For the Week of June 30 -- July 4, 2008

Revival of the "Nypmhs and Satyr," "Four for the 4th" sampler, manglo-licious cigars, and big changes at Imperial Tobacco, all in this week Heard in the Humidor.

Los Angeles -- In 1861, while the Civil War was starting in South Carolina and Virginia, Chicago tobacconist Edward Hoffman introduced a new cigar called Hoffman House that quickly become a popular choice among city smokers.

It became easy to spot, too, thanks to its reproduction of French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau's racy 1873 painting "Nymphs and Satyr" on the inside lid of the box starting in the late 1870s. The popularity of the cigars helped to make the painting one of the most famous in the U.S. and was widely reproduced.

Like so many regional brands, it was sold to a larger manufacturer in 1898 and was popular into the 1920s. But it, too, eventually died. At the end, even Bouguereau's nymphs had to wear clothes to correspond to the morals of the times.

However, Chicago tobacconist Chuck Levi had the idea to revive the brand and after several years of planning and a lengthy trademark fight, Hoffman House is once again in production.

Made by Altadis U.S.A. at its Tabacalera de Garcia factory in La Romana, Dominican Republic, Hoffman House is back in its original box -- of which Levi had samples -- and has a rich and complex flavor thanks to its blend of an Ecuadorian sun-grown wrapper, Dominican binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and Peru.

It's offered in four popular sizes: Churchill (7 inches by 50 ring), Lonsdale (6 5/8 x 44), Robusto (5 x 50) and Short Perfecto (4 1/4 x 46). All sizes are offered in boxes of 20 and the retail price varies from $6.75 to $7.95 each before local sales and tobacco taxes.

>> The ever-inventive Tim Ozgener has a new way for you to celebrate Independence Day on July 4th with the C.A.O. America "Four for the 4th" sampler. The four-cigar set includes two standard sizes from the C.A.O. America line introduced last year and two new sizes made specially for the set.

The standard sizes include the Potomac, a 5-inch by 56-ring robusto and the Monument, 6 1/4-inch by 54-ring torpedo, both offering the unique pin-striped, double-wrapper of Connecticut Shade leaf peeking out from the dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper.

The new sizes includes the C.A.O. America Box Pressed, a larger robusto of 5 1/2 inches by 55 ring, and the America Reverse Perfecto, a stunning 6-inch by 60-ring cigar in which the Broadleaf wrapper is inside the Connecticut Shade leaf, reversing the normal production style.

The four cigars come in a butterfly-closed box that's elegantly decorated with the red, white and blue C.A.O. America artwork. Best of all is the price: a quite accessible $33.50 per sampler!

>> The popular Heaven brand of flavored cigars is well known for its unique set of tastes, including Mango-Licious and Strawberry Banana Bliss, but the convenient Cherubs size -- 3 1/2 inch by 26-ring cigarillos -- has only been offered in a limited set of flavors up to now.

However, at next month's International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association convention and trade show, the Cherubs line will be available in all 14 flavors in elegant, new clam-shell tins of 10. In addition to the five currently-offered flavors -- Heavenly Vanilla, Cupid's Cherry Cream, Raging Rum, Celestial Cognac and Heather's Honey Nut -- the line will add Angel's Spice (cinnamon), Aphrodite's Amaretto, Chocolate Thunder, Grape Goddess, Mojito Madness, Mango-Licious, Midnight Mocha Creme, Orange Dreamsicle and Strawberry Banana Bliss.

The Cherubs are the smallest size in the line, which also includes the Petite (5 x 30), Corona (5 1/2 x 46) and Torpedo (6 x 50), all made by hand in the Dominican Republic.

>> Short fillers: As an important step in the integration of Altadis, S.A. into Imperial Tobacco, the latter announced a cut of about 2,440 jobs or six percent of its workers as six facilities will be closed and production shuffled among the plants of the combined companies. Imperial has, at present, about 40,000 employees, spread across Europe and cuts will affect most of the countries in which manufacturing is present.

In Britain, about 260 jobs will be cut out of 1,700 (15.3%), including the closure of the cigar factory in Bristol which started in 1901. About 75 workers who produce the well-known Castella and Classic brands will lose their jobs because of that closure by September of 2009. However, the company headquarters will remain in Bristol.

In total, six of Imperial's 58 manufacturing plants will be shuttered. Both French and Spanish unions have said they will fight the cuts, but Imperial's statement indicated that some workers could be redeployed or take voluntary retirement. The cost of implementing these measures is expected to cost about 600 million Euro (about $937 million U.S.) with annual savings from the restructuring of 300-400 million Euros ($468-624 million U.S.) annually beginning in 2009...find our latest tasting review, of three blends in the Saint Luis Rey line plus the new Hoffman House line, in our News & Views archives for June 27.

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Heard in the Humidor is a publication of Perelman, Pioneer & Company. Copyright 2008; All rights reserved.

Rich Perelman

6/30/08

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