Bolivar Fuerte is described as "a rich blend of the finest hearty tobaccos available in the world today and proves to [Padron's] strongest creation to date... a full-bodied cigar with heavy flavors, heady aroma, and intense finish." The line is intended for "connoisseur" level smokers.

The blend combines Honduran Viso leaf and potent Nicaraguan ligero long filler; a thick flavorful Connecticut broadleaf binder; and a dark, naturally sun grown Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper leaf.

The line is available in ten classic sizes: Cabinet No. 554 (5 x 54), Cabinet No. 654 (6 x 54), Cabinet 754 (7 x 54), Cabinet No. 1 (7 x 42), Double Corona (6 7/8 x 48), Belicoso Fino (6 1/4 x 50), Cuban Corona (5 3/4 x 46), Corona (5 1/2 x 43), Delmonica (6 x 50), and Palmita (5 x 38).

Cigars are packed uncellophaned in wheels of 25 within a heavy Spanish Cedar cabinets.

Davidoff also announced it is now making its Private Stock Medium Filler No. 2 - a classic Grand Corona shape - available in tubes. The Private Stock Medium filler line uses the one-inch long offcuts from Davidoff, Avo, and Griffins cigars produced in Davidoff's Dominican Republic factories. These premium offcuts are rolled together with half a tobacco leaf that rounds off the blend and creates a compact ash. A binder leaf from Ecuador and a Connecticut wrapper leaf complete this innovative cigar.

The No. 2 Tubo comes in a box of twenty that converts into its own compact yet eye-catching display. Suggested retail, $2.50 per cigars.

The Cuban Parejo Rothschild, a 4 x 60 super robusto, received a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars in the latest issue of European Cigar Cult Journal Magazine. It is available as a Nicaraguan puro - 100% Nicaraguan filler, binder, and sun-grown rosado or maduro wrappers. The line is also available with a top-grade Connecticut shade natural wrapper.

The Cuban Parejo is available in four uncommonly large sizes: Rothschild (4 x 60), Epicure (6 x 62), Corona Gigante (7 x 56), and the Belicoso Fino (6 x 60 torpedo) in cedar boxes of 20.

Cuban Parejo boxes are sealed with the Parejo band. The cigar bands were completed by Vriydag in Holland, manufactures of the world's most elegant cigar bands. The cigars are carefully placed in a unique sling with the Parejo logo hand stitched, and the Parejo insert inlayed within the lid of the box. The front of the clasp is is stamped with the Perdomo "P."

The Rothschild was lauded by EECJ as being "spicy... expressive... smoky... beginning with intensive, very well-balanced aromas ... concentrated and complex in texture... aesthetic in its structure and underlined with subtle touches... a perfectly balanced medium-strength top cigar with offers an intensive smoking pleasure."

"We changed the packaging on our line of flavored cigarillos last year, and when their sales doubled, we knew we were on to something," reports Alan Rubin, Alec Bradley's president.

"We had to give the consumer a reason to pick up our cigars and try them, knowing that once they did they would enjoy the flavor and aroma. So, we designed a very bright, colorful wraparound that really catches the eye," Rubin says. "Each cigar also has its own band, which adds a touch of class. The success of this new artwork was proven with the surge in sales of the cigarillos."

Gourmet Dessert Cigars are available in three sizes and five flavors: a 31/4" x 22 cigarillo, a 41/2" x 28 Petite, and a 6" x 38 Corona. The flavors are vanilla - the most popular - rum, cherry, Amaretto, and chocolate. The cigarillo comes in 10-packs of five cigars each, and retails for $3.40 per pack. The Petites are $1.20 each ($30.00 per 25 -bundle); and the Coronas are $2.30 each ($57.50 per bundle of 25). All are at keystone.

"We make it attractive for the retailer to sell the cigarillos in the five-packs," says Rubin, "so he can make a $3.50 sales instead of 99 cents per individual cigarillo." Alec Bradley Cigars offers a countertop display for its Gourmet Dessert Cigars, with only a 4 x 6 inch footprint.

The medium-length filler blends Nicaraguan and Honduran leaf, the binder is Nicaraguan, and the wrapper is Havana 2000 tobacco. "All our flavorings are used in the baking industry and FDA-approved," states Rubin, "because chemical flavoring agents taste bad when burned, and shorten the shelf life."

The company also offers several lines of long-filler handmade premium cigars, made by Hendrik Kelner in the Dominican Republic.

In testing with adult smokers, Jade consistently provided a "much fresher, cleaner aftertaste," says the company.

The distinctive holographic packaging identifies Jade as both a premium product and as being different from other menthol offerings. The packaging has been consumer tested and clearly appeals to all market segments.

The company will sell Marlboro Special Blend at retail from November 19 through December 31, the spokesman,. The cigarette, sold in full flavor and light versions, is a different tobacco blend than its well known Marlboro cigarettes, he said.

Revel is a blend of premium tobaccos and fresh mint flavor in clean and neat, discreet, easy-to-use packs. Consumers place a pack anywhere in their mouth where they feel it is comfortable to enjoy full tobacco. Revel comes in two varieties - regular and mild. Unlike many smokeless tobacco products, adults who have tried it report that they feel no need to expectorate.

Revel will be test marketed in Topeka, Kansas and Youngstown, Ohio starting in October and lasting at least six months.