Stogie Guys Friday Sampler XC

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Don’t expect to smoke a cigar while watching the upcoming summer games – not in person, anyway. Beijing will ban smoking in most public places starting May 1 “as part of its pledge to hold a smoke-free Olympics.” As if China’s communism wasn’t enough…

2) A tobacco festival in the Philippines ended this week with the parade of a 101-meter long cigar (that’s the length of a football field plus one end zone) through the streets of Candon City. The monstrosity was “carried by 150 employees…and was made from 300 kilos of Burley, Virginia, and native tobaccos.”

3) Nub Cigars are a new concept by the Oliva Cigar Company. By producing short sticks with extremely large ring gauges, the theory is you can maximize the “sweet spot,” so no Nub is longer than four inches and the ring gauges are all between 56-66. They hit shelves nationwide this month.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Jack checks out a Camacho Havana. Cigar Beat inspects a Griifin’s Fuerte. Velvet Cigar smokes a Padilla Hybrid. Keepers of the Flame lights up a Nestor Miranda Special Selection. Stogie Review reviews the Drew Estate Java Maduro.

5) Deal of the Week: In honor of Stress Awareness Month, Cuban Crafters is running some pretty fantastic deals on our favorite stress relief devices: cigars. You’ll find specials on Cupidos, Don Kiki White Labels, and Cuban Crafters Cameroons. Check them out here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Nub Cigars