Stogie Guys Friday Sampler No. 425

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) In two weeks, New Orleans’ smoking ban will take effect—an event that’s notable since the Louisiana city is set to host this summer’s International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show (you’ll still be able to smoke on the convention floor). An effort by Harrah’s Casino to have a smoking section on its gambling floor seems to have “fallen on deaf ears,” according to The Times-Picayune. But there are other tweaks to the law that are still under consideration. They include an exemption for cigar bars (defined as establishments with 10% of revenue from cigar sales and humidor rentals) and whether bars, casinos, and restaurants can have outdoor smoking areas. It will be interesting to see how this shapes up, especially since Harrah’s, and the bars and restaurants surrounding the convention center, were popular hangouts among the IPCPR crowd the last time the Trade Show was in New Orleans in 2010.

2) Davidoff is building a new factory in Honduras to support its Camacho, Room 101, and Baccarat brands, and has also purchased tobacco fields in Condega, Nicaragua, and Jamastran, Honduras. “The new Camacho factory in Danlí, Honduras, will sit on almost 450,000 square feet of land, and in its initial phase, operate over an area of 185,000 square feet,” according to Cigar Aficionado. “The new factory will be located near the Pan-American Highway, less than half a mile from the company’s existing box factory.”

3) Many people will tune in to the Masters Golf Tournament this weekend. Look hard and you might see cigar smokers in the gallery, although according to a local paper fewer than you used to. One patron told the paper: “Golf and cigars, they just blend… It’s in the outside, the open air… but you don’t see as many of them anymore.”

4) Inside the Industry: Maya Selva Cigars, producer of Flor de Selva, Cumpay, and Villa Zamorano, is celebrating its 20th anniversary in premium cigars. As a part of what it calls the “20 Años” celebration, the company, which has a strong following in Europe, will be releasing new cigars, including a limited edition “20 Años” Lancero to the Flor de Selva brand, and adding a Toro (6 x 52) to both its Connecticut and Maduro lines.

5) Deal of the Week: Only $25 (shipping included) lands you this five-cigar sampler. Included are the Room 101 Connecticut 808, Macanudo 1968 Toro, Quesada Q40 Toro Box Press, Alec Bradley The Lineage Robusto, and Rocky Patel Edge Maduro Missle.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr