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 […]
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 […]
At the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, General Cigar introduced a second collaboration with acclaimed cigar maker AJ Fernandez under its Hoyo brand. This cigar is dubbed the Hoyo La Amistad Silver. Hoyo is an offshoot of the Hoyo de Monterrey brand. Back in 2015, Hoyo de Monterrey celebrated its 150th anniversary. A limited commemorative cigar called Hoyo de Monterrey Edición de […]
The Quesada Oktoberfest is back for the seventh consecutive year. While this year’s installment didn’t introduce any new sizes or blends, it did introduce a whole new look. The big difference is the white-colored bands introduced for 2017. This band essentially uses the design introduced in 2014, but changes the blue background to white. This is […]
Pier 28 Cigars is the brand owned by Espinosa West Coast Sales Manager Tim Wong. Last year at the Trade Show, he launched his first cigar, the Pier 28 Habano. This year, he returned with his second line, the Pier 28 Maduro. Pier 28 Cigars are produced at Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. […]
It’s been three years since we have seen a nationwide launch out of Davidoff’s Zino brand, but at the 2017 IPCPR, the brand came back with a bang – introducing the Zino Platinum Z-Crown. This is the brand’s most super premium release to date. The Zino Platinum Z-Crown consists of two blends, each available in a single, unique […]
Diesel Grind, a line sold by Cigars International and also distributed by Meier & Dutch is now joining the General Cigar portfolio. The cigar was showcased at this year’s 2017 IPCPR Trade Show. Diesel is a brand that is made by AJ Fernandez and has been in the Cigars International/Meier & Dutch portfolio for several […]
At the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show, AJ Fernandez Cigars showcased a maduro offering under its Enclave brand known as Enclave Broadleaf. Over the years, master blender and company owner AJ Fernandez has become well-known for working with Pennsylvania Broadleaf for other brands. In the case of the Enclave Broadleaf, it uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. While Fernandez has also worked with […]
The two main things I’ve noticed since Regis Broesma has taken over as President of General Cigar are better delineation in its brands and a better connection with its customers. I think to some extent, General had been hampered by brand overlap, but this year, General did an excellent job of better defining the brands. Some of the highlights included: Macanudo holding […]
Late in 2015, Jochy Blanco, the acclaimed tobacco grower and owner of the Tabacalera Palma factory acquired Indianhead Cigars from Bill Bock and simultaneously launched his premium cigar brand La Galera Cigars. The 2016 IPCPR Trade Show would be the big launch for La Galera as Blanco would introduce five blends. This year didn’t see any new lines from La […]
