Stogie Guys Friday Sampler No. 238
13 May 2011
As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.
1) Passed one year ago, a ban on the direct shipment of cigars to consumers in Maryland went into effect on May 1. In an email alert dated May 9, Craig Reynolds of Cigars International, an Internet retailer based in Pennsylvania, wrote, “Unbelievable as it may seem, Maryland legislators took away your right to choose where you buy your cigars. We at Cigars International, like many others in the cigar industry, believe this to be an un-American affront to freedom—and will increase the cost of a cigar to you.†Reynolds went on to encourage cigar enthusiasts to contact Comptroller Peter Franchot in an effort to help overturn the anti-cigar legislation.
2) Several events have been scheduled to coincide with New York City’s ban on smoking in parks, which takes effect on May 23. Aaron Sigmund, founding editor of Smoke Magazine and author of Playboy: The Book of Cigars, is hosting a get-together in Central Park on May 21. Cigars will be provided by Alec Bradley, Graycliff, Guillermo León, Hoyo de Monterrey, La Gloria, Macanudo, Montecristo, and Plasencia Reserva Organica. A second event features is being hosted by Bill Paley, President of La Palina, and Glynn Loope, Executive Director of Cigar Rights of America, who are encouraging enthusiasts to bring their own cigars to Samuel Paley Park (named for Bill Paley’s grandfather) on May 23.
3) Inside the Industry: Davidoff is expanding its Puro d’Oro line with the new Eminentes ($18.50), a toro that measures 6.25 inches long with a ring gauge of 52. Also new from Davidoff is the Winston Churchill Lancaster, a belicoso (4.5 x 46) that features an Ecuadorian sun-grown wrapper and sells for $5.75. In other Davidoff news, the company is losing the longtime manager of its two New York locations, Michael Herklot,s who is joining Nat Sherman Cigars as its new executive director of retail and brand development.
4) Around the Blogs: Tiki Bar tries the Illusione Candela. Cigar Fan lights up a Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial. Smoking Stogie smokes the Oliva Master Blends. Stogie Review reviews Padilla La Terraza Maduro. On Your Cigar Ratings, the Tatuaje Havana Varocu No. 1 Verocu Lado Occidental breaks into the top ten.
5) Deal of the Week: The Corona Cigar Co. is celebrating the elimination of Osama bin Laden with an American Pride Sampler. Just $30 gets you three CAO America Bottle Rockets (7 x 50) and the ultra-rare Camacho 2010 Liberty (6 x 54).
photo credit: Flickr
Patrick Ashby
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Patrick Semmens
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GAH!!! STUPID MD!!! I JUST GOT HERE!!! It's ALREADY F'ing with my life!!!!!!
Love the events in New York… but what we really need is an act of civil disobiedience!
Would they really arrest/fine a few hundred peoplewalking into Central Park while peacefully smoking cigars? Time to channel our inner Rosa Parks.
As a Maryland resident, I wish that these internet retailers would carefully read the Bill. The new law does not eliminate the sale of cigars. What it is does do is force internet retailers to register with Maryalnd and collect taxes on the sale of cigars to Maryland residents. As a small business owner, I understand Maryland's approach to this issue but the retailers are simply not having their lawyers interept the law or they do not want to pay the fees in order to lawfully do business in the state of Maryland.
The latter is closer to the truth. No one who does not have a physical location in Maryland should be responsible for collecting MD state sales taxes — the customer is soley responsible, period. Besides, the MD law is unconstitutional. The U.S. Constitution says only the Federal Government can regulate commerce between the states. What's sad is that likely no one will litigate this with the state of Maryland. If only the CAA, the IPCPR, the CRA and other organizations would energize their members, grab this law with both hands and shake it with their lawyers and lobbyists in tow, we could nip this in the nub. But, so far as I can tell, none of these groups is doing anything. Mark my word, with most states in a world of hurt financially, if Maryland gets away with this, look for similar bills to pass and become law in most states. This will spread like wildfire and if the CAA, IPCPR, the CRA and other organizations do little or nothing, the vast percentage of internet volume vendors' sales of cigars will be relegated to local an in-state B&Ms and vendors from overseas, such as the one in Switzerland that sells "chocolates." Great for manufacturers such as Davidoff, Fuente and others who are doing everything possible to control the prices of their cigars and keep them at MSRP, but very bad for the cigar smoking customer.
I agree with ROTHNH. If this is allowed to continue it will become a quagmire for not only cigar sellers but all internet and catalog companies. More states will adopt these policies (except mine since we don't have sales tax) and even take them a step further to include other types of merchandise/retailers.
Also, I think it will actually hurt local tobacco retailers rather than help them. As access to "cheap" product is curtailed, it will drive some people away from cigars. Most of the people that frequent the online retailers still go to a local shop now and again. Many of these people might end up stopping smoking entirely rather than deal with the hassles and added cost of having to stay local. That would include fewer people starting the hobby and jumping into with both feet. The local shops need to just accept the fact that they can't compete with the online retailers on price alone. When they do that, they can focus on what WILL bring business in which is the personal customer service you can't get online and possibly added things like cigar lounges.