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 8am Eastern Time.

ALPHA CIGAR COMPANY IS OUR SPONSOR FOR THE CIGAR INDUSTRY REPORT.

Cigar Industry Report: Volume 6, Number 44 (Edition 245 9/23/17)

Feature of the Week: Maria Sierra Retires

Word surfaced this week that famed Cuban master roller Maria Sierra has retired. Most recently Sierra was known as the exclusive roller of the La Palina Goldie. We have the details here.

News and Previews

Assessments

Agile Cigar Reviews

Legislative News

  • State Department: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that the closing of U.S. Embassy in Cuba “Under Evaluation”
  • 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 remains 123.
  • U.S. Senate: S.294 is the Senate companion bill to H.R. 564.This week one new co-sponsor, Sen Joe Donnelly [D-Indiana] was added. The total number of sponsors is now 17. Meanwhile, Senator Dick Durbin [D-Indiana] introduced S 1837 that proposes providing tax rate parity among all tobacco products.
  • 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 no new co-sponsors were added. The total number of sponsors remains 87.
  • Pennsylvania: State Senator Marco Scavello is proposing raising the smoking age to 21.

Cigar Coop Coffee Collection

Reminder, we have partnered with Layne Coffee to offer two unique coffee blends. We have the details here. You can also order your coffee here.

Prime Time Show

This week, we welcomed Ryan Frailing of Island Lifestyle Importers live in studio for Episode 22. We talked about Island Lifestyle cigars and Tommy Bahama accessories. We also dived into Tommy Bahama deeper during our Debonaire Ideal segment. Finally, in our Deliberation segment, we break down the GGG-Alvarez fight.

Our shows are available on YouTube, Podbean, iTunes, Tune In Radio, and Google Play.

Prime Time Special Edition 

On Prime Time Special Edition #12 we recapped the Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard era at Davidoff. We also pay homage to Frank Vincent and Bear Duplisea talks about his recent trip to Houston.

Upcoming Schedule (Subject to Change)

Episode 23 (9/28/17): Jack Toraño, General Cigar Company
Episode 24 (10/5/17): Enrique Seijas, Matilde Cigars
Episode 25 (10/12/17): Chris Topper, Topper Cigars
Episode 26 (10/19/17): Juan Martinez, Joya de Nicaragua
Episode 27 (10/26/17): Fabien Ziegler, Drew Estate
Episode 28 (11/2/17): Live from La Zona Palooza, Miami Florida
Episode 29 (11/9/17): Jeff Borysiewicz, Corona Cigar Company
Episode 30 (11/16/17): Ram Rodriguez, El Artista

Special Edition #13 TBD: Debonaire Ideal with Phil Zanghi (Will be rescheduled)

On this date September 23rd…