Just prior to Tobacco Plus Expo 2021 (TPE 2021), Altadis USA announced a new expansion to its H. Upmann 1844 line known as the H. Upmann 1844 Classic. The H. Upmann 1844 Classic adds a Connecticut Shade wrapped offering into the portfolio. The H. Upmann 1844 line is pretty much the bread and butter […]
On Episode 209, we welcome back Rafael Nodal, Director of Product Capability and co-owner of Boutique Blends Cigars. We will catch up what’s been happening with Rafael himself, and get an update on the “great things that are happening” at Tabacalera USA and Boutique Blends. We’ll talk “Cuba Libre” in our Live True segment, and […]
Altadis USA has announced it is releasing the Montecristo Collector Series Humidor. It’s a limited-edition humidor set that is aimed at the serious Montecristo Cigar Enthusiast. The launch of the humidor will coincide with the 2022 Tobacconists Association of America (TAA) convention being held October 24-28 in La Romana, Dominican Republic – the hometown of […]
Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we […]
Welcome to our first ever Roundtable for The Smoking Syndicate. The Roundtable will be a new format where we will be doing a live group review of a particular cigar and will also have a shortened video posted later on our YouTube account. The Roundtable could feature any one of us along with guests, so […]
NOTE: The regular PRIME TIME SHOW IS PRE-EMPTED THIS WEEK AND RETURNS ON 9/30 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS LUIS AND ALEC CUEVAS OF Casa Cuevas CIGARS! Tonight we debut a new feature on The Smoking Syndicate brand called The Smoking Syndicate Roundtable. This is where we get a group of media folks (and perhaps in some […]
One of the big stories in the premium cigar industry over the past year was Imperial Tobacco selling off its premium cigar business to a private equity group. This sale included Altadis U.S.A and its associated brands. The transaction closed late in 2020. In terms of what this means to its customers, things have remained […]
In 2019 Altadis USA decided to give its Trinidad brand a refresh and relaunch by introducing the Trinidad Espiritu Series. Altadis would reach out to AJ Fernandez who had been working with Altadis on several projects over the past few years, including reimaging brands such as Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and H. Upmann. The resulting […]
Each week, I have the opportunity to produce the news segment for KMA Talk Radio. On the Cigar Coop “blog,” we will now post replays of the shows the week following the date the show is aired. On July 17th, Billy and Gus Fakih of Arteseano del Tobacco our special guest. Rafael Nodal of Tabacalera […]
When it comes to iconic brands in the cigar industry, Montecristo is one that stands near the top. Montecristo traces its roots back to 1935 when Alonso Menendez and Jose Manuel Pepe Garcia started a brand in Cuba inspired by the Alexandre Dumas novel, The Count of Montecristo. While the brand is still an iconic brand in […]
