Special cigar gift

rzaman

Today I was invited to a colleague's house for launch. He is also a cigar smoker. We smoke rarely but we have been friends over two and half years. After the launch he gave me a vintage cigar because he thought I would have apprecitated the history behind it. In a nutshell, this cigar was given to one of our political officer who was assigned at our embassy in Tokyo. He was a guest to a state dinner party and a Royal Japanese Official gave him this cigar in 1986. He never smoked it because it was a special gift to him. Finally, he met my friend and handed over to him. My friend kept this cigar with him over 15 years. It is a candela wrapper cigar, the band has the Imperial Seal of Japan(Chrysanthemum flower). I did some research but couldn't discover any information. This is another reason why I love cigar, friendship and the culture around it. Most probably I will never smoke it. Here are some pictures:

Toombes

That's light years beyond cool! I agree, that's one to hold on to.

danielzreyes

Awesome story brother.

ShotgunJohn

wow what a cool cigar and a cool story, congrats brother.

farinahome

Very cool, thanks for sharing the story with us!

gmill880

Thats a sweet gift !

taythegibs

woah thats awesome!

skweekz

That's pretty freakin awesome man. Great friend!

Knoxca1

There is a cigar bar that I go to on a regular basis whose owner is very knowledgeable about cigars. I'll show him the pictures and relay the story to see if he knows anything about it

rzaman

That would be very nice. I appreciate it Knoxca.

Knoxca1:

There is a cigar bar that I go to on a regular basis whose owner is very knowledgeable about cigars. I'll show him the pictures and relay the story to see if he knows anything about it

kuzi16

there is a good chance that it is a Cuban cigar. For many many years Japan has had a booming Cuban cigar market (in relation to no cuban cigars there) and candela is a very popular wrapper for cuban cigars handed out to dignitaries all over the world.
of course this is all speculation, but i would not be surprised.

ENFIDL

That's really awesome. Great gift and an even better story

Rhamlin

kuzi16:

there is a good chance that it is a Cuban cigar. For many many years Japan has had a booming Cuban cigar market (in relation to no cuban cigars there) and candela is a very popular wrapper for cuban cigars handed out to dignitaries all over the world.
of course this is all speculation, but i would not be surprised.

Well there you have it. If I was a bettin man, which I am. Id put my money on Kuzi. That is one awesome stick.

Knoxca1

Here's some info on it. It's called Onshi cigar(??(Onshi) ??(cigar)) not sure if the characters will show up. Onshi means an imperial gift. I'm waiting for some addtional information specific to your time frame but it is mostly likely cuban made. Very hard to get non cubans in Japan. It is only given out by the Japanese Embassy staff so it is pretty rare one to have. Kuzi is correct that it has a candela wrapper, new ones are very green. I have a picture of what a new one looks like (not mine) but not sure how to post it.

rzaman

Thanks for the info. You can upload the picture at photobucket.com and paste the HTML link here. Again, thanks Knoxca.

Knoxca1:

Here's some info on it. It's called Onshi cigar(??(Onshi) ??(cigar)) not sure if the characters will show up. Onshi means an imperial gift. I'm waiting for some addtional information specific to your time frame but it is mostly likely cuban made. Very hard to get non cubans in Japan. It is only given out by the Japanese Embassy staff so it is pretty rare one to have. Kuzi is correct that it has a candela wrapper, new ones are very green. I have a picture of what a new one looks like (not mine) but not sure how to post it.

Knoxca1

rzaman:

Thanks for the info. You can upload the picture at photobucket.com and paste the HTML link here. Again, thanks Knoxca.

Knoxca1:

Here's some info on it. It's called Onshi cigar(??(Onshi) ??(cigar)) not sure if the characters will show up. Onshi means an imperial gift. I'm waiting for some addtional information specific to your time frame but it is mostly likely cuban made. Very hard to get non cubans in Japan. It is only given out by the Japanese Embassy staff so it is pretty rare one to have. Kuzi is correct that it has a candela wrapper, new ones are very green. I have a picture of what a new one looks like (not mine) but not sure how to post it.

Forgot I had an account there. Hope this works.

danielzreyes

Wow!. check out the difference. Talk about age.

Knoxca1

Here's a picture of the box it comes in. http://www.shojikido.com/cgi-local/mt/archives/shojikido/000274.html

rzaman

Hi Knoxca1, Thanks again for sharing the link. I am in search for this cigar and confident to collect some more. I am getting close to the deal-:)

Knoxca1:

Here's a picture of the box it comes in. http://www.shojikido.com/cgi-local/mt/archives/shojikido/000274.html

Knoxca1

rzaman:

Hi Knoxca1, Thanks again for sharing the link. I am in search for this cigar and confident to collect some more. I am getting close to the deal-:)

Knoxca1:

Here's a picture of the box it comes in. http://www.shojikido.com/cgi-local/mt/archives/shojikido/000274.html

Your welcome and good luck to you in your endeavor. On the cigar forums over here the Japanese cigar enthusiasts have expressed frustration on how difficult it is for Japanese citizens to obtain these.

rzaman

I understand that. I spent a year in Japan and saw they highly value the Imperial items though they are a democratic nation. They still respect the Royal family with deep feeling. I am with the diplomatic core and met my Japanese counter part a week ago. Here the embassy is small and they receive very small lot of these cigars but he is checking with his superior if he can get a box for me. he said it shouldn't be difficult. I gave him a very nice gift as a sign of Nakama Tomodachi-: )

Knoxca1:

rzaman:

Hi Knoxca1, Thanks again for sharing the link. I am in search for this cigar and confident to collect some more. I am getting close to the deal-:)

Knoxca1:

Here's a picture of the box it comes in. http://www.shojikido.com/cgi-local/mt/archives/shojikido/000274.html

Your welcome and good luck to you in your endeavor. On the cigar forums over here the Japanese cigar enthusiasts have expressed frustration on how difficult it is for Japanese citizens to obtain these.

Knoxca1

I'm curious if the box will be the same. The box in the picture is a few years old. Would love to see a picture of a full box once you get it.

The Sniper

A limited edition cigar from a foreign country with extremely limited availability - oh year, that also happens to have TWENTY SIX YEARS on it? Yeah, Id say that qualifies as a special cigar gift!!! BEYOND AWESOME MAN!!!

With the candela wrapper and 26 years on it, I wonder what that would taste like?

rzaman

I am not going to smoke it until I receive some more. It is a piece of history to me. The cigar traveled through seven different countries before came into my possession.

The Sniper:

A limited edition cigar from a foreign country with extremely limited availability - oh year, that also happens to have TWENTY SIX YEARS on it? Yeah, Id say that qualifies as a special cigar gift!!! BEYOND AWESOME MAN!!!

With the candela wrapper and 26 years on it, I wonder what that would taste like?

pbchevo

rzaman:

I am not going to smoke it until I receive some more. It is a piece of history to me. The cigar traveled through seven different countries before came into my possession.

The Sniper:

A limited edition cigar from a foreign country with extremely limited availability - oh year, that also happens to have TWENTY SIX YEARS on it? Yeah, Id say that qualifies as a special cigar gift!!! BEYOND AWESOME MAN!!!

With the candela wrapper and 26 years on it, I wonder what that would taste like?

yea dont smoke it i would keep also

rzaman

Enrique José Bolaños was the President of Nicaragua from 10 January 2002 to 10 January 2007. Most probably he was the most honest president in Nicaraguan political history with a clear vision. He wanted to built another major canal though Nicaragua along with Panama canal to put his country on the global map as an important trade route. If you are familiar with Nicaraguan history then you may remember that it was full of bloody chaos such as Contra war under Reagan Administration, many political coups etc. etc.

Anyway my intention is not to talk about Nicaragua politics rather than a special Nicaraguan State gift cigar from President Bolano to other foreign dignitaries, diplomats and political guests. I have been friends with President Bolanos daughter over a year. Today she came to my office and said - "I know you love cigar very much and a collector. I have a very special gift for you which I never wanted to give anyone. I have decided to give it you because I know you will appreciate it." When her father was elected as the President of Nicaragua this cigar boxes where specially made for his personal consumption as well as part of the Nicaraguan State gift for the foreign dignitaries. I thought It would be nice to share the pictures with you.

Heavy

Holy $hit! Guess it's an understatement to say that you don't see something like that every day. Awesome pickup and very cool story.. thanks for sharing.

Do you think you'll ever smoke them?

rzaman

I will at least smoke one since I have five of them.

Heavy:

Holy $hit! Guess it's an understatement to say that you don't see something like that every day. Awesome pickup and very cool story.. thanks for sharing.

Do you think you'll ever smoke them?

Imgembo

Heavy:

Holy $hit! Guess it's an understatement to say that you don't see something like that every day. Awesome pickup and very cool story.. thanks for sharing.

Do you think you'll ever smoke them?

Dude what ever it is you do for a living i hope to grow up and do that to!. You have a killer story almost every damn day. Congrats on that pick up. Beautiful presentation!

rzaman

Lol..you don't want my job because it is very stressful. However, at the same time I love it.

Imgembo:

Heavy:

Holy $hit! Guess it's an understatement to say that you don't see something like that every day. Awesome pickup and very cool story.. thanks for sharing.

Do you think you'll ever smoke them?

Dude what ever it is you do for a living i hope to grow up and do that to!. You have a killer story almost every damn day. Congrats on that pick up. Beautiful presentation!

Roberto99

Thanks for sharing all this with us. Things most of us here would never get to see.