I ran across this deal from CigarOne this week and thought it was pretty interesting. It’s basically a Father’s day special, so it is good through June 12. Basically, you buy two boxes of selected habanos, and get a 50% discount on the second. It applies to several great classics, like the Ramon Allones Specially Selected, Partagas Serie D #4, Cohiba Siglo I & II, and Partagas Shorts.

An interesting deal is to buy two Montecristo #4’s for 251.00. That’s not bad if you don’t mind stuffing your humidor with 50 cigars… or… your Father’s.

In response to a few emails and questions regarding both the Navarre Cigar (Part I) and the Navarre Robusto cigar review I wanted to try to fill in a few of the details behind this exceptional undertaking of creating a new cigar made with 100% French tobacco. The first of these Robustos became available throughout France in early January.

It should be noted that the Navarre tobacco plantation is situated in the region of the Béarn in southern France. While the climate in this region is far from tropical, it has been well known for many years for its production of blond tobacco, and is the home of the Tobacco Institute of Bergerac founded in 1927, the only European research center which is totally devoted to the tobacco plant, its production and its post-harvesting treatment.

The challenge for Noël Labourdette was to grow dark tobacco in the area for cigar manufacturing, and for that he turned to the obvious resource—Cuba. You see, since France has trade relations with Cuba, the Navarre is able to benefit from the island’s expertise. In fact he was able to sign up with a Cuban tobacco grower from Pinar del Rio who was willing to come to France and join in on the venture. Having both the “know how” and the resources, the challenge then becomes creating the right conditions for growing good quality dark tobacco in place of the blond strain that is normally produced there. In this case, the Tobacco Institute of Bergerac provided tobacco strains identical to Cuban tobacco plants. It took a couple of years and a good amount of modern technology to arrive at the right conditions for growing the plants, and eventually for curing, drying, and fermenting the leaves. Finally in 2003 the crop was deemed appropriate for launching their introductory cigar in January.

For the moment, the cigar is pretty much only available in France since it is being produced in small batches so that even in France, in some cases, only one tobacconist per city is able to stock them. They are slowly increasing production, but still insist that they are in the quality business not quantity. They do hope to enter the export arena some time in 2007, reaching northern Europe, the U.K. and Spain. I think that if they realized the extent of the Cigar cult in the U.S., not to mention the Cuban embargo, they’d be foolish not to tap that export opportunity before the embargo eventually collapses.

The cigar so far has been received with a great deal of criticism from the average French cigar smoker, which, having lived in this country for six years, does not surprise me. “The French”, as Chirac has noted, “have a habit, which perhaps contributes to their charm as well, of underlining their difficulties and failures”—a brave observation of the basic pessimism of the French public, especially when trying something new.

While it is true that the cigar has some weaknesses (like inconsistent combustion) that have to be addressed, I am very optimistic about what Labourdette has done, considering how incredibly difficult it is to reproduce the tobacco manufacturing art. Granted, right now the cigar is way too expensive for its league, but we’re talking about tobacco that is only grown from May to August in very limited quantities. I expect that the price will have to come down in order for the European public to even consider smoking it, since they have a wide variety of great Cuban cigars to choose from, and seem to have a “Cuban only” fixation. The cigar, however, would do better in the U.S. since in general the public is more open to tobacco from other regions.

So after my little tour of the Navarre cigar factory in the tiny town of Navarrenx, I proceeded across the street to purchase a few of the jewels that had tantalized my imagination at the factory. It turns out that French law prohibits the sale or distribution of tobacco products except at local tobacconist shops… go figure, a cigar manufacturer isn’t allowed to sell his own product, like a winery would. That said, France has never had a tobacco manufacturer before, so that is bound to change.

The excellent looking stick came in a truly French package—a very elegant cardboard box that made me feel like I was about to smoke a chocolate truffle. My feeling at this point is that it can’t get any more French than that.

The cigar itself has a very interesting golden brown color. The wrapper is impeccable, as I would expect it to be, and the aroma is mildly buttery at this point with some cinnamon and nutmeg hints. I clipped the triple cap on the cigar and proceeded to give it a pre-light draw. I got an initial note of hay that moved more and more toward dried red chilly peppers—sort of like crushed pepper flakes, but without the piquant effect… a nice start.

On the light, the foot releases a slightly earthy aroma. The smoke is grassy with defining notes of red bell peppers. There is a good body to it as well. It gave the impression of strength, and I was reassured that I wasn’t smoking a slacker. When solicited frequently, the stick is able to deliver black pepper and spicy notes too. The complexity of the cigar so far made a good impression, considering that it was probably just rolled.

I wasn’t very happy about the quality of the burn, but here I feel that I have to cut these guys a break. I mean, I virtually grabbed this stick right off the roller’s table and, since I’m on the road, I haven’t given it the much needed stabilizing time in my humidor. This is a cigar that I’ll have to re-examine in a couple of years.

At around the half way mark, the cigar takes on a darker, grilled, profile. I was pleased with the roasted notes and the graphite undertone. Increasing notes of grilled bell pepper hint slightly at the classic Ramon Allones Specially Selected. Toward the end I got a dose of coffee and sweet wood, which contributed to the smooth woody finish.

I can only speculate about how the cigar will do with aging. Remember that this cigar is very, very young. But seeing that even in this young state it exhibits some complexity and many nuances, I can only guess it will be great in six months to a year. Beyond that, we’ll have to wait and see… hats off the Navarre for a very good effort!!

This week’s fine spirit comes in the form of the Glenkinchie 10 Year Lowland Scotch whisky. My first impression is that it has a personality of its own. From its hue all the way to the finish, the single malt is just not exactly a conforming lowland malt.

The hue is golden, but with a certain dark translucency that makes me think of ash. On the nose, there are slightly sweet notes that are very malty indeed. I would say that is the predominant characteristic of the nose. Yet, it also has a certain floral attitude. It is very delicate and almost gives an impression of a thin spirit to be revealed.

On the palate, the notes are very evenly balanced. It starts out slightly bitter, like citrus zest, but with substantial sweetness as well. The malt is mingled with spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg. There is also some dryness but not as in the finish, which is of faint smoke with a good dose of dry spices.

Overall, it is an easy drinking scotch and both an elegant and pleasant experience.