'1896' Lights Up Launch Party

Source from:  The Wall Street Journal 06/22/2010

A cigar was definitely still a cigar Thursday night at the Empire Hotel where Bill Paley, the son of William and Babe Paley, launched his new cigar line, La Palina. The line is not completely new: It's a throwback to the Congress Cigar Company his grandfather, Sam Paley, founded in 1896. "Cigars are in my blood," Mr. Paley said, a few days before the event. "I've worked on the edges of broadcasting and media for a long time, but La Palina is where the family got its start." "I had a hard time getting cigars that were the quality and the flavor I liked," Mr. Paley added, so he went about "developing a blend that met with my criteria." The "1896," the first of the La Palina cigars, costs $19 each and is sold in a box of 10. It is made of Nicaraguan and Honduran filler and a Costa Rican wrapper and measure 4.75 inches long with a 42 gauge. "It has its own flavor," Mr. Paley explained. "It's a rich, smooth, medium strength cigar. It's very palatable. It doesn't tire you out, it doesn't make you dizzy. It has a very Havana-esque flavor. I'm not good with describing it with adjectives like 'wood' and 'leather,' but it's made to my palate. It's for a gentleman who's not looking for something jazzy or razzy. There are no gimmicks, just pure, smooth, rich flavor, simple as that." Mr. Paley, who lives in McLean, Va., but keeps an office in D.C., said that he spent about two years developing the product. "The blending is a real art. You need to make a harmonious bouquet, with a balance between sweetness, bitterness and salt and all the different aspects of the taste on the tongue." He said that he smokes one or two cigars a day, sometimes after lunch and usually after dinner "in my man cave," Mr. Paley explained. "It's my den home office but I have a very good fan smoke extraction system." The first release of La Palina will consist of 50,000 cigars. "It's not cheap getting started, but it's not more than I'm uncomfortable with. The worst thing that happens is I end up with a closet full of cigars I like." The cigars seemed particularly popular at the rooftop launch party. Women in short, tight black dresses offered up cigars to guests. Many of the men who mingled tried to smuggle a few extra cigars to take home "for later." Several of Mr. Paley's extended family members came to show their support including Amanda Burden, the director of New York City Department of City Planning and the daughter of Babe Paley from her first marriage to Stanley Grafton Mortimer Jr. She wasn't smoking an 1896, but said that the cigar was a "great legacy" and "so important" to her family. She also said anyone can enjoy a cigar without actually smoking one-just by smelling it. Still, Ms. Burden said that she prefers the more feminine cigarillo, and is hoping that Mr. Paley will add one to his La Palina line. Enditem