One cigar that has gotten a lot of buzz from the Cigar Industry is the release of Miami Cigars’ Humo Jaguar. The Humo Jaguar cigar comes from the cigar festival in Honduras that bears the same name. Various cigar makers enter the competition. It turns out that a blend by Nestor Plasencia won the 2011 […]
Cigar Pre-Review: San Lotano Oval (Part 45 of the 2011 IPCPR Series)
San Lotano Oval At the 2010 IPCPR, one of the revelations that came out of the trade show was A.J. Fernandez’s debut of his San Lotano line. While many had heard of Fernandez for his reputation as one of the great young blenders in the industry, San Lotano was a new label on the industry. […]
Video: An Open Message To Congress – Save America’s Historic Premium Cigar Industry From The FDA
Over the past year, I’ve gotten to know Jeff Borysiewicz of Corona Cigars. I’ve been able to learn a lot from his knowledge of the industry from a retail and legislative standpoint. Jeff’s also one of the true patriots when he comes to fighting for the rights of cigar enthusiasts. The following is a video […]
Cigar Preview: Diamondback by Altadis (Part 44 of the 2011 IPCPR Series)
At the 2011 IPCPR, Altadis unveiled a new value-priced line. This one is called “Diamondback” and it is blended by Omar Ortez. Now when I think of the term “Diamondback”, the first word that comes to mind is the Major League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. In this case, the name Diamondback comes from […]
Cigar Preview: Alec Bradley Fine and Rare (Part 43 of the 2011 IPCPR Series)
At the 2011 IPCPR, Alec Bradley unveiled a cigar that I would categorize as an ultra-premium This cigar is called the “Fine and Rare”. While most of the details of the blend have not been disclosed, we do know that the Fine and Rare utilizes ten different tobaccos in the blend. Each box will also […]
Cigar Review: Tatuaje La Casita Criolla
Tatuaje La Criolla Casita When I reviewed the Tatuaje Fausto a couple of days ago, I mentioned that one thing Tatuaje Cigars has been doing in 2011 is focusing some attention around their core lines. While Tatuaje has always had a solid reputation for their regular production cigars, they have also built a reputation around […]
Cigar Preview: H.Upmann 1844 Reserve – Reblend (Part 42 of the 2011 IPCPR Series)
Note: The IPCPR Series is not over yet, but we are approaching the end of the cigar previews. While I expect most of the content going forward with initial assessments (Pre-Reviews, Reviews) of the new cigars, there are still a few previews I want to highlight. One notable item that came from Altadis USA at […]
Cigar Review: Viaje Oro Reserva VOR DT (Double Torpedo)
Viaje Oro Reserva VOR DT By now it is pretty common knowledge that the Viaje Oro Reserva No 5 was named the #2 Cigar of the Year (2010) by Cigar Aficionado. In reality since a Cuban cigar was named #1, this was the top cigar that is available to us living in the United States. […]
Cigar Review: Tatuaje Fausto
Tatuaje Fausto – FT153 Vitola The concept of limited run and retailer-exclusive cigars have become norms in the cigar industry over the past few years. Tatuaje is a cigar company that has excelled with that concept – building a lot of quality smokes that have been in high demand by the public craving these limited […]
Cigar Review: Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve
Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve The Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve is a cigar that many Nestor Miranda fans have been looking forward to. Back in April, I attended an event at Tobacco World in Marietta, Georgia, and I asked Nestor about some of the new cigars he had in the pipeline. It was then he mentioned […]