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 39 (Edition 188 8/20/16)
This week, on August 15th we celebrated our SIX YEAR ANNIVERSARY of Cigar Coop! Thank you to all of our audience for the incredible support.
Feature of the Week: Courts Rule in Favor Labeling Changes Don’t Constitute New Product
A U.S. District Court in Washington has said a label change does not constitute a new tobacco product. It’s a ruling that will help the cigar industry, but its one that comes from an unlikely source – the cigarette industry. The decision was handed down by U.S. Court District Judge Amit P. Mehta on August 16th, 2016 in response to a lawsuit filed by Altria. Lorillard, and Reynolds American against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On the negative size, the ruling also said that changes to packaging quantity do constitute new product.
Glynn Loope also reported on Stogie Geeks he anticipates a response by the Courts to the FDA Lawsuit by mid-September.
On Going Coverage
- Our FDA articles.
- Our FDA Regulations Primer series.
Detailed IPCPR Coverage
Our detailed product reports continued this week from the IPCPR Trade Show. While this week was highlighted by what has become our annual IPCPR Post Game Report, we still have more coverage coming in the upcoming weeks.
- Bombay Tobak: The Gaaja line has a new maduro blend and a new torpedo size.
- Dunhill: We previewed the Dunhill Aged Maduro – the brand’s first maduro release.
- Rocky Patel Premium Cigars: We looked at the CRocky Patel Fifty-Five.
- Boveda: We took a look at the company’s New Large Humidification Packs.
- Casa Fernandez: We looked at the JFR Maduro Short Robusto and Short Titan line extensions.
- Gurkha: We took a look at the packaging for the Gurkha Pan American.
- Perdomo: We took a look at the return of the La Tradicion Perdomo Reserve Series.
- Tatuaje: We took at look at several items showcased at the trade show including: La Verite 2013, the new Tatuaje Verocu No. 6 Line Extension, Tatuaje Reserva Broadleaf Collection, and the Tatuaje Skinny Monster 25 Count Boxes.
- Ventura Cigar Company: We took a look at the Archetype Series A.
- Viaje: We provided details on the Viaje Birthday Blend.
Stealth Products
These are products that weren’t at IPCPR 2016, and products that were not marketed. This week, we uncovered the following releases at retailers.
- La Palina: Red Label Belicoso, La Palina Bronze Label (Photo Credits: R&R Cigars)
Other News
- Southern Draw: The Texas-based company announced details around Code Duello – its perfecto line extensions to Firethorn and Kudzu.
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 21.
- 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-sponsored were added. The total number of sponsors remains at 166.
- 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-sponsored were added. The total number of sponsors is now 72.
- TAA: The Tobacconists Association of America has donated $50,000 to the legal fund in the industry trade association’s lawsuit against the FDA.
Stogie Geeks
For Episode 197, Glynn Loope joined us in studio as our special guest. Our Debonaire Ideal was tips on “How Not To Be An Ash“and of course we went through our Stogies of the Week.
Our stogies included:
Aging Room Quattro F59 Maestro (Coffin IPCPR 2015 release)
Blanco Liga Exclusiva De Familia Pennsylvania Broadleaf Maduro Robusto
Don Bernardo El Caballero Robusto
Carolina Cigar Company Cabinet
Island Jim #2
Quesada Heisenberg Petit Robusto (Part of the Quesada Winter Pack)
On this date August 20th…
- August 20th 2011: We did a pre-release assessment on the CAO OSA Sol.
- August 20th 2011: We assessed the Lou Rodriguez Edicion Reserva Connecticut.
- August 20th 2012: We published our Cigar Conversation with Skip Martin of RoMa Craft Tobac.
- August 20th 2012: We published a feature story on Nat Sherman at IPCPR 2012.
- August 20th 2013: We assessed the Nomad LE Esteli Lot 1386.
- August 20th 2013: We previewed the One Shot One Kill (OSOK) by Edgar Hoill Cigars
- August 20th 2014: We reported on rebranding at Jordan Alexander III Cigars Rebranding and the new Jordan Alexander III Corojo Offering.
- August 20th 2014: We did a pre-release assessment of the Epicurean Gonzo Santeria Chicken Bones.
- August 20th 2015: We reported on the J. Grotto Silk Petit Corona by Ocean State Cigars.
- August 20th 2015: We did a pre-release assessment of the Flor de Selva No. 20 by Maya Selva Cigars.
