Weekly News (November 21, 2011)

Editor’s Note: This is not the most exciting of these commentaries, but it is the holiday season. Plenty of limited editions being released, as well as the traditional holiday cigars, which includes an Añejo and Opus shipment. The sales meetings will start soon, so cigar news is about to get a bit more interesting. Until then, the weekly news. — el niño diablo.

• Montecristo New York Connoisseur Edition — It would appear that Altadis has joined the list of manufacturers producing cigars for New York. It is a massive 6 x 60 with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican fillers.
• Thunder by Nimish Extensions — Word from the namesake is there are thoughts on a 6 x 60 as well as a 7 x 68.

• La Flor Dominicana Factory Press IV — Size is 6 1/2 x 60. Mexican wrapper over Ecuadorian binder and Dominican fillers, ships this week.
• Litto Gomez Small Batch No. 4 — LFD now claims this is on target for schedule. Most recently there was hope to get these out by December, but that has been abandoned. The original date thrown around was February, just in case anyone was wondering.
• La Palina El Diario Kill Bill — David Savona reports that the long-awaited extension to the new El Diario line is set to be released next month. Cigar is 4 1/4 x 40 and apparently noticeably stronger than the rest of the El Diario line.
• Viaje WLP Stuffed Turkey — These are now in stores. The bundles say “200”, but Viaje indicates production was only 150. Review is here.
• MUWAT EF Bait Fish — These are apparently shipping. Size is 4 x 44 and this is exclusive to New Havana Cigars.
• Liga Privada Feral Flying Pig — Site sponsor Drew Estate indicates these are now shipping in December.
• Padilla Legacies to Thompson — Story is this means it’s released, but it seems odd that the press release got republished nine months later.
• EloGio Tweaks LSV — According to Cigar Coop, EloGio will tweak the Nicaraguan puro to now feature an Ecuadorian wrapper.
• C & C Connecticut — This ships tomorrow.

• Padilla Cubra Maduro — No clue what this is.
• Cook County Cigar Taxes — IPCPR posted its thoughts here. This would affect a lot of shops, as Cook County covers Chicago, a city that plays hosts to some of the best B&Ms in the country.
• St. Charles County Abandons Smoking Ban — Details via the IPCPR.
• Phillip Morris Sues Australia — A week after Cuba warned of WHO violations, Australia’s proposed plain packaging restrictions on tobacco is now facing a lawsuit.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.