Swiss cigar manufacturer Oettinger Davidoff has announced their latest creation, a cigar named after the famous Sir Winston Churchill. The Churchill Millenium Blend is set apart from many of Davidoff's other cigars in a couple of ways, including the fact that it's quite a bit stronger in flavor and is wrapped in a rare variety of tobacco leaf that leaves it with a darker than average appearance. The Churchill range of cigars will be made of tobacco grown in the Dominican Republic, Peru, Nicaragua and Ecuador.
Cigars are often a symbol of special occasions and holidays, and so is generosity and giving to charity, so it seems perfect that Fuente has combined the two during the Christmas season. Their OpusX cigars have been packaged up in 500 boxes of 22 cigars and called Opus 22. Full of "wild new sizes," each set includes cigars that aren't typically available retail -- like the BBMF shown in this picture. It's a large figurado with a bulbous foot, a moptop, and a tip of maduro wrapper. Each Opus 22 box sells for $750, with proceeds going to underprivileged children through the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation.
If you have a cigar lover on your list but you aren't quite sure what style of cigar they like the Davidoff 12 cigar assortment must be the right answer. The box features 12 different blends and shapes. The inside lid of the box includes tasting notes and strength information on each cigar. It's a great way to sample a bunch of styles without having to buy a whole box. The assortment sells for $161.60.
Sure aging in casks is good for whisky and other spirits but what about tobacco? Cigar Aficionado reports on the new cigars from Aurora which are made from tobacco aged in barrels. The Aurora Corojo Oscuro Barrel Aged Cigar is aged in old oak barrels that once held Dominican rum. Aurora already barrel-ages the tobacco used inside its Preferidos, 1495 and 100 Años cigars, but now they are aging the wrapper too. The new cigar will come in four sizes and will debut at the RTDA show in a couple weeks.
CAO America picked today, Independence Day, to announce their latest cigar, CAO America. The cigar will make its debut at the upcoming RTDA 75th Annual Convention and International Trade Show in Houston in August. The CAO America will be the first 'Pinstripe' style cigar in CAO's portfolio with two American-grown wrapper leaves: one Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro and one Connecticut Shade. Inside there is a Brazilian binder and 100% ligero filler tobaccos from Nicaragua, Italy, U.S.A., and the Dominican Republic. The CAO America will come in 20 count red, white and blue boxes and comes in three shapes: Potomac (5" x 56), the torpedo-shaped Monument (6 1/4" x 54), and Landmark (6" x 60).
Two new cigar gift packs have been put together exclusively for the British market by a partnership between Hunters & Frankau and Habanos S.A.. Both of the companies are distributors of Cuban cigars, Hunters & Frankau in Britain and Habanos S.A. internationally. The Cohiba set (£79) comes with four individually packed Siglo IV cigars and the Trinidad set (£69) includes three individually packed Robusto Extra cigars. Each of the two limited edition sets comes in a varnished wooden box, and only 1,000 of each will be made available.
Xikar has created a new collection of cigar cutters that are little works of art. The Havana collection is a series of cigar cutters that each feature a mixed media decoupage art piece that features pieces of cigar bands. The handles of maple wood on the sides of the Xi3 cigar cutter are hand painted and then decoupaged with a cigar band collage which is sealed in clear varnish. The cigar cutter comes with a Stingray leather pouch and comes in blue, red, black, yellow or green. It sells for $299.99.
The Ci-garage isn't the sexiest ashtray we've ever seen but it does have one interesting feature, it's portable. The Ci-garage is a plastic case that includes a stainless steel ashtray, two cigar rests, a guillotine-bladed stainless steel cutter and a box of matches. It is designed to allow you to transport a half-smoked cigar with a minimum of smoke and mess. The Ci-garage sells for $24.95 and can be personalized with a company logo so it can be used for promotions. It's a great idea but I would like it better if the outside was perhaps leather or something a bit more aesthetically pleasing.
The Vegas Humidor designed by Elie Bleu is one of the more unusual pieces that we've featured here, as it actually does manage to capture the sprit of Sin City's high rollers. Shaped like a giant die, the humidor is made of natural sycamore and has Tahitian black mother-of-pearl circles inlaid on each face to make up the die pattern. One of the dots is not mother of pearl circle, but a small lock that opens the box. Inside, the humidor holds up to 100 cigars in its deep main compartment with two removable open-slat cedar trays. Price: $3,760.
After hearing about the upcoming release several months ago, the Cohiba "Behike" cigars have finally hit the market. They were named after the cheif of one of Cuba's indigenous tribes and are said to be the most expensive cigars in the world. Only 4,000 were rolled, all to be sold in groups of 40 in specially designed humidors for $18,860 - which comes out to about $470 per cigar. Every one of the cigars was hand-rolled by Norma Fernandez, the cigar roller at the El Laguito factory in Havana.
A bit of trivia: no one knows how they taste. Aside from the few who approved the original tobacco blend designed by Norma and used in the cigars, no one has smoked one of the completed cigars yet.
The Bentley Collection has many beautiful pieces in it, built to the exacting standards that most associate with the brand, and their Bentley Humidor is exceptional. The handmade humidor has a solid walnut body, with walnut veneer and ebony beading. All the accents, including the lock plates and even the hinges are silver and it is equipped with the 'Credo' humidifier and hydrometer to maintain the ideal environment for your cigars. Price: £3,617.02 ($6,780).
Jack Spade has come out with a lovely little accessory in the form of this leather matchbook cover. While it is does not have the flashiest design, nor the largest, the cover is made from hand-tanned leather and has the foil-stamped word "fire" on the front, as well as the designer's name on the back. It comes with a book of Japanese matches and makes a great alternative to a bulky lighter for those who like to keep fire at their fingertips. Price: $10.
For those cigar aficianados who enjoy smoking while driving, the Maybach Smoker Set by Dunhill is the ideal car accessory. A leather-trimmed humidor contains one of Dunhill's signature lighters and a custom-designed one-handed cigar cutter, so you can keep one hand on the wheel. Of course, it might take some practice before you can actually use the cutter with one hand, given that you'll have to maneuver the cigar into it and probably want to keep any part of it from falling onto the floor of your car, for neatness if nothing else. We don't have a price right now, but if you have to ask...
Why would a 56 year old half-smoked
cigar be of any value to anybody? Because it was once smoked by Winston Churchill of course. The former Prime
Minster of the United Kingdom was about to give a speech in a ballroom where he was asked to extinguish his half burnt
cigar. Churchill snubbed it on the ground and handed it to the constable standing next to him. This once souvenir to
the constable is now being sold by his relatives. The half ashed cigar will be going up for sale in April, but
the amount is unknown as this is such an unusual auction.
The mystery has
been revealed! Cigar Aficionado
reports on the new Cohiba which was unveiled today in Havana. The new cigar set a record for the price of a young
cigar. A limited edition humidor of 40 cigars sells for 15,000 euros. The cigar, which was produced for the 40th
anniversary of the brand, is a Behike and all 4,000 cigars for the project were rolled by one person, Norma Fernandez
Sastre. The Behike measures 7 1/2 inches long by 52 ring gauge. The cigar will only be available in the humidors which
are made of ebony, bone and skate skin. The cigar will need to be aged but with time it will likely become a legendary
smoke. The 100 humidors are numbered and each cigar is also individually numbered on a secondary band.
The Vegas Humidor
After hearing about the upcoming release 
The 
For those cigar aficianados who enjoy smoking while driving, the 
