Smoke stays strong - Currents

Despite anti-smoking restrictions in various cities, cigars still have power to attract ultra-premium crowds, so to ring in the New Year in Las Vegas, Tabacalera Perdomo and Hardy Cognac got together at the Monet Room in the Bellagio Hotel. Tabacalera Perdomo presented each guest with the crown jewel of Perdomo cigars, Edicion de Silvio No. 2 Torpedo, composed of Cuban-seed tobaccos. Only five of Tabacalera Perdomo's torcedors are permitted to handcraft this commemorative cigar, which are stocked in an aerated Spanish cedar cache. Each cigar was paired with Hardy Perfection Air, aged over 130 years and made from pre-phylloxera, Grande Champagne folle blanche and colombard grapes. Price per bottle: $5,100. Hardy also conducted a tasting of the Diamond Anniversary Cognac.