The Stogie Guys

I’d like to interrupt our regularly scheduled StogieGuys.com content to congratulate Patrick Ashby and his wife Melissa on the birth of their first child!

Grant Henry Ashby was born in Chicago at 1:43pm on Monday, February 18th. He is a healthy 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and 21 inches long. Patrick tells me both Melissa and Grant are doing very well and looking forward to heading home from the hospital today.

We’ll resume our coverage of the world of cigars in a couple days but, in the meantime, feel free to use the comments to congratulate the Ashby family and give a recommendation for a celebratory cigar.

-Patrick S

photo credit: Patrick A

People don’t pay enough attention to this fact, but the cigar community is exceedingly generous. A perfect example is former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski, a cigar aficionado who spends considerable time and energy supporting charity.

Each year, just before the Super Bowl, “Jaws” (far right in the picture above) holds a cigar party with his many friends from ESPN and professional athletes, with proceeds benefiting charity. This year proceeds go to Jaws Youth Playbook Charity and the United Way for the greater New Orleans area.

Tickets cost $500 (with all proceeds going to charity); StogieGuys.com is giving one reader a pair of free tickets. (Details below.)

Jaws New Orleans Cigar Party, the 4th annual event put on by Jaws, features premium cigars from the industry’s top brands (including CAO, Macanudo, Miami Cigar & Co., Rocky Patel, Quesada, and La Gloria Cubana), single-malt scotch, and plenty of football celebrities to make it the must-attend cigar event. Jaws will be joined by ESPN personalities including Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Mike Ditka, Suzy Kolber, Mike Golic, Merril Hoge, and others. It is an intimate affair, so not only do you get up close and personal with the celebrity guests, the space will also fill up quickly.

Jaws is an active community champion. His foundation, Jaws Youth Playbook (JYP), works to improve the overall health and wellness of at-risk youth. JYP is proud to partner with the United Way for the greater New Orleans area and support their Hurricane Isaac relief efforts. This year’s event will take place on Thursday, January 31 at the Bourbon Vieux on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

Enter to win two free tickets: Entry is simple. In the comments, let us know the best sports-related cigar celebration you’ve ever enjoyed. Just tell us your team, what they won, and what cigar you celebrated with. We’ll pick our favorite and hook you up with the free tickets. Just make sure you can get yourself to the event, since it would be shame to waste such a great prize.

And even if you don’t win the free tickets, please consider buying a ticket. The money goes to two great causes and it promises to be a fantastic event.

-The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Jaws Cigar Party

We’re taking New Years Eve and New Years Day off to ring in 2013. Naturally, we’ll be doing so with a few cigars, and we hope you do the same. We’ll return on Wednesday, January 2. If that’s too long to wait, you can follow us on our official Twitter feed, on Facebook, or you can sign up for our free email newsletter. Happy New Year!

-The Stogie Guys

photo credit: N/A

From all of us at StogieGuys.com, we want to wish you a joyous, safe, and cigar-filled Christmas. We’re taking December 24 and 25 off to spend time with our families, but we’ll be right back here on Wednesday with more reviews, news, interviews, commentaries, and tips from the world of cigars.

Until then, you can follow us on our official Twitter feed, on Facebook, or you can sign up for our free email newsletter.

-The Stogie Guys

photo credit: N/A

Over the next week and a half, because of the holidays, we’ll be taking a day or two off and filling in the remaining days with Quick Smokes. Think of it as our winter vacation, only we’ll be posting something nearly everyday—and each Quick Smoke gives you an opportunity to win one of the more unique cigar prizes we’ve ever given away.

Between writing about cigars, attending shop events, and the annual trade show, I end up with a lot of promotional items: T-shirts, hats, and almost anything else you can think of. So for a unique prize, I’ve decided to give away a collection of cigar swag that’s been sitting in a box in my closet unused and unopened, including four T-shirts, four hats, and an assortment of other unique items.

• Two Tatuaje XL T-shirts (one black, one white) and a Tatuaje Saints & Sinners hat
• SWAG Puro Dominicano T-shirt
• CAO Concert XL T-shirt, hat, and can coozy
• Two Cuba Aliados hats
• Crowned Heads pre-release announcement poster
• Romeo deck of playing cards
• Handful of Cuban Crafters guillotine cutters

To win, you need to do two simple things. First, sign up for our free email newsletter (either using the form next to this article or the one on this page). Second, leave a comment (using the email address you signed up with for the newsletter) on any of our Quick Smoke reviews that we publish between now and the new year, letting us know what you think of the cigar we wrote about. You get credit for an additional entry for each Quick Smoke you leave a comment about.

In January, we’ll announce the randomly-selected winner in our email newsletter. (Standard contest rules here.) Good luck and happy holidays!

-Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

StogieGuys.com will be taking November 22 and 23 off to enjoy that most American of holidays: Thanksgiving. (We will return on Saturday for our regularly scheduled coverage of the world of cigars.) Known for food, family, friends, and football, Thanksgiving is a perfect time to enjoy a fine smoke. Have a safe and happy holiday!

-The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

We’ve praised the efforts of Cigar Rights of America many times. The organization does tireless work defending the rights of cigar smokers against harmful government-imposed regulations, taxes, and smoking bans.

That alone should be reason enough for cigar smokers to pay the modest sum of $35 to formally join and support this important endeavor. But with the assistance of Prometheus, a purveyor of fine cigars and accessories that has supported CRA since its founding, we thought we’d give you yet another reason to join Cigar Rights of America.

Prize: Prometheus, which is run by Keith Park, who was instrumental in founding CRA, has graciously donated a fantastic prize consisting of a Prometheus 20th Anniversary Edition God of Fire Serie B 5-Cigar Assortment Box and a Prometheus Retro 20th Anniversary Lighter (combined MSRP $198). Both items will go to one lucky winner.

How to Enter: Entry is simple. If you’re already a dues-paying member of CRA, just leave a comment on this post stating so. If you’re not a member yet, head over to CRA and join (you’ll get two free cigars for joining), then leave a comment saying you’ve just joined to enter. (By entering, you give us permission to verify with CRA that you are a dues-paying member in good standing.) We’ll randomly select a winner (fine print here) in a week.

If you’re on the fence about joining CRA, consider this: Two years ago it seemed a forgone conclusion that by this time the FDA would be regulating cigars, most likely imposing restrictions that would limit new cigars that could be developed, alter traditional packaging, eliminate cigar shop events that include free samples, and outlaw walk-in humidors. Today, in large part because of CRA and its promotion of the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act (which has majority support in the House and significant support in the Senate), those devastating restrictions have not come to fruition. And passing the bill seems a real possibility, something that seemed impossible when the bill was first introduced.

So if you haven’t already joined Cigar Rights of America, do so right away (and be eligible to win this top-notch prize). And if you are currently a member, proudly enter the contest, because you have already taken an important step in the defense of your cigar rights.

Once again, thanks to Prometheus (who also makes Sencillo and Angelenos) for providing this excellent prize in support of a great cause.

-The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Prometheus