Cigars Headlines

Labor Day Cigar Salutes
It's time to celebrate the last national holiday of the summer in the U.S., but don't forget about our brave troops still serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Lt. Col. Mitch Fadem has been sending us periodic updates, including photos of his cigar exploits, as he travels around Afghanistan on missions of vital importance. He has also included acknowledgments of donations to our Cigars for Troops Program along with the photos....Read Full Post

New 'Dirty Rat' Cigars
Drew Estate officially announced the release of its new "Dirty Rat" as the first cigar within its new Liga Privada Unico Serie. Unico, which means "unique", will be a new line of special cigars that do not fit into either of the existing No. 9 nor T52 lines. ...Read Full Post

Cigar Announcements
Gran Habano Cigar Company has announced that they will cease production of their 3 SLS and Cabinet Selection lines. According to the company, "This difficult decision will allow Gran Habano to maintain our high level of quality and consistency within our core lines and any special projects that may be in development. Gran Habano's current inventory of 3 SLS and Cabinet Selection cigars will be depleted by the end of 2010. At the current pace we expect our final shipments to be sent out in September."...Read Full Post

Cigar Social Media
The cigar industry has embraced cigar bloggers, tweeters, etc. like no other. Since it costs nothing to start a blog or open a Twitter account, there are virtually no barriers to prevent anyone of legal age from becoming a member of the cigar social media. If you enjoy smoking cigars and then writing about the experience, maybe you should start puffing and tweeting away, today... Read more.

Partagas 'Man of Distinction' Contest
General Cigar has announced a new contest where you can win an all-expense paid, four-day, three night trip to Napa, where you and three of your guests will tour four boutique wineries, participate in harvesting grapes, dine on epicurean cuisine, and enjoy a cooking competition followed by a gourmet meal with a celebrity chef. For details on how to enter the contest, visit your favorite tobacconist between now and September 26, 2010, and purchase a specially-marked, specially-priced four-pack of Partagas cigars. For official rules, and/or to enter the contest online, visit partagasman.com.

La Floridita Fuerte Cigars
Famous Smoke Shop recently announced the release of La Floridita Fuerte cigars. The Fuerte selection represents the third line extension in Famous Smoke Shop's exclusive series of La Floridita cigars. Manufactured by Plasencia in Honduras, La Floridita Fuerte is available in three sizes, Churchill (7 x 50), Toro (6 x 50), and Robusto (5 x 50). The cigars have a medium to full-bodied blend of Nicaraguan Esteli and Jalapa Habano plus Honduran Jamastran Habano longfillers, Nicaraguan Jalapa binders, and Habano Viso wrappers. Prices start at just under $75 for a box of 20 Robustos....Read Full Post

IPCPR Annual Cigar Meeting Video
The annual meeting of the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association was held prior to the official opening of the trade show on August 10, 2010, at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans. The IPCPR's Executive Director, Joseph Rowe, welcomed everyone to the convention and trade show, and the IPCPR's President, Gary Pesh, presided over the meeting. In addition to our summarization of the proceedings, we also recorded a few video excerpts, including Joe Rowe's promised surprise at the end.

Berger and Argenti Entubar Cigars
Albert Argenti is the Co-founder and Vice President of Berger and Argenti, a boutique cigar company that features several lines of fine premium cigars. The Berger in Berger and Argenti is none other than Kiki Berger of Cuban Crafters. The company's flagship cigar is the Entubar, a cigar that is rolled in a very special way, which takes a lot of extra time, effort and skill. Each individual filler leaf is rolled into itself before being combined to form the bunch. This method not only creates a very smooth draw, but also lets the blender customize the position of individual filler leaves within the blend. As can be seen from the picture, a scroll of filler leaf extends out from the foot of the cigar, to illustrate that this cigar was specially made. The label on the foot of the cigar is an advisory to thoroughly toast the entire foot of the cigar (not just the protruding scroll) before smoking....Read Full Post

New Cigar Products from Altadis
Altadis recently announced several new products at the IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans: Montecristo Signature Series Samurai Slimline V Cutter - Featuring precision Japanese surgical steel blades that will accommodate up to a 60 ring gauge cigar, packaged in a gift box with a leather carrying case. Price $49.95. A. Turrent Triple Play Puro Maduro Cigar - Named "Triple Play" because the entire blend - wrapper, binder and long fillers - is comprised of fine, hand-selected maduro tobaccos. Available in five sizes, priced between $7.25 to $8.00 per cigar. H. Upmann Sun Grown Cigar - Made at La Flor de Copan factory in Honduras with sun-grown wrapper leaves cultivated in Ecuador. Available in six sizes priced between $6.25 to $7.75. Warlock Cigar - Made in Nicaragua by renowned cigar maker Omar Ortez. Available in five sizes priced between $5.50 and $6.50 per cigar. Dos Familias Cigar - Made in Nicaragua by two cigar families, Ortez y Turrent. Available in five sizes priced between $5.50 and $7.50 per cigar. Don Diego Fuerte Cigar - A robust, fuller-bodied cigar by Omar Ortez, available in five sizes priced between $5.00 and $6.50 per cigar.

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Cigars
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo was the man behind the popular La Gloria Cubana and El Rico Habano brands of cigars for the General Cigar Company. Back in March 2009, Ernesto left General Cigar to start a new cigar company with his family, known as EPC Cigar Co. The new company produced a couple of limited edition blends before establishing its core line, which was recently introduced at the IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans during August 2010. The core line is one cigar that many cigar aficionados were eagerly anticipating, based upon Ernesto's excellent reputation for producing fine premium cigars. I must say that EPC's new core line is one of the new cigars released at the trade show that I am really looking forward to smoking. Look for my review in the near future, but in the mean time, watch a video with Ernesto talking about his new cigars on our youtube channel.