CAO OSA Sol The CAO OSA Sol marks the first new blend released under the CAO brand since it was integrated under the General Cigars portfolio last year. When I previewed the CAO OSA Sol, I was on the record saying I think the brand is in good hands. Late last year, it was announced […]
Lou Rodriguez Edicion Reserva Connecticut One thing I’ve said that is important for retailers when considering indie/boutique cigars is to find something special. Most importantly, a cigar that is capable of knocking something else out of the humidor. In a time with many new launches and many new brands, this is an important rule of […]
Note: The IPCPR Series is not over yet, but I believe based on my notes I have from IPCPR this is the last of the “Cigar Previews”. There are still plenty of cigars to be evaluated as a part of the 2011 IPCPR Series that will be forthcoming and included in the series. As I […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
