Stogie Guys Friday Sampler CXIX

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and informative as possible, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other snippets of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) After failing in the state legislature, Michigan’s proposed statewide smoking ban will likely be off the docket until 2009. Chris McCalla of IPCPR penned a scathing refute of Michigan legislators’ attempts to enact the law, arguing that deceptive anti-smoking groups are misleading politicians and the public about the so-called dangers of secondhand smoke. He also claims an all-out ban would devastate tobacco retailers, “pillars of the communities they serve…[that] provide thousands of jobs and pay millions of dollars annually in payroll, sales, and excise taxes.”

2) Pete Johnson of Tatuaje supposedly released a “secret cigar” called El Triunfador. Cigar Aficionado reports the stick doesn’t appear on any price sheets or websites, but “started mysteriously finding its way to retailers and smokers in the beginning of September.”

3) Don’t plan on smoking—not even outdoors—if you’re one of the 110,000 college students in the 14 public universities in Pennsylvania. A spokesperson for the state’s higher education bureaucracy said, “We ultimately interpreted the [Pennsylvania smoking ban] to require a campus-wide ban.”

4) Inside the Industry: Don Pepin is partnering with Nestor Miranda to make the Nestor Miranda Signature Selection. Padilla opened its new factory and lounge in Little Havana, Miami. A number of Habanos Limited Edición cigars are now available in tubos. CAO is launching a “Rock and Rolled Tour.”

5) Around the Blogs: Cigar Jack smokes the Isla de Cuba Classic. Keepers of the Flame lights up a Cubao No. 5. Stogie Review torches a Macanudo 1968. Her Humidor tries the Reyes Family Classic.

6) Deal of the Week: Sure we have two presidential candidates who favor various anti-tobacco laws, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the Presidential Sampler. For just $49.99 you get ten super-premium cigars, many of which normally retail for $10-15, including the Cohiba Robusto, Montecristo Churchill, Graycliff 1666 PGX, Romeo y Julieta Viejo, and the Gurkha Legend Churchill. Grab yours here today.

– The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr