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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
It was a little over six years ago when word that the Nosotros, the collaboration between Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate and Dion Giolito of Illusione Cigars would be no more. The project which was considered to be a dream collaboration by many would come to an end fourteen months after its announcement. If you […]
Recently, I had an opportunity to take a trip to Cuba. My purpose of going to Cuba was a combination of fact-finding and education. The signs are pointing toward the U.S. Embargo against Cuba ending. With that, this could lead to the Cuban cigar market being opened in the United States (although under current FDA regulations, […]
