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Review: Rocky Patel HR 500

The Rocky Patel HR 500 was another one of the multitude of cigars that Rocky Patel showcased at IPCPR 2012. The cigar was created to commemorate noted cigar smoker Gary Sheffield hitting over 500 home runs during his career. Rocky Patel announced the cigar with a press release in late July: July 23, 2012 (Bonita [...]

Review: Tatuaje TAA 2012

As we wrote in March and again in August, the Tobacconists Association of America held its annual convention, which took place March 25-29 in Los Cabos, Mexico. While that in of itself is not something to get overly excited about, this was also the time when Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars took orders for one of [...]

Redux: My Father Atlantic Cigar Co. 15th Anniversary Box-Pressed Robusto

In February of 2012, site sponsor Atlantic Cigar Co. released the second in their four part 15th Anniversary Series. Made by My Father, it was a box-pressed Robusto measuring 5 1/2 x 52 with an Ecuadorian Habano Criollo over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers. Only 400 boxes of 15 cigars were produced with singles priced at $8.00 and $111.95 for [...]

Review: La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva Romantico (Prerelease)

Back in July, we heard murmurs that Ashton was preparing a new La Aroma de Cuba as a follow-up to the Mi Amor. The La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva was announced shortly before the IPCPR trade show when Ashton informed a handful of top accounts via a letter. Here’s a copy of that [...]

Review: Guayacan Torpedo

One of the first-time exhibitors at the 2012 IPCPR trade show, Guayacan had impressed a colleague so much that he walked me straight over to it when he saw me on the trade floor. The cigars are the creation of Noel Rojas, who grew up in Cuba before coming to the United States about five [...]

Review: Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut 5.5 x 54 (Prerelease)

In addition to the Grand Reserve 2012 and Añoranzas, Miami Cigar & Co. debuted the newest Nestor Miranda Special Selection at IPCPR 2012, the Connecticut. It’s the third different wrapper for the regular production version of the Nestor Miranda Special Selection, which has previously been offered in Habano Rosado and Oscuro, both from Nicaragua. The [...]

Review: Rocky Patel The Edge Habano Toro (Prerelease)

At the IPCPR show at the beginning of August, Rocky Patel showed off seven new cigars that will be released on various dates before the end of the year. One of the releases is a new version of the extremely popular The Edge line, The Edge Habano. It is also the first Nicaraguan puro in The [...]

Redux: Undercrown Corona ¡Viva!

In May of this year, Drew Estate shipped its first extension to the Undercrown line, Corona ¡Viva! The idea was simple, slightly tweak the Undercrown blend to fit the Corona Gorda vitola. While the project was formally announced in December of 2011 and limited samples were available earlier in this year. Here’s what I said [...]

Review: Rocky Patel Private Cellar Robusto (Prerelease)

A flurry of press releases about Rocky Patel’s new lines came out just prior to the IPCPR convention and trade show in Orlando, among which was news of a brand new line called the Private Cellar. “Private Cellar is a personal favorite – a blend that I have been working on and aging for a number of [...]

Review: XIKAR HC Series Habano² Robusto (Prerelease)

The XIKAR HC Series has an interesting history, dating all the way back to 2007 and XIKAR’s entry into the cigar market with the Defiance, which debuted at the 2007 RTDA trade show in Houston. Despite the fact that the cigar received some critical acclaim, the name didn’t resonate with consumers and in May 2009 [...]