February 10, 2014 (Miami, Fla.)—Cigar Federation announces the release of it’s first cigar The Collective.

The cigar was blended by Ezra Zion Cigar Company and manufactured in the Casa Fernandez factory in Miami, Florida.

“New media has changed the cigar industry dramatically in the last few years. We feel it has started a second cigar-boom, especially in the boutique arena. We wanted to make a cigar that would pay tribute to that and The Collective project was born.” noted Kyle Hoover.

“Smoking this cigar is a completely interactive experience. By scanning the QR code on the band when you light up will allow you to smoke the cigar with us via video. You’ll hear all about how the cigar came to be, the blend, the process. It’s like we all came over to your house, raided beer from your fridge and lit up the cigar with you.” said Chris Kelly.

The Collective is a micro-batch project and features a San Andres Cafe Claro wrapper over binder and filler of Nicaraguan. Total production is 250 boxes of 20. The Collective comes in one size, a 52×6.25 prensado box-press.

“We pulled out all the stops when we blended this cigar. The Collective features a wrapper leaf that has never been used. We kind of invented it. We call it a San Andres Cafe Claro. Obviously, there are a lot of cigars that use San Andres, but our processing of the leaf is what makes it unique. The filler contains a substantial amount of the ultra-rare medio tiempo leaf. It’s very expensive filler leaf, but it had the flavor we wanted and took the cigar into the stratosphere.” added Hoover.

The Collective is a full bodied, medium strength cigar. Flavors include chai tea, sweet woodsy notes, dark leather, hints of anise, and an ultra-clean finish.

“When the Ezra guys sent us some samples of this blend to try out, it blew us away. When they told us they wanted to do it to highlight the new media contribution to the cigar industry, we were honored! As a reviewer, TV host, and all around cigar geek, it’s nice to have someone take the time to recognize your efforts, and with a great cigar no less.” said Rob Rasmussen, Cigar Federation co-General Manager.

“As a General Manger of Cigar Federation I can tell you that we will continue striving to innovate and not be bound by conventional ways of doing things. All of the things that make the cigar lifestyle awesome, we will continue to include in Cigar Federation. We refuse to be stereotyped. We refuse to be censored. You don’t put baby in a corner!” added Logan Lawler.

The Collective is available exclusively on the Cigar Federation Online Cigar Store. Pre-order of The Collective will be made available to Cigar Federation members on February 10 at 3pm CST. The Collective will be made available for sale to the general public at the Virtual Herf launch party on February 18 at 7pm CST on Cigar Federation.

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.