CLE Corojo The CLE Corojo is one of two new blends launched by Christian Eiroa’s new company CLE Cigars. Eiroa is best known for his tenure as president of Camacho Cigars. After Davidoff acquired Camacho, Eiroa stayed on for a while before leaving to launch CLE. CLE stands for the initials of Eiroa’s full-name – […]
Our cigar conversation series from the 2012 IPCPR concludes as I get a chance to talk with the one and only Jose Blanco of Joya de Nicaragua. Our discussion begins with Jose giving us an update on how things have been going since he joined Joya de Nicaragua last year. Jose seems genuinely excited about […]
In this cigar conversation from the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show, I talk with Dan Tiant, founder and CEO of the Tiant Cigar Group. Dan has been in the cigar business for several years. Last year, Dan formed a new LLC called Tiant Cigar Group. This company is actually a new company formed by the Tiants […]
Herrera Esteli by Drew Estate Shortly after the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show, we provided a preview of a new forthcoming line by Drew Estate called Herrera Esteli. The line made its debut at the trade show, but orders were not taken at the time. The Herrera Esteli marks the first blend for Drew Estate done […]
In this cigar conversation from the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show, I talk with Tracie Southern. Tracie is working for an up and coming boutique company called J & D Cigars. J & D Cigars is a true “seed to store” company. The company was founded by David Insignares and Jorge Gil. Insignares and Gil have […]
Swag SoBe Edition The Swag SoBe Edition is the third blend to be added to the Swag Cigars family. The cigar was announced prior to the 2012 IPCPR, but had its official launch at the trade show. SoBe stands for South Beach – referring the famous Miami Beach neighborhood. As a part of the packaging, […]
In this cigar conversation from the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show, I talk with Brian Chinnock of Chinnock Cellars. Brian is both a winemaker and a cigar maker from California and has brought these two worlds together as no one has before. In this conversation, Brian gives us some background of how he got involved in […]
The My Uzi Weighs a Ton (MUWAT) +11 made its official launch at the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show. The +11 becomes the second non 60 ring gauge cigar in the MUWAT line. The MUWAT line was launched a year ago at the 2011 IPCPR Trade Show. The MUWAT was a joint collaboration with Drew Estate’s […]
In this cigar conversation from the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show, I catch up with one of the rising stars in the cigar industry – Antonio Lam of Reinado Cigars. Antonio founded Reinado Cigars a couple of years ago and his cigars have gotten many accolades. Reinado is a true boutique company that is focused on […]
In this cigar conversation from the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show in Orlando, Florida, I sit down with the “Godfather of Boutique Cigars”, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. of E.P. Carrillo. We start off our conversation talking about the E.P. Carrillo Inch line – a new line launched at the trade show. Ernesto discusses how he wanted to […]
Assessment Updates will be posted on this web-site to: 1) Assess “pre-review” cigars that were not given a rating or score (typically pre-release cigars); 2) Provide numeric ratings to cigars previously assessed prior to the implementation of the numeric scoring system; 3) Provide a re-assessment and re-score of a previously assessed/score cigars. Today, we provide an […]
Cuenca y Blanco by Joya de Nicaragua The Cuenca y Blanco cigar is a new cigar that was launched by Joya de Nicaragua at the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show. The cigar was anticipated for two reasons: 1) It was the first blend by Joya de Nicaragua since Jose Blanco signed on to be the senior […]
