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Brooks Whittington

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About the author

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.

Gurkha Sniper

In 2011, Gurkha Cigars released the Spec Ops No. 1, a 7 1/2 x 52 toro extra made with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and Nicaraguan and Dominican…

Yellow Rose

Between October 2014 and March 2015, Crowned Heads = released three different cigars made exclusively for a singular state, each sans a traditional band and each with the…

HVC Pan Caliente

On April 22, HVC Cigars debuted a new release during an event that took place at Plainfield, Ill.-based Burning Leaf Cigars. Named Pan Caliente, the…

La Flor Dominicana Texas Cigar Festival 2016

In 2013, La Flor Dominicana announced the first in what would become an annual release made exclusively for the Texas Cigar Festival at Serious Cigars…

Portraits: Abe Flores

Abraham “Abe” Flores’ PDR Cigars is the newest member of Procigar, the Dominican Republic’s cigar manufacturer’s association. It is in many ways an old boys club—with…

Tatuaje Skinny Drac

The second release in Tatuaje Cigars’ now iconic Monster Series is also the release with the most controversy, at least for those who ordered a…

Prototype Super Unknown (Prerelease)

Not many people have heard of Prototype Cigar Co. yet, so the company decided to have a little fun with the name of its first…

Gran Habano La Conquista Gran Robusto (Prerelease)

Back in December, we reported on two new lines coming from Gran Habano this year, La Conquista and Los Tres Reyes Magos, both of which are expected  to…

Caseti Dion Carbon Fiber Double Guillotine Cigar Cutter

Based out of Plano, Texas, Visol Products offers a wide range of additional products on top of the regular cigar cutters and cigar lighters that most…

Rafael González Petit Pirámides (ER Alemania 2013)

While Habanos S.A.’s Edición Regional program has seen a large number of releases from many multiple marcas since it debuted in 2005, there was at least…

Viva Republica Guerrilla Warfare

In 2013, Viva Republic released the a new line of cigars named Guerrilla Warfare, first in a 4 x 41 petite corona vitola and later in…