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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.

Wunder|Lust Robusto (Prerelease)

For months, RoMa Craft Tobac co-owner Skip Martin has been teasing a new release, presumably destined for Europe: Wunder|Lust. Last month, Martin went to Europe to…

H. Upmann Royal Robusto

In 2004, Habanos S.A. began releasing exclusive cigars for the Habanos-licensed La Casa del Habano retailers. While they are usually limited to one or two different…

Paris Reserve 2015

Last month, La Sirena released a new limited edition made for a friend of the Ditkowich family, Paris Giannopulos. Appropriately dubbed the Paris Reserve 2015, the…

Tabaquero by Hamlet Paredes Robusto

At the 2015 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, Rocky Patel showed off Tabaquero by Hamlet Paredes. If the name sounds familiar, it is because it belongs…

Tatuaje L’Espirit de Vérité 2010 (Preproduction)

Oh, what could have been. In 2010, Tatuaje released the first in what was supposed to be annual series of cigars incorporating tobacco that was…

Fuente Fuente OpusX Double Corona (1995)

In 1995, the cigar world was changed forever with the introduction of the Fuente Fuente OpusX, the first cigar to utilize all Dominican tobacco. It’s challenging…

Casa Fernández Reserva Connecticut

Last month, Tampa, Fla.-based retailer Thompson Cigars launched a new exclusive release that it had been working on with Casa Fernández for the past two…

Bella Dominicana M

Launched earlier this year, Bella Dominicana is a new brand that was founded by Armando Diaz of Mel Caribbean Corporation and José “Jochy” Blanco, who owns…

Viaje Full Moon Edición Limitada 2015

In 2013, Viaje released a new blend based around the Halloween holiday named Full Moon that was composed of a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper and Nicaraguan…

E.P. Carrillo Ernesto’s Humidor Colorado

Since most releases that are shown off at the IPCPR Convention & Trade Show are known weeks or months in advance, there are very few…

MBombay Kēsara Vintage Reserve Nikka (Prerelease)

In November, Bombay Tobak announced the addition of both a new blend and a new vitola with a familiar moniker: the Kēsara Vintage Reserve Nikka. While…