The Stogie Guys

Last week I reported live from the 2011 International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Association Trade Show. Catch up on my updates from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, as well as the show preview. But even this coverage isn’t comprehensive.

While two and a half days on the convention floor wasn’t enough time to hit every booth, three days of updates still wasn’t enough to capture all of the info I gathered. So here are some odds and ends that didn’t make my previous IPCPR coverage:

Last year Drew Estate won the award for best booth, and they followed it up this year with another eye-catching display. In addition to more custom-painted shoes (last year it was sneakers, this year it was women’s pumps) the Drew Estate booth featured dozens of graphic cigar molds.

Drew Estate had many new releases, including a number of blends based on the popular Liga Privada line. Included was Undercrown, a blend created by the torcedors who roll Liga Privada. As Drew Estate President Steve Saka explained to me, when they were smoking too many Liga Privadas, they created this blend from the same tobaccos used for the Liga, but using different primings and vintages not used in the Liga blend. According to Saka, while the Liga is medium- to full-bodied, this is a more medium-bodied blend.

The Miami Cigar Co./La Aurora booth was full of new releases. In fact, if there’s an award for most new lines, they surely won it. One of the most anticipated of those new releases was Casa Miranda, which was blended by Willy Herrera at the El Titan de Bronze factory in Miami before Herrera left to join Drew Estate. Despite selling for around $10 a cigar, Jason Wood tells me this was a top seller for Miami. Another new cigar in the super-premium line was the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve ($12 each), a box-pressed torpedo made by the Pepins at the My Father factory in Nicaragua using a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper.

La Aurora 107 was a big hit for La Aurora in 2010, and so a maduro extension was almost inevitable. While they had banded and boxed examples of the new 107 Maduro for display, I was told the actual blend isn’t ready yet. The blend was recently tweaked, but they still are aiming for a release by October.

La Aurora Preferido Corojo Vintage 2003 is one of those new cigars that isn’t actually very new at all. After looking through their aging room in their Santiago factory, they “discovered” that they had enough of these circa-2003 Preferido Corojos to put out a limited release.

In case you forget that Miami Cigars is a distributor as well as a cigar maker, take note of the new Humo Jaguar made by Nestor Plasencia in Honduras. The cigar shares the same name as the Honduran Humo Jaguar cigar festival. I was told that a number of Honduran makers created blends for the festival for blind tasting by attendees. Plasencia’s blend won and is now being distributed by Miami Cigars. Next year a new blend will be crowned.

Tomorrow, stay tuned for my final thoughts on this year’s IPCPR Trade Show. Until then, be sure to let us know which blends you are most looking forward to trying.

–Patrick S

photo credits: Stogie Guys

In the premium tobacco industry, new blends often commemorate one anniversary or another. Such traditions transcend industry boundaries. Plantation 20th Anniversary Rum, for example, celebrates Alexandre Gabriel’s two decades of leadership over Cognac Ferrand.

The French company is primarily a producer of cognac. For years, it sold its prized cognac casks to rum producers in the Caribbean who would use the containers to age their spirits. “During these exchanges, Gabriel had the opportunity to discover some very old batches of rum with extraordinary richness and a diversity of aroma and flavor,” reads the Cognac Ferrand website. “Available in tiny quantities, the rums were intended either for the personal consumption of the distillery’s cellar master or used to give style to industrial rum blends. Quite naturally, Cognac Ferrand decided to bottle these special rums as a series of vintages.”

Each vintage is named for its locale of origin: Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad, and St. Lucia. Over and above these, Plantation 20th Anniversary is the flagship rum from Cognac Ferrand. It is made from the company’s oldest Caribbean reserves in Barbados, aged in bourbon casks in the tropics, then matured in oak in France for an additional 12 to 18 months. “This double aging process brings an incomparable smoothness and fullness to this rum,” reads the spirit’s ornate box.

Ever since I discovered it a few weeks ago, Plantation 20th Anniversary has become one of my favorite rums. Its superior quality is evident on the nose, which is creamy and rich with a butterscotch-like character. On the palate the spirit is very complex. Notes as varied as coconut, vanilla, orange peel, cinnamon, banana, and warm tobacco are evident, and they linger for quite some time in a warm finish.

The price tag of $40 for a 750 ml. bottle is no small expenditure, but I’m more than convinced that Plantation 20th Anniversary is worth the cost. What a finely balanced, multifaceted rum this is. For maximum enjoyment, pair it with a mild-bodied cigar that will play off of—rather than drown out—the spirit’s exquisite subtlety.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

This cigar, which Nestor Plasencia Jr. calls “our baby,” is something of a surprise for a Nicaraguan puro: It’s considerably milder than most. I’ve smoked a handful and found them consistent and pleasant. Aging (a couple were in my humidor for nearly three years) seemed to have no effect, good or bad. A Famous Smoke exclusive, the Organica is worth a try if you like mild- to medium-bodied smokes.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

This Perfecto (5 x 55) has a lot of the flavor you’d expect from a Nicaraguan puro, including spice and roasted coffee. But it’s the sweet creamy backdrop that makes it memorable. I bought mine at my local tobacconist for about $6. I’ll be more than happy to pay that price again for this sun-grown Habano-wrapped beauty.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

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) This week, William S. Spann was announced as the new chief executive officer of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Association at the group’s 79th annual Trade Show in Las Vegas. Spann replaces Joe Rowe, who headed up IPCPR for a decade. His previous experience includes a 20-year career with the Navy, serving as chief of staff of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and several executive roles within Governor Jeb Bush’s administration. “On behalf of the Board of Directors of the IPCPR, I want to extend a hearty welcome to Bill Spann who, we are confident, will help continue moving the association forward on behalf of its retail and manufacturing members,” said Gary Pesh, president of the IPCPR. “At the same time, we wish Joe Rowe a long and happy retirement.”

2) Now that StogieGuys.com has returned from covering the 2011 Trade Show, we’re looking forward to reviewing many new cigars over the coming months. We’re happy to prioritize the order of these reviews based on our readers’ interests. Though we face some constraints in terms of immediate availability, we’d love to hear from you about which cigars you’re most interested to read about. So feel free to leave a comment or shoot us an email.

3) Inside the Industry: This week Patrick S attended the IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas and got plenty of information about new releases. Check out his coverage from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and be on the lookout for a show wrap-up next week.

4) Deal of the Week: The exclusive My Father El Hijo is available for pre-order here. For a limited time, those who order a box get a free T-shirt.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: IPCPR

When I interviewed Tatuaje creator Pete Johnson in the summer of 2010, right around the time the 2008 Vérité was set to become available, he told me the line was his “most serious project to date.” This statement resonated with many enthusiasts who already considered Tatuaje to be among the world’s best cigar outfits.

I can understand why Johnson held Vérité (French for “the truth”) in such high regard given the uniqueness of the venture. “La Vérité Vintage,” as he calls it, brings a vintner’s approach to cigar making, employing a wrapper, binder, and filler all grown on the same farm. “Much like a single vineyard wine, La Vérité showcases the soil where the tobacco was grown,” reads the Tatuaje website. “The seed varietal varies from year to year based on the crop planted and the tobacco yielded.” (more…)

This week StogieGuys.com is in Las Vegas covering the 79th annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Association Trade Show—the convention where cigar makers from around the world come to showcase their products and debut new creations. Check back throughout the day for updates, and keep an eye on Twitter for even more.

Early Morning Update: Various cigar makers I spoke with all say that day two of the Trade Show was very successful, and that there was no noticeable drop off in sales from day one to two. It’s hard to say whether this was merely positive spin or actual sales, but it did seem that many more than a few booths were even busier yesterday. Everyone I spoke with was happy to back in Las Vegas (as opposed to New Orleans) and more than a few were a little worried about next year being in Orlando.

Yesterday I also visited with Andre Farkas of Viaje. He said he’ll continue to keep production low even though he has a waiting list of 150 shops who want to get Viaje Cigars in their stores. The next new release he plans is the Late Harvest.

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