April 24, 2012 COUNTERFEIT COHIBA CIGARS SEIZED IN MIAMI Richmond, VA— General Cigar announces that a team of special agents from the Miami Office of the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco conducted raids yesterday resulting in the seizure of over 10,000 counterfeit COHIBA® cigars with an estimated retail value of more than $200,000. […]
News: Rolando Reyes, Sr. Passes Away
William Cooper Cigar News, Uncategorized No Comments News, People, Reyes
Photo linked from Reyes Family Cigars The cigar industry lost one of its legenary names as Rolando Reyes, Sr. has passed away last night. Reyes was the founder of Reyes Family Cigars that has such brands as Puros Indios and Cuba Aliados. He was 89 years old. Reyes’ roots come from cigar rolling. Originally from […]
News: Expanded Role at General Cigar for Michael Giannini
William Cooper Cigar News, Uncategorized No Comments General, La Gloria Cubana, News
Michael Giannini of General Cigar Michael Giannini, the director of Team La Gloria Cubana is moving into an expanded role at General Cigar Company. In this new role, Giannini will be overseeing all of the product development for all of the brands under General Cigar. During his tenure as director of Team La Gloria Cubana, […]
News: Eddie Ortega Leaves EO Brands
William Cooper Cigar News, Uncategorized No Comments 601, News, Ortega, People
In a move that was not totally unexpected, Eddie Ortega has stepped down as president of EO Brands and is also leaving the partnership he started with Erik Espinosa. This news comes according to a published report by Cigar Aficionado. EO Brands is most famous for lines of cigars such as 601 and Murcielago. A […]
News: Emilio Grimalkin to be re-branded as La Musa
William Cooper Cigar News No Comments Emilio, News
Gary Griffith, brand developer for Emilio Cigars announced on the Emilio Cigars’ blog that that the Grimalkin cigar is going to be re-branded as the La Musa cigar. This announcement is not a complete surprise as earlier this month, Griffith announced he was considering a name change for Grimalkin. While Grimalkin was one of the […]
News: Jose Seijas Leaving Altadis USA
William Cooper Cigar News, Uncategorized No Comments Altadis, News, People
Jose Seijas, a name long associated the famous Tabacalera de Garcia factory, and Altadis USA has announce is leaving Altadis effective immediately. This is according to a story recently published on Cigar Aficionado.com. The report goes on to say that this is a retirement. Seijas served as Vice President and General Manager of Tabacalera de […]
News: Viaje Moves Oro and Platino to Small Batch, WLP Update
William Cooper Cigar News, Uncategorized No Comments 2012 Preview, Indie, News, Opinion, Viaje
Viaje Cigars posted some information on Facebook on 1/11 regarding the Oro and Platino lines. They also put an update on the White Label Project. While the information was high level, the Oro/Platino announcement might generate more questions than answers – especially for cigar enthusiasts who are not familiar with Viaje Cigars. Let’s take […]
2011 Year in Review: Top 12 Cigar Stories/Themes
William Cooper Cigar of the Year 1 Comment Month in Review, News
While 2011 was a strong year for cigar enthusiasts in terms of all of the new products making it to market, there was a lot on the news front surrounding the cigar industry. Below are 12 major stories that had an impact on the cigar industry. They are listed alphabetically by title/theme and are not […]
Press Release: Jose Blanco Named Senior Vice President of Joya de Nicaragua
William Cooper Uncategorized No Comments News, People, Press Release
After he retired from La Aurora a little over two months ago, a lot of people wondered how long Jose Blanco would be a free agent in the cigar industry. Today Joya de Nicaragua is the big winner in the Jose Blanco sweepstakes. Blanco will report directly into Joya de Nicaragua’s owner Dr. Alejandro Martinez […]
Cigar Preview: E.P. Carrillo Short Run 2011
William Cooper Cigar News No Comments 2011 Preview, E.P. Carrillo, EPC, News
I’ve said this several times, 2011 is a huge year for E.P. Carrillo. They have been very active in the release category. Earlier this spring, E.P. Carrillo released two new additions to their core line – the E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut and the E.P. Carrillo Elencos (the rebranding of the E.P. Carrillo Edicion Limitada […]