The 4-packs are double-sealed for freshness and are displayed in a small-footprint wooden crate that measures less than 10 x 4 inches and is suitable for display on the sales counter. The packs are suitable as gifts for birthdays and other special occasions and are ideal as impulse purchases at point-of-sale. The suggested retail price is less than $7.00.

The new short corona (3 1/2 x 43) Davidoff Entreacto, as its name implies, was developed for smokers who have very little time to spare, but who do not want to forgo the pleasure of a really first-rate smoke.

"The tobaccos in the blend had to be both relatively mild and strongly aromatic," explain the manufacturers. "Being a small cigar format, the Entreacto makes for a balanced, but full-flavored smoke from beginning to end."

The Davidoff Entreacto belongs to the Davidoff Special Series. Suggested retail price is $6 per stick. Cigars are present either in 4-packs ($12 retail) or wooden boxes of 20 cigars ($120 retail).

"Excalibur Royal Sterling debuted last year with three sizes and has met with strong demand from retailers and consumers alike," says Whit Beebe, director of marketing for Excalibur Royal Sterling.

"Since the consumer preference for robusto sizes remains a prevalent trend within the cigar industry, we developed Dignitas, a 52 ring gauge offering, which we believe will be a welcome and fast-selling addition to the line." Suggested retail pricing for Dignitas is $5.60 per cigar, or $112 per box of 20 cigars.

"This smoke is a tribute to Columbus, who opened the first 'tobacco-way' between American and Europe," explains Molinari. Due Mondi are cello-wrapped and presented in full-color two-packs.

This large ring-gauge cigar combines filler from three different Central American growing regions; a Connecticut binder; and a dark, oily Costa Rican wrapper. Four shapes are currently shipping: Robusto (5 x 52), Cuban Belicoso (5 1/2 x 52 torpedo), Gordo (6 x 54), and Churchill (7 x 50). A fifth shape, the Medalist Tubo (6 x 47), will be packaged in aluminum tubes and will launch at the August 2005 RTDA Trade Show.

In a departure from the contemporary look of Alec Bradley's other cigar box styles, the company is presenting Medalist in a traditional Cuban-style paper-covered cedar box with paper-taped edges and classic graphics. Ten cigars are packaged in a single level. Medallion images on the package are printed in traditional metallic ink, known for its lush richness, rather than more common gold foil.

Medalist is breaking new ground for Alec Bradley, notes Rubin. "It delivers a lot of flavor and body for a $5.00 cigar," he says, "and is aimed at a higher market plateau than our present value-priced premium cigars. This higher quality requires higher-grade leaf and tighter factory [quality control] standards, which make the cigar worth the extra cost."