There is a fight-back campaign going on right now in protest of the current deletions list. The list as you might know consist primarily of small-ring cigars and the letters below are specific to these smokes. Please feel free to use all or any part of the letters below, or just write one of your own. These continued deletions limit the opportunity for us to enjoy the diversity that has always been the heritage of the Cuban line-up. There is also chatter that they are going to delete entire marcas in the future. We might suggest that they just limit production rather than delete vitolas or marcas. The following text/letters have been donated—with permission for use—by a group of concerned friends.
Please don't include any abuse in the letters. It will get us nowhere and may do more harm than good. What we seek is a re-evaluation not a "lock Down" mode with HSA going on the defensive. Good people do work there, give them something to work with.
Names and address are below, it is also suggested that you send one to each of the gentlemen listed. Postage from the US is just under a buck and is also legal*.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Habanos s.a.
Manuel García Morejón, Javier Terrés, Antonio Pascual, Jorge Luis Fernández Maique
Calle 22 No 115 e/ 1ra y 3ra
Miramar, Ciudad de la Habana
CP 11300
Cuba
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Dear______________,
I am compelled to write this letter after seeing the 2010 Cigar Deletions list.
The list includes many cigars that, for countless cigar smokers, are the essence of smoking a fine Cuban cigar. Among others on the list, the Partagas Serie du Connoisseur Number 1, and the Rey del Mundo Grandes de Espana each represents a smoking experience that cannot be duplicated, or even approximated by switching to different cigar.
Of the 19 cigars scheduled to be taken out of production in 2010, 17 are 46 ring gauge or smaller. That is a disproportionately high number of smaller ring gauge cigars to remove from the market. It is a particularly dubious move given that your competitors in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras are introducing more and more corona, lonsdale and lancero sizes into the market. Many of us who appreciate the rich, focused flavor of thinner cigars grieve for the loss of so many smaller ring gauge Cuban cigars over the last few years.
Taking into account that many of the cigars on the 2010 list are iconic cigars for which there are no substitutions; that the list contains a baffling number of smaller ring gauge cigars but the number of smaller ring gauge cigars in the overall premium cigar market appears to be increasing, not decreasing, I respectfully ask you to reconsider the make-up of the 2010 list in favor of keeping in production many of the outstanding cigars that are currently on the list.
Sincerely,
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Dear______________,
I am a passionate Habanos lover who is in shock at the proposed deletion of the Partagas Serie De Connoisseur Line, No 1, 2 & 3.
These full bodied cigars are unique and of a character which cannot be found in any other Habanos cigar. They are a rich part of Habanos legacy and an essential link to its history. I am disappointed with many of the proposed and past deletions but this is the first time that I will be forced to purchase Non Cuban cigars to meet my requirements for full bodied thin gauge cigars. There is simply nothing left in the Habanos range of cigars to meet these flavour and body requirements.
I implore you to reconsider the deletion of these thin gauge cigars. As a consumer I will not be switching to larger gauge full bodied Cuban cigars, I will be switching my purchases to full bodied non Cuban thin gauge cigars which means I will be spending less on Habanos.
The continued deletion of cigars without consideration towards your core clientele diminishes loyalty to Habanos. In continuing to pull the threads which make up the rich tapestry of Habanos, I fear all you will be left with is a pale imitation of a once great global brand and the disilllusionment of tens of thousands of once Habanos zealots.
Sincerely,
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
*From the USPS regarding Cuba
Service is limited to letters in the usual form, Braille letters for the blind, postcards, and printed matter items sent as First-Class Mail International, International Priority Airmail (IPA) or International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) mailings. Priority Mail International parcel service is not available, but the Priority Mail International Flat-Rate Envelope may be mailed. Prior to mailing, customers need to contact the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in the U.S. Department of the Treasury for general provisions governing U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions and for comprehensive information about goods and service that may not be imported to or exported from Cuba.
Please don't include any abuse in the letters. It will get us nowhere and may do more harm than good. What we seek is a re-evaluation not a "lock Down" mode with HSA going on the defensive. Good people do work there, give them something to work with.
Names and address are below, it is also suggested that you send one to each of the gentlemen listed. Postage from the US is just under a buck and is also legal*.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Habanos s.a.
Manuel García Morejón, Javier Terrés, Antonio Pascual, Jorge Luis Fernández Maique
Calle 22 No 115 e/ 1ra y 3ra
Miramar, Ciudad de la Habana
CP 11300
Cuba
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Dear______________,
I am compelled to write this letter after seeing the 2010 Cigar Deletions list.
The list includes many cigars that, for countless cigar smokers, are the essence of smoking a fine Cuban cigar. Among others on the list, the Partagas Serie du Connoisseur Number 1, and the Rey del Mundo Grandes de Espana each represents a smoking experience that cannot be duplicated, or even approximated by switching to different cigar.
Of the 19 cigars scheduled to be taken out of production in 2010, 17 are 46 ring gauge or smaller. That is a disproportionately high number of smaller ring gauge cigars to remove from the market. It is a particularly dubious move given that your competitors in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras are introducing more and more corona, lonsdale and lancero sizes into the market. Many of us who appreciate the rich, focused flavor of thinner cigars grieve for the loss of so many smaller ring gauge Cuban cigars over the last few years.
Taking into account that many of the cigars on the 2010 list are iconic cigars for which there are no substitutions; that the list contains a baffling number of smaller ring gauge cigars but the number of smaller ring gauge cigars in the overall premium cigar market appears to be increasing, not decreasing, I respectfully ask you to reconsider the make-up of the 2010 list in favor of keeping in production many of the outstanding cigars that are currently on the list.
Sincerely,
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Dear______________,
I am a passionate Habanos lover who is in shock at the proposed deletion of the Partagas Serie De Connoisseur Line, No 1, 2 & 3.
These full bodied cigars are unique and of a character which cannot be found in any other Habanos cigar. They are a rich part of Habanos legacy and an essential link to its history. I am disappointed with many of the proposed and past deletions but this is the first time that I will be forced to purchase Non Cuban cigars to meet my requirements for full bodied thin gauge cigars. There is simply nothing left in the Habanos range of cigars to meet these flavour and body requirements.
I implore you to reconsider the deletion of these thin gauge cigars. As a consumer I will not be switching to larger gauge full bodied Cuban cigars, I will be switching my purchases to full bodied non Cuban thin gauge cigars which means I will be spending less on Habanos.
The continued deletion of cigars without consideration towards your core clientele diminishes loyalty to Habanos. In continuing to pull the threads which make up the rich tapestry of Habanos, I fear all you will be left with is a pale imitation of a once great global brand and the disilllusionment of tens of thousands of once Habanos zealots.
Sincerely,
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
*From the USPS regarding Cuba
Service is limited to letters in the usual form, Braille letters for the blind, postcards, and printed matter items sent as First-Class Mail International, International Priority Airmail (IPA) or International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) mailings. Priority Mail International parcel service is not available, but the Priority Mail International Flat-Rate Envelope may be mailed. Prior to mailing, customers need to contact the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in the U.S. Department of the Treasury for general provisions governing U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions and for comprehensive information about goods and service that may not be imported to or exported from Cuba.
