New Cigar brands

[RevSmoke]

As I have been a cigar smoker for over 30 years, my idea of new cigar brands is probably different than most. If it hasn't been around for at least 10 years, it is a new brand (and by the way, if it is a brand that makes some claim to having been around in 18??, but has not been produced in the last 10 years, it also qualifies.

I have seen brands come and go. In fact, during the "cigar boom" in the mid-'90s I saw boutique cigar brands pop up like dandelions, some of them were around a year, some a few years, some still remain to this day. Every one of them had some story and or connection to a wonderful history... "Great-grandfather Humberto was a torcedor in what later became Cuba, he trained his son, and grandson, and when Castro came the family left. We are now reviving the old family name and tradition, the grandson Humberto III has teamed up with Ricardo Montebalm, whose family has been growing tobacco in the Vitano region of Hispanola for 3 generations. They are producing a cigar that is reminiscent of Cuban cigars before the reign of Castro; elegant and yet displaying the distinctive flavors of this old tradition."

OK, so my creative writing isn't the best - and maybe I exaggerated a bit by saying they "all" had a history. They all did claim to have the best rollers (all trained in Cuba) and the finest tobacco.

But, I write this to ask a question.

I recently read someone going to great lengths to buy up some La Palina sticks, a brand that has fairly recently returned to the scene after existing the scene in 1926. Yes, I read their history (part of what prompted above). But the fact remains that they are a fairly recent addition to the cigar world. I haven't tried them for I personally believe they haven't been around long enough, and at $15 a stick (yes, I have seen them for about $7 a stick) I am reluctant to try this supposed "mild, smooth, elegant" cigar. I have seen a couple people claim they are really good. But, I remain skeptical.

Anyway, La Palina isn't the only newbie on the block. I am noticing a bunch of "Boutique brands popping up lately - La Duena, Curivari, and many others.

It got me to thinking...
During the boom, there were reasons that many of those boutique brands lasted a short while and then disappeared. They sold for outrageous prices, and the people that smoked them claimed they were the greatest. People would walk around cigar bars with their expensive bands exposes, puffed up chests claiming how they are smoking the latest, greatest, bestest cigar out there... And then you saw them at JR Cigars for 1/10th their original price (I seriously bought a couple boxes of some cigars for $29 which has originally sold for $290 a box only a couple years earlier).

I know people have said that today, with the internet, the cigar smoker is more educated. I am still skeptical. Has the internet made us more educated? Or maybe more easily duped. I think that through the internet it is easier to shovel more BS over a greater area and in a more efficient manner. After all, if it is on the internet, it has to be true.

Now, some of these new boutique brands may be great. Some of them may have found someone (named Fred) who is speaks highly about them on some cigar bulletin board and then a bunch of people join in. Since Fred really likes them, they all buy them, try them, and love them (you cannot speak out against what Fred likes). Next thing you know, they're the latest and greatest cigar out there.

OK, maybe I am going overboard. I am personally a big fan of the Curivari line, so I am guilty of liking something new and making it known.

What I am getting at is this - are there really that many new "excellent cigars coming out?" And how come the excellent ones are always so expensive? There are a ton of new cheaper cigars coming out as well. I think those might even outsell the more expensive ones.

What makes La Palina that much better than Don Oslvaldo cigars? Will either stand the test of time.

I notice marketing trends seem to rule the was CA rocks. It is this year's release of cigar X, or the limited release of cigar Z that gets all the attention.

I know I must sound like a broken record, but I wonder if sometimes the newness of a cigar and a demanding price don't help to sell a cigar and make it popular, at least for a moment.

As an example, what has happened to Taboo cigar smokers on CA? Used to be that they were an extremely popular brand. I have some HSGs and Twists from back in '05 - '08 that are excellent. Has the brand gone downhill? Has the owner/operator at Taboo offended the CA membership? Or, is that the way of the boutique brand - they are popular for a time, and then people realize the cigars aren't that good? Or is there some other reason?

Personally, I'm going to have an ERdM Robusto this afternoon on the links. The last one I had (bought in 2011) reminded me of some that I had smoked back in the early 1990s.

Peace of the Lord be with you.