As is the case, we kick off our cigar year with a month long retrospective of the best cigars smoked of the year. This is what has been termed “Epic Encounters”. It is part of our extensive year in review coverage. First up, we have merged with Stogie Geeks, but this is my personal list. […]
Editor’s Corner Volume 2, Number 11: Cigar Voters and the NYC Mayoral Election
William Cooper Blog, Editor's Corner, Uncategorized No Comments Editor's Corner
On Tuesday October 30th, a piece of anti-tobacco legislation was passed by the New York City Council. It is now heading to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s desk where he has indicated he will sign this legislation into law. This included raising the age to purchase tobacco products to 21 and the elimination of coupons and promotional […]
Editor’s Corner Volume 2, Number 10: Important Integration Changes
William Cooper Blog, Editor's Corner, Uncategorized No Comments Editor's Corner
On August 26, Cigar Coop announced it was entering in with a partnership with Stogie Geeks. As we reported last month, the goal of this partnership is to bring the ultimate media framework to the cigar industry. We are combining cigar journalism, podcasting, video, mini-reviews and more under one umbrella. We have now begun the […]
Editor’s Corner Volume 2, Number 9: Are You Ready for the Next Generation?
William Cooper Blog, Editor's Corner, Uncategorized No Comments Editor's Corner
August was a very significant month here on Cigar Coop. We reached two significant milestones in the history of this web-site. On August 15, we celebrated our three year anniversary. The genesis for this brand really started out back at the 2010 IPCPR in New Orleans on a walk to Cafe du Monde. I recapped about […]
Editor’s Corner Volume 2, Number 8: IPCPR 2013 Recap
William Cooper Blog, Editor's Corner, Uncategorized No Comments Editor's Corner, IPCPR 2013
The 2013 IPCPR Trade Show is now in the annuls of history. We’d like to thank the IPCPR for the opportunity to cover this event. We’d also like to thank the many manufacturers who have been generous in sharing information leading up to (as well as at) the trade show. This month’s column will focus […]
Editor’s Corner Volume 2, Number 7: The Coffee Chain, the 2013 IPCPR, and “The Streak”
William Cooper Blog, Editor's Corner No Comments Editor's Corner
As you can see, in this month’s column we actually are going to explore three different topics. Let’s dive right into it. The Coffee Chain Just before we published last month’s column, a well-known coffee chain – Starbucks made a decision to ban all smoking within 25 feet of all of its stores as […]
Editor’s Corner Volume 2, Number 6: In Defense of the Big Ring Gauge
William Cooper Blog, Editor's Corner, Uncategorized No Comments Editor's Corner
The rise of the big ring gauge cigars is not new news. Last year, during our 2012 IPCPR Preview, we noted that ring gauges were moving past the 60 ring gauge mark. Now a year later, it appears that 70 ring gauge cigars are now a part of many cigar maker’s strategy. Recently Asylum 13’s […]
Editor’s Corner Volume 2, Number 5: April Fools Day 2013 in the Cigar Industry
William Cooper Blog, Editor's Corner, Uncategorized No Comments Drew Estate, Editor's Corner, Leccia Tobacco, MUWAT, People
Each and every year, one thing that has become an informal tradition in the cigar industry is a bunch of April Fool’s posts. I’ve seen ones from a 500 ring gauge cigar to other announcements about bogus acquisitions of one cigar company to another. One one hand it allows the cigar industry to let loose […]
Editor’s Corner Volume 2, Number 4: Power Players
William Cooper Blog, Editor's Corner, Uncategorized No Comments Editor's Corner, Royal Gold Cigars, Sindicato
In recent years, the road to the IPCPR Trade Show has been somewhat a predictable model. The established companies launch new blends and line extensions. The show also has seen new companies surface each year – making their debut at the show. In 2013, plans are currently for two new companies to launch in Las […]
Editor’s Corner Volume 2, Number 3: IPCPR Consumer Day Thoughts
William Cooper Blog, Editor's Corner, Uncategorized No Comments Editor's Corner
This past month, the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) association made a decision to table plans for a Consumer Day at the IPCPR Trade Show. The concept of the Consumer Day would have allowed consumers to attend IPCPR in an afternoon session on day four following the actual 3 1/2 trade show. Consumer attendees […]