Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard plans to have Michigan National Guard members and Reservists help him incinerate some evidence found in a recent drug bust.

About 1,500 cigars recovered from a marijuana dealer will be torched, one at a time, by Michigan military members serving overseas.

"Rather than have them destroyed in an incinerator, it would make more sense to give them to our heroes deployed across the globe," Bouchard said Thursday.

The move isn't designed to encourage smoking. But for military members who partake, the smokes could provide a respite from a stressful routine, Bouchard said.

The stogies carry sought-after Cuban labels such as Cohiba, but Bouchard said the labels are counterfeit; the cigars actually are from the Dominican Republic. "If they were real Cubans, we wouldn't be able to give them away," Bouchard said.

The cigars, valued at around $15,000, were in a car stopped as part of a January drug bust along M-59 in the east end of Oakland County.

Editor's Note: Buy Kahlúa Cigars Now while you can still get them - Click Here

Richmond, VA — General Cigar and Drew Estate announce today that Kahlúa Cigars Delicioso by Drew Estate will be discontinued. Pernod Ricard which recently purchased the Kahlúa brand has exercised its right to not renew the licensing agreement with Drew Estate.

On March 31, 2008 all production of Kahlúa Cigars Delicioso at the Drew Estate factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, will cease. General Cigar will continue to sell the brand until all inventory has been depleted.

Dan Carr, senior vice president of sales and marketing for General Cigar commented, “While we regret the loss of the brand, General Cigar remains committed to the flavored premium cigar category.”

According to Steve Saka, president of Drew Estate, “Although we were proud to be the manufacturer of this internationally renowned brand, we were also well prepared for this eventuality. We here at Drew Estate are very excited to now be able to dedicate production capacity to new coffee infused products that will not only fill, but overflow any void left by Kahlua’s departure.”

In 2002, Drew Estate entered into the licensing agreement with Allied Domecq, then the brand owner of Kahlúa. In July of 2005, Pernod Ricard completed its acquisition of Allied Domecq. Pernod Ricard is the current owner of the Kahlúa brand.

Since its introduction in 2002, Kahlúa Cigars Delicioso by Drew Estate has been one of the best-selling brands in the flavored premium cigar category.

About General Cigar
General Cigar Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Swedish Match AB, manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Passionate about delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar produces Macanudo®, Partagas®, Cohiba®, Punch®, Excalibur®, Hoyo de Monterrey®, La Gloria Cubana® and several other industry-leading brands, which are sold through tobacconists nationwide. In addition, the company grows its own proprietary Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco, as well as natural and candela wrapper in the Dominican Republic. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

About Drew Estate
Established in 1996, Drew Estate Inc. is a privately held manufacturer and distributor of innovative and classic premium handmade cigars for today’s cigar smoker. Regarded as the pioneer and leader in the infused cigar® market, Drew Estate handcrafts in its Esteli, Nicaragua factory ACID®, Natural®, Java by Drew Estate®, and other unique cigars along with its traditional Chateau Real®, La Vieja Habana® and Liga Privada® marks. For more information, please visit: www.drewestate.com.

Editor's Note: Buy Kahlúa Cigars Now while you can still get them - Click Here

Mike Carroll was clerking in 1996 for a Kansas City law firm when one of the firm’s partners gave Carroll his first cigar.

Now, the senior vice president and general counsel for Saddlebrooke Development owns 2,000 cigars and keeps them in an armoire humidor.

“It’s incredibly relaxing,” Carroll says of his penchant for puffing tobacco. “It’s kind of a singular experience – you don’t need anything else.”

Fuente Fuente Opus X by Arturo Fuente is one of Carroll’s favorites, and he describes its taste as “a sharp, kind of spicy flavor.”

Relaxation and taste are the key reasons people smoke cigars, according to Christian Hutson, tobacconist and cigar manager for Just For Him, 1334 E. Battlefield Road in Fremont Center. He said many cigar aficionados also enjoy wine or other high-end alcohols.

“It’s kind of exploring your palate and how different tobaccos affect your palate,” Hutson says. “(On) your palate, you taste bitter, sweet, salty and sour … and you’re able to get different sensations from different types of cigars.”

Just For Him has more than 50,000 cigar brands in stock.

Other stores in Springfield that sell high-end cigars include The Humidor, 2728 S. Glenstone Ave.; Don Johnson’s Tobacco World, 1420 S. Glenstone Ave.; and Brown Derby International Wine Center, 2023 S. Glenstone Ave.

Top cigar accessories are cutters, lighters and humidors. Cutters range from $2 to $400, lighters go up to $100, and humidors range from $40 to $2,000, Hutson says.

Premium cigar prices at Don Johnson’s Tobacco World generally range from $2 to $20, but the store has some Partagas 150 cigars made in 1995 that sell for about $150, says manager Eric Johnson. Customers must ask for the Partagas 150s because Tobacco World doesn’t display them, Johnson notes.

Cigar smoking is a hobby that appeals to “a broad and large cross-section of Springfield,” and cigar clientele includes everyone from “dishwashers to neurosurgeons,” Hutson says.

Even smaller cigars can cost about $5 and take 30 minutes to smoke, so they’re not something to be burned in haste.

Buck Van Hooser leads a group of more than a dozen businesspeople who meet monthly at J.Buck’s restaurant to smoke cigars, have a few drinks and enjoy each other’s company. Van Hooser, who works in sales development for Prestressed Casting Co., has been a cigar smoker for about 30 years.

NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, CHICAGO and MIAMI, March 5 -- CF Dominicana Cigars has officially launched Cigars to the Stars(TM) announced their newest addition to their innovative Cigar Catering(R) service which features on-site Cigar Rollers and Cigar Servers for special events. The popularity of the cigar company's niche has been so successful that celebrities have been gravitating to the cool party attraction for some time, prompting the brand's newest launch, Cigars to the Stars(TM), http://www.CigarsToTheStars.com. These events are planned much in the same way as the consumer events however, they are slanted towards the high profile needs of celebrity red carpet events. The Cigars to the Stars(TM) also marks the introduction of the premium cigars to cigar retailer's stores nationally.

Events coordinated by CF Dominicana Cigars with cigar rollers have gained a strong following with both private parties and large affairs for celebrity clientele. At the Foxwoods Casino, the company's cigar rollers for stars rolled while their Cigar Girls or as the company prefers, Cigar Servers (http://www.CigarServers.com) handed them out for the entire "Sopranos" cast and the "A List" players at the Foxwoods Casino. Photos from the event can be seen at http://www.CigarsToTheStars.com. When the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup in game 6, CF Dominicana was there -- brought in by the Duck's front office just for the game and threw a party with the Stanley Cup on the same night they won the Stanley Cup Championship. The entire team and front office big shots are some of the best people you'll ever meet," says Anthony Fiset, Event Manager for "CF". "The players are some of the classiest guys I've ever met and I can't describe the electricity of being at the arena, with the team, while they are celebrating on the night of the win of the Stanley Cup -- the Cup was right in front of the cigar roller and myself all night -- it was unbelievable." Fox's phenomenon, "24" including the producers and the show's cast enjoyed another Red Carpet event at trendy Les Deux in Hollywood while the cigars rolled for everyone.

"Early on, we planned for Cigar Catering(R) to be run with our own event planners because we were dealing with such important 'life events' for our customers," explains Dennis Briganti, president of CF Dominicana Cigars. "These events have exploded in popularity with celebrities -- many of them are cigar smokers." The attention given to these events has now bolstered the celebrity client list and started the Cigars to the Stars(TM).

Cigar bars would be exempt from New Hampshire's smoking ban under a bill on its way to the state Senate.

The House voted without debate Wednesday to exempt businesses that gets at least 60% of their income from the sale of cigars or cigar-related products. The bill also would allow the business to have a liquor license, which under current law also requires the sale of food.

Employees would be required to sign a form acknowledging they understand the dangers of secondhand smoke and choose to work in the cigar bar. Entry would be prohibited to anyone under age 18.

The state banned smoking in bars and restaurants last year. During the debate over the bill, cigar shops tried unsuccessfully to carve out an exception like one approved Wednesday by the House.

Gov. John Lynch said Wednesday he has not seen the proposal and does not know if he would sign it.