Jump to full article: Reuters, 2004-06-04
Author: Robin Emmott
Intro: Peruvian cigar-maker Tabacalera del Oriente only started selling its tobacco in 2001 but its fans already include President Bush and King Juan Carlos of Spain.
Hand-rolled premium cigars are one of Peru's newest luxury goods as its tobacco industry has been hit by an influx of contraband cigarettes and high taxes in recent years.
Tabacalera del Oriente hopes dignitaries, royals and tycoons will smoke its products as well as -- or instead of -- Cuba's world-famous cigars, considered the classiest in the industry.
Established in 1997 in Tarapoto, northern Peru, by Italian entrepreneur Nicola Felice, Tabacalera del Oriente produced just 300,000 hand-rolled cigars last year . . .
One of Felice's most visible enthusiasts to date has been President Bush, who was presented with two boxes of cigars by Tabacalera during an official visit to Peru in March 2002.
Bush apparently enjoyed the smoke. Felice has a copy of a White House thank you letter pinned to his office wall.
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