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) Forget the ribbons, grow a mustache. That’s the idea behind Movember, which designates November as the month to raise awareness for prostate cancer and other men’s health issues. Angel’s Envy bourbon is supporting Movember with its Mustache envy promotion. “Mo Bros” who help raise awareness and funds for men’s health will be invited to take part in special Angel’s Envy tasting events, galas, and promotions throughout the month.

2) On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon granted an injunction that prevents the FDA from putting graphic warning labels on tobacco products. “We certainly agree with this judge and his interpretation of constitutional law,” said Bill Spann, chief executive officer of the IPCPR. “Today it’s cigarette packaging and tomorrow it could be artisan cigar boxes. When does all this over-regulation end? Businesses as well as people have rights that are too often disregarded because of someone else’s prohibitionist agenda.”

3) If you liked The Cigar Maker by StogieGuys.com’s very own Mark McGinty, then you’ll want to check out Germ Warfare, a new comic book anthology written by him and an army of talented Twin Cities cartoonists and drawn and inked by his wife Lupi. No, this humorous story about germs battling against their generous human hosts has nothing to do with cigars, but it’s definitely worth checking out at Amazon.

4) Inside the Industry: Officials confiscated over 3,000 counterfeit Cohiba cigars from seven tobacconists in Key West this week. General Cigar, which owns the Cohiba trademark in the U.S., issued a press release on Thursday, explaining that the counterfeit smokes were being sold for about $20 each and “the approximate street value of goods seized was more than $60,000.” Dan Carr, president of General Cigar, said, “The seizure of counterfeit Cohiba cigars represents a clear victory in General Cigar’s fight to protect our cigar bands from counterfeiters and trademark infringers. We look forward to continuing to cooperate with federal and state law enforcement officials in Florida and have offered to assist in any prosecutions and future investigations.”

5) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews a Tortuga Edición Limitada 2011. Smoking Stogie smokes an Open X Robusto Maduro. Stogie Fresh lights up a Buena Vista Reserva. Nice Tight Ash checks out the Kristoff Sumatra. Cigar Explorer explores the Quesada Octoberfest. Cigar Fan fires up a JML 1902 Torpedo.

6) Deal of the Week: Crowned Heads Four Kick’s is the new cigar by former CAO marketing director Jon Huber made by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. It’s now in stock at Emerson’s Cigars (including the sampler with one of each size).

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Angel’s Envy

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) The House of Representatives bill to protect premium cigars from regulations imposed by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has broken 100 cosponsors. At least 102 representatives from both parties have signed on (including Guam’s, who unfortunately has no vote on the floor). This is good news for cigar smokers but no time to quit. It’s still fewer than half of the 218 that will be needed to get the bill approved and to the Senate. If your rep hasn’t signed on, get in touch now and urge passage of HR1639. Remember: FDA regulation of cigars would likely lead to decreased industry innovation and the restriction of marketing efforts.

2) To help the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) fight for cigar rights and against tobacco taxes and bans, Altadis U.S.A. has made a “significant contribution” to the group’s legislative efforts. “IPCPR has been particularly active on a variety of state and federal legislative issues – past and current. We wanted to show our support of those successful strategies and actions,” said Javier Estades, general manager of premium cigars for Altadis, in a press release.

3) Inside the Industry: Rocky Patel is introducing a new seasonal blend called the Summer Collection 2012. The cigar features a Habano wrapper, dual binders from Costa Rica and San Andreas, and filler from Nicaragua and Panama. The cigar, which comes in three sizes (robusto, toro and torpedo), will ship December 5th.

4) Around the Blogs: Tiki Bar reviews the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial LE. Smoking Stogie smokes a Cremo Excelsior. Cigar Inspector inspects a Tatuaje Fausto. Cigar Explorer tries a My Father 9/11 Commemorative Blend. Stogie Fresh lights up a Toraño 1916 Cameroon.

5) Deal of the Week: This deal features 10 cigars for just $30. Included are five La Gloria Cubanas and five Chateau Reals.

–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) Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s newest annual edition is called Dark Rituals. The cigar, which is shipping to stores now, features a maduro oscuro wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder, and Nicaraguan filler. Only a week ago, boxes were still being made in General Cigar’s box factory in the Dominican Republic. (Click the photo right for a better view.)

2) In last month’s “Question of the Month,” we asked readers how much a “daily cigar” should cost. The sub-$3 range topped the poll with 29% of the vote, followed by $3-4 (27%), $4-5 (23%), $5-6 (13%), and $6 or more (8%). Be sure to weigh in on this month’s question by voting in the sidebar to the right. And feel free to contact us if you’ve got suggestion for a future poll.

3) A web advertisement for presidential hopeful Herman Cain went viral on Monday night, but it’s not necessarily the content of the ad that has people talking. The video shows Cain’s chief of staff, Mark Block, taking a drag from a lit cigarette. As reported by The Atlantic, the ad “serves as a reminder that Cain used to lead a lobbying group that fought tobacco rules” like smoking bans and taxes.

4) Inside the Industry: The J.C. Newmann Cigar Co. opened a factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, that is expected to turn out over 20 millions cigars per year. On October 30, Miami Cigar and Co. is hosting their second annual Cigar Inn Halloween Party in New York.

5) Around the Blogs: Stogie Fresh lights up a Room 101 Connecticut. Smoking Stogie smokes a Liga Privada Unico Series A. Cigar Fan fires up the Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor. Stogie Review reviews a E.P. Carrillo Maduro.

6) Deal of the Week: Churchill lover’s will want to check out this weekly special from Corona Cigar: $35 gets you five Playboy and five Romeo y Julieta V Maduro cigars.

–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) Ohio’s statewide smoking ban, which prohibits smoking in any indoor establishment that has at least one employee, is being reviewed by the state Supreme Court. This week, the seven justices heard arguments from the state and from a bar in Columbus called Zeno’s that has been issued $33,000 in fines for refusing to comply with the law, which went into effect in 2007. “The justices seemed interested in the process that led to the citations and particularly the fact that no individual smoker ever has been cited, while numerous bars such as Zeno’s have,” reports the Toledo Blade. “After struggling to collect the fines it imposed, the state shifted gears in recent months by going after the liquor licenses of repeat offenders.”

2) Pennsylvania-based retailer Famous Smoke Shop is preparing to launch a new cigar auction site (www.CigarSniper.com) based on the penny auction model where you can “snipe” items for extremely low prices, but each bid costs money. To get a feel for it at no risk, Famous is conducting an open beta test this weekend (starting 10am today and ending 6pm Monday). By filling out a brief survey afterwards (and mentioning StogieGuys.com when you register) you can win prizes including bids worth over $100 and a sampler pack.

3) Inside the Industry: Walter “Lilo” Santiago is reviving Crémo Cigars with a new line that’s made at the El Titan de Bronze Cigar Factory. Starting on November 1, GarVino’s of The Villages, Florida, will become the newest Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge. Luis Tiant has teamed up with Don Pepin Garcia to launch new Habano Oscuro and Habano Rosado blends, both made at the My Father Cigars Factory.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Fan fires up a La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Magnifico. Smoking Stogie smokes the Padrón Family Reserve 85 Years. Stogie Review reviews the San Lotano. Stogie Fresh checks out a Don Ramon Maduro. Nice Tight Ash checks out the CroMagnon.

5) Deal of the Week: Smoke Inn is featuring some hard-to-find Tatuaje smokes, including the TAA edition, The Old Man and the C, the Black Label Petit Lancero and their exclusive Tatuaje Anarchy.

–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) Legal restrictions on tobacco by those who claim to know what’s best for us is hardly a new phenomenon. Today’s anti-tobacco lobbyists take many cues from the Anti-Saloon League which, over 100 years ago, pushed prohibition to ban all alcohol. That makes the latest documentary by Ken Burns on the push for, and failure of, Prohibition of interest to cigar smokers concerned about protecting their rights.

2) Las Vegas has a thriving cigar scene, but it hasn’t always been that way. This article details the ups and downs of the cigar business in Vegas over the past two decades, including interviews with Michael Frey, the man behind Casa Fuente.

3) Inside the Industry: Tatuaje has announced which 13 retailers will be receiving its highly sought-after Halloween cigar. This year’s cigar will be the Wolfman. You can find the list here. Wolfman will be a torpedo (7.5 x 52) reportedly based on the Cojonu 2009 blend, with Nicaraguan filler and binder and a Sumatran wrapper.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews a La Flor Dominicana Colorado Oscuro. Smoking Stogie smokes a Cain Daytona 646 Maduro (pre-release). Nice Tight Ash checks out La Caridad de Cobre Maduro. Cigar Fan fires up the Camino Real.

5) Deal of the Week: This weekly special features 10 flavorful robustos for just $30 (or double up for $50). The deal includes five Ricky Patel Vintage 1990 cigars and five Punch Rothchild Natural cigars.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: PBS

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) Rocky Patel’s Burn Lounge—which currently has one location in Naples, Florida—may be coming to Washington’s Capitol Hill neighborhood next year. “It would be great to have a venue [on Capitol Hill] where congressmen and senators or aides could appreciate the art form called cigar smoking,” Patel told the Washington Post. It would ostensibly be frequented by Patel on his many visits to Washington (Rocky works fastidiously to lobby for cigar rights), and the lounge may help lawmakers better understand premium cigars.

2) The same article reports on other developments in Washington’s cigar scene. A new private locale called “Puff Restaurant and Lounge” is opening in the Georgetown area (with memberships going from $1,000 to $10,000 each) in November. Also mentioned is W. Curtis Draper‘s new downtown location with an expanded lounge across from the U.S. Treasury building.

3) Inside the Industry: General Cigar is officially releasing La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especiale, which includes a new cross-bred Connecticut-seed wrapper that’s grown in Honduras. “The maiden crop yielded a hearty, golden wrapper as noteworthy for its color as it is for allowing each of the cigar’s components to enjoy equal bearing on the overall taste of the cigar,” reads a General Cigar press release. “Despite the golden appearance of the wrapper, the blend is brash in its full flavor and engages the entire palate.” The new line’s four sizes, which range in price from $7 to $8.15, are now hitting tobacconists across the U.S. (Photos of the new cigar can be seen in our IPCPR coverage.)

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews a Big Pipe Connecticut. Smoking Stogie smokes a My Father Le Bijou Torpedo. Cigar Inspector inspects a Fonseca No. 4 RE. Stogie Fresh checks out the E.P. Carrillo Short Run 2010. Tiki Bar tries a Panacea Corojo (White).

5) Deal of the Week: Octoberfest may be wrapping up in Munich, but there’s still time to get the Quesada Octoberfest cigar. Smoke Inn has boxes of 20 available for $140.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Burn by Rocky Patel

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) The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest universities in the country, may be on the verge of adopting an outdoor smoking ban, which would include such spaces as the Quad (pictured). The restrictive regulation is supposedly intended to “promote healthier living” but, as the Daily Illini reports, “it is not the University’s role to force faculty members and students to quit…Non-smokers are exposed to smoke outside for just a few seconds. The inconvenience and health risks are minimal.” At least 530 U.S. colleges and universities enforce a complete campus ban, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.

2) We’ve written before about why we love premium tobacco. Gordon K. Hurd of TheSlowMan.com has a new piece about why he smokes cigars and why you should too. Among his reasons: cigars are pleasing in a fundamental way, they’re challenging, and they have a finite start and finish. Check out the article here.

3) Inside the Industry: Prometheus is introducing the 2011 Limited Edition Fuente Story Humidor featuring an impressive selection of 50 Fuente Don Arturo Gran AniverXario cigars. Living up to it’s new name, the Toraño Family Cigar Company announced the hiring of family member Jack Toraño as the marketing and customer relations manager.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Casa Magna Domus Magnus Limited. Nice Tight Ash checks out the Illusione MK Ultra. Smoking Stogie lights up the Oliva Master Blends 2. A Cigar Smoker smokes the Room 101  LTD Namakubi.

5) Deal of the Week: Just $45 gets you a nice selection of classic CAO cigars. Included are two each of the Brazilia, Gold, Cameroon, Italia, and MX2, plus a five-pack of little MX2 “Daggers” and a CAO hat.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: UIUC