LAS VEGAS - To ring in the New Year, the very finest in cigars and spirits created by both Tabacalera Perdomo and HARDY Cognac France were paired at an exclusive reception held recently in the prestigious Monet Room of the Bellagio Las Vegas Resort. Attended by high ranking dignitaries in the Las Vegas casino and restaurant trade, the event was held to introduce 2004's "Best of the Best" in cigars and spirits to leading businesses and properties catering to the Las Vegas cognoscenti.

Brad Berko, western sales manager for Tabacalera Perdomo, presented each guest with the crown jewel of Perdomo premium cigar brands, the rare EDICIÓN de SILVIO^® No. 2 Torpedo. Reverently created by third-generation cigar maker Nick Perdomo, Jr. to honor the memory of his late grandfather and mentor Silvio Perdomo, this masterful blend is comprised of rich and superlative Cuban-seed tobaccos aged to perfection and meticulously culled into an exceptional and unparalleled smoking experience. Only five of Tabacalera Perdomo's most elite torcedors are permitted to handcraft this commemorative cigar, which are delicately sorted and stocked in an aerated Spanish cedar cache surrounded by boldly fragrant ribbons from the heartwood of a 120 year old Spanish cedar tree. The cigars are then concealed under lock and key within a rustic "Spanish Galleon" tobacco chest reminiscent of how tobacco was originally transported from Cuba to Spain by Spanish conquistadors. The retail price for a box of 50 EDICIÓN de SILVIO^® No. 2 Torpedos is $1,250.00.

The incomparable Perdomo EDICION de Silvio is paired with the peerless Hardy PERFECTION Air.

Each EDICIÓN de SILVIO^® cigar was paired with the nonpareil of the spirit world, HARDY Perfection AIR. Aged over 130 years and priced at $5,100.00 per bottle, the origin of this eaux-de-vie that makes this Cognac so rare and excellent dates back to the 1870s, the pre-phylloxera days, when company founder Anthony Hardy gathered a single lot thinking of the future - his family. This cognac comes from the area that is known today as Grande Champagne cru, its grapes were Folle Blanche and Colombard and this eaux-de-vie is pure and unblended at a natural strength of 41% volume. HARDY Perfection AIR is so full, so complex yet so subtle, that the most idealistic cognac connoisseurs have judged it incomparable. The Hardy family decided to bottle a very limited and exceptional edition of this family heirloom, and the prestigious house of Daum created a beautiful, numbered and signed piece of art, the Perfection Carafe. HARDY also conducted a tasting of the Diamond Anniversary Cognac, selected as 2003's "Number One Ranked Spirit" in the world by F. Paul Pacult of the Spirit Journal, the world's leading authority on spirits. Other high profile HARDY brands on display were the Noces de Perle and Noces d' Or. Noces de Perle is a cognac deemed as voluptuous, rounded, smooth and harmonious, with its crystal decanter, recalling one of the great periods of French style, the Art Nouveau. Noces d'Or conjures up visions of travel and the sea and is filled with a Grande Champagne cognac with the style and class befitting such a name.

"We are truly honored to work with the Hardy family and participate in this important event," stated Nick Perdomo of Tabacalera Perdomo, S.A. "The positive reception to both our family's contributions to the world filled me with a tremendous amount of satisfaction. To see the fierce pride and passion begun by our family patriarchs so well received and admired is a great moment for me and our company."

Ms. Benédicté Hardy, president of A. HARDY France is flanked by Kenny Lee (l) and Hua Un Lee (r) of Lee?s Discount Liquors along with Brad Berko (far left) of Tabacalera Perdomo, S.A. and Jonathan Roth from A. HARDY USA.

Benédicté Hardy, export manager of HARDY Cognac France and representing the fifth generation of the Hardy family which began distilling cognac in 1863, was equally exuberant about the reception's enthusiastic response to the pairing. "The Hardy and Perdomo families embarked on their life destinies in different eras and in diverse areas of the world. Yet I find it profound that we have still managed to find each other and proudly show the world the labor of love our families' have forged."

The history of HARDY Cognac France traces itself to 1863 when Anthony Hardy, a London importer and aesthete, moved to the Cognac region of France to better to control his supplies of high quality spirits. He established strong bonds of friendship and respect with every personal encounter. The road was not an easy one. Already at the end of the 19th century, Anthony Hardy faced ultra-protectionism in his home country and the original market, Great Britain, threatened to ruin years of hard work. Numerous wars and revolutions took their toll. In 1945, Jacques A. Hardy, Anthony's great grandson and the current chairman, took up the reins and breathed new life into its development. Today his daughters, Mmes. Benédicté and Sophie Hardy, maintain the network of foreign customers with traditional Hardy humor and create the finest cognac for discriminating connoisseurs the world over. To find out more about HARDY cognac, contact A. HARDY USA at 1-847-698-9860 or visit their website at www.ahardyusa.com.

Tabacalera Perdomo S.A. is one of the finest and most distinguished premium cigar manufacturers in the world. Headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida, with manufacturing and agricultural facilities in Esteli, Nicaragua, Tabacalera Perdomo is a closely held, family run company, whose highly acclaimed cigar brands include Edicion de Silvio^®, Estate Seleccion Vintage 1991^®, La Tradicion Perdomo Reserve^®, Perdomo Reserve Limited Golf Edition^®, Perdomo Lot 23^®, and Perdomo Fresco^®. To discover more about Tabacalera Perdomo, call 1-888-642-5797 or log onto to their website at www.perdomocigars.com.

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Tabacalera Perdomo, S.A. • 5150 N.W. 167th Street • Miami Lakes, Florida 33014
(888) 642-5797 • (305) 627-6700 • Fax (305) 627-6414