The Stogie Guys

On Saturday, Bill Spann’s tenure as chief executive officer of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) came to an end. Spann resigned his post with the Columbus, Georgia-based organization to spend more time with his family and take a job in his hometown of Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

Spann’s two years at the helm of IPCPR witnessed a reversal in a decade-long decline in membership, as well as the two most successful trade shows in the association’s 82-year history. “We are grateful for Bill’s efforts on behalf of the premium cigar and pipe industry,” said IPCPR Board President Finnie Helmuth. “His dedication to the industry, successful trade shows, and new legislative staff in Washington all speak to his stewardship of IPCPR. We wish him and his family a bright future.”

Spann elaborated on his decision: “My staff and many of our members know that I have been apart from my family each week since I took this position in July 2011. We fully intended to move to Columbus, but unfortunately the town’s size did not afford my spouse the career opportunities she required. I have great respect for our dedicated Board of Directors, our Associate Member Advisory Board, and our loyal and dedicated retail members and staff, but after more than two years of nearly constant family separation, the time is right to move on.”

When Spann was hired as CEO, he replaced Joe Rowe, who headed up IPCPR for a decade. Spann’s previous experience included a 20-year career with the Navy, serving as chief of staff of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and several executive roles within Governor Jeb Bush’s administration.

The IPCPR, perhaps best known for its annual trade show where cigar makers showcase their products for retailers and the media, is a nonprofit organization that represents the interests of tobacco retailers and their suppliers. It was founded in 1933.

–Patrick A

photo credit: IPCPR

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

This was a gift from a friend and, as best I can tell, it’s a custom-rolled Cuban cigar with Mexican origins based on the Montecristo 109 Conte regional blend. (This isn’t the first time we’ve evaluated a custom Cuban cigar.) The cigar is 7.25 inches long with a ring gauge of 50 and a notably rounded cap and closed foot. It features a medium-brown wrapper with relatively few veins. It claims to be a Cuban puro, and I’m inclined to believe that. The profile is sweet earth, with hints of cedar and honey. It’s immaculately balanced and mild- to medium-bodied with flawless construction. It’s certainly hard to procure (I honestly wouldn’t know where to get it) but I can’t recommend it more.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

After more changes than Lady Gaga in concert, the 601 Red Label Habano is back to its glorious origin. While it would no doubt take a professional cig-archaeologist to adequately evaluate the band evolution, to my eye it looks a lot like the original, perhaps a brighter red. But what matters is the cigar. And Erik Espinosa has returned the lovely Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan filler to full strength and flavor. The opening reminded me of my first 601 Red, with a great pepper blast whipping my tongue like a rented mule. After a half inch or so, it settles down a tad while remaining a tasty treat to the end. If you haven’t tried the new 601 Red, you’re missing an excellent cigar.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Espinosa Cigars

I’ve never been the type to own fancy cigar accessories. It’s not that I don’t appreciate them, it’s just that I’d rather spend my cigar budget on cigars than fancy humidors and lighters. That’s why I have two coolidors that functionally hold most of my cigars at a perfect humidity, and why my most used lighter is a three-dollar Ronson Jetlite.

So when Tampa Fuego asked me if I’d like to try out their cigar cases, I wasn’t sure I was the right person. The various cases I normally use (a five-count travel case, an aluminum 20-count case, a three-finger leather case) have all been throw-ins for cigars I’ve bought or events I’ve attended. Still, I agreed and have been using the cigar cases they provided (one made from Stingray skin, another in a tan “natural” smooth leather) for the past month.

Tampa Fuego makes their cases in America from a variety of exotic skins and leathers. They are handcrafted at their Largo, Florida, factory. In addition to their cigar cases, Tampa Fuego makes cases designed to fit Xikar cutters and a standard torch lighter. They are all sold individually or as a matching trio.

The quality of the products is obvious. They have a heft that is more significant than leather cigar cases I’ve owned, and the detail of the stitching suggests they would outlast any particular owner.

From a functional standpoint, I appreciate the large size of these cases. They can easily protect three double corona size cigars. I even put an “A” size cigar in one and it had ample protection. Other similar two-part leather cases I’ve had fail to hold a cigar much larger than a toro.

The prices of these make it clear these are luxury items. The stingray case sells for $350, while the leather cases go for $45. But that’s sort of the point: There are cheaper ways to protect and carry around your cigars, but these are eye-catching, luxury accessories.

They come in such exotic options as crocodile, alligator, python, lizard, beaver tail, and stingray, and they’re designed to turn heads. I certainly got more than a few comments and compliments about my cases over the past month, especially the black stingray case. Which is why I think they’d make particularly excellent gifts.

If you’re in the market for a luxury cigar gift, or something special for yourself, check out all of Tampa Fuego’s offerings here. Tampa Fuego has also offered StogieGuys.com readers 20% off through the end of October by using the code “STOGIE” at checkout.

In addition, make sure you’re signed up for our free email newsletter to be entered to win one of the cases I received from Tampa Fuego to write this review.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A couple months after making history by sending the first cigars into space, Alec Bradley is once again making headlines. This time, though, the Florida-based company is drawing attention not for a unique publicity stunt, but for a crime.

Cigar Aficionado reported yesterday that burglars recently stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Alec Bradley’s humidified storage facility in Hollywood, Florida. The story of how they broke in and made off without getting caught sounds like the plot of a heist movie.

The burglars cut a hole through the roof of the building using a high-powered saw, said Alan Rubin, owner of Alec Bradley, and gained access to the humidified warehouse. Using forklifts, they moved cases of cigars out to a stolen truck and made away with the merchandise, worth approximately $300,000 at wholesale, or nearly $600,000 at the retail level.

The break-in occurred early on the morning of September 7, a Saturday. Rubin initially kept the incident quiet during the search for the criminals, who remain at large. “We didn’t want to say anything because of the investigation,” Rubin told Cigar Aficionado. He changed his mind, he said, when he heard of people in the northeast United States being approached with offers of buying Alec Bradley cigars at a steep discount.

StogieGuys.com has elected to help spread the news about this robbery because the criminals are still at large, and Rubin is calling on cigar consumers for help. If you are offered Alec Bradley cigars at a steep discount, or if you see Alec Bradley cigars for sale in bundles that are always sold in boxes (i.e., Prensado), please report it to the authorities. Stolen cigars included Prensado, Nica Puro, Black Market, and Alec Bradley Connecticut.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Alec Bradley

With new challenges come new opportunities. When it comes to cigars and finding a place to comfortably enjoy a premium cigar, that saying certainly is true.

Smoking bans across the country have booted smokers out of restaurants, bars, and other places that wanted their business. Unpleasant weather, and creeping outdoor bans, compound the problem. The spread of bans means in many places you can only smoke in specialized cigar establishments. And eager business owners are seeking to welcome in cigar smokers.

Cigar shops are adding lounge areas to accommodate cigar smoking customers who have limited options. But cigar shops are often limited in their ability to sell anything other than cigars; food and drink sales are generally prohibited.

Increasingly, it seems, luxurious specialized cigar establishments that combine food, drink, and cigars are seeking to fill the void.

Some, like the Grand Havana Club in DC and Beverly Hills, Club Macanudo in New York, and Shelly’s Backroom in DC have been around for a while. Others like Ashton Lounge in Philadelphia, Civil Cigar in DC, and CXIII Rex in Alexandria, Virginia, are relatively new.

Some are membership-only, others invite the public in if they’re wiling to pay a premium for their offerings. The result is a number of fine establishments in which one can, for a price, smoke a cigar in an exquisite setting.

But the trend has some downsides.

Go to most cigar shops and you’ll find a wide range of people: blue collar workers, civil servants, small business owners, retirees, college students, master of finance-types. Which makes sense when you consider that cigar smoking is an incredibly affordable luxury. Five dollars can provide an enjoyable, casual, relaxed hour.

The appreciation of cigars promotes common ground among people whose paths would never cross outsides a cigar shop. Anti-smokers like to portray cigar smokers as the ultra-rich elite, lighting cigars with dollar bills in wood-paneled rooms, but it simply isn’t true.

Which is why it’s ironic that anti-cigar bans are forcing cigar smokers into smoke-filled, wood-paneled rooms where the entrance requires an exclusive membership, or at least the willingness to spend more than a blue-collar hourly wage.

In other words, to the extent cigar smoking is still viewed as an elitist activity, it’s the fault of the anti-smokers rather than cigar smokers.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Flickr