The Stogie Guys

Tomorrow is the official opening of the 80th annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Association Trade Show—the convention where cigar makers from around the world come to debut new creations. This year’s event is being hosted in Orlando and StogieGuys.com will be on site to bring you the latest news as it develops.

Leading up to the big show, we’ve been relaying new cigar announcements to you for weeks. And yesterday my colleague gave summaries and his first impressions of new cigars he has already smoked. Today I disclose a few of the notable 2012 cigar releases that we haven’t already written about. We expect these cigars to be formally introduced in Orlando.

Arturo Fuente

In honor of 100 years of business, the Arturo Fuente Cigar Company is producing limited boxes of Destino al Siglo (pictured), a four-cigar sampler that includes an Opus X BBMF, two Opus X Tauros the Bull, and a Don Carlos Anniversary Edition Double Robusto. Each box comes with a travel humidor, a documentary DVD about the Fuente family, and a photo book. The retail price will be $165. Only 2,012 boxes will be made.

CAO

In the brand’s second year under the General Cigar umbrella at the Trade Show, CAO is set to debut Concert, “a new collection that celebrates CAO’s ties to music and harnesses the legendary energy of Music City.” The line will be sold in four sizes that will retail for $5.75-7.50. It will include an Ecuadorian Habano rosado wrapper with a Connecticut broadleaf binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and Honduras.

Paul Garmirian

One of our favorite boutique cigar makers, PG, is launching two new sizes of the Symphony 20th blend: Belicoso (6.25 x 52) and Bombones Extra (3.5 x 46). Suggested retail on these sizes will be $450 and $220, respectively, for boxes of 25. Of particular note is the Bombones Extra, an “old Cuban size from the turn of the century that Paul Garmirian came across in his research,” according to PG.

Montecristo

Altadis is expanding the Montecristo portfolio with a new line called Epic. Dubbed “Vintage 2007” and available in three sizes, Epic will feature an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with a Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republuic. The Churchill, Toro, and Robusto will sell for $13-15.

Primer Mundo

Sean Williams of the Primer Mundo Cigar Company will be in Orlando to introduce La Hermandad, a Brazilian arapiraca-wrapped blend made by Abe Flores at Abe’s factory in the Dominican Republic. “The cigar delivers a rich full-body smoke with accents of roasted coffee beans and cocoa,” reads a Primer Mundo press release. “La Hermandad is packaged in a wheel of 24 cigars per box and …will be in the $8-$9 range.”

This brief list is by no means exhaustive. Check back at StogieGuys.com during the IPCPR Trade Show, which begins tomorrow, for much more information about the new cigars that will soon be hitting tobacconist shelves near you.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Arturo Fuente

With the trade show just around the corner (it opens on Thursday), announcements about new releases are coming fast and furious. Instead of our traditional preview article (which would be longer than ever this year), I thought I’d cover some of the new cigars debuting at the show that I’ve already smoked.

Room 101 Daruma

The newest Room 101 blend comes in five sizes (4 x 42, 4 x 48, 7 x 38, 7 x 48, and 5 x 60) ranging from $6.25 to $10.25. It’s an interesting blend containing an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a Brazilian mata fina binder, and Honduran and Dominican filler (utilizing corojo, criollo, and pelo de oro tobacco).

My Take: I smoked one in the “Papi Chulo” (4 x 42) size. It has a unique edge to it that’s hard to put my finger on, and it’s dominated by lots of charred oak and clove notes. Definitely full-bodied.

A. Flores Serie Privada

Via press release from Pinar del Rio: “A. Flores Serie Privada will be released with a Habano Ecuador wrapper and a Maduro Habano Ecuador wrapper. Both cigars will be comprised of Nicaraguan Habano binders as well as Nicaraguan Habano and Dominican corojo filler.” The cigars come in 24-count boxes featuring three vitolas with MSRPs in the $9.75-12.75 range: Robusto (5 x 52), Toro (6 x 54), and Churchill (7 x 58). The Robusto and Toro are box-pressed, while the Churchill is not.

My Take: I smoked one of the Maduro Habano Ecuadors in the Robusto size at Famous Smoke Shop’s Cigarnival event and thoroughly enjoyed it. I remember noting the medium- to full-bodied flavors with excellent balance.

J. Fuego Edición de Familia 2012

Jesus Fuego gave me the details on the Edición de Familia when I saw him at Cigarnival. The cigar features a ten-year-old sun-grown Sumatran wrapper  around Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos. It is the most limited (150 boxes of 10 in each of the three sizes) and expensive cigar Fuego has released. It won’t ship until November. The 2012 is the first of what Jesus plans on becoming an annual release.

My Take: Great balance in this smoke. I’d put it squarely in the medium-bodied range. It features a little spice, and heavy bready flavors.

Drew Estate Liga Privada Único Serie Papas Fritas

A highly anticipated new release, “Papa Fritas” (pictured with the prototype “Black Rat” and “Big Black Rat” bands) is a Liga Privada-based blend that will sell for around $6 each. It’s a mixed-filler cigar (5 x 53) with a twisted cap. It uses the same broadleaf wrapper as the original Liga (using smaller second cuttings) and a Habano binder. Sixty percent of the filler is “picadora” using the cuttings from Liga Privada cigars, while the rest of the filler is split between viso and ligero.

My Take: Based on the one sample I smoked (given to me during my visit to Drew Estate in May), it’s certainly similar to the LP blend, but it doesn’t smoke exactly like one. I’m not sure if that’s due to the short-filler or the blend, but either way it’s a tasty cigar.

My Uzi Weighs A Ton +11

This is the second MUWAT without a 60 ring gauge (the first being the Baitfish). At $8 each, the smoke (5.5 x 52) will come in packages of ten, similar to the original My Uzi. Reportedly, the blend will be a little stronger than the original, but not as much as the Baitfish “EF” blend.

My Take: While not officially confirmed, I’m almost certain I smoked one of these in Nicaragua (given to me by Jonathan Drew while touring the Joya de Nicaragua factory). For me, it’s the perfect combination (in terms of both size and blend) of the original Uzi and amped-up Baitfish blends.

Recluse by Iconic Leaf Cigars

There’s mystery surrounding this new boutique cigar maker. Its website says “Iconic Leaf Cigar was founded by two very well-known and well-respected legends in the cigar industry [that] have chosen to keep their identities private.” The box-pressed cigars, made with the entubaro method, are being released in ten sizes. They feature a unique combination of a Brazilian wrapper, Cameroon binder, and Dominican filler.

My Take: I’ve smoked the Toro and found it to be a very interesting cigar, heavily influenced by the Cameroon binder. It features cinnamon-like spice and leather. With a very oily wrapper, this is a cigar I look forward to smoking more of.

 In addition to these cigars, read our reviews of the following cigars, each of which are being released at the IPCPR Trade Show: Dona Flor Puro Mata Fina Robusto, Santos de Miami Haven Parejo, and Dona Flor Seleção Robusto. Our coverage of the 80th annual IPCPR Trade Show will start Thursday with live updates.

–Patrick S

photo credits: Stogie Guys

Last week Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation that would increase federal taxes on premium cigars. Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are co-sponsoring the bill.

The goal of the legislation, as stated by the senators, is threefold: to bring all tobacco products in line with the relatively higher taxes that are levied on cigarettes, to discourage the use of tobacco products by minors, and to increase government revenue. “The current loopholes in the taxes on tobacco products encourage the use of products like pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and ‘nicotine candies’ as a cheap source of tobacco, particularly among young people,” Durbin said in a statement. “This bill will stop tobacco manufacturers from gaming the system and protect more children and teens from this dangerous habit.”

It is also expected to boost government coffers by $1 billion.

Additionally, the senators aim to make it more costly to purchase premium cigars. Durbin’s so-called “Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2012” would raise the per-cigar tax ceiling on large cigars over 150%, from 40.26 cents to 100.66 cents. It would also establish a per-cigar tax floor at 5.033 cents. This move comes only days after Durbin and Lautenberg publicly encouraged the FDA to regulate cigars and ban “flavored” cigars outright.

Senator Durbin and his cohorts do not have the courage to say that they’d like to regulate and tax cigars out of existence, but that seems to be the outcome they’re shooting for. Cigars are already taxed quite high, especially when you add up the federal, state, and local taxes. And we’ve written before that regulation of cigars by the FDA would be devastating to the industry, which helps provide 85,000 jobs in the U.S. and hundreds of thousands in Latin America. Ingredient disclosure, testing, and marketing restrictions would stifle the development of new cigar blends and eliminate events where cigar makers pass out free samples to cigar shop patrons.

Be sure to take a few moments to effectively contact your senators and urge them to not support the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2012.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

Between smoking bans, sky-high taxes, and pending FDA regulation, cigars are seemingly always under siege. But two Massachusetts towns are proposing a new attack  on cigars.

The local health boards of Saugus and Bedford are considering tobacco regulation ordinances that include two provisions that would be specifically devastating to local B&M cigar shops. The proposed regulations would require cigars to be sold in packages of four or more, and would set minimum wholesale and retail prices.

If approved, the tradition of walking into your local shop and buying one cigar to try before buying more would be eliminated. The provisions stem from a Massachusetts law that gives local boards of health power to consider this kind of restriction.

The law would also set minimum prices for cigars. Ironically, if cigar companies got together to establish minimum prices it would be a clear violation of anti-trust laws.

According to research conducted by the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO), while the state of Massachusetts has a minimum cigarette pricing law, there is no similar law in the state setting the minimum price of other tobacco products such as cigars.

NATO is challenging the laws on the basis that the Massachusetts legislature has not passed a statute authorizing local boards of health to set minimum prices for cigars. According to the group, there is no mention of statutory authority for local Massachusetts boards of health having the power to ban the sale of legal cigar products in certain package sizes or set minimum cigar prices.

It’s easy to dismiss this new effort as an isolated incident, but nearly all anti-cigar schemes started in states with anti-tobacco track records, including New York, Massachusetts, and California. Cigar smokers everywhere have good reason to oppose this new attack on cigars and cigar shops before the scheme spreads across the nation.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Wikipedia

According to an announcement by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), the Senate Appropriations Committee added language to the 2013 appropriations bill for the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies that encourages the FDA to regulate cigars and ban “flavored” cigars.

The move came just as cigar enthusiasts passed the 25,000 signature threshold on a petition asking the White House to order the FDA not to expand its authority to include premium cigars. By reaching 25,000 signatures, the petition will now receive an official response from the Obama Administration.

The FDA appropriations bill, including the language pushing regulation of cigars, now moves to the Senate floor to be scheduled for a full vote. So far there is no indication that similar language will be included in the House version of the bill.

As in most anti-tobacco efforts, the senators cite “children” as the impetus for more regulation, despite the fact that it will exclusively be the legal choices of adults that will limited by FDA regulation of cigars. “The emergence of flavored cigars is a transparent effort by Big Tobacco to work around the new tobacco control law,” claimed Durbin (pictured), even though handmade premium cigars by companies like CAO, Rocky Patel, and Drew Estate are likely to be included in a “flavored cigar” ban.

Durbin and Lautenberg assert, without citing any evidence, that “cigars with candy-like [sic] flavorings such as strawberry, watermelon, vanilla, and chocolate are marketed to young people, and get them hooked on this deadly and addictive habit at a young age.” Nowhere do the Senators explain why or how these flavors are “candy-like” (considering that fruits and other flavors like chocolate and vanilla were in existence for centuries before they were used in candy) nor do they address the fact that they are primarily enjoyed by adults.

Regulation of cigars by the FDA could be devastating to the premium cigar industry, which helps provide 85,000 jobs in the U.S. and hundreds of thousands in Latin America. Ingredient disclosure, testing, and marketing restrictions would stifle the development of new cigar blends and eliminate events where cigar makers pass out free samples to cigar shop patrons.

Concerned cigar smokers may want to contact members of the House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies, especially subcommittee Chair Jack Kingston (R-GA), to add language opposing the Senate’s push to have the FDA regulate cigars. They also should contact their senators to oppose the passage of the bill with the anti-cigar language and follow the IPCPR and CRA for updates.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Flickr

The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees “the right of the people…to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Cigar smokers are now utilizing an online site set up by the White House to do just that and, if enough people sign, they’ll get an official response from the Obama Administration. The petition, which can be found here, asks the president to instruct the Food & Drug Administration not to regulate cigars. It reads:

“The FDA is considering the creation of regulations for the premium cigar industry. These regulations will jeopardize over 85,000 American jobs, destroy America’s “mom & pop” premium cigar retailers & manufacturers, and risk over 250,000 jobs in Latin America that produce cigars, impacting the economic/political stability in the region. We hope you will stand up for small businesses that dot Main Street America & recognize that premium cigars are enjoyed by adults, are not addictive, and therefore do not conform to the Congressional intent of the Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act. Tell the FDA to leave our premium cigars alone. With this nation’s more pressing issues, harming my simple ability to enjoy a cigar should not be a priority of the government.”

Ever since June 2009 when President Obama signed the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act,” handmade cigars have been a potential target of the FDA. That bill instructed the FDA to regulate cigarettes but left the agency with the unilateral power to expand its jurisdiction to include premium handmade cigars. And only a year after the signing of the bill, the FDA took the first step towards regulating cigars by asking for comments on a proposed rule on implementing regulations.

The petition will need to collect 25,000 signatures in 30 days to get an official response. So far, since it was launched 6 days ago, the petition has over 12,000 signatures, leaving until May 11 to collect an additional 12,900 signatures.

Ultimately, given that Obama was a supporter of the FDA bill as a senator and later signed the bill into law as president, it’s unlikely that he’ll come out and announce that the FDA will no longer consider regulating cigars. Still, getting an official response from the Obama Administration can be a good thing, putting the president on record and drawing attention to all the jobs that would be destroyed by the FDA regulation of cigars. A response may even lead to more attention to the “Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act,” the joint name for two bills in Congress that would protect handmade cigars from the FDA once and for all.

If you haven’t already, sign here.

–Patrick S

photo credit: FDA

It was announced yesterday that longtime cigar pioneer Rolando Reyes Sr. died at the age of 89 on Sunday. Reyes will be fondly remembered as the founder of the Puros Indios brand and a mentor for many in the industry.

“My grandfather has been around this industry so long that many of the great manufacturers of today have come to him at one time or another for help and guidance, but left our factory with an incredible life-long friendship,” said Carlos Diez, current president of Puros Indios.

Reyes was also a longtime member of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR). An IPCPR statement released yesterday called him “an inspiration to many in his industry, with a tireless work ethic and an extreme dedication to his craft.”

Rolando Reyes Sr. embodied the very essence of perseverance. Born in Cuba in 1924, he made his dream of becoming a “tabacalero” true when, at age 21, he established his own cigar factory—only to have his “Los Aliados” trademark and properties seized by the communist government. Then, when he refused to work at the nationalized El Rey del Mundo factory, he was forced to labor in rice fields.

A lesser man might have given up. But Don Rolando moved to America to get his feet back on the ground, working in textiles by day and rolling cigars by night. By 1989, after overcoming a trademark setback, he had his own cigar operation again, this time with an office in Miami and a factory in Danlí, Honduras.

Reyes’ impact on the cigar industry will be felt long after his death. I think I can speak for the entire StogieGuys.com community when I say that our thoughts are with his family. Don Rolando will be missed.

–Patrick A

photo credit: N/A