar, though it looks much stronger. A Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper covers a Nicaraguan binder that surrounds a filler of Dominican Republic, Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos. When this cigar first came out, reviews were not always positive and often referred to an ammonia taste, which can be present if a cigar is not aged long enough. That problem seems to be cured now-pun intended. It's a well constructed stick, typical of the Toraño company. Four sizes are available, the Lancero, 7 x 38, a robusto at 4.7 x 52, the toro at 6.2 x 50, and torpedo at 6.5 x 54. The suggested MSRP ranges from $6.70 to $7.55 based on size. This is keystone pricing post-SCHIP, which retailers will appreciate. The La Vieja Habana is a mixed filler Cuban Sandwich blend of long and short filler Nicaraguan tobaccos. It's a natural cigar from Drew Estate that is completely separate from its flavored lines like ACID, Natural and Ambrosia. It was actually the first cigar the company produced back in 1994. It's a tasty cigar that smokes almost like a long filler version. They can have an edge to them sometimes but the taste, flavor and pricing make them worth considering. It is available in four different wrappers and six different sizes. The wrapper choices are Connecticut, Corojo, Maduro and Cameroon. The sizes include the Chateau Corona at 5.5 x 46, the Rothschild Luxo at 5 x 54, the Bombero at 6 x 54, the Celebracion Nacional at 7 x 52, the Belicoso D at 6 x 54 and the Gordito Rico at 6 x 60. The pricing on these is not consistent but generally falls into the $3 to $4 range with the new taxes. Enditem