halfwheel

Review: Ortega Serie D Maduro Lancero

Today I’m going to be reviewing the Ortega Serie D Maduro Lancero. The cigar was originally only available by buying a ticket to the 2013 D.C. Cigar Tweet-Up, which included a swag bag and a bundle of 10 Ortega Serie D Maduro Lanceros. Yesterday, we broke the news the cigar will be regular production and shipping [...]

News: Ortega Serie D Maduro Lanceros to Ship in May

The Ortega Serie D Maduro Lancero, made specifically for the DC Cigar Tweetup in March, is heading to stores nationally next month. Eddie Ortega confirmed to halfwheel that the 6 1/2 x 38 cigar should ship in either the first or second week of May. The cigar will only be sold in the Maduro version [...]

Review: Ortega The Wild Bunch Island Jim WaHoo (Preproduction)

As you’re likely aware, Eddie Ortega announced an ambitious project in the summer of 2012 dubbed the Wild Bunch that would see him release a new cigar every month in 2013 that would be a tribute to a person that he had met through his cigar-related journeys. Ortega had this to say about the inspiration [...]

Review: Ortega The Wild Bunch Iron Mike I-Beam (Preproduction)

In July 2012, Eddie Ortega began talking about a new project he was working on, the Dirty Dozen. While he didn’t release a ton of details at the time, his fondness for social media – Facebook in particular – became a vehicle for little bits of information to be released. When the project was announced, Ortega had [...]

News: Alec Bradley Renaming Dirty Hooligan Project

The recently announced Alec Bradley Black Market Dirty Hooligan cigar is getting a new name just weeks before its March 5th release date, as the original name used a word that has become increasingly pre-empted by another manufacturer. Now known as the Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Hooligan, the name was changed as a “gesture [...]

Review: Ortega The Wild Bunch Big Bad John Jackhammer (Preproduction)

News of a new limited run batch of cigars from Eddie Ortega started to surface on Facebook in late July, just a few weeks before the IPCPR convention and trade show happening in early August. Details remained sketchy some two months after the show as the series evolved, but things are becoming a bit clearer [...]

News: Eddie Ortega to Release “Dirty Dozen” Project in 2013

While he isn’t expected to be releasing any new projects at the upcoming IPCPR convention and trade show, Eddie Ortega is already working on a project that he says will launch in 2013. Named the “Dirty Dozen,” Ortega didn’t reveal much about the specifics other than that it’s a project that will have a new [...]

Weekly News (July 16, 2012)

Editor’s Note: A year ago Friday, July 20 to be more precise, Brooks and I sat down for dinner after the third day of IPCPR and we discussed the idea of halfwheel–or what was to become halfwheel. Like so many great ideas for the site, Brooks thought of it first and it took me a [...]

News: Espinosa & Ortega Split Up EO Brands

Erik Espinosa and Eddie Ortega are back in control of the 601, Cubao, Murcielago and more—but EO Brands is officially done. Two weeks after Rocky Patel informed retailers the company would no longer be handling distribution of the EO marks, United Tobacco/EO Brands has been bought back by the duo, divided and dissolved. Espinosa and [...]

Weekly News (July 2, 2012)

Editor’s Note: Yesterday marked six months of halfwheel. Brooks and I still haven’t spoken at all about the relatively minor anniversary, but given each member of our staff once ran a cigar blog – six months is oftentimes a lot longer than most of these last. Over the next few weeks, particularly leading into IPCPR, [...]