Davidoff Announces 2017 Golden Band Award Nominees

Davidoff of Geneva USA has announced the nominees for its sixth Golden Band Awards, which will be presented on July 11 during the 2017 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas.

The big news regarding the Golden Band Awards is not who is nominated, rather, that the company has cancelled its annual black tie dinner and party. Typically, Davidoff hosts a dinner for its appointed merchants on the second night of the trade show, but earlier this year it announced that it would forgo the dinner in favor of a ceremony in its booth. The dinner is expected to return next year.

This year, winners will receive a special in-store event to commemorate their win. In addition to the event and a trophy, winners receive the ability to sell Davidoff’s Golden Band cigar.

Davidoff has also reduced the number of awards it is presenting, as this year there there will be seven categories, three less than last year. Absent from the 2017 list are Best New Appointed Merchant, the Industry Service Award, and the Zico Davidoff Legacy Award.

Best Performance (Single Location)

• Blend Bar Cigar (Indianapolis, Ind.)**
• Hemingway’s (Palo Alto, Calif.)*
• Maxamar Ultimate Cigars (Orange, Calif.)**
• Regency Cigar Emporium (Greenwich, R.I.)*
• Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, Conn.)**

Best Performance (Multiple Location)

• Ambassador Fine Cigars (Phoenix, Ariz.)**
• Anthony’s Cigar Emporium (Tucson, Ariz.)
• Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, Fla.)**
• Tinder Box (Charlotte, N.C.)**
• W. Curtis Draper (Washington, D.C.)**

Davidoff Growth (Single Location)

• Belicoso Café Inc. (Wyandotte, Mich.)
• Cigars by Chivas (Pasadena, Calif.)**
• Coco Cigars (Miami, Fla.)
• Hemingway’s (Palo Alto, Calif.)**
• Smoker’s Haven (Lincroft, N.J.)*

Davidoff Growth (Multiple Locations)

• Ambassador Fine Cigars (Phoenix, Ariz.)**
• Club Humidor (San Antonio, Texas)**
• Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, Fla.)**
• Davidus Cigars (Frederick, Md.)
• Two Guys Smoke Shop (Nashua, N.H.)*

Davidoff Appointed Merchant of the Year

• Ambassador Fine Cigars (Phoenix, Ariz.)*
• Cigars by Chivas (Pasadena, Calif.)**
• Corona Cigar Company (Orlando, Fla.)**
• Il Regalo Preferito (McAllen, Texas)
• Tobacconist of Greenwich (Greenwich, Conn.)*

Best Merchandising

• Bo’s Cigar Lounge (Bellflower, Calif.)
• Club Humidor (San Antonio, Texas)**
• Franklin Cigar (Franklin, Tenn.)**
• The Cigar Shop of Biloxi (Biloxi, Miss.)
• The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood (Ridgewood, N.J.)**

Canadian Depostaire of the Year

• Burlington on Whyte (Edmonton, Alberta)
• Cigar Connoisseurs (Vancouver, B.C.)*
• Nottingham Cigars & Pipes (Sherwood Park, Alberta)*
• The Humidor Cigar Company Ltd (Woodbridge, Ontario)*
• Zigarren – A Simple Pleasure (Calgary, Alberta)**

*Indicates a retailer that has previously been nominated for a Golden Band Award.

**Indicates a retailer that has previous won a Golden Band Award.

“The Davidoff Golden Band Awards provide us with an opportunity to recognize our Appointed Merchant network and, in particular, those Appointed Merchants who have really taken their business with Davidoff to the next level,” said Jim Young, president of Davidoff North America, via a press release. “The success of Davidoff has been made possible through decades of close and longstanding partnerships with trusted merchants. Davidoff has a strong track record of cooperation with its family of retailers to help them grow their businesses, align on best practices and contribute towards the increased growth of the Davidoff brand.”

(Update – June 25, 2017) — The press release issued for the Golden Band Awards incorrectly identified The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood as Tobacconist of Ridgewood, which is how it appeared in the original version of this story. It has been corrected.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.