On July 28, 2017, newly appointed U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb unveiled a tobacco program known as Protecting American Families: Comprehensive Approach to Nicotine and Tobacco. One component of this program was a plan to push the deadline for cigar and pipe tobacco companies to submit products for FDA approval out nearly […]
For this year’s IPCPR Trade Show, Mel Shah’s Bombay Tobak upgraded to a more spacious booth – and it accommodated the healthy flow of traffic throughout the week. This seemed to be a natural progression of things as the company now has two strong brands (MBombay and Gaaja) and eight lines between those brands. With […]
For the second year in a row, Phil Zanghi’s Debonaire House was a part of the Drew Estate booth at the IPCPR Trade Show. While I still miss the stagecoach and motorcycles that were once a part of the Debonaire booth, there is one constant that was still very much present- the passion and energy of Phil Zanghi. At the […]
The 2017 IPCPR Trade Show for Villiger North America was quite interesting. From looking at its booth, it was very easy to see that this is a company that is very proud of its 129-year history. Over the past 18 months, Villiger has been trying to find a place in the U.S. market when it comes to premium cigars. This year, […]
If there was “the story” at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, it was the launch of Plasencia Cigars. The Plasencias have 152 years experience in the cigar business and truly are one of the iconic families in the industry’s history. Now, after many years being growers and producers in the cigar business, the Plasencias last year have launched their own brand. […]
The two main things I’ve noticed since Regis Broesma has taken over as President of General Cigar are better delineation in its brands and a better connection with its customers. I think to some extent, General had been hampered by brand overlap, but this year, General did an excellent job of better defining the brands. Some of the highlights included: Macanudo holding […]
On the eve of the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, came word that Matt Booth’s brief hiatus from the cigar industry was over and that he would be teaming up with Robert Caldwell (whom Matt refers to as “Rosewood”) for two cigar lines. Booth was in attendance at the Trade Show showcasing both of the lines. Matt would split […]
It was the most anticipated Keynote Address at an IPCPR Trade Show and Convention since Mike Ditka in 2013. Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, delivered the Keynote Address at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show and Convention. In a speech that lasted nearly an hour, Giuliani’s focus slanted toward justifying the political agenda of the […]
It was the third IPCPR Trade Show for the brands of JRE Tobacco Company. While there wasn’t any new product introduced, this would be the coming out party for the brands owned by industry legend Julio R. Eiroa and his son Justo. JRE Tobacco has three core brands: Aladino, Rancho Luna, and Tatascan. These brands were actually introduced […]
While we have been naming and ranking cigars in our Cigar of the Year Countdown since 2010, 2016 marked the first year we gave out physical awards for the top three ranked cigars. We chose IPCPR 2017 as the venue to give out these awards. Litto Gomez and family were presented the award for #3 Cigar of the Year, the La Flor Dominicana […]
