For the eleventh consecutive year, we bring you our selections and analysis for the Top 12 cigar industry news stories and themes for the year. Unlike how we consider cigars for our Cigar of the Year Countdown, these news story selections are based on the actual calendar year for 2021. These stories are individual stories […]
Last month, we completed our assessments of the new installments of the 2020 Tobacconist Association of America (TAA) Exclusive Series. The average score was 88.73. The following is a list of the 11 cigars that were new and released as a part of the 2020 TAA Exclusive Series. Brick House Ciento por Ciento by J.C. Newman Cigar […]
Earlier this year, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) spun several of its premium cigar brands under General Cigar Company into a new distribution company known as Forged Cigar Company. This year, what is still called General Cigar Company includes five very strong brands: Macanudo, CAO, Cohiba, Hoyo de Monterrey, and Punch. These brands have all […]
Kafie 1901 Cigars and its owner Dr. Gaby Kafie are celebrating a couple of milestones in 2021. First earlier this year, Dr. Kafie turned 50 years old, and second his company is now celebrating seven years in business. Later this year, the company will mark both occasions with the release of the Kafie Serie L. […]
One of the big stories in the premium cigar industry over the past year was Imperial Tobacco selling off its premium cigar business to a private equity group. This sale included Altadis U.S.A and its associated brands. The transaction closed late in 2020. In terms of what this means to its customers, things have remained […]
For the past few years, Island Lifestyle Importers has been best known for being the exclusive manufacturer and licensee for Tommy Bahama branded cigar accessories. In addition, the company has been selling its own premium cigars, including the Island Lifestyle and Island Club lines. Last year things were quiet at Island Lifestyle Importers, but […]
One of the companies most affected by COVID-19 has been Drew Estate. The company decided not to make a Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) 2021 Trade Show appearance and then when a new surge of COVID-19 cases occurred over the summer the company cancelled its DE25 and Barn Smoker events. On the other hand, if there […]
In 2021, RoMa Craft Tobac made a decision to focus its attention away from the Trade Shows and put its resources into its inaugural consumer event WeaselFest. WeaselFest 2021 was held in RoMa Craft Tobac’s hometown of Austin, Texas. The company had originally planned on the inaugural WeaselFest being in 2020, but COVID-19 forced […]
Maya Selva Cigars is a company that has been in business since 1995. It has built its footprint in Europe but for the past seven years has been working on getting into the U.S. market. This year, Maya Selva focused its attention on the Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) Trade Show and skipped the 2021 Trade […]
As mentioned in the Summer of ’20 report on Southern Draw Cigars, it was probably the most transparent company when it has come to the difficulties the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had on it. Last summer, Southern Draw essentially halted their road schedule, but when fall came around, the company introduced several new […]
