The Cigar Guys J------

Entry no. #7

June 1997

The entries for our new name continue to pour in. We have several contenders and lots of stinkers, e.g., The Cigarden of Eden. We will announce the winner in next month's column. In the meantime, we'd like to report on our Caribbean Cruise.

It began and ended in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The pier is within walking distance of old San Juan. This historic district consists of seven square blocks of restored or carefully preserved 16th and 17th century Spanish colonial buildings. The beautiful old city was founded in 1521 on a hill overlooking the harbor. It is still partially enclosed by protective stone walls.

Old San Juan has churches, galleries, shops, forts, balustrade balconies, narrow cobblestone streets, lots or traffic and the remains of Ponce de Leon. What it does not have is Cuban cigars. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States so the embargo is in effect.

Our next stop was St. Thomas which is one of the busiest cruise ports of call in the world. During the 18th century, St. Thomas was a safe haven for many infamous pirates. The piracy continues today although it now takes place in the island's taxi cabs which are unmetered.

With over 400 shops, the island's main town of Charlotte Amalie is a big draw. Many of the shops were once 17th century warehouses that stored basic commodities. Handicrafts, liquor and jewelry are big sellers. Tee shirts were everywhere. (One girl at a open air stand looked at us and exclaimed, "Hey mon, I got your size" as she held out some 5X shirts for our inspection.) Again, there were no Cuban cigars. The Island is an unincorporated territory of the U.S.

You can find Dominican Cohibas at many shops on Saint Thomas. They look just like their Cuban counterparts. However, the distinctive orange, white and black band does not say " La Habana, Cuba " at the bottom.

By the way, Saint Thomas's Magens Bay Beach, a half mile of trees, white sand and calm waters, is rated by the National Geographic Society as one of the top ten beaches in the world. Did we go there? No way! Bill wanted to snorkel so we went to Coki's Beach, a treeless, narrow beach bordered by a cemetery, old cars and 52 concession stands renting flippers. Bill dispersed some dog food in the water to attract fish and was immediately descended upon by a huge flock of obnoxious sea gulls. We owed the wives, big time, after this one.

We continued on to Saint Maarten. We were out of U.S. territory. Paydirt. Habanos everywhere!!

St. Maarten/ St. Martin is a densely developed island of 37 square miles. It is shared by two governments, one Dutch ( St. Maarten ) and the other French ( St. Martin). Our cruise ship anchored in the harbor at Philipsburg, the Dutch capital. A tender brought us to the Town Pier where we were greeted by a small army of locals waving handwritten signs advertising tours, taxis, hair braiding and various other services. We made our way past this gauntlet and found our way into Philipsburg, a lively, mile-long stretch of pastel colored shops and cafes surrounding a Town Hall built in 1793.

A friendly young fellow in a 76ers jersey directed us towards a shop selling 75 cent beers. We each tried a bottle of Carib, a light beer imported from Milan, Italy of all places. Even though it was only 9:45 AM, It was great.

We saw no cigar stores, per se, in Philipsburg but many of the shops sold cigars in addition to their other wares. Several of the shops had elaborate walk-in humidors. There was a wide selection of Habanos, especially in the smaller shapes which typically sold in the $6.00 to $10.00 range. Gift World, Caribbean Paradise and Fiancee Jewelers are just a few of the places we visited on Front Street.

We heard much about counterfeits so we were cautious. In all cases, based upon our limited knowledge, the cigars looked legit. The boxes displayed the Havana seal, the Habanos S.A. logo, the Hecho en Cuba legend and the factory code. The bands had the Habana designation and the shapes and sizes matched the tables that we brought along with us.

One fellow said he had just received a shipment that day and opened the shipping cartons right in front of us. The cartons contained several boxes of Partagas and some boxes of Cuban pipe tobacco which is a local favorite. He let us inspect the boxes and then opened one for us. We each selected a cigar from the box and then a few more from the shelves.

A slippery looking American walked in and said he wanted several boxes of Habanos to take back to New York City.

"What kind?" the proprietor asked.

"Big fat ones", the American responded. "they love da big fat ones up there."

Obviously, he was a real aficionado.

We then headed to another store and picked up a few more individual cigars. A friend bought a sealed 5 pack of Montecristo No.3's (5 ½" x 42) for $ 45.00. Our selection included Bolivars, some Partagas, Romeo y Julietas, Por Larrangas and Fonsecas which come uniquely encased in white tissue.

Cohibas were nowhere to be found. Finally, as we were walking out of one shop without purchasing anything, the owner asked if we were looking for anything special.

"Cohibas", we said.

He showed us a small refrigerator under the counter. All it contained was a single box of Lanceros.

"$12.95 each" he said. I keep them in the refrigerator because I can't get many of them and I don't trust my small humidor."

We examined the box and the cigars carefully. "Don't try to fool us", we boasted. "We've had Lanceros before."

"Where?" he asked.

"Mexico", we answered.

"Most of the Cohibas in Mexico are fakes." He replied.

He then swore up , down and sideways that these were authentic. We each bought one and smoked them when we got back to the ship. The ones from Mexico were better. We don't think we were duped. Our guess is that the cigars had simply been in that fridge a long time.

Tuesday's stop was Dominica, an independent and relatively undeveloped island of about 73,000 inhabitants on 290 square miles. The volcanic island offers little in the way of beaches or shopping but has spectacular mountain peaks and rain forests with exotic plants, water falls and narrow roads with 60 mph speed limits. (Our tour guide really seemed to enjoy the hairpin turns.) Bananas are grown everywhere; no cigars though.

Tuesday evening, Bill was invited to dine at the Captain's table. He declined. He was afraid he would not be able to order three entrees as he normally does. "Besides", he asked rhetorically, "Why would I want to eat dinner with the guy who gets paid to drive the boat?".

On Wednesday, it was Barbados. We spent most of the day shopping on Broad Street in Bridgetown, a bustling city with a subtle British accent. It was payback time for the Coki's Beach fiasco. The wives bought (and we paid for) lots of jewelry at Colombian Emeralds International, a classy store with branches throughout the Caribbean.

Other than jewelry, everything in Barbados was expensive. We found one store with a well-stocked humidor, but it would only sell Havanas by the box. Prices ranged from $600.00 (US) for Montecristo Especials to $250.00 (US) for a box of Sancho Panzas.

On Wednesday night, the ship sponsored a cigar get-together at the poolside bar. The turn out was modest, but we met some interesting people. One fellow owned several cigar stores in the Pittsburgh area. He was a frequent attendee at trade shows and had once met Carlos Fuente. He told us that at the most recent show, the Davidoff organization seemed more interested in promoting fragrances, neckwear and leather goods than they did cigars.

We mentioned the shops on Saint Maarten and our experience with the guy who let us go through his shipment. He said he had visited the same store shortly after we did and had examined the shipping cartons and their contents. He recognized the supplier's name on the address label and was sure everything we bought there was authentic.

Thursday was our last stop, Martinique. We spent the morning in the capital, Fort-de-France. The guide book says " with its narrow streets and pastel buildings with ornate wrought-iron balconies, the capital city is reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans". We've never been to New Orleans but we hope it's in better shape then Fort-de-France. We found the place pretty run down and the people not particularly friendly. One of our neighbors almost got hit by a bottle when two women at the open air market got into an argument.

Martinique's most famous department store, Roger Albert, offers French perfume, crocodile watch bands and a well stocked humidor sans Cohibas. A store near the Maritime Terminal displayed some Siglo V's for $13.00 each. They were advertised as Havanas but the bands did not say "La Habana, Cuba". Either they were Dominicans masquerading as the real thing or we are simply mistaken as to what should appear in the bands. If anyone knows for certain, we would appreciate hearing from you.

One thing we passed on in Martinique was a tour of the ruins of St. Pierre. It was once the premier city of the island. However, in 1902, the city and its 30,000 inhabitants were incinerated when Mount Pelee erupted. Today, it's a popular excursion but we elected to let the poor souls rest in peace.

Friday was a relaxing day at sea before returning to San Juan. You can only smoke cigars in certain areas of the ship. We chose one right at the stern. There were about 20 people there when we sat down. Five minutes after we lit up, it was just us and our Habanos.

It doesn't get any better than this.

P.S Sorry we missed Marc and Adam Goldstone's Jersey Shore Cigar Crawl 1997. We were looking forward to meeting "Mr. Cigar", Bob Curtis, in person, but we were away on the cruise. We're on for the next one, though.

You can Bill@Enter.netfor any comments or questions.