The 2016 Cigar of the Year Countdown is now in annals of history. The Crux du Connoisseur No. 2 was named the #1 cigar with the JRE Tobacco’s Aladino Elegante the #2 cigar. What do these cigars have in common? They are lanceros. While on many online media sites, it isn’t a surprise to give […]
2016 Year in Review: Factory of the Year (Large / Multi-Faceted): Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
The 2015 Cigar Coop Factory of the Year Award for a Large/ Multi-Faceted Operation goes to Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. This is the Dominican factory owned by Arturo Fuente Cigars. Cigar Coop looks at consistency, quality, and innovation coming out of a factory when selecting this award. Because factories are not “one size fits […]
2016 Year in Review: Factory of the Year (Small / Single): La Zona
The 2016 Cigar Coop Factory of the Year Award for a Small / Single Operation goes to La Zona. Cigar Coop looks at consistency, quality, and innovation coming out of a factory when selecting this award. Because factories are not “one size fits all”, we split this into two categories – one for smaller operations and […]
2016 Year in Review: Single Shop Exclusive Performance Ratings for 2016
For 2016, we introduce a new category into the Performance Ratings – Single Shop Exclusive Cigars. This is exactly what it means – namely an exclusive cigar (either a whole line or a single vitola) has been provided to a single retailer (the retailer can have multiple locations). The Performance Rankings were introduced in 2012 […]
2016 Year in Review: Country of Origin Performance for 2016
The Performance Rankings were introduced in 2012 as a statistical analysis based on the average numerical score of all cigars assessed on Cigar Coop. Originally this was done by brand, but last year was expanded to include Country of Origin and Vitola Today we slice this data by Country of Origin. This is not meant to be necessarily […]
2016 Year in Review: Top 12 Cigar Industry Stories / Themes of 2016
For the sixth 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 2016. These stories are individual stories or […]
Feature Story: The 2011 Cigar of the Year Countdown-Five Years Later
The Cigar Coop Cigar of the Year Countdown is actually older than Cigar Coop itself. The original Countdown was done on social media back in 2009, and when Cigar Coop formed in 2010, we did the first Countdown on the web-site. However, 2011 was the first Countdown done with a full year of operation with […]
Feature Story: The Myth of Rudy Giuliani Saving the Cigar Industry
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is well known for his love of cigars. Following his friend Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 Presidential election, there was talk of Giuliani being up for a Cabinet post in the Trump Administration. Given Giuliani’s ties to Trump and potentially having an influential role in the Administration […]
Feature Story: Remembering the Rebirth of La Palina
Many cigar enthusiasts are quite familiar with La Palina Cigars. Today, the company has an impressive portfolio of offerings from four countries (United States, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic). The story of La Palina is also quite well know, namely how businessman / philanthropist William C. “Bill” Paley resurrected the brand started by his […]
Feature Story: Victor Vitale and Legacy Brands Forge Ahead in Face of FDA Regulations
In a time of uncertainty in the cigar industry, Legacy Brands founder and owner Victor Vitale has one key message he wants his customers and fans to know: “Legacy Brands is 100% absolutely in this for the long run.” Following the announcement of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Regulations on the premium cigar […]