The story of celebrity restauranteur Guy Fieri has been well-documented. It was in January of 2022 when it was announced that Fieri would be teaming up with Erik Espinosa to launch Knuckle Sandwich cigars. Knuckle Sandwich Cigars are being done in partnership with Espinosa Premium Cigars, who are handling both the production and distribution of […]
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put its Deeming Regulations into effect, the concept of predicate cigars was introduced. Predicate cigars are ones that were first introduced to the market prior to February 15th, 2007 and anything introduced after that would require the FDA pre-market approval. This gave companies with predicate cigars a […]
In 2022, Drew Estate announced a three-way collaboration project that was done between Metallica’s James Hetfield, Distiller Rob Dietrich of Sweet Amber Distilling, and Jonathan Drew known as Blackened M81. Blackened is the name of a whiskey collaboration of Metallica and Dietrich and Dietrich and Drew have been friends for a while. It was Dietrich […]
In 2023, HVC Cigars made a bold move. After over a decade of producing some highly acclaimed cigars at the Aganorsa Leaf factory, HVC Cigars’ owner Reinier Lorenzo made the decision to open his own factory, Fabrica de Tabaco, and start shifting production to come from there. While Lorenzo still maintains some production at Aganorsa […]
Over the past few years, the several brands of Scandinavian Tobacco Group have been engaging in collaborations with various spirits companies, some involving utilizing barrel-aged tobacco. Such projects have come to the Diesel (Rabbit Hole Distilling), Cohiba (Weller), and even a Buffalo Trace branded line. In 2022, Macanudo became one of the STG brands which […]
There are several wrappers that are associated with Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars. But I think the wrapper Johnson is best known for is Connecticut Broadleaf. Some of Pete Johnson’s most iconic releases have featured this wrapper. In 2008, Pete Johnson released a medium-bodied Connecticut Broadleaf line known as La Riqueza. The name La Riqueza […]
Over the past few years, subscription clubs have gained a lot of popularity in the cigar market. Each has offered different value propositions along the way. There are subscription clubs that give cigar enthusiasts an opportunity to try different cigars that exist in the market, and there are also subscription clubs that provide the opportunity […]
Last year marked a milestone year for Espinosa Cigars. It would mark the ten-year-anniversary of both the company and its factory, La Zona. In 2012, following the dissolution of EO brands with his partner Eddie Ortega, Erik Espinosa would launch his own premium cigar company, Espinosa Premium Cigars. That same year, Espinosa would open the […]
In 2021, Tabacalera Palma, the factory owned by Jochy Blanco in the Dominican Republic, would celebrate its 85th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, La Galera Cigars, the premium cigar brand owned by Blanco, would create a pair of cigars known as the La Galera 85th Anniversary. This would be a joint project that was done […]
In 2021, All Saints Cigars would release the fifth vitola in its Dedicación line known as the Mitre. Dedicación was the first regular production line to be launched by All Saints Cigars (it actually followed a limited edition release called Solamente). The name Mitre plays into the theme of All Saints cigars. A mitre […]
