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.


Cigar Industry Report: Volume 4, Number 22 (Edition 119   4/25/15)

Feature of the Week: A.J. Fernandez New World Connecticut Officially Announced

A.J. Fernandez’s New World was one of the runaway hit cigars of 2014.  It earned a spot on our 2014 Cigar of the Year countdown. In addition to critical acclaim, it has been a huge commercial success. Back in November the company broke news on Stogie Geeks of a second blend being added to the line called the A.J. Fernandez New World Connecticut – A very limited batch was released at an event at Cigar Inn in New York City in December.  This week came word of the launch of this regular production line.

Southern Cigar Festival

Cigar Coop and Stogie Geeks are proud to partner with the Southern Cigar Festival. The event is being held on June 6 at the Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta, Georgia. This past week, we took a look at the VIP Experience available at the festi.  Tickets are available through Ticketmaster via the event website.


News and Previews

Legislative News
  • Federal: No new sponsors were added to Senate Bill (S. 441) as the total sponsors remains at 15. Four new co-sponsors have also been added to House Bill (HR 662): Rep. Michael Conaway [R-Texas], Rep Stevan Pearce [R-New Mexico], Rep. Randy Forbes [R-Virginia], and Rep Dan Newhouse[R-Washington] – the total sponsors is now at 98.
  • Hawaii: Senate Bill 1030, a bill to raise the smoking age to 21 has cleared the State Legislature. Governor David Ige has not said whether he will sign or veto the bill which is the final step to it becoming law. If signed, Hawaii will be the first state to raise the smoking age to 21.
  • Iowa: Iowa Tobacco Prevention Alliance on Thursday called on State to ban smoking in Iowa’s 19 licensed casinos.
Assessments
Stogie Geeks Episode 137


This week we welcome Phil Zanghi of Debonaire Cigars and Jason Holly of Viva Republica Cigars. Phil also joined us for a special Debonaire Ideal on Cars.

We posted Episode 136 – which contained our exclusive interview with Viaje founder Andre Farkas.

Our smokes of the week included:

MBombay Mora #4 (Pre-Release)
Aged Selects Habano Oscuro Churchill
Arturo Fuente Unnamed Reserve 2014
Elogio LSV Robusto
El Triunfador No. 6 Lancero
EP Carrillo Short Run 2013 Double Robusto
EP Carrillo Short Run 2015 Napoleon
Emilio Cigars Mia Dora Coronita
La Aurora Cien Anos Lancero Cameroon (Exclusive to Burns Tobacconist)
Nat Sherman Host Hampton
Nat Sherman Metropolitan Maduro University
Nomad Esteli Lot 8613 Toro
Quesada Reserva Privada Robusto
Senor Andre’s Chicharrones Original (Corojo) by Viaje

On this date April 25th…