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 […]
Cigar Review: E.P. Carrillo Platinum Bash (Toro)
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 […]
Cigar Review: Crux Epicure Habano Corona Gorda
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 […]
Cigar Review: Tatuaje Cohete Reserva (2022)
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 […]
Cigar Review: HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Poderosos
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, […]
Cigar Review: West Tampa Tobacco Co. Attic Series Attic
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 […]
Cigar Review: Meerapfel Meir Robusto
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 […]
Cigar Review: Rocky Patel DBS Toro
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. […]
Cigar Review: Nica Rustica Adobe Toro by Drew Estate
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 […]
Cigar Review: E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Sidekick
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 […]