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 […]
For the past few years, Island Lifestyle Importers has been best known for being the exclusive manufacturer and licensee for Tommy Bahama branded cigar accessories. In addition, the company has been selling its own premium cigars, including the Island Lifestyle and Island Club lines. Last year things were quiet at Island Lifestyle Importers, but […]
One of the companies most affected by COVID-19 has been Drew Estate. The company decided not to make a Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) 2021 Trade Show appearance and then when a new surge of COVID-19 cases occurred over the summer the company cancelled its DE25 and Barn Smoker events. On the other hand, if there […]
In 2021, RoMa Craft Tobac made a decision to focus its attention away from the Trade Shows and put its resources into its inaugural consumer event WeaselFest. WeaselFest 2021 was held in RoMa Craft Tobac’s hometown of Austin, Texas. The company had originally planned on the inaugural WeaselFest being in 2020, but COVID-19 forced […]
Maya Selva Cigars is a company that has been in business since 1995. It has built its footprint in Europe but for the past seven years has been working on getting into the U.S. market. This year, Maya Selva focused its attention on the Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) Trade Show and skipped the 2021 Trade […]
As mentioned in the Summer of ’20 report on Southern Draw Cigars, it was probably the most transparent company when it has come to the difficulties the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had on it. Last summer, Southern Draw essentially halted their road schedule, but when fall came around, the company introduced several new […]
Vintage Rock-A-Feller Cigar Group (VRCG) focused its attention on the Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) 2021 Show held earlier this year. When 2021 started, the company released its Art of Magic, a limited edition project that proved to be a success for the company. At TPE 2021, the company decided to build on the success for […]
At the beginning of 2021, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) announced it is dividing its portfolio of premium cigar brands. As a result, several brands will be moving into a new subsidiary known as Forged Cigar Company while other brands will remain under the existing General Cigar Company umbrella. These five brands going to Forged included: […]
Ever since introducing his LH Cigars brand into the market in 2014, owner Nick Syris has quietly built a strong following for the cigars he brings to market. In 2020, Syris would launch a brand in his portfolio simply entitled “Nick.” These cigars would feature Syris’ favorite wrapper, the Ecuadorian Vuelta Abajo wrapper. Just prior […]
2021 marked the sixth year since Nicholas Melillo launched Foundation Cigars. One can make the case this has been one of the quieter years for Melillo in terms of product innovation. It also was a year where Foundation did not attend any Trade Shows and one where Foundation has found a major fan of its […]
