Late in 2019, Villiger Cigars announced its second blend under the Villiger Cuellar line known as the Villiger Cuellar Black Forest. Cuellar is a brand from Villiger that is produced at Tabacalera Palma in the Dominican Republic under the watchful eye of Jochy Blanco. The Black Forest is the second release under the Cuellar brand, […]
Cigar Review: Powstanie Wojtek (Perfecto)
One of the earliest contract brands that came out of Skip Martin and Esteban Disla’s Nica Sueño factory is Powstanie Cigars. Powstanie is a brand owned by Mike and Greg Szczepankiewicz, the owners of Cigar Hustler. The company has two regular production cigars with the Powstanie Habano and Powstanie Maduro. Over the past few years, […]
Cigar Review: Mi Querida Triqui Traca No. 552 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
If there is one thing Steve Saka has been known for throughout his career it’s creating offshoot blends from his tried and true lines. We’ve seen this while he was at Drew Estate when he created the Undercrown Corona ¡Viva! line as well as some of the Liga Privada Unica Serie line. When he formed Dunbarton […]
Cigar Review: Montecristo Nicaragua Series Toro by Altadis U.S.A.
At the 2018 IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas, Altadis U.S.A. introduced a Montecristo branded product produced by AJ Fernandez called the Montecristo Nicaragua Series. Over the past few years, Tabacalera USA has turned to AJ Fernandez to produce new offerings in many of its brands in both the Altadis U.S.A. and Santa Clara Cigars […]
Cigar Review: La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición Maduro
The year 2019 would mark the eighth consecutive year that La Flor Dominicana would be a part of the Tobacconist Association of America (TAA) Exclusive Series. In 2019, La Flor Dominicana would release not one, but two cigars to the TAA. These cigars have been branded the La Flor Dominicana TAA 50th Segunda Edición. […]
Cigar Review: Cuevas Reserva Natural Robusto by Casa Cuevas Cigars
For many years, Luis Cuevas Sr. has operated his Tabacalera Las Lavas S.R.L. in the Dominican Republic. A little over a decade ago, Cuevas Sr. created a cigar called the Cuevas Reserva. At that time, Cuevas Sr. faced a huge dilemma – either invest in the time and resources needed to introduce his own brand […]
Cigar Review: Joya Copper Toro by Joya de Nicaragua
The Joya Copper is the fifth installment of Joya de Nicaragua’s “Joya” series. The Joya series was launched back in 2014 with the release of Joya Red and is intended to offer a more contemporary styled smoke in terms of packaging and blend at a reasonable price point. When it comes to the Joya series, […]
Cigar Review: CAO Orellana
At the 2019 IPCPR Trade Show, General Cigars showed off what was a new installment to its Amazon Basin series, the CAO Orellana. The CAO Orellana is described as a “prequel” to the CAO Amazon Trilogy series, but for all practical purposes, it is the fourth blend to be released in the series. The CAO […]
Cigar Review: Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto by JRE Tobacco Co.
Since JRE Tobacco Company launched in 2016, the brand that has become the workhorse blend of the portfolio has been Aladino. In 2019, JRE Tobacco would introduce its fourth blend under the Aladino line with the Aladino Connecticut. While JRE Tobacco already has a Connecticut Shade cigar with the Tatascan Connecticut, that cigar is sweet-dipped. […]
Cigar Review: The American Toro by J.C. Newman Cigar Company
The 2016 IPCPR Trade Show is long remembered as a Trade Show where many companies were scrambling to introduce products to market prior to August 8, 2016 when the Deeming Rule by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would go into place. Any products being introduced after the date would require FDA approval, but […]