Davidoff of Geneva says the blend of these hand made cigars cannot be compared in strength and aroma with any of the existing Avo series, which delivers a particularly robust and aromatic taste. The specially sun-grown wrapper leaf from Ecuador was fermented several times in the Dominican Republic. The filler blend consists of select Ligero and Seco tobaccos of the Piloto and San Vicente varieties, culled from four different growing areas in Cibao Valley in the Dominican Republic. The different growing areas lend the tobaccos a unique, unmistakable note.

The Avo Signature cigars are available in three traditional formats: Robusto (5 x 52), Lonsdale (6 1/4 x 43), and Small Corona (4 1/2 x 43), and offered in elegant wooden boxes of 10.

Helix Maduro’s mild flavor and low price - four sizes each under $4 retail - are like the original Helix natural. Both have wrapper from Connecticut, but the Maduro’s is a Connecticut broadleaf compared to the natural’s shade-grown wrapper. Helix Maduro has a rich, dark color while the natural features a light blond color.

“Like the unique, electric blue packaging for Helix Natural, the Maduro packaging is also non-traditional and quite surprising,” said U.S. Cigar Sales president Larry Palombo. “Helix Maduro’s predominantly purple packaging takes it a step beyond while still being tasteful and attractive.”

In keeping with the brand’s original concept: ‘expect the unexpected,’ the shape line-up for Helix Maduro differs from Natural.

U.S. Cigar kept the X550 and X652 from the original shape line-up, but substituted the others with a 6 x 52 Pyramid-sized cigar called Helix Maduro XP and an 8 x 54 shape called Super 8. “We like to keep it fresh,” explained Palumbo, “and, more importantly, keep people guessing about Helix.”

Each pack tin contains twenty Natural American Spirit cigarettes and features the distinctive NAS tobacco chief logo embossed on the tin. Seven different styles of cigarettes are available in pack tins: Regular Filter (blue), Medium Filter (green), Light Filter (yellow), Ultra Light Filter (yellow and white), Menthol Light Filter (green and white), Non-filter (brown) and Perique Blend Regular Filter (black).

Pack Tin cartons, containing ten Pack Tins each, come in the standard carton colors and are suitable for consumer displays. To help retailers promote this limited-edition packaging, brilliantly designed and highly effective point-of-sale materials are available on request directly from Santa Fe Natural Tobacco. Due to weight, cases will be shipped in two 25-carton containers at no additional cost to retailers.

“The addition of the Ipanema size is a direct answer to the deluge of requests we’ve received over the past months asking for another shape in our Brazilia line,” said CAO vice president Tim Ozgener. “This new shape promises to be ‘tall and tan and lovely,’ just like the girl from Ipanema in the song made famous by Stan Getz. In keeping with the imagery that the beaches of Ipanema conjure up, we’ve chosen to package these cigars in dynamic, red boxes designed specifically for this shape.”

The festive “Ipanema-red” box is a departure from the brand’s existing green box. Suggested retail price will be $5.95 per stick, packaged in 20 cigars per box.

Brazilias are made from Nicaraguan filler and binder leaf and feature authentic Brazilian wrappers, produced by Carlos Tora packaged in 20 cigars per box.

“This introduction establishes Arango as the leading supplier of products to satisfy the previously untapped market for high-grade flavored RYO tobacco,” says president Michael Gold. Last December, Arango also introduced Jason, a premium American blend RYO cigarette tobacco.

Arango Sportsman RYO and Jason share the same blend: Virginia, Burley, and a touch of Turkish, for richness. The two tobaccos are manufactured exclusively for Arango, by Mac Baren Tobacco Company, a fourth-generation Danish tobacco manufacturer. Both feature a unique “dual-usage, medium-fine cut,” with long lines. This cut is suited to rolling by hand or with a rolling machine. The more consistent cut offers easier machine-rolling than the traditional short-cut tobacco, according to Mac Baren. Additionally, when hand-rolled, the cigarettes light and smoke more easily.

Arango Sportsman Vanilla RYO cigarette tobacco comes in 10 ounce airtight Ziploc bags, or in a 5.29 ounce can. Each packing includes 200 papers, and both are competitively priced.

Packed in a 10-unit countertop display carton, these eye catching two pack sleeves - specially marked with the tagline “Introductory Offer” - will sell for just slightly more than a single pack. Each twin pack contains two 20-count luxury tins.

The Shermans feel that all natural cigarillos are still a very under-developed market that can benefit from this type of promotion.

This long filler cigar is made from a blend of local Connecticut broadleaf and Nicaraguan tobacco and is finished with a five-year-old Cuban-seed corojo wrapper. The cigars are co-manufactured in Nicaragua and in Hazardville, Conn. Not for the novice, these cigars are said to have “explosive undertones,” according Michael Tarnowicz, owner of Tobacco Valley Cigar Company.

Old Powder Keg is available in six sizes: Churchill (7 3/4 x 48), Torpedo (6 x 50), Lancero (6 x 46), Robusto (5 x 50), Power Ranger (5 x 52), and Corona (5 x 42). Cigars are packed in 24-count wood boxes.