Weekly News (Feb. 9, 2015)

Cigar News

• 1502 Coronas Shipping
• AKA Cigars Teases Something Gigantic

• Aquitaine Epoch Heads to En Fuego Cigars & Lounge
• Balmoral Creates Year of the Goat
• Blanco Cigar Co. Appoints Robbie Strietz Director of Sales
• New Blanco Cigars Release?

• Crowned Heads Ships Jericho Hill Shots — Original story here.
• Crowned Heads Sends Paniolo Especial 2015 to R. Field Wine Co.
• Davidoff Announces Hourglass Lounge Concierge Program
• Davidoff Picks Houston for New Flagship
• Fratello Releases H-Town Lancero — Review here.
• JFR Lunatic Mambo Shipping
• Quai D’Orsay Profile Trimmed to a Single Vitola
• Romeo y Julieta RyJ Corona Coming
• Room101 Master Collection Three Ships —  Review here.
• Viva Republica Ships Guerilla Warfare

Trademark News

• Conspiracy Inc. (Room101) has filed a trademark for “CHIEF COOL ARROW”

Legislation

• H.R. 662 Introduced to Exempt Premium Cigars from FDA Control
• FDA Commissioner Stepping Down

• Kentucky Smoking Ban Moves Forward
• Nebraska Cigar Lounge Moves One Step Forward
• Ohio Governor Proposes Tobacco Tax Increases
• Rhode Island Purchasing Age Could Increase to 21
• Utah Tobacco Purchasing Age Could Increase
• Wyoming Tobacco Taxes Not Increasing

• Boulder, Colo. Expands Smoking Ban
• Cambridge, Mass. Raises Minimum Purchasing Age to 21
• Conway, S.C. Modified Smoking Ban Increases Move Forward
• Nixa, Mo. Gets New Smoking
• Winoa, Minn. Avoids Park Smoking Ban

Deals From Our Sponsors

• Atlantic Cigar Co. — Punch Rare Corojo 2015 Limited Edition Rare Lapiz (Box of 10, $70.95)
• Cigar Hustler — La Flor Dominicana 20th Anniversary Beer Stein (Stein of 20, $225)
• Cigars.com — La Finca (Ammo Box of 91, $109.95)
• Elite Cigar Cafe — General Cigar Co. TV Raffle (Five Cigars, one ticket, Box of 20 or more, six raffle tickets) Details in link.
• Emerson’s Cigars — Davidoff Winston Churchill Churchill (Box of 20, $340.99)
• JR Cigars — Illusione Rothchildes (Box of 50, $234)
• Lone Star State Cigar Co. — Tatuaje Event (Featuring Pete Johnson, KC Johnson & Dan Welsh. Sponsored by Dewar’s), Feb. 20, 2015.
• Serious Cigars — Quesada Keg (Keg of 21, $149.95)
• STOGIES World Class Cigars — Fratello H-Town Lancero (Boxes of 20, $144.50)

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.