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) Philadelphia just got a little more attractive for cigar enthusiasts. Next month will mark the debut of Ashton Cigar Bar, an upscale lounge in the Center City district that will be located atop Holt’s Cigar Company—a tobacconist that gave birth to the Ashton brand and has a large online retail presence. The bar will feature “a world-class selection of premium cigars, whiskey, and signature cocktails,” as well as two exclusive cigar lines: La Aroma de Cuba Noblesse and Ashton Crown. In addition, right across the street, the Club Adesso Lounge will occupy the second and third floors the Tira Misu Italian restaurant and also cater to the needs of cigar smokers. Philadelphia has been without a cigar bar since Mahogany on Walnut closed last year.

2) Yesterday the Associated Press published a widely circulated article about the promulgation of outdoor smoking bans—which have almost doubled in five years despite a lack of scientific evidence showing outdoor secondhand smoke is harmful. Almost 2,600 outdoor bans are in effect in the U.S. Simon Chapman, an Australian researcher who was once recognized by the American Cancer Society for his efforts to reduce smoking, worries the outdoor ban trend is a slippery slope. ‘‘Next you might say ‘Let’s not just stop there. Let’s not have people smoke anywhere they might be seen’’’ he says in the article. ‘‘And then is it legitimate to say that any behavior that people don’t like should be disapproved of because people might see it.’’

3) Inside the Industry: Connecticut retailer Butthead’s Tobacco Emporium is the exclusive home of the CLE Plus 11/18, an extension of the Christian Eiora’s CLE Plus line in the tapered 11/18 shape. At its annual Trade Show last month, the IPCPR held a silent auction to benefit the legislative efforts, and a few items are still available.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Inspector inspects a MUWAT Baitfish. Tiki Bar kicks back with a L’Atelier Maduro. Stogie Review reviews the Crowned Heads JD Howard Reserve. Stogie Fresh rates the Chinnok Cellars LE Terroir.

5) Deal of the Week: Smoke Inn is featuring a sampler with eight top-notch smokes for just $65 (free shipping on the entire order included). The sampler includes an EPC Inch Maduro No. 64, Ortega Serie D Maduro No.6, My Father Flor de Las Antillas Toro Gordo, Illusione Epernay Le Monde, Perdomo Champagne Robusto, Arturo Fuente Magnum Rosado R58, Kristoff Maduro Matador, and a Drew Estate Undercrown Belicoso.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Ashton Cigar Bar

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) Underscoring the uphill battle against anti-tobacco zealotry and cigar intolerance, a recent Gallup poll found an astonishing 22% of Americans would support a complete criminalization of tobacco. That number is up from 12% in 2007. Over half of those surveyed would support a total smoking ban for all public places. Gallup found nonwhites and less educated individuals to be more inclined to support tobacco restrictions. “No state has made smoking completely illegal, but this could be the next frontier,” concludes Gallup. “ A bill introduced in the Oregon state legislature this year would make cigarettes illegal to purchase without a doctor’s prescription (something a doctor is very unlikely to do), effectively banning them. While the bill never received a vote during the 2013 legislative session, such efforts may be more common in the future.”

2) The fifth annual Crush & Roll West is slated to take place September 6-7 at the Paso Robles Fairgrounds in California. The event is expected to attract hundreds with cigars, wine, craft beer, poker, and entertainment. Twenty cigar makers will be on hand representing Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. Ticket sales will help benefit the North County Women’s Shelter & Resource Center.

3) Inside the Industry: El Cedro is a new release launching this month with a series of events in New York City. The cigar is produced at Henke Kelner Jr’s Kelner Boutique Factory in the Dominican Republic. It has a Dominican wrapper and binder, with Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. El Cedro comes in two sizes for $7-8: Robusto (5.5 x 50) and Corona Gorda (5.5 x 46).

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan. Cigar Inspector inspects the Rocky Patel Private Cellar. Tiki Bar kicks back with a La Palina El Laguito No. 5. Doc Stogie smokes the LFD Limitado V. Cigar Fan fires up El Suelo and Trocadero. Robby Ras checks out the San Lotano Oval Connecticut.

5) Deal of the Week: Looking for new releases from the recent IPCPR Trade Show? Our sponsors have you covered. Check out the offerings from Smoke Inn, Signal Cigars, Corona Cigar, Emerson’s Cigars, and Mike’s Cigars.

–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) Following recent International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show in Las Vegas, IPCPR has released its list of “Best-In-Show” winners, celebrating the expensive, elaborate, and sometimes bizarre displays the various cigar companies set up to lure retailers and attract attention. It came as no surprise to us that General Cigar won best large booth. General had an enormous display (it took us over an hour to see all the displays for CAO, La Gloria Cubana, Macanudo, and their other brands). And Foundry’s mad scientist-inspired display within General’s booth (see right) was one of the more memorable exhibits. Also recognized for their booths were La Palina, Fabricas Unidas, Fusion Cigars, and Tabacos Mata Fina, among others.

2) ABC News is reporting Alex Goldman, president of the newly launched Royal Gold Cigars (which is owned by Swisher International), recently had assets seized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). “About $538,000 was seized from an ING Direct checking account associated with Goldman on May 23, 2013,” ABC reports. “The ATF also seized a 2011 Ferrari California convertible, a 2011 Audi A5 convertible, and a 2013 Porsche Panamera, all with New Jersey plates.” Little other information is available at this time since this is an ongoing ATF investigation. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

3) Inside the Industry: Nat Sherman opened a short-term “pop up store” in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood, sharing space with Cocoa Prieto which makes chocolate, liquers, and even sells its own bourbon. CAO is discontinuing its Sopranos cigar line, which was made under a licensing agreement with CAO. The new Davidoff Nicaragua has begun arriving at stores nationwide.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Fan fires up some Don Pepin Garcia Blue Labels. Cigar Brief smokes the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Big Bull. Stogie Fresh lights up a RoMaCraft Intemperance. Robby Ras reviews the J.D. Howard Reserve. Cigar Inspector inspects the Ramón Allones Gran Robusto RE.

5) Deal of the Week: This five star sampler includes five sticks for just $26. You get the Gary Sheffield HR 500, Partagas 1845, Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve Belicoso, CAO OSA Sol Lot 54, and Cain NUB Maduro 464T.

–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) In a bizarre publicity stunt, Alec Bradley sent the first ever cigars into the stratosphere—one day before kickoff of the IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas. It took partnership with a company concentrated in high-altitude balloon launches, coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, and months of planning to pull off the feat. When it was all said and done, 30 cigars traveled 18 miles high from Las Vegas, eventually landing safely in a nearby mountainous area. The cigars were all of the Mundial variety, a new, Honduran-wrapped blend from Alec Bradley that comes in five sizes and costs $9-16. Only 3,000 boxes of Mundial will be made.

2) The bourbon world lost a great ambassador this week, Elmer T. Lee. Lee, who was born in 1919 on a tobacco farm in Kentucky and started at the George T. Stagg Distillery (now called Buffalo Trace) in 1949, is credited with introducing the concept of single barrel bourbon when he created Blanton’s Single Barrel in 1984. Later, he was honored with his own single barrel (see our write-up here) which, until his passing, he helped select the barrels for at the distillery.

3) Graycliff has introduced John Howard Graysmith, a new blend named after the pirate who was the original proprietor of the Graycliff estate in Nassau, Bahamas. The blend is shipping in five-packs in a black box with a Spanish replica coin and parchment featuring the history of Captain Graysmith. Two sizes are available, one torpedo and one parejo, both 7 inches long with ring gauges of 60. The suggested retail price is $29 per cigar.

4) On Tuesday, Bodega Premium Blends announced it will be distributed by House of Emilio, a boutique cigar distribution company started by Emilio Cigars founder Gary Griffith. The company will distribute Bodegas’ signature Reunión line, available in three sizes. In just a year Griffith has gone from not having an IPCPR booth at all (at least not inside the Trade Show) to having an active booth representing over a half-dozen small boutique lines, a number of which haven’t even been added yet to the House of Emilio website.

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, BBQ kits, and more. You can skip or purchase every month. Click here to sign up.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Alec Bradley

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 the past two weeks, the StogieGuys.com newsroom has received literally dozens of press releases from cigar makers both established and new. All are announcing new blends, new sizes, new packaging, new brands, new partnerships, new prices … the list goes on. Pretty much all of these introductions will be unveiled at the 81st IPCPR Trade Show, which this year takes place in Las Vegas. This annual convention of cigar makers, retailers, journalists, and other industry professionals is always a great preview of everything that will be coming to a cigar shop near you in the future. And the StogieGuys.com team will be on hand to cover it all. Starting Sunday, check back here often as we provide live updates from the IPCPR Trade Show floor, followed by impressions, analysis, wrap-ups, summaries, interviews, and videos. Hopefully all three of us can leave Vegas with a ton of information for you—and without losing our shirts.

2) Two researchers from Columbia University have found little justification for outdoor smoking bans, which have unfortunately become more prevalent across the country, particularly in California. The risk of secondhand smoke, cigarette butt pollution, and exposing children to poor role models have all been used as arguments to advance outdoor bans. “Our analysis of the evidence for these claims found it far from definitive and in some cases weak,” the wrote the researchers. What’s more, they find the weak claims to be “hazardous for public health policymakers, for whom public trust is essential.”

3) Inside the Industry: Cigar Insider‘s 2013 survey of 77 shop owners/managers revealed some interesting results. According to those surveyed, the four “hottest” cigars (requested most by customers) were, in order: Drew Estate Liga Privada, Tatuaje, Padrón, and Flor de Las Antillas (each being named by over 22% of respondents). The best-selling cigars were, in order: Padrón, Fuente, Davidoff, Romeo y Julieta, and Ashton. Robusto and Toro were far and away the most popular sizes, followed by 6 X 60. It should be noted that these are not fully verified scientific results, but they do give an interesting insight into the perceptions of those who run brick and mortar cigar shops.

4) Deal of the Week: Just prior to the IPCPR Trade Show is a good time to scour clearance sections for deals on your favorite cigars, as retailers clear out space for new releases. To that end, Smoke Inn currently has deals on Cubao, Black Market Filthy Hooligan, Alec Bradley Family Blend, and many more.

–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) Toraño plans to release only 3,000 boxes of a new cigar called Exodus Finite, a Nicaraguan puro that will be available in three sizes: Robusto (4.9 x 52), Toro (6.25 x 52), and BFC (6 x 60). “Finite’s blend combines an all-Nicaraguan filler of Estelí, Condega, and Ometepe tobaccos, a Jalapa binder, and a Habano-seed Jalapa wrapper,” reads a Toraño press release. “Finite is a word which perfectly defines the nature of this new release. Based on the limited availability of the tobaccos we have incorporated in the blend, we knew we would only be able to make around 75,000 cigars.” Look for this cigar starting in August for the suggested retail price of about $8-9.

2) Jamaica was one of the last major Caribbean nations to allow private business like bars and restaurants to decide if they want to allow smoking. No more. Starting on July 15, a country-wide smoking ban will be in place. Businesses will be forced to post “no smoking” signs and tobacco products will be marked with new warning labels. Details about enforcement are forthcoming.

3) Inside the Industry: Press releases announcing new cigars are coming fast and furious with barely two weeks until the IPCPR Trade Show. Drew Estate has acquired Heavenly Cigars, a brand known for its flavored cigars that also produces the more traditional Red Lion blend. 7-20-4 is set to release a new one-size (6 x 52) line called “Spider” that will come in a glass-top humidor box. Room 101 has announced the addition of a new non-limited, regular production, five-size line dubbed the “Room 101 HN” that will feature a Honduran criollo wrapper, Brazilian binder, and filler from Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

4) Around the Blogs: Doc Stogie smokes La Palina Maduro. Stogie Review reviews the Alec Bradley Nica Puro. Nice Tight Ash checks out La Aurora 107 Maduro. Cigar Inspector inspects the Opus X Lost City.

5) Deal of the Week: This “Red, White, and Blue” sampler features six patriotic sticks for just $20. Included are two each of the Graycliff Red, Rocky Patel Vintage 1999 (white), and Don Pepin Garcia Blue. Get yours before Independence Day is here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Toraño