with correspondents in Japan, Russia, USA, Sweden; edited by M.Andrew, FIJEV

From Chateauneuf-de-Galaure (Drome) in the southeastern France comes a new entry into the cigar market, Edito. It is a brainchild of Denis Pozin who said: "Made-in-France is a valuable brand in many countries. And if the cigar is very good, the consumer won't mind that it was not made in Cuba or the Dominican Republic." This is the first tobacco business launched in France since Seita lost its monopoly. So Edito is a cigar made in France from tobacco leaves from Caribbean countries and assembled under the supervision of 3 Dominican experts. Orders are already coming from France, USA, Japan and Singapore. Mr. Pozin in his interview with ITH (11/06/01) concluded: "The idea is to create a luxury brand, with high-quality, natural and perfectly made cigars to one day rival Davidoff." Edito packaging identifies origin of the leaves and the year of production. Just like French wines and some Cognacs. (IHT 11/06/01)

PatrickTesseron, a well known innovator of the L'Aventure du Cognac and Cognac producer, JP Tesseron in Migron, has introduced a permanent exhibit "La Route du Cigare, Secrets et Parfums du Havane". Tracing history of Cigar from Christopher Columbus, Andre Thevet (from Cognac region), Jean Nicot to today's Cuba, the exhibit is very impressive. The BNIC (The Cognac Association) and Cognac Cigar Club together with Patrick Tesseron are attempting to resurrect Cognac and Cigar association. While it worked in the 80s to mid-90s in markets like the USA, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, the sales of Cognac Cigar (i.e. Davidoff, Fillioux, Gautier, A de Fussigny) has long dropped off. What's left of this market is limited to Switzerland, Norway and many aficionados around the world. In terms of volume, it has become an insignificant market. The current leader is Cognac Bisquit Cohiba. This attempt of resurrecting the Cognac Cigar market, if successful, will be limited to a few pallets sold in a tiny niche market. "Why the BNIC is spending time and money on this idea?" wondered our cigar smoking and Cognac drinking editor. Worth noting is an innovative attempt by Cognac Drouet in packaging of their XO Cigar; the bottle has space for a cigar. Unfortunately, it is prohibited from selling in France as tobacco has its own monopoly.

08 July 2001