The Cigar Industry Report is a one-stop place to catch up on the activity here at Cigar Coop. It is a combination of the news reports, cigar reviews, and assessment updates we do throughout the week. In addition, each week we will look back at Cigar Coop history. Look for this report every Saturday morning at 8 am Eastern Time.
WELCOME CURRENT SPONSOR ALPHA CIGAR COMPANY AS OUR NEW SPONSOR FOR THE CIGAR INDUSTRY REPORT!
Cigar Industry Report: Volume 6, Number 36 (Edition 237 7/29/17)
Feature of the Week: Rough Week for Cigar Industry Ends on Positive Note
First it was news of Marco Rubio’s fight to get a premium cigar exemption on the Senate Appropriations Bill; then it was the ruling against the vape industry that cast doubt on whether the courts can change the predicate date, and finally it was several anti-tobacco groups petitioning the Court to be named as defendants in the cigar industry’s lawsuit against the FDA. All sad news, but things changed yesterday.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced a near-three-year delay for cigar makers to be required to get agency approval for any product marketed after February 15, 2007. This moves the deadline from November 8, 2018 to August 8, 2021 to keep a non-grandfathered product on the market.
IPCPR 2017 Reports
Be sure to follow our 2017 IPCPR Digest for our full coverage.
We had the following Feature Stories
- Spotlight on Bombay Tobak at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show
- Spotlight on Debonaire House at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show
- Spotlight on General Cigar Company at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show
- Spotlight on Villiger North America at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show
- Spotlight on Matt Booth at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show
- Spotlight on Plasencia Cigars at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show
This week we filed the following reports:
- Drew Estate: The company is renaming its Natural line to Larutan in the U.S. Market
- Hoyo de Monterrey: The company launched the Hoyo La Amistad Silver, another collaboration with AJ Fernandez.
- AJ Fernandez Cigars: The company unveiled it’s AJ Fernandez Enclave Broadleaf line.
- Asylum Cigars: The brand launched the Asylum 13 Medulla Oblongata.
- Diesel: The Diesel Grind is moving into the General Cigar portfolio as a brick and mortar offering.
- Indianhead Cigars: The La Galera Maduro Pilon line extension was introduced.
- Nomad: The company showcased the Nomad Fin de Los Mundos Showcased at 2017 IPCPR Trade Show
- Pier 28 Cigars: Tim Wong’s company launched the Pier 28 Maduro.
- Quesada Cigars: The company launched its Quesada Oktoberfest 2017 at this year’s trade show.
- Southern Draw Cigars: The company unveiled new packaging and band art to its lines at 2017 IPCPR
- Zino: The brand under Davidoff launched the ultra-premium, Zino Platinum Z-Crown Series.
Other News
- Illusione Cigars: The company received a grandfather determination for seven sizes of its Original Documents line.
- Tatuaje: The Tatuaje TAA 2017 is shipping to retailers.
Legislative News
- House of Representatives: H.R. 564 is a proposed piece of legislation that calls for an exemption from FDA Regulation for premium handmade cigars. This week no new co-sponsors were added. The total number of sponsors is now 121.
- U.S. Senate: S.294 is the Senate companion bill to H.R. 564. This week Rob Goodall [R-Georgia] signed on as a co-sponsor. The total number of sponsors remains at 16.
- House Bill 1136: H.R. 1136 is the legislation to change the Grandfather Date for Deeming Tobacco products subject to FDA Regulation from February 15, 2017, to 21 days after enactment of the regulations. This week four new co-sponsors were added: Tom Marino [R-Pennsylvania], Scott Desmarais [R-Tennessee], Elise Stefanik [R-New York], and Doug Collins [R-Georgia]. The total number of sponsors is now 83.
- Maine: Governor Paul LePage vetoed a bill that would have raised the age to purchase tobacco in the state to 21.
Prime Time Show
For Episode 15 we welcomed, Paul Stulac from Paul Stulac Cigars .We learned talked about some great cities in our Debonaire Ideal segment. Finally, discussed some additional IPCPR topics.
On Prime Time Special Edition #7 we discussed IPCPR including the Rudy Giuliani Keynote speech.
Prime Time Schedule
Our shows are available on YouTube, Podbean, iTunes, Tune In Radio, and Google Play.
Upcoming Schedule (Subject to Change)
Special Edition #8 (8/1/17) : The FDA Extension – 9:15PM
Episode 16 (8/3/17): Bryan Mussard, Cattle Baron Cigars
Episode 17 (8/17/17) Kevin Schweitzer, Rock-A-Feillar Cigars
Episode 18 (8/24/17) TBD
Episode 19 (8/31/17) Charlie Minato, Halfwheel
Episode 20 (9/7/17) Tom Lazuka, Asylum Cigars
On this date July 29th…
- July 29th, 2011: We previewed the Rocky Patel Thunder by Nimish.
- July 29th, 2011: We previewed the San Cristobal Elegancia
- July 29th, 2011: We did a pre-release assessment of the Quesada Oktoberfest.
- July 29th, 2011: We previewed the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve.
- July 29th, 2012: We took a look at Graycliff 2012 offering and distribution changes
- July 29th, 2012: We re-posted a press release on Sentinel Cigars’ -The Sentinel, Little Havana Series.
- July 29th, 2012: We assessed the Emilio Draig K.
- July 29th, 2012: We assessed the Merlion by La Sirena.
- July 29th, 2012: We re-posted a press release on the Primer Mundo La Hermandad
- July 29th, 2013: We did a pre-release assessment on the Draig Cayuquero by Emilio Cigars
- July 29th 2013: We previewed the Elogio Excéntrico No. 2.
- July 29th, 2013: We previewed the Cohiba Edición Diamante 2013 release.
- July 29th, 2013: We previewed the Hammer and Sickle Icon Series.
- July 29th, 2014: We reported on the Catch Twenty-Two by Rocky Patel.
- July 29th, 2014: We reported on the Ortega Serie D Black.
- July 29th, 2014: We reported on the CAO Amazon Basin.
- July 29th, 2014: We reported on the Nathan McIntyre departing House of Emilio for Cubanacan Cigars.
- July 29th, 2015: We reported on the Espada by Montecristo Estoque.
- July 29th, 2015: We published a Feature Story “Spotlight on Debonaire and Indian Motorcycle Ultra Premium Cigars“
- July 29th, 2015: We reported on the Viva Republica Advanced Warfare.
- July 29th, 2015: We reported on Ortega Cigars entering into a distribution agreement with Quality Importers as well as plans for the Reo and Vibe lines.
- July 29th, 2016: We reported on launch of The Oscar by Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Co.
- July 29th, 2016: We reported on the E.P. Carrillo Capa de Sol.
- July 29th, 2016: We reported on La Aurora Preferidos parejo line extensions.
