Weekly News (December 26, 2011)

Editor’s Note: It’s a light news week, which isn’t shocking, but there is quite a bit of relatively unheard of news. This past week we published our Top 10 list of cigars, which you can read here and later this week, we will close the year with our Ten Questions for 2012. Until then, some news from Fuente and others. — el niño diablo.

• Fuente’s Holiday Special — Last week some interesting boxes of Fuente product began arriving at select retailers. Most of the retailers receiving product seem to be in the Top 25 accounts and most retailers are only getting a sample of the new cigars. There are six new cigars banded as FFOX Forbidden X (all boxes of 13):
  • FFOX Forbidden “Torch Bearer 2012” (7 5/8 x 49) — $18.00
  • FFOX Forbidden “Nacimiento 1912” (5 1/8 x 43) — $11.75
  • FFOX Forbidden “Heart of the Bull 1957” (5 1/4 x 50) — $14.00
  • FFOX Forbidden “Destiny 1980” (5 3/4 x 52) — $15.75
  • FFOX Forbidden “Keeper of the Flame 2013” (6 1/4 x 49) — $15.00
  • FFOX Forbidden “God’s Whisper 1924″* — $16.00

  *Fuente lists the size of God’s Whisper 1924 as 7 1/5 x 41, retailers that have received boxes of God’s Whisper indicate that it is closer to a Churchill in size.

  In addition, Fuente has also shipped the following in limited quantities:

  • Don Carlos Lancero
  • Don Carlos 76th
  • Fuente Magnum R44

• Rodrigo La Fortaleza — George Rodriguez’s Christmas e-mail announced Rodrigo’s third line which is scheduled for Q1 of 2012.
• MUWAT Extensions — This isn’t a secret by any stretch of the imagination, but Jonathan Drew announced at least one of the sizes he is working on for the MUWAT partnership between Joya de Nicaragua and Subculture Studios (Drew Estate).
• Dignity Rose Gold Elite Dynasty — To be released in January to select retailers. No further details, except there are a few prereleases floating around.
• Crémo Cigars To Ship — According to this. Steve Valle had quite a few details here.
• Oliva Moves Serie V Production to Miami — Expect 2012 to be a busy year for Oliva, starting with this.
• Orange Bowl Cancels Camacho Sponsorship — Shortly after Camacho and the Orange Bowl announced a three-year sponsorship agreement, controversy from anti-tobacco groups led to the Orange Bowl ending the sponsorship before it ever took place.
• acigarsmoker.com Sold — Barry Stein sold acigarsmoker.com to Kevin Paige of Butthead’s Tobacco. Shortly thereafter he formally announced that he would be taking a paid role with Miami Cigar & Co. to do marketing.

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.