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) Representatives of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) and Cigar Rights of America (CRA) this week met with the White House Office of Management and Budget about the looming threat of regulation of premium cigars. “The high-level meeting helped focus attention on the economic needs important to cigar retailers, including: in-store humidors, self-service displays, seasonal releases and special editions, access to financial capital, sampling events, age verification, and preserving the cigar store experience,” according to the IPCPR. “IPCPR expects FDA regulations on premium cigars to be released for public comment within the next few weeks.” Such regulation is expected to deplete cigar innovation, render limited edition smokes more difficult to produce, stifle cigar advertising, and impose burdensome testing requirements on cigar makers.

2) For the time being, the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act has stalled in Congress. This bill, which would require online retailers to collect sales tax, was being closely watched by the cigar industry. The major online cigar retailers were obviously against it, while many brick-and-mortar tobacco shops were for it, arguing the law would level the playing field. Many expect the bill to be revisited in the foreseeable future.

3) Inside the Industry: While previously disclosed, Altadis USA formally announced its new RyJ by Romeo y Julieta cigar this week. The blend is different from other Romeo y Julieta blends as it is a Nicaraguan puro rolled in Honduras. According to the announcement, the cigar uses “a special wrapper cultivated and grown exclusively for RyJ,” double binders from Estelí and Jalapa, and filler from Estelí and Jalapa, including from the storied La Mia farm (in Jalapa) which was once controlled by then-Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. The cigar will come in three sizes: Piramide (6.1 x 52), Toro (6 x 52), and Bully Grande (5 x 54). They will retail for $8-8.75.

4) Deal of the Week: Cigar Place has a bevy of discount codes available. One particularly good deal is on the Liga Undercrown Corona Viva, our favorite size of the Undercrown blend. After you add it to your cart, add the promo code “liga” to knock the price down 15% to just $104 for a box of 25.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: IPCPR

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) New York City is in the process of raising the age minimum for tobacco products by three years, effectively implementing the toughest tobacco sale regulations of any major city in the U.S. “The legal age for buying tobacco—including cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigars, and cigarillos—will rise to 21, from 18, under a bill adopted by the City Council and which Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has said he would sign,” reported the New York Times on Wednesday. The law will go into effect six months after the bill is signed. “The proposal provoked some protest among people who pointed out that New Yorkers under 21 can drive, vote, and fight in wars, and should be considered mature enough to decide whether to buy cigarettes.”

2) Cigar Rights of America is giving you another great way to support the organization that helps protect cigar smokers from tobacco taxes, bans, and regulations. A new CRA limited edition ten-pack is now on sale at Great American Cigar Shops, and it’s available only to current CRA members. The sampler features ten exclusive cigars—each either a unique size or blend—from ten of the world’s best brands, including Drew Estate’s Liga Privada No. 9, La Aroma de Cuba, La Flor Dominicana, Rocky Patel, Tatuaje, E.P. Carrillo, and Opus X.

3) Around the Blogs: Cigar Inspector inspects the Padrón 3000 Maduro. Stogie Review reviews the Henry Clay. Nice Tight Ash checks out the Allure Habano. Stogie Fresh smokes the The Griffin’s Special Edition 2012.

4) Deal of the Week: Here’s a sampler with 5 quality cigars for just $24. Included is the Vega Fina Robusto, CAO MX2 Toro, PDR 1878 Natural Robusto, Rocky Patel Edge Maduro Torpedo, and  Montecristo Classic Toro.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

Like it or not, Halloween is just two days away. Looking to pull together a last-minute costume? Want to smoke a cigar while you hand out candy to trick-or-treaters? (This is acceptable if you offer their dad a cigar.) We’re here to help. In an effort to make trick-or-treating a lot more tolerable, we’ve updated a list we first put out in 2007 of costume ideas, each that will let you smoke a cigar as part of the costume:

1. Winston Churchill. One time when informed by his host, the King of Saudi Arabia, that drinks would not be offered because of his religion, Churchill responded: “My religion prescribed as an absolute sacred ritual smoking cigars and drinking alcohol before, after, and, if need be, during all meals and the intervals between them.” Plus he beat the Nazis in World War II.

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He’s no longer The Governator, but his movie characters always made better costumes anyway, and many of his famous characters smoked cigars. (Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer of Predator is highly recommended if you have the guns to pull it off.)

3. Groucho Marx. Sure, it’s a little dated, but this American comedy icon loved his stogies.

4. Mark Twain. America’s cigar-smoking author.

5. Scarface. Say hello to my little friend.

6. Bill Clinton. The president who got into trouble with cigars.

7. Mike Ditka. Da Coach. See photo of Patrick A from a few years ago. (Also, Grill Class doesn’t exist on any airline yet… Why?)

8. Ernest Hemingway. The famous author loved his cigars. And his rum. (No doubt he’s a world famous boozer.)

9. A cigar-chomping communist Cuban. Fidel Castro or his murderous sidekick Che Guevara will do.

12. Al Capone. Capone was known for his enjoyment of cigars, booze, and women. Just don’t get syphilis.

Got a costume idea that we missed? Let us know in the comments.

–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) As we’ve written for years, the looming threat of regulation of premium cigars by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is the greatest danger facing cigar rights. That danger has “moved into the next phase,” it was reported this week by the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR). “Recently, the proposed rule on regulating cigars has moved from the Department of Health & Human Services to the Office of Management & Budget for review,” says IPCPR. “This agency will analyze the rule and work to determine the economic impact on the industry, before releasing it for public comment… [the rule is expected] to be released before the end of November.” While this may sound like a lot of Washington insider jargon, the bottom line is the federal government is getting closer to regulating cigars. Such regulation is expected to deplete cigar innovation, render limited edition smokes more difficult to produce, stifle cigar advertising, and impose burdensome testing requirements on cigar makers.

2) Inside the Industry: The Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch V has been announced for a December release. A Dominican puro, it will have hand-selected tobaccos from the 2007 crop at La Canela. A single size (6.75 x 52) will be sold for $19 per cigar. Also new from La Flor Dominicana this fall are L-Granú and Mysterioso, both slated for sale starting in November. L-Granú (6 x 64) will retail for $8.50 and be the largest ring gauge LFD has ever produced. Mysterioso (7 x 55) will be a Connecticut-Broadleaf-wrapped perfecto and cost $19.

3) The Cigar Family Charitable Foundation’s annual benefit has changed its name and location. With Saks Fifth Avenue leaving Tampa, the Fuente and Newman charity took up a jazz theme. Previously Saks & Cigars, it is now Sax & Cigars at The Westin. The date is Nov. 21 and the cost is $75. You can get information here.

4) Deal of the Week: Caskers is an email newsletter that finds you quality spirits and gets them delivered to your door (in more states than anywhere else we’ve come across). Sign up here for access to their store and for the latest craft spirit offerings, including hard-to-find single malt and bourbon whiskey.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: FDA

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 a bizarre article appearing in the New York Times on Wednesday, it was reported that Brooklyn-based artist Duke Riley recently trained homing pigeons to fly him Cuban cigars. “Mr. Riley trained a flock of homing pigeons to fly one way from Havana to Key West,” reads the article. “Half the birds were flat-out smugglers, running Cuban cigars to the United States. The others were documentarians, outfitted with special cameras to record their 100-mile journey across the Straits of Florida.” Carefully not divulging too much information about his methods, Riley says, “If a bird ends up in my pigeon lofts, that happens to have a cigar from Cuba, and there also happens to be a pigeon that has a video camera on it, that shows footage of birds flying from Havana to Key West with cigars—yeah, I can’t really say how that happened.”

2) Billing itself as “The World’s Largest Cigar Celebration,” the Tampa Cigar Festival is scheduled for downtown Nov. 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with two evening parties—one a $100 dinner at the J.C. Newman factory—beforehand. Admission to the festival, which features cigar manufacturers, a beer and wine garden, and Cigar Dave broadcasting, is $10.

3) The New York State Supreme Court has struck down an outdoor smoking ban for state parks. According to the Wall Street Journal: “The February rules establishing no-smoking areas at various parks, including popular beaches and all nine state parks within New York City, aren’t supported by any policy set by the Legislature, state Supreme Court Justice George Ceresia said. The city has a separate outdoor smoking ban for its parks and beaches that wasn’t challenged in this lawsuit.”

4) Inside the Industry: Joya de Nicaragua has announced a new cigar called “Cuatro Cinco” to celebrate 45 years since the company was founded in 1968. Cuatro Cinco will be available in a single semi-box-pressed vitola (6 x 54) in 10-count boxes. As a Limited Edition, only 4,500 boxes of Cuatro Cinco are being produced, each individually numbered to guarantee exclusivity. The initial batch will start shipping the first week of November.

5) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews a Sencillo Black. The Tiki Bar kicks back with an Oktberfest Dunkel by Quesada. Stogie Fresh smokes the Partagas 1495. Cigar Inspector inspects La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Natural. Half Wheel fires up a Cain F 543.

6) Deal of the Week: Famous Smoke Shop has this 5-cigar 601 sampler on sale. The deal is notable because, for $25, in addition to a 601 Blue (maduro) and two 601 Red (Habano) cigars, it includes two of the now discontinued 601 Black Connecticut cigars.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: New York Times

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) Further moves to regulate premium cigars under the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) may be delayed due to the partial U.S. government shutdown. According to the Heartland Institute, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago that seeks to promote free market solutions to policy problems, “almost half of the federal agency’s staff has been furloughed, including those working on tobacco issues.” Meanwhile, the need to distinguish premium cigars from other tobacco products is only becoming clearer as the emergence of e-cigarettes may complicate matters from a regulatory standpoint. Currently, a majority of state attorneys general are asking the FDA to regulate advertising of e-cigarettes, which are combustion-free devices often used for smoking cessation purposes.

2) Altadis announced this week it is releasing the first-ever Romeo y Julieta that’s a Nicaraguan puro. Called “RyJ by Romeo y Julieta,” the blend includes a proprietary Nicaraguan wrapper around double binders from Estelí and Jalapa. Three sizes will retail in the $8-9 range: Toro (6 x 52), Piramide (6.1 x 54), and Bully Grande (5 x 54).

3) Inside the Industry: According to data distributed by the Cigar Association of America, U.S. imports of cigars through May were up 10% compared to 2012. The biggest percentage increase among the three major cigar-producing countries (Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua) came from Nicaragua (up almost 20%) but all three increased imports.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Tarzona Revolution 305. Stogie Fresh fires up a Hoyo de Monterrey Reposado en Cedros. Cigar Fan lights up the La Gloria Cubana Serie R Estelí. Cigar Inspector inspects the Liga Privada No. 9. Halfwheel checks out the Tatuaje Grand Chasseur TAA 2013.

5) Deal of the Week: Hard to beat 30 cigars for $60, but the catch is you don’t know exactly what cigars you’ll get. While you don’t know the exact cigars, the following brands are represented: Padilla, La Traviata, HC by Xikar, Camacho, Onyx, Gurkha, La Aurora, Guillermo León, El Tiante, Toraño, Perdomo, El Baton, Anoranzas, Martin Family, Quesada, A. Turrent, and Rocky Patel.

–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) Inspired by the Jason Voorhees character from the Friday the 13th franchise, this year’s Monster Series release from Tatuaje is called JV13. It will come in one large format (7.5 x 52), retail for $13, and feature a broadleaf wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. Only 666 special coffin boxes of 13 cigars will be shipped to 13 “unlucky” retailers, all of which were announced this week: Buttheads Tobacco Emporium, Danbury, CT; Prime Cigar and Wine Bar, Boca Raton, FL; Town & Country Cigar Bar, Euless, TX; Havana House, Akron, OH; Fine Ash Cigars, Avondale, AZ; Union Cigar Society, Seattle, WA; Liberty Tobacco, San Diego, CA; Atlantic Cigar Co., Folcroft, PA; Don Francisco Cigars, East Brunswick, NJ; Humidor Pipe Shop, Huntsville, AL; Tobacco Shoppe of Midland, Midland, MI; Cigar Masters, Boston, MA; and Leesburg Cigar and Pipe, Leesburg, VA. JV13 is the sixth Monster Series cigar (hence the “6” on the box). It is preceded by The Frank, The Drac, The Face, The Wolfman, and The Mummy.

2) October 1 marked the beginning of Arkansas’ tax cap on cigars. “In March, Arkansas passed a bill that caps the state’s excise tax on premium cigars at 50 cents per stick, down from the previous tax of 68% of the manufacturer’s price,” according to CS Decisions. “[The Cigar Association of America] noted that this cap will be good for retailers and consumers, and should encourage the in-state purchase of tobacco products.”

3) Inside the Industry: My Father Cigars is shipping a limited edition to its popular Flor de las Antillas line. Called the MAM 15, the cigar (6 x 48) is being sent to a a group of stores in the South and Southeast.

4) Deal of the Week: Corona Cigar has tweaked its Stogie Guys Sampler. Now $29.95 (normally $55) gets you an Avo Lounge, a Davidoff, plus five house blends from Corona Cigar. You also get free shipping on your entire order.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Tatuaje Cigars