The Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and informative as possible, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Ron White, famous for his part in the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, may face charges in North Dakota for smoking a cigar onstage. A nosy Bismark resident reportedly informed police that White was violating the state’s smoking ban during one of his standup routines. No charges have yet been filed against the cigar- and scotch-toting comedian.

2) If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for StogieGuys.com’s new email newsletter. This free service is a great way to get exclusive content like aging reports, cigar rankings, tips, and more. Best of all, we’re giving away some amazing cigar prizes just for signing up.

3) Thanks to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the highest profile member of the Smoke-Free Texas coalition, the Lone Star State may be closer than ever to a statewide smoking ban. All that stands in the way of a pivotal vote is State Sen. Jane Nelson, chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. She pledged her support for the ban in February and, when asked why she hasn’t allowed a vote to date, vaguely said she has “an agreement” with her colleague who is sponsoring the legislation.

4) Inside the Industry: Cigar Expo was destined to a good time with tons of cigars, superstar cigar makers in attendance, and plenty of food and drink—all of which makes it an unexpected place for a fight to break out. But according to a press release from Famous Smoke Shop, which hosts the event, the VIP dinner on Friday night will also feature a heavyweight (at least figuratively speaking) boxing fight between Tatuaje owner Pete Johnson and Famous’ retail store manager Tim Carr. Evidently, the pair have been sparring with their words lately and are aiming to end the feud with their fists. StogieGuys.com will be there to see it all go down, and you can join us by grabbing your ticket to the event.

5) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review smokes a Gurkha Warlord. Keepers of the Flame lights up an Isabela Miami. Nice Tight Ash fires up a Camacho 10th Anniversary. Cigar Command samples a Panacea Black. A Cigar Smoker reviews the Cabaiguan.

6) Deal of the Week: This sampler is a great way to try four different Don Pepin Garcia cigars at a reasonable price. You get two each from the EO 601 Red line, plus Pepin’s own Blue, Black, and JJ blends, all for under $45. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: PeakRadar.com

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and informative as possible, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) It looks like Florida will remain one of the few states without a cigar tax. As legislative wrangling continued this week over state budget shortfalls, reports had the $1-per-pack cigarette tax boost living and the cigar tax dying, at least on hand-rolled sticks. The state’s many cigar importers, manufacturers, retailers, and others have been applying pressure since the proposal was first advanced. And, while noting that nothing is certain until the process ends, Brian Berman, director of membership with Cigar Rights of America, said Thursday: “We believe it’s a dead issue.” Asked about a tax on machine-rolled sticks, Berman said that apparently had not yet been decided.

2) If you haven’t done so already, please consider joining the J.C. Newman Cigar Club with a modest membership fee of $18. In return, you’ll get a four-stogie Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino sampler, a golf shirt, coupons for free cigars and merchandise, and more. Plus, best of all, the fee includes a donation to the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit that has already raised over $3 million to build schools and a health clinic in the Dominican Republic.

3) Inside the Industry: The cigar industry suffered two great losses this week. Fernando León Asensio, former head of La Aurora, passed away at the age 87. And Daniel Rodriguez, the last man to run Cuba’s famed El Corojo plantation before the Cuban revolution, died of cancer at the age of 76. They will be missed.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review smokes a Rocky Patel Renaissance. Keepers of the Flame lights up a My Father. Stogie Fresh reviews a Belmore Cameroon. Cigar Monkey fires up a La Finca. Velvet Cigar tries the Rocky Patel Signature Series TAA. Cigar Spy inflitrates a Fuente God of Fire.

5) Deal of the Week: We’re not always in agreement with those Cigar Aficionado ratings, but this “Aficionado 90+ Sampler” contains some top smokes at a very reasonable price. Included are 12 smokes by Don Pepin, Padilla (1932), Gurkha, Oliva, CAO, Rocky Patel, and others, all for just $55. Get yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and informative as possible, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Criminalizing the act of smoking inside tobacco shops is ridiculous at best and tyrannical at worst. But that’s exactly what some Vermont politicians are pushing for in a bill that would aggressively expand the Green Mountain State’s longstanding smoking ban. “If the right to smoke a cigar, pipe, or other tobacco product in…a cigar store is legislated away,” says Chris McCalla, legislative director for IPCPR, “then these same lawmakers will be voting to eliminate these businesses and the jobs and taxes that go with them.”

2) Meanwhile, in Nebraska, an IPCPR-supported bill was signed into law by Gov. Dave Heineman on Wednesday that excuses cigar bars from the state’s smoking ban. In order to qualify for the exemption, 10% or more of an establishment’s revenue must come from the sale of cigars or other tobacco-related items.

3) Inside the Industry: Don Pepin Garcia is expanding his My Father line with two new sizes—a Cervantes (6.5 x 44) and an Eminentes (5.6 x 46)—both of which retail for around $9 per cigar. Newman’s Nicaraguan puro line, El Baton, is also adding two new sizes, a Robusto and a Double Torpedo. In anticipation of the SCHIP tax that hit on April 1, cigar makers imported almost 50% more cigars in March 2009 than they did in March 2008, the last month before the tax hike went into effect.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Cabaiguan Guapos Maduro. Keepers of the Flame lights up a Siglo Limited Reserve. Cigar Inspector inspects the Sancho Panza Molinos. Cigar Spy tries the Cruzado. Matt smokes a La Gloria Serie R Maduro.

5) Deal of the Week: This “Mega Sampler III” features 16 fine cigars for the bargain price of $30. You get to try smokes by Gurkha, Rocky Patel, La Flor Dominicana, La Gloria Cubana, Camacho, Cusano, Cuesta-Rey, Alec Bradley, Hoyo de Monterrey, and CAO, all for under $2 per stick. Pick yours up here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and informative as possible, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) In what the press calls “the most significant change in Cuban-American relations since the Kennedy administration,” Obama this week made it easier for exiled Cubans to visit their families on the forbidden island nation. This policy shift, which we have been following since February, won’t directly change the 47-year-old embargo, but it may prove to be a step towards decriminalizing Cuban cigars.

2) On Tuesday, cigar makers and retailers in Tampa took to the streets to protest Florida’s proposed tobacco tax increase. Industry leaders say the tax would be doubly harmful given the massive federal tax hike that went into effect on April 1. The bill’s passage is not certain, though, especially since Gov. Charlie Crist has been “reluctant to impose new taxes.”

3) Inside the Industry: CAO’s “Rock N Rolled” tour is returning with more events this summer, including a kickoff event on April 23 at Cigar Factory Outlet in Troy, Michigan. If you’re attending tomorrow’s Big Smoke at the MGM Grand in Connecticut, you can also attend Cigar Rights of America’s exclusive members-only party afterwords. Reeling from the lost revenue of two lost tobacco conventions (IPCPR Trade Show and Tobacco Plus Expo), Nevada politicians have introduced a bill undoing provisions of the state’s smoking ban. For iPhone users who want information on over 1,700 cigars at their fingertips, there’s an app for that too: Mobile Stogie.

4) Around the Blogs: Keepers of the Flame lights up a Fuente Hemingway Short Story. Stogie Review reviews the CAO Mx3 Escaparate. Cigar Inspector inspects the Ramon Allones Eminencia RE. Cigar Command lights up a Padrón 5000.

5) Deal of the Week: Whether starting up your cigar collection or just expanding, who couldn’t use more humidor space and lots of top-notch cigars? For only$120, you get a 50-count humidor, 25 cigars (including sticks by Gurkha, Graycliff, Don Pepin Garcia, and Rocky Patel), and everything you need for proper maintenance. Pick up this “Cigar Lover’s Gift Set” here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and informative as possible, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) A White House adviser indicated this week that President Obama expects to ease Cuban travel restrictions at the upcoming Summit of the Americas. The Associated Press reports “the administration is also looking seriously at calls from some lawmakers to allow all Americans to travel to Cuba.” While such measures wouldn’t change the 47-year-old embargo, they may improve diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana—perhaps a small step in the direction of decriminalizing Cuban cigars.

2) After an overwhelming vote in the House of Representatives, the FDA is one step closer to regulatory authority over tobacco. The bill, which we have been following since last July, may ultimately result in nicotine controls and substantially limited advertising of cigars in magazines and on websites. Passage in the Senate is by no means a guarantee, but the bill has a better chance than it did in 2008 when it faced a veto threat from President Bush.

3) Inside the Industry: Tatuaje has announced a new blend that’s called the “La Verite, Tatuaje A.O.C.”; it’s set to ship next year in cases of 100 for $25 per cigar. Illusione creator Dion Giolito is releasing a new Nicaraguan puro featuring a corojo leaf from 1999 named the Epernay (after France’s champagne region). Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s new venture, EPC Cigar Co., is launching and will be focusing on small-batch premium cigars.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review smokes a Tatuaje Petite. Keepers of the Flame smokes an Avo Maduro. Stogie Fresh lights up a San Christobal.

5) Deal of the Week: Once again we’ll point out these terrific deals from Cuban Crafters. Included are highly-rated sticks like the Don Kiki Brown ($33 for box of 25!), Cabinet Selection ($50 for  box of 25), and Cameroon ($60 for box of 25). Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and informative as possible, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) With the federal government’s 700% tax increase on “large” cigars taking effect this week, families in America and across the Caribbean are bracing for the worst. Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, as reported by the Associated Press, worries that SCHIP will devastate the profits and jobs that have already been hit hard by the recession. Likewise, many of the 185,000 families who depend on cigar exports from Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic—as showcased in this video—may be forced to find alternate sources of income as the U.S. responds to the tax hike by decreasing its cigar consumption.

2) According to Newsweek, Gurkha Cigars is claiming that “several inside sources” say the cigar used by Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton was, in fact, a Gurkha. We’re not sure why the company would want to tout its role in this sordid Oval Office incident, which is completely unverifiable anyway.

3) A documentary about famed Major League pitcher Luis Tiant (whom we interviewed about his line of “El Tiante” cigars) will be shown next month at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film documents his life (thus far) and his return to Cuba after 46 years of exile. It features interviews with Carlton Fisk, Carl Yastrzemski, and Peter Gammons.

4) Inside the Industry: The “CAO eLements” tour kicks off on Tuesday with Tim Ozgener traveling to retailers across the country for tastings of the new LX2 blend. We hear Alec Bradley is preparing a new release described as “just as complex [as the Tempus] with a little more kick.”  Cigar-related April Fools jokes are nothing new, but you may have missed Famous’ offering of five-cent “pre-owned” (i.e. pre-smoked) cigars. Cigar Rights of America is throwing a party just for members at the Big Smoke in Connecticut.

5) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews a Padilla Habano Burberry. Cigar Jack smokes a Marco V.  Cigar Inspector inspects a Santa Damiana. Cigar Command dresses down an Avo LE 09.

6) Deal of the Week: To combat higher taxes, Cuban Crafters is slashing prices. Included are highly-rated sticks like the Don Kiki Brown ($33 for box of 25!), Cabinet Selection ($50 for  box of 25) and Cameroon ($60 for box of 25). Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and informative as possible, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Not content with their state’s already egregious policies towards tobacco, California State Senators are toying with a new bill that would criminalize smoking in state parks and beaches. The law would hit violators with a $250 fine for lighting up outside. But some politicians fear the State Parks Department doesn’t have the resources to enforce such a ban.

2) A measure to exempt cigar bars from Nebraska’s smoking ban, which already passed an will go into effect in June, is working its way through the state legislature. Anti-tobacco lawmakers are mounting a defense, though, one of whom claimed that if “we open the door to cigar bars…pretty soon we don’t have a smoking ban.”

3) Inside the Industry: Don Pepin Garcia and Nestor Miranda have teamed up to make a Twentieth Anniversary cigar to be released under the Nestor Miranda Special Selection label. The cigar, available in one size (7 x 56) with either a Habano Rosado or Habano Oscuro wrapper, is packed in boxes of 20. Shipments will hit select stores on April 1 (click here for photos).

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review smokes a Rocky Patel Cuban Blend Maduro. Keepers of the Flame lights up a Blue Label. Her Humidor smokes an Ambos Mundos. Cigar Command fires up an LFD Double Ligero Chisel. Cigar Inspector checks out a Tesa Havanitas Lancero.

5) Deal of the Week: There’s less than one week until the SCHIP cigar tax hike goes into effect on April 1, so take advantage of this deal before the prices jump. Here are over a dozen themed five-packs, at least a few of which are sure to please any cigar connoisseur. Included are fivers featuring smokes from Don Pepin, Rocky Patel, Gurkha, Padilla, Oliva, CAO, and others. Grab them today before it’s too late.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr