The Cigar Industry Report is a one stop place to catch up on the activity here at Cigar Coop and Stogie Geeks. It is a combination of our news reports, cigar reviews, and assessment updates we do throughout the week. We will also recap what happened on our Stogie Geeks show. Finally, each week we will look back at Cigar Coop history. Look for this report every Saturday morning at 8am Eastern time.
Feature of the Week: Viaje Announces April Small Batch Release
Some of the projects that Andre Farkas told us in our exclusive interview with him were officially announced this week. Farkas unveiled the 2014 Zombie Series and announced the launch of the Zombie Super Shot 2014. He also announced the Viaje Trifecta Project – a lancero project consisting of the Platino, Oro, an a new blend called Plata will be shipping. Farkas had also mentioned the Viaje Exclusivo Corona Gorda was going to be a small batch – and that too is shipping this week. Always leaving room for the element of surprise, Farkas and Viaje also announced another run of the Viaje Exclusivo Lancero for Atlantic Cigar.
News and Previews.
- CAO: The CAO Flathead Sparkplug is a new line extension to the Flathead line.
- Gran Habano: On the 4/12/14 Kiss My Ash Radio, George Rico mentioned he is working on a Connecticut Shade project currently called the “Blonde Blomber”. This project will be added be made out of the G.R. Tabacaleras factory in Miami and is planned to be a part of the STK line.
- Gurkha: The Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival showcased a picture of the Gurkha East India Classic.
- H. Upmann: We previewed the H. Upmann – The Banker Series by Altadis USA.
- La Sirena Cigars: Arielle Ditkowich told us that the Quesada factory will be making their next cigar.
- Ocean State Cigars: We broke news of the new J.Grotto Silk Lancero and the new J. Grotto Anniversary line.
- Reinado Cigars: The company announced a distribution agreement with Alliance Cigar for the Grand Empire Reserve line. Other projects could follow.
- RoMa Craft Tobac: Co-founder Skip Martin made an impromptu appearance on Stogie Geeks and told us some details on the Neanderthal.
- Room 101: The Daruma Gold will be the 13th blend released by Matt Booth’s brand.
- Royal Gold Cigars: Company president Alex Goldman was a guest on Stogie Geeks and told us a Kismet Maduro is in the works. Plans for a Casino Gold H.R.S. Maduro and a new Dominican cigar are being considered.
- Tatuaje: The Tatuaje Gran Maravilla, a retail exclusive for Silo Cigars in Knoxville, TN will be released in May.
Legislative News
- FDA: U.S. Senator John Walsh [D-Montana] became the 14th co-sponsor at 15th sponsor overall of S.792. Meanwhile, no new co-sponsors signed on the HR792. The count remains at total of 153 co-sponsors (154 total sponsors).
Stogie Geeks Episode 92: Alex Goldman, Royal Gold Cigars
Our special segment was “Belle of the Ball”. This is a designation in which one particular vitola stands out over the other vitolas in the line. We will now be incorporating this as a special Stogie Geeks / Cigar Coop rating going forward. During this segment, we also received a special “call-in” from RoMa Craft Tobac’s Skip Martin.
We announced our first in-studio event in conjunction with our sponsor Havana Cigar Club. It will be held May 1st at 9pm in West Warwick, Rhode Island and it will be with 1502 Cigars. If you are in the area, drop by. We will be featuring 1502 Cigars to smoke. You can watch the event directly in the studio and we also broadcast into HCC. If you are watching at home, be sure to light one up along with us and talk about it in the chat room. 1502’s CEO Enrique Sanchez Icaza will be calling in to the show and will be our featured guest. Details on how to attend are here.
Our smokes of the week included:
601 Blue Toro
AVO Limited Edition 2014 88
Davidoff Grand Cru #1
Davidoff Nicaragua – “Showdown”
Don Arturo Aniversario Destino al Siglo Churchill
Don Carlos Edicion de Aniversario 2007 Robusto
Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 2
La Flor Dominicana Mysterioso Collector’s 2013
La Sirena “The Prince”
Merlion Sea Lion Perfecto by La Sirena Cigars
My Father Draper’s 126th Anniversary
Oliva Serie V No. 4 (2014)
Padron Family Reserve 46th Maduro
Tatuaje 10th Anniversary Belle Encre Reserva
Tatuaje 2013 Redux
Viaje Exclusivo Atlantic Cigar Co. 15th Anniversary Lancero (2011)
- April 19th 2011: We assessed El Perrito “War of Flavors”
- April 19th 2012: We assessed the Tatuaje Cojonu 2012 Capa Especial (Ecuadorian Sumatra)
- April 19th 2013: We covered Senate Bill S.772 replacing S.1461
- April 19th 2013: We assessed the Nestor Miranda 70th LE Nicaragua
