Join the crowd, sit back and suck on your cigar!<\/p>\n
By Sadie Mah<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Lately, it seems more people are smoking cigars
\nin various nightspots around Jakarta. Take B.A.T.S. at the
\nShangri-La hotel, for instance. The old crowd of Marlboro-smoking
\nmen, high on gin and tonics, may be starting to give way to a new
\ngroup of cigar-smoking patrons.<\/p>\n
Although it's hard to imagine more people would take up this
\nexpensive habit in the middle of a recession, the kind of
\nexposure given by some of the top hotels here does seem to
\nsuggest an emerging trend of cigar-smoking among locals. Or at
\nleast a recognition that there is a market for it.<\/p>\n
The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, for example, decided to gauge the
\ndemands for Cuban cigars by organizing a glitzy Cuban cigar
\nevening last Friday. \"Some of our guests had been suggesting
\nsomething like this be held, so we decided to do it,\" said Alan
\nJ. Hepburn, general manager of the hotel.<\/p>\n
So for Rp 475,000++ each, about 60 guests enjoyed cocktails,
\nfree-flowing wine, a four-course meal and two brands of cigars --
\nBolivar and Hoyo de Monterrey. The mood was that of the good life
\nand carefree indulgence. Lots of confident laughter was heard
\nabove the fragrant smoke as the beautiful of Jakarta sucked and
\npuffed.<\/p>\n
After the event, Ria Leimena, the hotel's public relations
\ndirector, conveyed the hotel's elation: \"We are very excited
\nabout how the event turned out. And yes, it's very likely that we
\nwill be holding more cigar evenings in the future.\"<\/p>\n
Some hotels have even reported an increase in cigar
\nconsumption. \"Cigar sales at our hotel have increased 60 percent
\nsince a year ago,\" said Satrio Widjojo, food and beverage manager
\nof the Shangri-La hotel. The Shangri-La has been offering Cuban
\ncigars for two years at the Margeaux Restaurant and B.A.T.S., but
\ndue to increasing demands, has recently made them available also
\nat the lobby lounge.<\/p>\n
\"If one person smokes at a table, I can almost guarantee that
\nthe others will also ask for cigars,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Borobudur Hotel is equally excited about the apparent
\ntrend. \"There is definitely a cigar trend in Jakarta,\" said Paolo
\nRandone, food and beverage manager. He said the hotel only
\nstarted selling cigars seriously this year when it became part of
\nthe Discovery Hotels and Resorts.<\/p>\n
\"Even though cigar consumption in our hotel has dropped a
\nlittle since the economic crisis, it's starting to pick up again.
\nI really see a market for it,\" Randone said. \"Besides, the fact
\nthat other five-star hotels are offering cigars makes it a must
\nfor us to do the same.\" The hotel purchased a new humidor last
\nmonth and offers Cuban cigars in all their restaurants.<\/p>\n
Kempinski Hotel started selling cigars seven months ago. \"A
\nlot of guests were asking for them, and we knew that other hotels
\nwere also providing them, so in a way, we had to do it,\" said
\nRizal Sultoni, assistant food and beverage manager for the hotel.<\/p>\n
Even local producers are starting to recognize the market.
\nThree months ago, kretek (clove cigarette) producer PT Djarum,
\nwhich has been producing cigars for export for more than 10
\nyears, began to retain 10 percent of its cigars for the local
\nmarket. The company's cigars carry the label of Dos Hermanos, and
\nare mostly rolled with a blend of Cuban and Brazilian tobacco.
\nThey also use leaves cultivated locally from imported Cuban
\nseeds.<\/p>\n
\"We actually started producing Cuban cigars for the U.S.
\nmarket,\" explained Haryanto Wiratman, the company's vice
\npresident for export. \"Now there's a market in Indonesia,\" he
\nsaid. The trade embargo imposed on Cuba by the U.S. since 1963
\nhas made Cuban cigars a coveted commodity among Americans.<\/p>\n
While it would seem that the increase in consumption has come
\nfrom American expatriates and expatriates in general who are
\nbenefiting from the currency depreciation, some hotels say there
\nare as many locals as there are expatriates who smoke cigars. \"In
\nour hotel, it's a 50-50 mix,\" said Satrio.<\/p>\n
There are various kinds of cigars on the market with prices
\nstarting from Rp 125,000 for a pack of five. Those with lots of
\nmoney, however, may spend Rp 200,000 for a single cigar. And the
\nsales here are quite good. A retail shop manager said she sells
\non average about 1,200 cigars a week, even during the crisis.<\/p>\n
The conspicuousness of cigar-smokers these days may be due to
\nthe profile of the smokers themselves. They are not the portly,
\nold men often associated with cigar-smoking in the past. The
\nimage of the modern smoker is one of young affluence borne out of
\nold money. And given the country's drab economic picture, the
\ncolorful lifestyle depicted by these individuals may have become
\nan attractive distraction for some.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the locals who smoke cigars in our hotel are aged
\nbetween their late 20s and 40s, educated abroad and work for
\nmultinational, especially oil, companies\", said Satrio.<\/p>\n
\"Personally, I think that those who smoke cigars have not been
\naffected by the economic crisis,\" he said. \"If they can afford to
\npay more than Rp 200,000 for one cigar, they can't be affected at
\nall.\" According to him, since August last year, the hotel has
\nheld several private cigar parties for customers at the Margeaux
\nrestaurant. \"They were young, upper-class Indonesians who ordered
\nexpensive food, wine and cigars.\"<\/p>\n
But some smokers reject the association of cigar-smoking with
\nwealth. \"It's cheaper than going to a karaoke hall and picking up
\ngirls,\" insisted Irman S. Joesoef, a regular at the La Casa Del
\nHabano, a cigar lounge at the Mandarin Oriental that has become a
\nsecond home for a handful of serious smokers.<\/p>\n
\"I come here and sit for a few hours, smoke a good cigar, chat
\nwith the boys, maybe play some cards, and all it costs me is the
\nprice of one cigar,\" he said. He said he began smoking more since
\nthe krismon began to cope with stress. Now, he smokes four cigars
\na day.<\/p>\n
The La Casa is also a retail outlet and showroom for the
\nPacific Cigar Co. Ltd. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the company
\nbegan distributing Cuban cigars in Indonesia two years ago. It
\nremains the sole agent for all Cuban cigars in the country and
\ndistributes to 60 hotels throughout Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Its manager, Wishnu Bintang, said the company's sales have
\nbeen steady in spite of the economic crisis. Still, she is hoping
\nfor better sales after the general election.<\/p>\n
Some believe there are sure signs that the trend is catching
\non. \"We've seen how trends like wine-appreciation emerged in the
\npast. What we are going through now with cigars is like what
\nhappened in the beginning when people started drinking wine in
\nHong Kong,\" said Humphrey Tay, a smoker.<\/p>\n
Others agree. \"At the moment, people are just experimenting,
\nmaybe choosing cigars that are the most popular or most
\nexpensive. In a few years' time, people will start having their
\nown preferences,\" said Randone, explaining the natural
\nprogression of a trend. \"It's an educational process, just like
\nother lifestyle products,\" said Wishnu.<\/p>\n
Whether the trend will take off depends a lot on where the
\ncountry is going. But some believe cigar-smoking will survive
\neven in bad times. An optimistic Randone summed up the situation:
\n\"There are two sides to a coin,\" he said. \"When something is
\ndown, another has to go up, creating a balance.\"<\/p>",
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