IPCPR 2014: Kristoff

Like a number of other manufacturers at the IPCPR Convention and Trade Show this year, Kristoff kept its new releases to a minimum, with one new line and a handful of new samplers. One of the highlights of the visit was getting to meet Christopher Case–Glen Case’s son–who is now 18 years old and for whom the company is named.

The Kristoff Kristania Maduro was announced just about a week before the show opened, and adds a Brazilian maduro wrapper in place of the Nicaraguan criollo. The 5 x 50 robusto comes with an MSRP of $5.60, the 6 x 52 toro is $5.88, the 5 1/2 x 60 is $6.64 and the 7 x 70 comes with a suggested price of $8.34.

There will also be a trio of samplers released in October, one called Bold, once called Natural, and the other called Spice. Glen Case says that consumers will save a couple of bucks when they buy the sampler as opposed to buying them individually.

Lastly, Case told halfwheel that there are more 685 Woodlawn available than originally thought due to some communication issues with the box factory. So if you liked the 685 Woodlawn, smile because more are on the way.

Brooks Whittington

I have worn many hats in my life up to this point: I started out as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, then transitioned to photographing weddings—both internationally and in the U.S.—for more than a decade. After realizing that there was a need for a cigar website containing better photographs and more in-depth information about each release, I founded my first cigar blog, SmokingStogie, in 2008. 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, and it was one of the predecessors to halfwheel, which I co-founded.