A few years ago, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars was putting out a slew of new releases at the IPCPR Trade Show. In recent years, that number has decreased. The 2019 Trade Show saw two new lines and new line extensions. 2020 saw two new lines, a re-blending of a former line, and a European release […]
Summer of ’20 Spotlight: J.C. Newman Cigar Company
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The year 2020 is a very big year for J.C. Newman Cigar Company as the company is celebrating its 125th anniversary. While the company has released its long-awaited Yagua project into market, there is a lot more going on. Currently, the company’s El Reloj factory in Ybor City, Florida is undergoing a massive renovation. This […]
Summer of ’20 Spotlight: Mombacho Cigars
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Mombacho Cigars isn’t a company that does a lot of releases, but President and Master Blender Claudio Sgroi had plenty to talk about when he was a guest on the Prime Time Virtual Trade Show. The past 18 months have been busy at Mombacho. With Nicaraguan Broadleaf wrapper getting alot of attention, Sgroi is […]
Summer of ’20 Spotlight: Davidoff of Geneva
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Before it was cancelled for 2020, Davidoff of Geneva had not been planning to attend the Premium Cigar Association Trade Show. The company had announced earlier this year that it had pulled out of the Trade Show along with Altadis USA, Drew Estate, and General Cigar Company. Like the other companies, Davidoff formulated its plans […]
Ten Years of Cigar Coop: Part 10 – Vienna: Decision Points
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“Vienna has long been a crossroads city of the world. Much like the city we all face crossroads moments – aka decision points and Cigar Coop is no exception. Today in this final installment, we look at those decision points” It was musician Billy Joel that penned one of the greatest songs of all time […]
Summer of ’20 Spotlight: Micallef Cigars
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Even before the Big Four had decided to pull out of the 2020 PCA Trade Show, Micallef Cigars had decided after last year’s then-IPCPR Trade Show it would not be returning. Kicking off 2020, founder Al Micallef issued a bold statement, “I’m frustrated. We’re not able to serve retail partners at our high expectations in […]
Summer of ’20 Spotlight: Gurkha Cigars
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The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for cigar companies in 2020 are well known in the industry, but for Gurkha Cigars the company has faced the additional challenge of the aftermath of Chairman Kaizad Hansotia stepping down following racially insensitive comments on his social media accounts. While the company is going through a change […]
Summer of ’20 Spotlight: Gran Habano Cigars
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Gran Habano Cigars is no exception to having a monkey wrench thrown into its 2020 releases, but like many the company is adapting and moving forward. This year the company had plans for two releases. First up, the long awaited Gran Habano Persian King La Contra will be hitting the shelves soon. This cigar is […]
Summer of ’20 Spotlight: Fratello Cigars
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Like many companies the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Fratello Cigars. For the past seven years, owner Omar De Frias has taken to “Fratello Road” – a grassroots strategy where he has hit the road visiting with retailers. Concurrent with Fratello Road, De Frias has been working on placing his products in the international market. In […]
Summer of ’20 Spotlight: Joya de Nicaragua
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While much as been made of the “Big Four” pulling out of the 2020 PCA Trade Show (before we knew it would have to be cancelled due to the pandemic), there are some other companies that also decided not to attend. One of those companies was Joya de Nicaragua. Joya de Nicaragua is distributed by […]