Celebrity Restauranteur turned cigar-brand owner Guy Fieri wanted a special cigar to commemorate his 55th birthday and turned to Espinosa Cigars, who handles both his production and distribution for his Knuckle Sandwich brand, to make such a cigar. The result was a cigar known as the Knuckle Sandwich 55. Fieri was initially given 55 ten-count […]
If there is one cigar company that has made the best use of its Ambassador group, it would have to be Micallef Cigars. Micallef used input from its Ambassador group to develop its previous new release, the Micallef A and continues to rely on feedback from its Ambassadors. One thing that Micallef heard over and […]
Back in 2017, Boutique Blends Cigars entered into a strategic agreement with Altadis U.S.A. where Altadis would handle the company’s distribution and co-owner Rafael Nodal would become the Director (now Vice President) of Product Capability at Altadis U.S.A. One could easily say this has been one of the most successful strategic partnerships in the cigar […]
Back at the 2022 Trade Show, Luciano Cigars, then known as ACE Prime, would introduce an exclusive cigar to retailers attending the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) known as Maria Lucia. The cigar is named and pays homage to company co-founder and blender Luciano Meirelles’ late mother. In blending Maria Lucia, Meirelles drew inspiration from his […]
In 2022, Illusione Cigars would quietly unveil its version of the Allegria brand. It was back in 2017 when Dion Giolito acquired two cigar brands, OneOff and Allegria. These are brands created by Andrea Molinar – and achieved a cult status in the marketplace. However, the brand fell dormant and pretty much disappeared from retail […]
On November 16, 2021, legendary blender Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. turned 70 years young. The company celebrated this milestone birthday by releasing a special limited edition cigar. The idea was to go into the blend archives of Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and find an unreleased blend that was not released for various reasons (such as limited tobacco). Ernesto […]
Just before the 2023 PCA Trade Show, Crux Cigars released the third installment in its Epicure Series, the Crux Epicure Habano. As the name indicates, the Crux Epicure Habano introduces a Habano-wrapped offering into the Epicure Series. Crux Epicure Habano has been long anticipated among Crux cigar enthusiasts. It was a cigar talked about in […]
The Tatuaje Cohete Reserva is an offshoot of a cigar that has obtained cult status over the years, the Tatuaje Cohete. The Tatuaje Cohete was a 4 x 50 petite robusto released as an exclusive offering to Tower Pipes and Cigars in Sacramento, California. In 2022, Tatuaje announced it was bringing back the Tatuaje Cohete […]
Back in 2022, HVC Cigars released a San Andres wrapper offering known as the HVC Selección No. 1. While HVC Cigars has been a company in business for over a decade, the No. 1 is significant. This is because, in 2022, HVC Cigars moved into its own factory, Fabrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. Before that, […]
In 2022, the launch of West Tampa Tobacco Co. caught the attention of many people. The company was started by Rick Rodriguez and Gus Martinez, both formerly of General Cigar Company. Rodriguez had spent the better part of the last decade as the blender and brand ambassador for CAO Cigars. Shortly after a (very) brief […]
