Editor’s Note: And so it begins. The discussion over IPCPR media memberships, i.e. bloggers going to the trade show, started once again. David Jones of the TikiBar provided his thoughts and plenty of others chimed on Twitter. At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter that the costs are going up or if they continue to go up. The IPCPR membership itself is only a fraction of the costs that are involved for going to the IPCPR show. In reality, the only real way to deal with getting rid of the bloggers who don’t belong is vetting, not raising prices.

  • Undercrown Flying Pig to be Dutch Exclusive — Story is here.
  • Casa Fuente Gets New Line — Story on the newest line exclusive to the Las Vegas store here.
  • Pete Johnson Debuts Tatuaje Limited Series FT114The newest Fausto size was in Tatuaje Limited Series livery for the first time at Federal Cigar, it will be shown again in Hawaii at No Joke Smoke.
  • STUDIO TOBAC World Tour Sampler 2012 Revealed — We broke the news here.
  • Tatuaje Tobacco Plaza DD Released — Review and details are here.
  • J. Fuego Edición de Familia — Details vía CigarBrief.
  • J. Fuego Launches Smaller 777s — Details also via CigarBrief.
  • La Aurora Announces New Pricing for 107 Puro Vintage — La Aurora sent out a new round of press releases announcing that the pricing would $12.00, slightly higher than what we first reported when we broke the story back in early January. We reviewed the cigar here.
  • Gran Habano Announces S.T.K. Miami Barracuda — Details here.
  • Thunder by Nimish Sixty-Two Ships — Details here.
    262 Extensions
  • Bigger 262s? — Picture above via Clint Aaron.
  • Gurkha Parent Changes Its Name — Press release here.
  • New Quorum Display Tray for Retailers — Press release here.
  • Two Guys Smoke Shop Becomes 55th Diamond Crown Lounge — Press release is here, one quick note, Twins Smoke Shop is actually the first Diamond Crown Lounge in New Hampshire.
  • J.C. Newman Teams up with Tampa Bay Lightening — Press release here.
  • Larry the Cable Guy Tours J.C. Newman Factory — Press release here.
  • J.C. Newman Raises $7,000.00 for Ditka Charity — Press release here.
  • Indiana’s Smoking Ban Signed Into Law — Story here.
  • Rolando Reyes Sr. Passes Away — In memoriam here.
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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.