Prior to the 2011 IPCPR trade show, the joint-collaboration by Drew Estate Subculture Studios with Joya de Nicaragua called “My Uzi Weighs a Ton” (MUWAT) began to make its way in unbanded limited releases. It was at IPCPR 2011 when the cigar made a more official debut – complete with banding. The MUWAT was a […]
2011 Cigar of the Year Countdown: #25: Quesada Oktoberfest (Part 6 of Epic Encounters)
#25: Quesada Oktoberfest This epic encounter gives us a taste of Germany – via the Dominican Republic. Once again, a legendary family of blenders is responsible for bringing a cigar to us – this time it is the Quesada family. Coming in at #25 is the Quesada Oktoberfest. The idea behind the Oktoberfest was to […]
2011 Cigar of the Year Countdown: #26: My Father Limited Edition 2011 (Part 5 of Epic Encounters)
#26: My Father Limited Edition 2011 This epic encounter brings us to the son of a cigar legend that has become one of the top blenders in the business. Coming in at #26 is the My Father Limited Edition 2011. This is the second limited edition cigar in the “My Father” line. Originally this […]
Cigar Preview: Nat Sherman Timeless Collection
Nat Sherman Timeless Collection: picture from”The Good Life Diaries” Nat Sherman is a legendary cigar store in New York that has been open for over 80 years. In addition to the store, the Nat Sherman brand has been well-known in the tobacco industry for many years. Michael Herklots, the executive director, retail and brand development […]
Month in Review: November 2011
New releases continued to hit retailers’ shelves in November 2011 – including a couple of highly anticipated releases. From a personal standpoint, it probably was one of the better months for smokes I have had in sometime. Let’s take a look at what happened this month. New Releases Alec Bradley Fine and Rare – I […]
Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana Factory Press IV
La Flor Dominicana Factory Press IV Ever since the initial release of the Factory Press series by Litto Gomez and La Flor Dominicana a few years ago, the cigars in this series have long been sought after by many cigar enthusiasts. According to Gomez, the genesis for the Factory Press series is as follows: For […]
2011 Cigar of the Year Countdown: #28 Viaje WLP (White Label Project – St. Patrick’s Day) Candela (Part 3 of Epic Encounters)
#28 This epic encounter uses the word “candela” – and yes a candela cigar makes my 2011 Top 30 Cigars of the year. Coming in at #28 is the Viaje WLP (White Label Project – St. Patrick’s Day) Candela. Similar to how manufacturers tried to raise the bar making more fuller blends with Ecuadorian Connecticut, […]
2011 Cigar of the Year Countdown: #29 Humo Jaguar by Miami Cigars (Part 2 of Epic Encounters)
#29 for 2011: Humo Jaguar by Miami Cigars It’s time for a the second Epic Encounter of Cigars of 2011 – the 2011 Cigar of the Year countdown continues. Coming in at #29 is the Humo Jaguar by Miami Cigars. While Ecuadorian Connecticut cigars were a theme of 2011, there was another theme that got […]
2011 Cigar of the Year Countdown: #30 E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut (Part 1 of Epic Encounters)
#30 for 2011: E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut With 2011 being as good a year for cigars as any, selecting which cigars made the Top 30 was probably as tough as any. With that said, picking #30 was probably the hardest selection I had to make. There were a lot of good cigars that did […]
2011 Top 30 Cigar of the Year Countdown – Epic Encounters
Avo LE10 – 2010 Cigar of the Year It’s that time of the year. Time to countdown the Top 30 cigars for 2011. It seems like every year I say “this is the best year for cigars ever”. However, in each case it has been true – and 2011 truly takes the cake in my […]