February 5, 2024 Brooks Whittington Weekly News

Weekly News (Feb. 5, 2024)

Quesada 50th Anniversary Debuting at PCA 2024

This new cigar blend celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Quesada Cigars brand, which was founded in 1974 when the family set up the Manufactura de Tabacos S.A. (MATASA) factory in the Dominican Republic with $100 and a chair.

I have talked with Manuel “Manolo” Quesada Jr. many times over the years, and I always walk away appreciating not only his passion for the cigars industry, but also the for the entire family behind the brand. Fifty years in business is an amazing accomplishment for any company, and I can’t wait to try the cigars that were created to commemorate the occasion.

Habanos S.A. Opens Registration For Festival del Habano XXIV

Not only have the prices for the different parts of the Festival increased again this year—attending all three of the dinners, visiting the tobacco fields and touring cigar factories will run you a total of €3,395—or $3,668.81—but Habanos S.A. gave interested parties only 27 days to register for the event.

Even so, there should be no issues with it selling out, especially when you consider that there will be specific celebrations honoring the 30th anniversary of Habanos S.A., the 50th anniversary of the Quai d’Orsay brand and the 55th anniversary of the Trinidad marca, each with their own cigars.

XIKAR Adds VX2 G10 V-Cut, Ships Perfect Xi1 Globally

The XIKAR Perfect Xi1 is an extremely good cutter: of course, this is not exactly a shocking, especially when you consider that it is virtually the same cutter as the company’s classic Xi1, albeit with the addition of a backplate which is designed to help to ensure the user does not remove too much of the cigar.

Since its launch last July, the Perfect Xi1 has been sold exclusively by  South Florida-based retailer Smoke Inn. However, that situation has changed: the cutter is now shipping to retailers nationwide, which should make it substantially easier for interested consumers to purchase.

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Brooks Whittington

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.

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