DogWatch Cigar Radio #328 May 27,2011

This week Bob and Dale discuss the latest in the cigar industry, including Michael Herklots moving from Davidoff to Nat Sherman, Sam Leccia returning to the premium cigar business, Guillermo León Herbert becoming the independent owner of La Aurora, and Vanderburgh Humidors being selected by the Indianapolis Speedway to build its limited edition cigar humidor. The Cigar of the Week is the Punch Upper Cut. The cigar featured on the "What's My Band?" blind smoke test is the Licenciados Toro.

Cigar of the Week - Punch Upper Cut by General Cigar.

The history of General Cigar began in 1848 when Ferdinand Cullman immigrated to the US from Germany. His grandson made one of the greatest contributions to the cigar world: the Connecticut Shade wrapper. In 1960, Cullman Brothers bought General Cigar Company and became the largest manufacturer and marketer of premium cigars with impressive brands. In 1997, General Cigar acquired Villazon, the maker of such iconic brands as Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, and Excalibur. Later, General Cigar assumed responsibility for marketing and selling El Credito, whose brands include La Gloria Cubana and El Rico Habano. In 1999, General Cigar sold its mass market business to Swedish Match in order to concentrate strictly on premium brands. In 2000, Swedish Match assumed majority control of General through a stock purchase from Edgar Cullman and family members. Other important brands have been acquired recently, including Helix, Don Tomas and Astral in 2004. Their factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic is run by General Cigar Dominicana, a subsidiary of General Cigar Co., which began processing tobacco in 1975, and started producing cigars in 1978.

The Punch Upper Cut was released in October 2009. Handmade in Honduras with its filler and binder tobaccos grown in Ometepe, Nicaragua, this cigar is perfectly finished with an attractive dark and oily Ecuador Sumatra wrapper. Each cigar has a footband complete with the image of Ometepe and its twin volcanoes

Toro | Length: 6.62 | Ring: 54

Grand Corona | Length: 6 | Ring: 45

Robusto | Length: 5.25 | Ring: 50