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.
IPCPR 2014
Our 2014 IPCPR Digest continues to have recap content from the trade show added to it on a daily basis.
Feature of the Week: Moves
Two major changes in personnel occurred at companies this week. First up, Nate McIntyre, National Sales Director of House of Emilio announced his resignation from the company and that he was moving to Cubanacan Cigars as the Eastern U.S. Sales Manager.
Secondly, Grace Sotolongo, who was partnered with Christian Eiroa’s CLE Cigar Company to found the Sotolongo Cigars brand has announced she is leaving the company.
IPCPR News and Previews.
This following are stories from the IPCPR Trade Show:
- Ocean State Cigars: We took a look at the J. Grotto Silk Lancero – a line extension to the Silk line launched at the trade show.
- Alec Bradley: We took a closer look at the Alec Bradley Texas Lancero.
- Altadis USA: We previewed the VegaFina Sumum 2013. We also took a look at the new 1875 Romeo y Julieta.
- Avo Cigars: We took a look at the Avo Heritage Lancero, the first lancer in the Avo Cigars portfolio. We also previewed the new Avo XO Toro.
- Boutique Blends Cigars: We took a look at company President Rafael Nodal‘s presentation to the media at the trade show.
- CAO Cigars: We previewed the limited edition CAO Amazon Basin.
- Casa Fernandez: We previewed the Casa Fernandez Arsenio Oro line.
- Cohiba: We previewed the new Cohiba Nicaragua – a Nicaraguan made, Nicaraguan puro under the Cohiba banner. We also took a look at the new ultra-premium Cohiba offering – Cohiba Luxury Selection.
- Dunhill: The Dunhill Signed Range line has been revamped.
- Guayacan Cigars: We took a look at Noel Rojas’ new line – Sabor de Esteli.
- Illusione Cigars: We previewed the Illusione ~eccj~ 20th – a return of the ~eccj~ in a new size to commemorate Cigar Journal’s 20th anniversary.
- Ortega Premium Cigars: We took a look at Eddie Ortega’s newest release, the Ortega Serie D Black.
- Pura Soul Cigars: We previewed Robert Wright’s second release for his brand under CLE Cigars, the Pura Soul Honduras.
- Rocky Patel Premium Cigars: We took a look at several releases from the trade show: Rocky Patel Prohibition, the value priced Catch Twenty Two, and
- Viaje Cigars: We did a feature story on Viaje taking a look at their IPCPR releases and looking ahead to the rest of the year.
- Villiger North America: We previewed the soon to be released limited edition Villiger 1888 Especiales. We also took a look at the Tobajara Maduro – coming to the U.S. market soon.
Other News
- La Aurora Cigars: A 6 x 58 double figuardo version of the La Aurora Diamond Preferido 6 x 58 Double Figuardo is heading to Michael’s Tobacco in Texas.
- La Barba Cigars: While the company did not have a booth a the trade show, they announced their second release – La Barba Purple.
- Recluse Cigar Company: Iconic Leaf Cigar Company has announced they will now be using the name Recluse Cigar Company going forward.
- United Cigar Retailers: Announced a new release called Great White to commemorate Shark Week.
Legislative News
- FDA: Two new co-sponsors: Vance McAllister [R-Louisiana] and Colleeen Hanabusa [D-Hawaii] signed on to HR792. The total is now at 161 co-sponsors (162 total sponsors)
- The period for Public Comment to the FDA’s Deeming Document has been extended 30 days until August 8th. If you are looking for guidance on how to comment, follow the links below:
- Consumers: Guidance from the CRA
- Retailers: Guidance from the IPCPR
We have a digest below of our links and other useful links when making your response:- White House Issues Response and Rejects Petition to Not Allow The FDA To Regulate Premium Cigars
- CRA Issues Guidance for Public Comment to Proposed FDA Regulations
- FDA To Ask for Public Comment on Premium Cigar Exemption from Regulation
- How Will a Premium Cigar Be Defined in the Eyes of the FDA?
- Cigar Association of America to Continue to Work Closely with FDA in Light of Pending Regulations
- IPCPR Responds to FDA Deeming Document
- Cigar Rights of America Issues Statement on FDA’s Deeming Document on Regulation of Premium Cigars
- IPCPR Issues Guidance to Retailers on Public Comment to FDA’s Proposed Regulations
- FDA Extends Public Comment Period 30 Days
- Small Business Administration Says Economic Impact to Proposed FDA Regulations Underestimated
- OMB Strikes Language From FDA’s Proposed Regulations for Premium Cigars
Editor’s Corner
- This month’s column covers a brief post-script on IPCPR
On this episode, we continued our IPCPR Trade Show recap – this time from Stogie Santa’s perspective. We also reviewed our smokes of the week.
On this date August 2nd…
- August 2nd 2011: We published assessment updates on Viaje Satori, San Lotano Habano, and Room 101 Connecticut
- August 2nd 2011: We previewed the Tatuaje La Casita Criolla.
- August 2nd 2011: We published our interview with Charlie Torano from the 2011 IPCPR Trade Show
- August 2nd 2012: We took a look at the launch of General Cigar’s Foundry brand.
- August 2nd 2013: We published a Feature Story on La Palina Cigars at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show.
- August 2nd 2013: We looked at the Davidoff Year of the Horse 2014 that was initially showcased at the 2013 IPCPR
- August 2nd 2013: We previewed the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva Pomposo
