Cuesta-Rey is one of the oldest brands in the J.C. Newman Cigar Company portfolio. The brand was founded in 1884 by Spaniard Angel LaMadrid Caesura and Peregrino Ray. Cuesta had apprenticed in cigar making in Cuba before meeting Rey. The duo formed the company in the Ybor City district of Tampa, Florida. The company would […]
At the 2019 IPCPR Trade Show, Room101 Cigars would introduce a new line known as the Room101 Doomsayer. Priced in the $7.50 range per cigar, Doomsayer is a two blend line that falls somewhere inbetween the value-priced The Big Payback line and the more premium Room101 Farce line. The two blends of the Room101 Doomsayer […]
The concept of pairings with spirits and cigars seems to have been around forever. As long there have been spirit/cigar pairings, there are debates on where the pair selected complements/enhances each other as well as where pairings, in general, are a good thing. In these debates, these often come down to personal preferences on what […]
Social media groups have been a big part of consumer engagement on cigars over the past year. One such group is “The Cigar Culture.” It’s a group spearheaded by Adrian Acosta, a cigar industry veteran with the goal of bringing consumers information and education on the tobacco industry. Acosta has worked in many facets […]
In 2014, Altadis USA released the Espada by Montecristo. Historically, it was an important cigar in that it was the first Montecristo cigar to come out of Nicaragua, and for Altadis it was one of their first major releases produced by an outside factory which in this case was the Plasencia factory. In addition, the […]
A big year for Viaje Cigars came in 2010 as Andre Farkas’ company had two landmark releases – Viaje Oro Reserva VOR No. 5. and the Viaje Skull and Bones Daisy Cutter. The Viaje Oro Reserva VOR No. 5 would capture Cigar Aficionado’s #2 Cigar of the Year (and #1 non-Cuban cigar). The Viaje Skull […]
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 […]
Back in 2015, the Hoyo de Monterrey brand celebrated its 150th anniversary. At the time, General Cigar announced it was releasing a limited edition cigar called the Hoyo de Monterrey Edición de Cumpleaños 150. This cigar was a very contemporary spin on the Hoyo de Monterrey from both a packaging and blend standpoint. The contemporary […]
In 2020, Tabacalera SLU would release its third cigar in its VegaFina Gran Reserva series, the VegaFina Gran Reserva 2020. It was back in 1998 when the VegaFina Grand Reserva series would make its debut with the VegaFina Gran Reserva 20 Aniversario. As the name indicates the Gran Reserva 20 Aniversario was released to commemorate […]
The 2019 IPCPR Trade Show featured a new company on the scene known as ACE Prime. In recent years, with the threat of federal regulations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), newer companies at the Trade Show have been less frequent. What made ACE Prime’s debut impressive is they would launch three brands […]
