Each December, the words that echo across the cigar universe are – “it’s that time of the year.” Specifically, it’s the time of the year when various outlets – both media and non-media related, give their perspective on what were the best cigars of the year. With the increased presence in both online and […]
The 2018 midterm elections have concluded in the U.S., setting the stage for the 116th Congress to open session in 2019. Once again, the cigar industry will be fighting on a couple of fronts for a premium cigar exemption against regulation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The first is the lobbying efforts […]
And then there are those companies that go into IPCPR and don’t feel the pressure to release anything new. I refer to these companies as ones who “hold the line”. Many will argue – how can you put the “Spotlight” on companies that didn’t release anything. In a way, this article is a different type […]
One of the strategic alliances in the cigar industry that has seemed to work very well is the one between Davidoff of Geneva and S.T. Dupont, where Davidoff has been the exclusive distributor for S.T. Dupont products. While S.T. Dupont is known for its ultra-premium cigar accessories, the company plays in the luxury consumer […]
Each year one thing you can count on Gurkha to deliver a nice array of products at IPCPR for its retail customers – and 2018 was no exception. Gurkha is a company that is sitting on a large number of predicate blends, and last year the company tapped into that vault. The end result was […]
Earlier this year one of the biggest stories was the announcement that Quality Importers had acquired XIKAR, one of the industry leaders in cigar accessories. XIKAR has continued to operate as its own business unit, but it was adjacent to the Quality Importers group. Following the acquisition, Kurt Van Keppel and Scott Almsberger joined the company […]
It was a big year for Drew Estate at IPCPR. It was as big a year as I’ve seen a company have – and Drew Estate has had a lot of big IPCPR Trade Shows. Most of Drew Estate’s announcements were made prior to the opening of the trade show through a series of […]
Daniel Marshall is a name synonymous with the luxury cigar lifestyle. Upon visiting the Daniel Marshall booth, there were plenty of items keeping true to that mission. However, there were two other themes this year which were a big part of Daniel Marshall’s presentation: Affordable Luxury and the 35th anniversary of founder Daniel Marshall in […]
Ventura Cigar Company is the premium cigar division of Kretek International. Kretek has a huge distribution arm with its Phillips and King subsidiary. Ventura made a huge move over the past year bringing in industry veteran Michael Giannini. Giannini was first brought in as a Creative Director, but this past April he was named General […]
2018 marked the 15th anniversary of Tatuaje Cigars, but at this year’s IPCPR it was so much more than anniversary cigars. At this year’s booth, we saw the return of some older lines, some line extensions, and some special projects coming out of Miami Florida – the place where it all started for Pete Johnson […]
