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Weekly Cigar News Sampler: Mayor Implores OMB to Reconsider FDA Regs, Ybor City, Cuban Embargo, and More

17 Mar 2017

As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post our sampling of cigar news and other items of interest from the week. Below is our latest, which is the 522nd in the series.

Mayor Regalado

1) Tomás Regalado (pictured above), mayor of Miami, this week sent a letter to the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, imploring the agency to reconsider FDA regulation of cigars in light of “the new administration and its own regulatory review and reconsideration process.” An email alert from Cigar Rights of America applauds Mayor Regalado for the letter, which calls for a comprehensive economic impact analysis, as well as a reexamination of “option two,” which would exempt premium cigars from the regulation. The letter can be read in its entirety here. Some interesting statistics found in the letter include the following: Florida is headquarters of over 40 corporations in the premium cigar industry; Florida is home to at least 232 small businesses reliant upon the premium cigar industry; and Miami considers itself the base of operations for the industry, with services ranging from shipping, trucking, bonded storage, etc.

2) The Washington Post asks: What does the future hold for historic Ybor City’s cigar culture? “Yet even with all cigar connoisseurship happening up and down Seventh Avenue, it was hard to ignore that Ybor City—a National Historic Landmark District—had seen better days. In the early 20th century, Tampa had been the undisputed cigar capital of the world, outproducing even Havana. In its heyday, the city had more than 150 factories, employing about 10,000 workers, and rolling more than 500 million cigars each year. Now, beyond the small storefront producers still rolling premium handmade cigars, only one large cigar factory remains.”

3) In last month’s “Question of the Month” (which admittedly ran significantly longer than a month), we asked readers to select the answer that best describes their position on the U.S. embargo of Cuba. “The embargo was right when it was enacted, but now is the time to end it” was the top answer with 36% of the vote. It was followed by “the embargo should be phased out, but only if Cuba meets tangible benchmarks towards freedom and democracy” (30%); “the embargo never should have been enacted” (19%); and “the embargo should be kept in place until Cuba adopts full freedom and democracy” (15%). Be sure to weigh in on this month’s question by voting in the sidebar to the right. And feel free to contact us if you’ve got a good suggestion for a future StogieGuys.com reader poll.

4) Inside the Industry: Steve Saka reported on Facebook on Tuesday that he received the first shipment of Umbagog, a paper-bundled cigar with a Broadleaf wrapper deemed too “ugly” to be used for his more premium Mi Querida line. The sizes being shipped are Corona Gorda (6 x 48, $6.45), Robusto Plus (5 x 52, $6.45), Toro Toro (6 x 52, $6.95), and Gordo Gordo (6 x 56, $7.45). “For us, [Umbagog is] not a profit center, but a cash recovery product to make efficient use of the Broadleaf,” wrote Saka. “In my perfect world, all of the wrapper coming out of my pilons would be perfect and none of these would exist.” Umbagog will be appearing at about 35 retailers nationwide; a preliminary list of retailers can be found here.

5) From the Archives: This was our most-read article last year: our groundbreaking piece about how the FDA misleads the public it is supposed to serve, especially when it comes to handmade cigars and youth smoking.

6) Deal of the Week: The cigars are a mystery, but you do get a lot of them. They’re all name brands, not house brands or no-name bundles, and they come for less than $3 per cigar. These Grab Bags tend to sell out fast, so if you need to fill up your humidor on the cheap, act quickly.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Miami Herald

One Response to “Weekly Cigar News Sampler: Mayor Implores OMB to Reconsider FDA Regs, Ybor City, Cuban Embargo, and More”

  1. StogieGuys.com Friday, March 17, 2017 at 8:01 am #

    …and this just in from Davidoff:

    “Davidoff Cigars is expanding the company’s successful Exclusives programme with unique, tailor-made 2017 Exclusvie Editions for key Davidoff retail partners in the U.S.”

    “The Davidoff Exclusive cigars that comprise these various Editions are as unique and distinctive as a city or a line. Blended to match the palates of those who may have the opportunity to enjoy them, they will be available in limited quantities.”

    “Davidoff is known for the fine craftsmanship and deep expertise in handmade premium cigars. With these bespoke Exclusive Editions, each beautifully portraying in silhouette style a city’s or country’s landmark, Davidoff Cigars is taking service and experience to a higher and more personal level.”

    The list of 2017 Exclusives for the U.S. market is as follows:

    Davidoff Exclusive Ultimate Cigars
    Davidoff Exclusive Havana Connections
    Davidoff Exclusive Ambassador Fine Cigars
    Davidoff Exclusive Maxamar
    Davidoff Exclusive Briar Shopper
    Davidoff Exclusive Famous Smoke Shop
    Davidoff Exclusive Tampa
    Davidoff Exclusive Madison
    Davidoff Exclusive 6th Avenue
    Davidoff Exclusive Buckhead
    Davidoff Exclusive Houston
    Davidoff Exclusive Brookfield
    Davidoff Exclusive Las Vegas