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 36 (Edition 133 8/01/15)

Feature of the Week: Ortega Cigars to be Distributed by Quality Importers

Ortega Cigars has entered into a distribution agreement with Quality Importers, a South Florida company specializing in distribution.While Quality Importers has primarily focused on accessories, they appear to be making a move into premium cigars. In addition, Ortega Cigars has plans to revive a couple of lines from the EO Brands days – namely, the Reo and Vibe lines.

News and Previews from the 2015 IPCPR Trade Show

We continue our reports from the 2015 IPCPR Trade Show:.

Feature Stories

Legislative News

  • Senate Bill S. 441: S. 441 is the Senate Bill to gain an exemption from the FDA on premium cigars.  This week, no new co-sponsors signed on. The total sponsor remains at 17.
  • House Bill HR 662: H.R. 662 is House Bill to gain an exemption from the FDA on premium cigars.  This week, two new co-sponsors were added – Tom Reed [R-New York] and Dave Brat [R-Virginia].  The total number of sponsors is now 132.
  • House Bill 2058:  H.R. 2058 is the House Bill to change the effective date for cigars subject to FDA regulation from 2007 to 21 months following any proposed regulations are put into effect. This week two new co-sponsors were added – Robert Wittman [R-Virginia] and Randy Forbes [R-Virginia].The total number of sponsors is now 27.

 

Stogie Geeks Episode 150

 

This week we celebrated our 150th episode of Stogie Geeks with two of the industry “Gamechangers”.  We welcomed Christian Eiroa of CLE Cigar Company and Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate as our special guests.  Our Debonaire Ideal covered pairings.  The videos will be posted in the near future of this episode.

Our Stogies of the Week included:

AJ. Fernandez Enclave Toro
A.J. Fernandez New World Connecticut Corona Gorda
Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf Maduro Illustre
CLE Connecticut 11/18
Crowned Heads La Imperiosa Magicos
Elogio Excentrico No 4 Serie Mi Abuelo 2015
Padron Family Reserve – 50 Years – Natural
Pura Soul Nicaragua Robusto
Tatuaje Verocu No. 4
Tatuaje Verocu Red Tubo
Viaje White Label Project (WLP) Winter Classic
Warped El Oso MaMa

We also published the videos for Episode 149 of Stogie Geeks.  This featured an interview with Barry Stein of United Tobacco, a Debonaire Ideal on IPCPR Etiquette, and our Stogies of the Week

On this date August 1st…