2016 was a year of change at E.P. Carrillo, as the company overhauled its entire portfolio. Company owner Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. missed this year’s trade show due to family reasons, but the booth was in good hands with Perez-Carrillo’s daughter Lissette and Senior Vice President José Blanco. For 2017 E.P. Carrillo would bring back a product from […]
At the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, Abe Flores and PDR Cigars showcased their El Criollito line. El Criollito is a line that was originally developed for the European market. The cigar was launched in Spain this past spring, but there also was a limited launch for the U.S. market. Now El Criollito gets its widespread launch. El […]
At the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, La Palina Cigars showcased its candela offering – Fuego Verde. It’s a cigar that was initially released this past March. La Palina Fuego Verde was released somewhat quietly. As a result, many people we talked to at IPCPR were not aware this cigar had launched earlier this year. In addition to […]
Fratello Cigars owner Omar de Frias might have left his job at NASA last year, but that doesn’t mean a little bit of NASA has remained close to his heart. At the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, de Frias showcased his newest line, the Fratello Navetta, a line with a space shuttle theme that pays homage to de Frias’ […]
It was back in 2010 when AJ Fernandez Cigars made its debut at the IPCPR Trade Show launching the San Lotano line. Now seven years later, the San Lotano line had an all-new look at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show. The San Lotano brand is named for a Cuban brand made by AJ Fernandez’s grandfather prior […]
On July 28, 2017, newly appointed U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb unveiled a tobacco program known as Protecting American Families: Comprehensive Approach to Nicotine and Tobacco. One component of this program was a plan to push the deadline for cigar and pipe tobacco companies to submit products for FDA approval out nearly […]
The Cigar Industry Report is a one-stop place to catch up on the activity here at Cigar Coop. It is a combination of the news reports, cigar reviews, and assessment updates we do throughout the week. In addition, each week we will look back at Cigar Coop history. Look for this report every Saturday morning at […]
For this year’s IPCPR Trade Show, Mel Shah’s Bombay Tobak upgraded to a more spacious booth – and it accommodated the healthy flow of traffic throughout the week. This seemed to be a natural progression of things as the company now has two strong brands (MBombay and Gaaja) and eight lines between those brands. With […]
At the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, Asylum Cigars launched a new all Honduran Corojo offering known as Medulla Oblongata. It’s a cigar that is going to be available in four sizes – each in a parejo and box-pressed offering. Medulla Oblongata is packaged in 50-count boxes featuring 25 parejo cigars (known as Medulla) and 25 box-pressed cigars (known […]
A familiar cigar line had a new name unveiled at the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show. Drew Estate’s Natural line was on display, but with a new name, “Larutan”. It’s a move that was described to us as “preemptive” by the company. in light of the name “Natural” suspected of being in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration […]
In a speech to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employees, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced a near-three-year delay for cigar makers to be required to get agency approval for any product marketed after February 15, 2007. This moves the deadline from November 8, 2018 to August 8, 2021 to keep a non-grandfathered product on […]
A few years ago, Paul Stulac was one of the hottest cigar makers in the business. For the past couple of years, he has been quiet. On this episode of Prime Time, we catch up with Paul Stulac and find out where he’s been, and what is happening in the midst of his comeback. On […]
