Weekly News (August 16, 2010)

As was expected, New York’s new tobacco tax isn’t working out as well as planned. Just because Habanos lost one lawsuit, doesn’t mean they can’t start another.

As if that’s not enough, your IPCPR releases (and a special surprise) after the jump:

• A.J. Fernandez: Abdel showed off the new San Lotano line, interested to see how it goes after my hit or miss feelings towards all of his cigars I’ve had so far.
• Alec Bradley: The MAXX series received a Connecticut wrapper.
• Altadis: A host of line extensions for a lot of the lines. By far the their biggest attraction was the H. Upmann Sun-Grown. Other new cigars included a host of more full-bodied cigars: A. Turrent Triple Play, Dos Familias by Ortez y Turrent, Don Diego Fuente by Omar Ortez and Altidas’ new “boutique”, Warlock.
• Ashton: The Ashton dinners were the talk of the town, but their new release was bad either. The La Aroma de Cuba line got another sibling, the Mi Amor. The Pepin-blended stick features Ecuadurion-grown Connecticut broadleaf and Nicgaraguan binder and filler.
• Augusto Reyes: I’m not sure about new releases, I believe the Sixth Generation is a relatively new cigar. I spent time talking with Yaniv Erez, expect some reviews in the future.
• Avo: The new release was the Avo Heritage which is getting lauded by many as the best cigar of the show. I unfortunately only smoked about a quarter of one, so I don’t want to give my thoughts, although the rest of the world might be onto something.
• Berger & Argenti: I had the chance to stop by and meet with Mike Argenti. There were two releases, the foremost being the Entubar Quad Maduro. The other cigar was the Mooch, which is priced below the currently price of the Classico.
• Camacho: I don’t know all of the releases, I do know the new Liberty 2010 was in the booth.
• CAO: CAO’s booth was more about what wasn’t there than what was. Toraño had accelerated their departure, mainly for the purpose of having its own booth at the show. In addition, they took quite a few CAO reps with them. CAO’s new release was the La Traviata Maduro, a cigar that most have known about for months. In addition, the Brazilia and LX2 lines received extensions.
• Davidoff: Danielle graciously took me around the booth to tour the host of accessories, which for the namesake was the new product. According to Danielle, rather than introducing a new limited cigar at the show, Davidoff sought to bring focus to the Puro d’Oro.
• Drew Estate: The booth was the best large booth in show, or at least has an award. While the shoes aren’t for sale, the Dirty Rat will be at $12 a piece. It won’t be a limited release either. What will be limited will be the T52 Flying Pig, a 3,000 box run. That part of the Liga Privada line also received a Double Corona and a Belicoso as extension. Joya de Nicaragua also got the box-pressed Toro as an extension for both of its lines. There was also an addition to the Acid line, but I really don’t remember what it was.
• E.P. Carrillo: The core line was released and it’s definitely a winner, at least the one I smoked in New Orleans. For those of you that are worried about the lack of another limited release, don’t worry… There will be a 2010 Limited Release.
• El Primer Mundo: I had the chance to stop by and meet Sean. The featured release was the El Primer Mundo Liga Miami, which is made in Miami at the El Titan de Bronze.
• General Cigar Co.: The coolest release was undboutley the uniquely shaped La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami Campana Chica, which has a unique pyramid shape. Team La Gloria also brought out the Serie N, an extremely dark cigar. Hoyo de Monterrey got a new cigar, the Reposado en Cedros, which has a unique aging process. The show surprise was the new Macanudo Cru Royalé, which features a unique metal band, at least the first 75,000 cigars will. Doing something nice for the city, General also made a donation to Duck’s Unlimited. General also featured a couple of line extensions, the real question for next year is still whether the CAO booth will be in General’s.
• Illusione: There were a couple extensions to the hL line. The two new releases from Dion Giolito are the Singulare, the limited release for 2010, and the Nosotros, a partnership with Jonathan Drew.
• Gran Habano: The big thing in the booth was the Gigante. The big news was the Azteca. In addition to the full-bodided release, my discussion in the booth led me to believe changes are coming.
• Habana Cuba Cigar Co.: Oliveros got the SWAG line, a Dominican Puro comprised solely of tobacco from a farm co-owned by Rafael Nodal and Litto Gomez. Kinky Friedman got the Lone Star series.
• J. Fuego: The new release is the J. Fuego 777 zero, a Connecticut version of the 777 line.
• J.C. Newman: The Brick House line received the Mighty Mighty and some unique packaging. The Julius Caeser line received new packaging and Eric told me these should be in stores shortly.
• La Caridad del Cobre: Made by favorite blogger, Frank’s line introduced the La Charada. There is some confusing story behind its name and the vitolas, but I don’t really understand.
• La Flor Dominicana: I never got to hear from the reps exactly what the new releases were, however… The Airbender Chisel seemed to be the featured cigar and I don’t blame them. In addition a retailer told me that a Solomon Maduro was released, not really sure. There were also some interesting samplers floating around that are apparently made for retail sales. I didn’t see the rumored Vintage 2010 or the Litto Gomez Small Batch 3, both of which are expected shortly.
• Los Blancos: The featured release was the Nine, which I’ll be reviewing later this week.
• La Aurora Miami Cigar & Co.: La Aurora Corojo (which was a decent cigar) an extensions to their main line, the Pepin-blended Nestor Miranda Art Deco (I’ve yet to smoke), Guillermo Leon by La Aurora (one of the top three La Aurora’s I’ve smoked), they distributed samples of their new cigar the La Sirena. My understanding is it will be a $7-$9 with Nicaraguan binder and filler in a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. I tweeted a review of it a few days ago. The Tatiana line of flavored cigars also received a Cognac flavored cigar. Finally, Guillermo and Jason confirmed to me that my beloved La Aurora 107 Lancero is happening.
• My Father Cigars: John Gonzales explained the main release was showcasing the already released La Relobas and the extensions to the Jaime Garcia line. The only new release was a big one… The Limited Edition My Father personally rolled by Don Pepin Garcia and bunched by Jaime. I was told by John that they were rolled when Pepin had the free time, whenever that is. In total expect 2000 boxes of 20 coffins, each with a CD of some sort, pricing is $20-$25.
• Oliva: Nothing new. The featured release was the Cain F.
• Padrón: Showed off the new 46.
• Pinar del Rio: I never got to stop by the show, my understanding is that the entire line got reblended?
• Pride Cigars: Another Dominican Puro rolled off the line, labeled “The Ritual.” My understanding is the way it smokes, one has to question if this really is a Dominican Puro.
• Rocky Patel: The new EO brands were present in their new packaging, most of which I could have done without. New release wise, the 15th Anniversary was featured given its newness, but the real story was the Rocky Patel Cargo and its massive 500 ct. box.
• Room 101: The LTD Conjura Edition, although I didn’t see them.
• Tatuaje: Pete showed off nine new extensions and then some. The Face will be this year’s Halloween release featuring a unique tobacco band. Pete shed some light on the Tatuaje Anarchy, giving a release date towards the end of the year. In addition, he explained that there will be a change to the way his releases work for the limited holiday releases that will allow for better distribution and access for consumers.
• Toraño Family Cigar Co.: Bruce Lewis and I talked for a bit. There was a lot of buzz for Toraño and for good reason. The three new releases, all announced over a month ago, were the Master (blended by Felipe Sosa), Single Region (Series Jalapa) and the new bundle, the Brigade. The Exodus 50 Years received an extension, while the Signature blend was sold to Famous. Bruce did indicate that the Roots Run Deep tour would return for another year and that they were planning on keeping it. In addition, he mentioned that the Single Region would hopefully be expanding, although unlike a lot of others, they would like to add Series, not necessarily just keep one on the market.
• Viaje: I was graciously shown around one of the most unique companies in the business. Seriously, 90% of production is limited releases? That’s just crazy. The new releases at the show were the Fifty-Fifty red, which is a lighter version of the full+ Fifty-Fifty black. The big news was the Satori, which is a sort of no expense spared cigar. There will be 150 boxes of each of the three size priced at $12 a cigar and my understanding is the process of getting the gold onto the boxes is illegal in the U.S., so the boxes were made elsewhere.
  Xikar: In addition to the new partnership with Drew Estate, Xikar gave the HC line a new 6×60.

Finally, I like to think may have had something to do with this. Thanks Frank.

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.