General Cigar is one of the booths that takes us a long time to cover. There always are plenty of products that are being showcased, but 2019 was particularly challenging. In the past we have had a central marketing contact in Victoria McKee Jaworski. Victoria is no longer with General and this marked our first […]
CAO’s Amazon Trilogy series is set to become a tetralogy. At the 2019 IPCPR Trade Show, General Cigar Company showcased packaging on what is set to become the fourth installment of its CAO Amazon Basin series, the CAO Orellana. While the packaging was shown off, General Cigar has kept much of the details of the […]
At the 2019 IPCPR Trade Show, General Cigar showcased a bolder offering under its CAO Flathead line known as the CAO Flathead V19. The CAO Flathead V19 consists of a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over a Connecticut Habano binder and fillers consisting of Dominican Piloto Cubano and Nicaraguan tobaccos from Condega, Estelí, and Jalapa. According to […]
At the 2019 IPCPR Trade Show, General Cigars introduced a new offering under its CAO brand called CAO Session. CAO Master Blender Rick Rodriguez was inspired to create CAO Session from spending time smoking cigars in his “man cave” in his garage. He was looking to create an everyday cigar that could be something special. […]
The CAO brand is one that has been around for well over two decades. While it is now a brand under General Cigar’s portfolio, it had never produced an exclusive cigar for the Tobacconist Association of America (TAA). That changed in 2018 with the release of the CAO Estelí as a part of the 2018 […]
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 […]
For the second year in a row, the CAO brand from General Cigar Company will be a part of the TAA Exclusive Series. At this year’s Tobacconist Association of America (TAA) conference that took place in Casa de Campo from March 17 to March 21, General Cigar announced the CAO Brazilia Select would be a […]
There is always something exciting to see at the General Cigar booth. I draw an analogy that it’s like going to Macy’s Department Store at Christmas time. The presentation is excellent and the cigars are always intriguing. In past years, we have seen General Cigar go heavier with one brand as opposed to another. The […]
For the second year in a row, General Cigar Company was the primary host of the opening night reception at the IPCPR Trade Show and Convention. This year it was the CAO brand on center stage as the new CAO Nicaragua was unveiled. While the CAO Nicaragua has a filler with tobaccos from the three […]
What happens when a cigar company moves beyond the comfort zone of the way it does business or makes products? On Prime Time Special Edition #33 we look at some cases and evaluate where it’s worked and where it hasn’t. This past weekend, we saw two big names in the cigar industry pass away and tonight we […]
