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 […]
Today, we take a look at the second cigar in the Meerapfel Master Series, the Meerapfel Meir. The Meerapfel family has over 150 years of experience in various aspects of the tobacco business. The family is best known for being tobacco brokers, particularly for brokering tobacco out of Cameroon, Africa. In addition, the Meerapfels work […]
Over the years, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars has been known for using Broadleaf wrapper – whether Connecticut Broadleaf or Pennsylvania Broadleaf. Over the past couple of years, there have been shortages of Broadleaf tobacco, typically of the Broadleaf grown in Connecticut. As a result, this has led many cigar factories to seek out alternative tobaccos. […]
In 2022, Drew Estate introduced a second offering under its Nica Rustica brand, the Nica Rustica Adobe. The Nica Rustica brand originally started out as a project by Drew Estate in which they were experimenting with a locally grown strain of tobacco known as rustica. The rustica (or Nicotaina Rustica) is considered one of the […]
Just before the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, E.P. Carrillo announced the fourth installment to its Perez-Carrillo line, the Allegiance. The Allegiance is a cigar that Ernesto Perez-Carrillo blended, but it is being produced from Oliva’s TABOLISA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It was the second project by E.P. Carrillo being produced outside its […]
In 2023, Patina Cigars would celebrate its fifth anniversary. As is common with many companies, a commemorative release was done to mark the occasion. When a commemorative anniversary cigar is done, sometimes the anniversary cigar is incorporated as an ongoing regular production line. In other cases, a limited edition of cigars is done. In the […]
Each year when I go to the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, one of the companies I most look forward to visiting is Esteban Carreras. Esteban Carreras typically has one new release a year and launches it at the Trade Show. Esteban Carreras does not announce what its new cigar is before the trade […]
In 2022, Gurkha Cigars announced a limited production offering called the Gurkha Coleccíon Especial. Over the years, Gurkha has been known for delivering products with exquisite and innovative packaging. Recently, Gurkha has been putting an increased emphasis on cigar making. Gurkha has worked with many factories in the Dominican Republic (PDR Cigars, Tabacalera El Artista) […]
In 2022, Quesada Cigars added a new line to its Casa Magna brand, the Casa Magna Connecticut. As the name indicates, it adds a Connecticut Shade offering into the Casa Magna brand. The Casa Magna brand traces its roots back to 2008 when Manuel Quesada teamed up with Nestor Plasencia to release a cigar to […]
At the 2021 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, Cavalier Genève introduced a new regular production offering known as Prospektor. Cavalier Genève’s slogan is “smoke gold, stay gold.” Gold is a theme with many of the Cavalier Genève-branded cigars. Most of the Cavalier Genève offerings feature a 24k gold diamond affixed to the wrapper (and […]
