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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.

Four Kicks Mule Kick Limited Edition 2018

Last month, Crowned Heads shipped the third incarnation of its first limited editions. As with the blends that were released in 2012 and 2017, the…

Portraits: Drew Newman

Drew Newman’s been working for the family business for over two decades, but he didn’t become a full-time employee of J.C. Newman Cigar Co. until…

La Flor Dominicana Factory Press (2017)

Take two. Four years after the last official release, a new version of La Flor Dominicana’s Factory Press shipped to retailers just before Christmas last…

Colibri SV-Cut

For nearly a century, cigar smokers have faced a choice: straight cut or v-cut. Carrying a small punch, oftentimes built into lighters, in addition to…

Macanudo Inspirado Red Robusto

General Cigar Co.’s Macanudo brand is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a number of releases, the first of which is the Inspirado Red….

Alec Bradley Black Market Estelí Robusto

During the 2017 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, Alec Bradley showed off a brand new version of its popular Black Market blend that “truly represents what…

Liga Privada Único Serie UF-13 Dark

Over the years, Drew Estate has become known for handing out test blends to people of various cigars long before they are released to the…

Romeo y Julieta RyJ Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Robusto

Altadis U.S.A. and Abdel Fernández have collaborated on a number of cigars in the past, so it was not exactly a surprise when another was announced earlier…

Foundation Chest Collector Humidor

Just before the 2017 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, Foundation Cigar Co. announced a new release that would only be available in a humidor. Of course,…

Portraits: Alejandro González Arias

There is any number of custom Cuban cigar rollers in Cuba, but only one can be the youngest. At only 32-years-old, Alejandro “Alex” González Arias…

Gran Habano La Conquista La Nina

Back in 2015, Gran Habano announced a new regular production line named La Conquista, which translates from Spanish to the conquest. One year later, the company…