Room 101 Namakubi – Packaging 2011 has proven to be a big year for Matt Booth and his Room 101 line. This year, two new blends joined the Room 101 portfolio. At the 2011 IPCPR, I admit, I really got hooked on the new Room 101 Connecticut. In some ways this release caught me off-guard […]
Xen by Nish Patel (older banding with “Zen” name) With four new cigar lines, Rocky Patel Premium has taken on some aggressive expansion of its portfolio. I’ve covered the Thunder by Nimesh, the Rocky Patel Fifty, and the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003. The last cigar to cover is the Xen by Nish Patel. The Thunder […]
Another IPCPR picture that did not make it to primetime, but still another cigar unveiled at IPCPR 2011. At the trade show, Rocky Patel unveiled another addition into their popular Vintage line – this one is called the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003. This cigar joins the popular 1990 (Broadleaf wrapper), 1992 (Ecuadorian Sumatra), and 1999 […]
2011 has proven to be an exciting year for Torano Family Cigars. In addition to announcing distribution agreements with Graycliff and Sam Leccia cigars, two new blends were announced prior to IPCPR 2011 in the Torano Family brand. One of those blends is the value-priced Torano Loyal. After sampling the Torano Loyal, it was clear […]
Rocky Patel Fifty Probably the most anticipated cigar being released by Rocky Patel Premium Cigars is the Rocky Patel Fifty. At the 2011 IPCPR, these cigars were on display. This cigar has been in the works for some time and is coinciding with Rocky Patel’s 50 birthday – which occured earlier this year. Word is […]
My Father Cigars’ El Hijo (exposed binder/filler on right) Late last year, Smoke Inn launched its “Microblend Series. The intent of the Microblend Series is to a produce a limited run of retail exclusive cigars made by some of the biggest manufacturers. The first release was a the Tatuaje Anarchy and the second was a […]
Macanudo Cru Royale Poco Gordo At the 2010 IPCPR, Macanudo introduced two new blends to their line – Macanudo Vintage 1997 Maduro and the Macanudo Cru Royale. These cigars continued a trend started back in 2008 when Macanudo introduced the Macanudo 1968 – bring cigars in the medium and full range into their portfolio. The […]
Late Harvest Estate Grown (R), new Skull and Bones (L), Oro (C) Viaje has become the masters of the microbatch release process. While this year, Viaje plans to produce another batch of their Satori and two new vitolas of the Skull and Bones (called Little Boy and Fat Man), they also displayed their latest blend […]
Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Limited Edition 2011 w bonus Don Pepin Garcia’s son Jaime Garcia is making his mark in the cigar industry. Last year’s release of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial (my #14 Cigar of 2010) and the recent My Father Limited Edition 2011 (as well as great work on the Limited Edition 2010) […]
Earlier this year a new boutique/indie line of cigars was launched called “Martin Family of Cigars”. Specifically, these have become known as the “Pedro Martin Cigars”. The cigars are named after renowned cigar blender Pedro Martin who recently passed away. However Pedro’s daughter Maria Martin who was formerly with Camacho has integrated several of her […]
