Stogie Guys Friday Sampler No. 249

As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.

1) With the eyes of the industry on the annual trade show in Las Vegas, cigar enthusiasts may have missed the shakeup at Davidoff. Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, president and CEO of the Switzerland-based company, has named Jim Young the new president of North American distribution (Young was formerly president of Guinness USA). Christian Eiroa now serves as an advisor to the company instead of president of Camacho (Camacho was acquired by Davidoff in 2008). And Peter Baenninger has been moved from heading up Davidoff’s U.S. operations to overseeing global retail. No word yet on how these management changes may impact Davidoff’s portfolio of cigars, which includes AVO, Camacho, Cusano, Griffin’s, Zino Platinum, and Winston Churchill.

2) Cigar Rights of America, a consumer-based group that works at to protect the freedoms of cigar enthusiasts, has launched a quarterly newsletter called Cigar Patriot. If you are a CRA member and you haven’t received your copy in the mail yet, be sure to log on to the CRA website and update your contact information. You can also view a digital copy here.

3) Inside the Industry: Altadis announced new lines at last week’s trade show, including “A. Turrent Puro Corojo” (using a Mexican wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan and Mexican filler), H. Upmann 1844 Reserve (featuring an Ecuadorian wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and Dominican filler), and “Diamondback” (blended by Omar Ortez with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler). For more new releases see StogieGuys.com’s complete 2011 Trade Show coverage: Show Preview, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Odds and Ends, and Final Thoughts. Reviews of new releases will start next week.

4) Around the Blogs: Smoking Stogie smokes Undercrown by Drew Estate. Stogie Review has lots of Trade Show videos. Stogie Fresh has Trade Show photos. Cigar Fan fires up a Kinky Friedman Kinkycristo. A Cigar Smoker lights up an E.P. Carrillo Maduro.

5) Deal of the Week: This special lands you ten full-bodied smokes at a very mild price. Just $30 gets you five Cain Habano robustos and five Perdomo Criollo 10th Anniversary robustos. Or double up for only $20 more.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Davidoff