The Stogie Guys

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) On Wednesday, the FDA issued the third edition of its Substantial Equivalence FAQ Guidance document. This new edition has been revised to reflect the decision that a modification to an existing product’s label does not result in a new tobacco product. As you may recall, back in August, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled a tobacco product shouldn’t be considered new—and therefore re-subject to FDA approval—simply because its label changes. “The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed last year by subsidiaries of Imperial Brands, Reynolds American Inc., and Altria Group over FDA guidelines clarifying what changes to a tobacco product require regulatory approval under the 2009 Tobacco Control Act, which gave the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products,” reported Reuters. The lawsuit specifically challenged how the Tobacco Control Act was being applied to cigarettes, but has significant implications for how the agency can apply its rules to cigars.

2) Cigar Aficionado has named the La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull its number one cigar of 2016. “First impressions are bold and savory with strong notes of hickory and leather,” according to the magazine. “But it continues to take on a complex spiciness of saffron and cumin as well as a slight tangy note that brings the strength and spice together quite gracefully—and it only gets better with every puff.” Rocky Patel, Partagas Serie E No. 2 (Cuban), E.P. Carrillo, Padrón, Arturo Fuente, Drew Estate, Oliva, Hoyo de Monterrrey Epicure No. 2 (Cuban), and Punch also grabbed spots in the top ten. Love it or hate it, there’s no denying this annual best-of list has a measurable industry impact.

3) The International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) announced this week it will launch a local reporting initiative in 2017. “One of the greatest challenges facing the premium tobacco industry is the proliferation of local laws and regulations in nearly 40,000 local governments across the United States,” said the IPCPR in an email. The organization is expected to “begin providing increased local reporting to our members in collaboration with the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) effective January 1, 2017. IPCPR looks forward to expanding legislative reporting to better serve and protect our members in the new year.”

4) Inside the Industry: In response to our Wednesday review of the Umbagog Toro Toro, and subsequent questions from consumers about Umbagog’s availability, Steve Saka announced the following on Facebook: “Umbagog will become more widely available in the very near future. First will be a small batch of Umbagog ‘Misfits.’ These are identical cigars, but due to a bonehead mistake on my part they were shipped to the U.S. without bundle labels and maybe bands… The next batch will be available in early February. Same ugly cigars, but with the correct rings and labels… These are very tasty Broadleaf cigars for $6 to $8 each. The ‘Misfits’ should be priced about $1 lower across the board.”

5) From the Archives: When you’ve been exploring and writing about cigars as long as we have (StogieGuys.com has been publishing for over a decade), not a lot of topics have gone untouched. Case in point: Stogie Guys Cigar University is a curated reference that provides easy access to coverage ranging from how to select a cigar to building a humidor.

6) Deal of the Week: Need a last-minute holiday gift? We recommend Bespoke Post, a monthly collection of awesome items delivered to your door for just $45. Past boxes include fine bar accessories, shaving kits, coffee, and more. You can skip or purchase every month. Currently available is “Churchill,” a box featuring four E.P. Carrillo cigars (including one exclusive blend), a reclaimed wood ashtray that doubles as a candle holder, a smoke-eating candle, cedar spills for lighting your cigar, and a cutter. Click here to sign up today.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys

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) Another congressional effort to stop the FDA from regulating premium cigars appears dead after the House of Representatives approved a continuing resolution to fund the government into April without mentioning cigars. The industry had hoped to get changes approved in an appropriations bill, but the continuing resolution does not address the issue. A couple of potentially contentious matters, unrelated to the FDA, could slow, or even halt, approval of the continuing resolution by the Senate.

2) Win Free Cigars: In celebration of its holiday gift page—which helps make finding perfect gifts for cigar enthusiasts easy and fun by showcasing best-rated, best-selling smokes—Holt’s Cigar Company is giving away a $20 gift card to one lucky reader. To enter to win, please “like” the StogieGuys.com Facebook page and leave a comment on the contest post with your dream cigar-related gift. One commenter will be chosen at random in about a week to receive the prize. (You can find our contest rules here.)

3) The impact of the FDA on premium cigars got more national exposure last week when the Washington Post featured a lengthy report on the impact in Ybor City, the area that gave Tampa its moniker as “Cigar City.” Highlighting the plight of the largest operation, the J.C. Newman Cigar Co., the article noted that many “wonder whether the once-booming cigar industry may be on its way out.”

4) Inside the Industry: Villiger Cigars is set to begin shipping a redone 1888 line that was first introduced in 2009 to celebrate the Swiss company’s founding year. The new 1888, as reported by Cigar Aficionado, sports red packaging and a blend based on a 2010 limited edition that marked Villiger’s 100 years in Germany.

5) From the Archives: Getting the most for your money is one of the key selling points for cigar samplers. But you want to make sure it’s the cigars, not your wallet, that get burned. Doing so can sometimes require a bit of planning, and these easy-to-follow tips for selecting a sampler can help make your order a winner.

6) Deal of the Week: Limited quantities of our StogieGuys.com-selected sampler are still available at Cigar & Pipes. Included are cigars we enjoyed years ago that still remain staples in our humidors. Just $58.49 gets you 10 cigars, well below MSRP, including some high-end smokes from Padrón, Fuente, and Oliva.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

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) On Wednesday, a new federal rule was issued that criminalizes smoking in public housing residencies. “Officials with the Department of Housing and Urban Development said that the rule would take effect early next year, but that public housing agencies would have a year and a half to put smoke-free policies in place. The rule will affect more than 1.2 million households,” according to the New York Times. “The nationwide ban will have its greatest impact in New York, where the New York City Housing Authority—whose 178,000 apartments and more than 400,000 residents make it the largest public housing agency in the United States, has lagged behind many of its counterparts in adopting smoke-free policies. While HUD proposed the sweeping prohibition a year ago, it had been prodding public housing authorities to adopt such policies since 2009.”

2) General Cigar Co. announced on Monday that Alan Willner has left his post as vice president of marketing “to pursue other interests.” Willner had been with General since 2011. “I will provide day-to-day leadership of the marketing team,” said Régis Broersma, president, in a press release. “Change is always uncomfortable, but with this change I have great confidence in the team to drive the business forward. Our strategy and brands are strong, and we are well-positioned to take General Cigar to the next level. It’s time to release the company’s full potential.”

3) Inside the Industry: Gran Habano has released Los Tres Reyes Magos, a limited edition culebra coffin of three intertwined cigars (7 x 32) in the Gran Habano #1 (Connecticut Shade), #3 (Nicaraguan Habano), and #5 (Nicaraguan Corojo) blends. The coffins are packaged in boxes of 10 and available at retailers now.

4) From the Archives: Looking for some great cigars to start the new year? Let StogieGuys.com be your guide. Just click on the Reviews Archive at the top right of the screen and select Top Rated Cigars from the dropdown menu. You’ll be directed to an alphabetical list of all the  cigars we awarded a top rating since the site began more than ten years ago. And stay tuned for our upcoming list of the top-rated smokes of 2016.

5) Deal of the Week: StogieGuys.com recommends Bespoke Post, a monthly collection of awesome items delivered to your door. Past boxes include fine bar accessories, shaving kits, coffee, and more. You can skip or purchase every month. This month features an exclusive cigar offering from E.P. Carrillo, including previously unreleased cigars (along with an ashtray made with re-calimed wood, a cutter, and a smoke-eating candle) available only to Bespoke Post subscribers. Click here to sign up today.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Observer

With football on the TV, turkey in your stomach, and family gathered, Thanksgiving is a great day to enjoy a cigar (or several). So, as we have for each of the previous nine years, today the StogieGuys.com team tells you what cigars we’ll be firing up after our big meals.

Patrick A: Industry veteran José Blanco may have relinquished majority control of Las Cumbres Tabaco to his wife as he began his new role at E.P. Carrillo, but that doesn’t make the Señorial brand any less spectacular. I’ve enjoyed this blend—which includes a Habano Ecuardor wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder from Estelí, and Dominican filler tobaccos of the Piloto Cubano and Corojo varieties—since it was launched, and I think the Señorial Corona Gorda No. 5 will be an outstanding post-dinner selection (likely the first of several cigars I’ll smoke Thursday evening). The toasty profile and flavors of red pepper, cedar, molasses, and green raisin will pair well with a strong cup of black coffee. I look forward to sharing this cigar with my family.

Patrick S: A little-known fact is that there were two blends in contention to be the Paul Garmirian 15th Anniversary blend. The blend ultimately not selected for the 15th Anniversary became the PG Soirée. While I’m glad they selected the blend they did (the 15th is my favorite PG blend), the Soirée is also excellent with roasted notes, wood, pepper, and full-bodied flavors. Seeing as it will be cold outside (in order to have a cigar I’ll need to head outside post-dinner), I’m firing up the four-inch Paul Garmirian Soirée Short Robusto and pouring myself an Islay Single Malt.

George E: This Thanksgiving, as we’ve done for the past several years, my wife and I will go out to eat with some friends. That will likely put me home in time to fire up the iPad on the deck and watch the NFL’s mediocre late game. While the football doesn’t hold much promise, my smoke certainly does. I have a Casa Fuente Corona Gorda that’s been in my humidor for several years. It was a gift, and Thanksgiving seems just the right time to celebrate with it.

Previous cigars the StogieGuys.com team designated as Thanksgiving smokes include:

Not a bad list, eh? If you’re so inclined, feel free to let us know what you’ll be smoking tomorrow in the comments below. And be sure to have a safe and joyous Thanksgiving.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

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) Sam Leccia (pictured above) of Leccia Tobacco has launched an online store where consumers and retailers can purchase his products directly. “Since taking over the distribution of my products, I wanted to offer both retailers and consumers a user-friendly experience for buying Leccia Tobacco cigars,” said Leccia in a press release. The release provides further details: “In addition to Leccia tobacco, the store offers other boutique cigar lines to which Sam has a personal affinity, signature Leccia gear, and cigar accessories. A Roll-Your-Own kit is in the works for those who want to try their hand at rolling cigars. New items arrive in-store regularly… [along with] limited small batch cigars… [and] one-off blends.” The store can be found at Leccia-Tobacco.com. Sam Leccia is best-known for pioneering Nub—a concept that was copied widely—and, before setting out on his own, working with Oliva, Toraño (his former distributor), and General Cigar.

2) Here’s some random advice: Don’t order from CigarStorehouse.com. The site features unbelievably low prices—as much as 50% lower than what you’ll normally find at other sites. But it has a “low trust rating” from ScamAdviser.com. Cigarstorehouse.com has been around for a while and has generated complaints and warnings on cigar forums. Although it lists a U.S. address, questions have been raised about possible links to a Chinese operation. One of the biggest red flags: requesting payment via Western Union. That’s a sure sign, say scam-watchers, that you’re unlikely to get what you ordered. We haven’t gotten a reply to an email sent through the site’s contact form. We’ll let you know if that changes.

3) From the Archives: Almost everyone likes to save a buck at least every now and then. We’ve been helping cigar smokers make wise tobacco purchases for years. Here are five tips that are just as relevant today as when we published them back in 2010.

4) Deal of the Week: Limited quantities of our StogieGuys.com-selected sampler are still available at Cigar & Pipes. Included are cigars we enjoyed years ago that still remain staples in our humidors. Just $58.49 gets you 10 cigars, well below MSRP, including some high-end smokes from Padrón, Fuente, and Oliva.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Leccia Tobacco

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 addition to the three anti-cigar ballot initiatives that were defeated on Election Day, Donald Trump’s win over Hillary Clinton breathed some life into hopes of stifling damaging cigar regulations. Trump’s running mate, Gov. Mike Pence (R-IN), was a co-sponsor of H.R. 1639 to protect the premium cigar industry from FDA regulation when he served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Trump hasn’t yet made a public statement on cigar regulation specifically, though he has called regulatory reform a “cornerstone” of his administration, and has noted he will impose “a temporary moratorium on all new regulation… and a thorough review to identify and eliminate unnecessary regulations that kill jobs and bloat government.” Furthermore, it is widely expected that cigar smoker Rudolph Giuliani (seen above with cigar maker Rocky Patel at Cigar Aficionado’s Big Smoke event in 2013) will assume an influential cabinet positon. According to Cigar Rights of America (CRA): “While it is expected that the new administration will be inundated with affairs regarding assembling a new government and legislative priorities for the opening of the 115th Congress, CRA is pleased to see the commitment that Donald Trump and Mike Pence have already made to regulatory reform. We look forward to working with the administration to address issues concerning regulation and the premium cigar industry.”

2) Officials in Dallas have criminalized smoking in parks starting March 1. Exemptions were carved out for golf courses, a shooting range, and park events (like the State Fair). Fines for offenders could run up to $200, but enforcement is not clear; according to the Dallas Observer, Parks Department Director Willis Winters cited “‘voluntary compliance’ and ‘peer-to-peer enforcement’ as the solutions.”

3) Inside the Industry: Last month, Christian Eiroa’s Tabacaleras Unidas announced it would be taking over distribution of Puros Indios and Cuba Aliados. This week, shipping of the two brands, both created by the late Rolando Reyes Sr., began under the new arrangement.

4) From the Archives: With presidential politics in the spotlight, it is worth revisiting a recent piece we published on Obama’s legacy when it comes to cigars. As the article notes, despite his recent actions on Cuba, “Obama is no friend of cigars” due to his tax increases and, most importantly, the arbitrary and devastating FDA regulation.

5) Deal of the Week: This weekly deal from Smoke Inn features 10 cigars for just $30. Included are cigars that have a combined suggested retail price of over $90. The featured sticks include the Murcielago Nocturne, Ortega Natural No. 10, Joya Red Robusto, Blind Man’s Bluff Magnum, Swag Black Infamous, La Aurora Maduro Preferido No. 3, Vegafina Corona, Prensado Robusto, and Oktoberfest Das Boot.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Wall Street Journal

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) Serious Cigars, a four-location retailer in Texas that also operates an online shop, has been acquired by Tabacalera USA, the U.S. premium cigar division of Imperial Brands PLC, a global tobacco conglomerate that includes Altadis U.S.A. and JR Cigar. As part of the acquisition, Tabacalera USA has created Casa de Montecristo, Inc.—a division that will focus on the management of the various Casa de Montecristo locations. Eventually, the four Serious Cigar stores in Texas will be known as Casa de Montecristo by Serious Cigars. “Ron and JeanneMarie Lesseraux founded Serious Cigars as a small online retail business in 1996,” reports the Houston Business Journal. “They opened their first location near Willowbrook Mall in December 2003 and have since opened three other locations in the Galleria area, near George Bush Intercontinental Airport and in Webster. The Lesserauxes will remain with the company to help with the transition, and no major changes are expected for Serious Cigars’ stores or website, according to a Nov. 2 press release.”

2) Inside the Industry: If you have an extra $25,000 laying around, you can cash in on one of five 50-count Oro Blanco Special Reserve 2002 cigars from Davidoff. What makes this cigar worth $500 apiece? “The Oro Blanco Special Reserve 2002 is like no other cigar,” according to an email circulated by Davidoff yesterday. “The tobaccos used to craft it will be used for Oro Blanco alone. No other cigar will ever–ever–use the same tobacco. The experience of enjoying an Oro Blanco will therefore be like nothing else aficionados have ever known.” Each batch of 50 must be specially ordered at a Davidoff Flagship store.

3) From the Archives: Maybe the worst sight you can see when you open your humidor is a cigar with a beetle hole. But if it happens to you, don’t panic. Our tip from 2010 shows how to mitigate a potential beetle outbreak.

4) Deal of the Week: Limited quantities of our StogieGuys.com-selected sampler are still available at Cigar & Pipes. Included are cigars we enjoyed years ago that still remain staples in our humidors. Just $58.49 gets you 10 cigars, well below MSRP, including some high-end smokes from Padrón, Fuente, and Oliva.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Serious Cigars