From the Desk of La Aurora

<FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE>

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On March 11, 2011, an 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit the island of Japan -- the biggest earthquake in Japanese official record. The tsunami that followed caused unprecedented devastation on a level unseen by the Japanese people since War World II.

The voices and images of desperation have struck deeply in the hearts and souls of the Dominican people whom, for many decades, have built a close bond with Japan. La Aurora Cigar Factory has echoed the expressions of solidarity of its employees and suppliers, and is glad to announce the creation of a special edition cigar to help the humanitarian response to this disaster. “We are very pleased to lay our helping hand to our brothers of Japan by supporting the humanitarian assistance to this great nation,” says Guillermo Leon, President of La Aurora. “When hurricanes have struck the Dominican Republic, Japan was there for us,” Leon added. Proceeds from the sales of this cigar will be donated to the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief fund through JAPAN TOBACCO IMEX CO. LTD.

The cigar named “Para Japón” or “For Japan” is a 5” x 50, medium to full bodied vitola, made with selected premium tobacco leaves. These cigars have been aged during three years and its blend is something really unique with an exquisite Nicaraguan wrapper. Its package of 25 Sumo Robustos is decorated with special artwork by Mario Takeyama and Dan Reeve, the design team of CigarExplorer.com. Being involved in this project was important and personal to Cigar Explorer, as founder Mario is a native of Japan and still has many friends and family living there.

The “Para Japón” cigar will be available thru La Aurora distributors on April.

For US market, The “Para Japón” cigar will be distributed by Miami Cigar & Company, La Aurora US Exclusive Distributor.

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About La Aurora

La Aurora is the first Dominican Cigar factory. It was established in 1903 and is own by the León family whose roots in the tobacco industry trace back to the early 19th century. The factory is part of Grupo León Jimenes Corporation, the largest industrial group in the Caribbean. La Aurora brands are among the most well known cigars, with sales in more than 50 countries around the world.

www.laaurora.com.do

http://www.glj.com.do

About Cigar Explorer

Cigar Explorer is a production company injecting excitement to the cigar community, with revolutionary tools, to discover and explore the world of cigars. It creates content that helps cigar community strengthen its passion for cigar culture at CigarExplorer.com in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

CigarExplorer.com | Experience the Discovery.

thanks for reading guys,

Dan
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hmm, what an interesting way for humanitarian assistance! i'll be sure to invest!

Great read too!! Thanks!
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This is very cool.
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sounds like a good cause

what was the original project these cigars were blended for?

is the binder/filler dominican or nicaraguan like the wrapper?
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What a great idea. When should we expect these to be avialable?
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I will definitely look for these once they hit the shops...

Cudos to you and La Aurora for creating these and donating the proceeds to those in need. :-)
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:-)
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I'm not sure what the project was for these cigars before this one. We were told it was one stick/size that previously had only been available to Europe, but then a week or so later they told us they wanted to something "really special" so the cigar blend/size changed.

what you read above is as much as I know. I didn't write it. It came from La Aurora's marketing team. If I find out more I'll post it here.

Thanks for the feedback :-)

Dan
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not trying to be a smart ass just curious, obviously if they have been aging for 3 yrs this was not the original purpose

thanks for posting, as La Aurora makes some wonderful cigars
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Didn't think you were :-)

Dan
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cool just making sure, interpreting the written word is subjective and susceptible to misrepresentation
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If this is a Nic wrapper over Dominican guts, I can't believe it's anything but a good, powerful, delicious smoke. I'll go see if I can find it available for purchase-o.
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I just called Miami Cigar. Immediate release means "call them back in two weeks". I think someone got a little excited writing he press release.
Edit:
After a bit more borderline genius thought, I suppose "immediate release" related to the news, that it was to be immediately released publicly. It doesn't state when the cigar will be available.
Nielo at Miami Cigar seemed unaware of he news at first, then I think he realized what I was talking about. He expected availability to be at 2-3 weeks but wasn't sure, then suggested I call back in two weeks, when he expected to know a bit more about availability.
Whew, that's better. :-)
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I swear I read that like 3 times to make sure i wasn't missing it. Unbelievable! :-)
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it happens
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We hope to have these available ASAP. We will keep you informed, or at least that is our intention.
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It's a great way to help, I will be buying some for sure!
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any answers to the questions above about the blend and original intent of these sticks?
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Awesome! :-)
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Pretty great exposure for this cause on both twitter and the front page of http://www.cigaraficionado.com/

thanks everyone for spreading the word!

Dan
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