Out of the Humidor

Quesada 35th Anniversary

The Quesada 35th Anniversary cigar comes from the Dominican Republic’s Matasa factory, home of the Fonseca brand. This is the first time the family’s surname has been used as a brand. Though family patriarch Manuel Quesada has long been the force behind Matasa, developing and maintaining some of the most popular cigars on today’s market, the younger generation of Quesadas has been working in Matasa for a number of years now and recently took more of a leadership role in the family business. This “Fifth Generation,” as they are known, is comprised of Manuel’s daughters Raquel and Patricia, his niece Esther, and nephews Jose Manuel, Hostos, and Terrance.

In 2009, Matasa celebrated its 35th anniversary in the Dominican Republic. To honor this milestone, the Fifth Generation took the reins of a project to create a limited-edition cigar that would not only pay homage to the older generations who taught them so much, but also create a new flavor and experience that did not exist in previous Matasa projects.

The Quesada 35th Anniversary is a box-pressed toro (six inches with 49 ring gauge) with a dark, oily Arapiraca wrapper. Though typically grown in Brazil, this particular Arapiraca tobacco was grown in Ecuador. The binder is a Dominican Criollo 98, and the filler is made up of ligero tobaccos from Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, ranging from the late 1990s up to 2009. Incredibly complex, the Quesada 35th Anniversary is full-bodied and rich, with notes of white pepper, black pepper, leather, and earth. It has a spicy core that remains throughout the smoke, while gaining heavier, meatier flavors towards the latter half. Though it burned unevenly at times, the flavor was not adversely affected. Only 1,000 boxes of 20 cigars were released for $239 a box.

Avo Limited Edition 2010

Since the launch of the AVO 75th Anniversary in 2001, Avo Uvezian has been producing an annual limited edition cigar to celebrate his birthday on March 22. These are among the most sought-after cigars available due to their small production and unique characteristics. Each year, the cigar is one shape, one blend, and AVO only presents one opportunity to buy. The release roster has been impressive since the limited edition line’s inception, and many of these cigars have become even more valuable due to the after-market demand. Following the successful AVO 75th, we’ve had the pleasure of enjoying the AVO 22, in 2002; AVO 77, in 2003; AVO Legacy, in 2004; and AVO LE-05, in 2005. In 2006, we celebrated Avo’s 80th birthday with the AVO 80th Anniversary, followed by the AVO LE-07, in 2007; AVO Tesoro, in 2008; and AVO Compañero, in 2009. This year, for his 84th birthday, the AVO LE-10 was launched at a cigar dinner at the Madison Avenue boutique of Davidoff of Geneva, which owns and manufacturers the AVO brand.

The AVO Limited Edition 2010 is a Super Robusto format, at five-and-a-half inches with a 55 ring gauge. It features a beautiful Sun Grown wrapper from Ecuador, combined with Dominican Ligero filler tobaccos and a Sumatra binder from Mexico. It is full-bodied, though its strength is not aggressive but rather ever-present. It envelops the palate with rich, complex smoke that is more velvety than creamy. It possesses a wonderful aroma and maintains a welcomed cool smoke—an effect of the thicker ring gauge.

Though absolutely ready to smoke now, it will no doubt be a cigar that will withstand the test of time in a humidor and develop further in aging. The flavors that now seem so obvious and up-front will soften over time, which should leave you with a more subtle smoke, though still intense. Only 6,000 boxes of 10 cigars were made, the most limited production in recent years for an AVO special release. Each box sells for $155 and they will not be available for long.

7-20-04

In 1874, Roger Sullivan (known as R.G. Sullivan) began a small cigar showroom and manufacturing facility in Manchester, New Hampshire, at 724 Elm St. At the time, he was manufacturing what was then referred to as “clear Havana” cigars (indicating the filler tobacco was Cuban) under the brand name Little Star Dust. Eventually, Sullivan changed the name to 7-20-4, commemorating his address on Elm Street. Around 1909, he bought a seven-story building on Canal Street in Manchester and opened the 7-20-4 factory. By 1925, the 7-20-4 line was world famous, claiming to be the largest manufacturer of 10-cent cigars in the world, producing some 80 million pieces per year.

In 1964, after Sullivan passed away, the family finally closed the factory door. The brand ownership changed hands a few times over the years, until Kurt Kendall, proprietor of Twins Smoke Shop in Londonderry, NH, took ownership. Kendall, who now operates three tobacco shops in the area, had a fascination for tobacco memorabilia, particularly that of the famous local brand and factory 7-20-4, collecting everything from ashtrays to signs, to eventually the trademark, giving him the right to produce and sell the cigar.

Once he settled on a Honduran factory in Danli called Tabacos de Oriente, which is owned and operated by Nestor Plasencia, Kendall says that he went to work developing the blend, formats, and packaging in order to “bring this great American cigar brand back to the shelves of American retailers.”  In April 2009, Kendall’s dream was finally realized and the new 7-20-4 line was launched. Available in five sizes, the cigars use filler tobaccos from Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, and Columbia. The binder is Costa Rican and the wrapper is Mata Fina from Brazil. The cigars range in price from $6.75 to $9 each and are wonderfully medium bodied with a full, rich flavor.

You can learn more about the 7-20-4 brand, as well as Kurt Kendall and Twins Smoke Shop, by visiting www.twinssmokeshop.com or by calling 603.421.0242.