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Review: Fonseca Cubano Exclusivo Robusto (Prerelease)

Last month we got the news out of SAG Imports that it was releasing a new Fonseca line called the Cubano Exclusivo. The cigar was developed with the idea that they wanted to take the easily recognizable Fonseca branding and develop a cigar that breaks out of the expected smooth and mild Fonseca profile. The cigar [...]

News: Fonseca’s Bold New Cubano Exclusivo Debuts at ProCigar

SAG Imports is bringing a bolder flavor to their Fonseca line of cigars, a line generally known as being geared toward the milder palate. The Fonseca Cubano Exclusivo will debut during the 2013 ProCigar Festival, being held February 17-22 in the Dominican Republic. According to Terence Reilly of SAG Imports, the Cubano Exclusivo uses a [...]

News: Nat Sherman Adding New 1930 Line

Nat Sherman will be adding a new line this summer called the 1930, with plans to have it available before the IPCPR Convention and Trade Show in early July. Michael Herklots, the Executive Director Retail and Brand Development for Nat Sherman, shared the announcement in an exclusive to halfwheel during the Tobacco Plus Expo in Las [...]

News: Smoke Inn Teases New Quesada Microblend Release

A new Smoke Inn Microblend release is in the works, according to a picture posted to the Florida retailer’s Facebook page on Friday afternoon. While the bulk of the information is blurred out, what is known is that the project is being made at MATASA in the Dominican Republic, the factory owned and operated by [...]

Review: Quesada The Blender’s Sampler Robusto

Earlier, we broke news on The Quesada Blender’s Sampler, a new limited edition Robusto sampler from Quesada and its U.S. distribution arm, SAG Imports.  To recap: SAG Imports, the distribution arm of Quesada, is set to release its most popular blends in the form of a special sampler. The Quesada Blender’s Sampler will feature eight Robustos, [...]

Review: Quesada Selección España Lancero (Prerelease)

Shortly after launching the Quesada Selección España, Terence Reilly, head of SAG Imports, the distribution arm of MATASA/Quesada, Casa Magna and now domestically Regius, received requests from a few people for a fourth vitola. One of those people was yours truly and the other one was Christian “Tank” Hutson of Just for Him in Springfield, [...]

Redux: Quesada Q d’etat Molotov

I seem to be in the minority about the early February release of the Quesada Q d’etat, the Molotov. For me, the inaugural release of the Q d’etat release did not live up to the strides Quesada had made with the España, Oktoberfest and Tributo. While I found plenty of flavor, it wasn’t very appealing [...]

Review: Quesada Jalapa Belicoso

At the 2011 ProCigar festival in the Dominican Republic, the Quesada family showed off its newest creation—the Quesada Selección España. As implied by the name, the cigar was created specifically for the Spanish market and actually made to compete alongside offerings from Habanos S.A. I described the basics last year: In February of this past [...]

News: Nat Sherman Adds Divinos & Especiales to Timeless Collection

Michael Herklots, exuctive direct for retail and brand development, has announced the Nat Sherman Timeless Collection will receive two additional sizes at IPCPR—Divinos and Especiales. Herklots made the announcement on his blog. The news comes a week after we broke the news Nat Sherman would add three Nicaraguan-made sizes to Timeless Collection also at the [...]

Review: Nat Sherman Timeless Collection No. 16

At the 2011 IPCPR trade show, Nat Sherman showed off the first of its new brands under the direction of its then newly-appointed executive director for retail and brand development, Michael Herklots. While no new product was offered for sale, Herklots gave out a variety of test samples of the company’s newest project, Timeless. At [...]