Cigar Industry Report: Volume 5, Number 10 (1/30/16)

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 5, Number 10 (Edition 159 1/30/16)

Features of the Week

Diana Silvius Passes Away

Diana Silvius, a long-time popular Chicago tobacconist who was considered a pioneer for women on the retail-side passed away last week.

Drew Estate to Distribute Debonaire House Products

Phil Zanghi and Debonaire House has entered into an agreement where Drew Estate Tobacco will distribute his Debonaire and Indian Motorcycle brands.

News and Previews

H. Upmann: The brand under Altadis will release Yargüera H. Upmann. This will be the first Altadis USA product to use the company’s proprietary Yargüera tobacco.
JRE Tobacco Company: Christian Eiroa’s father Julio and his brother Justo have formed JRE Tobacco Company. The new company will assume sale and distribution of the Aladino, Tarascan, and Rancho Luna products.
Room 101: The brand will unveil a new Connecticut blend under “The Big Payback” appropriately called The Big Payback Connecticut
Zino: The brand has added Brooklyn based artists from URNY, Mike Baca (aka 2ESAE) and Fernando Romero (aka SKI). as its first ever Zino Platinum brand Ambassadors. The duo will work with retailers creating exclusive artwork and limited edition cigars in their regions.

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 were added. The total sponsor count remains at 20.
House Bill HR 662: H.R. 662 is House Bill to gain an exemption from the FDA on premium cigars. This week, no new co-sponsors were added. The total number of sponsors remains at 153.
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, no new co-sponsors were added. The total number of sponsors remains at 42.
Oklahoma: State Representative Ben Loring has proposed House Bill 2317. This would raise the age to buy tobacco products to 21.
Washington: House Bill 2313 which proposes to raise the State’s Smoking age to 21 has passed through a House Subcommittee. The Senate version (6157) is scheduled for a hearing on Monday.

Assessments

Agile Cigar Reviews

Flor de las Antillas MAM-13 by My Father Cigars

Stogie Geeks

For Episode 172 we welcomed Abe Dababneh from Smoke Inn and Kiss My Ash Radio. We also welcomed Charles Rutherford from Boveda. Our Debonaire Ideal segment was on “Touching Up Cigars” and we had our Smokes of the Week which included: