Weekly News (Nov. 4, 2024)

Davidoff Year of the Snake Returns for 2025

Davidoff’s annual Zodiac Series release is one of the most important cigar launches of each year. It’s spawned copycats from more than a dozen companies and this year’s collection of products will generate nearly $15 million in retail sales. After a dozen—or a baker’s dozen—releases, Davidoff is restarting the Zodiac calendar with it second Year of the Snake release. This year, there are three different cigars: a 7 x 43 lonsdale/lancero-ish vitola that will be sold at stores around the world, a more limited 6 x 52 toro that will only be sold at Davidoff flagship stores, and a thicker and more limited toro that will only sold in humidors.

Gurkha Debuts Year of Snake and Volition America Lines at TAA 2024

Gurkha, and its affiliated companies, has always been one of the more aggressive companies when it comes to trademark warfare. As is its right. That said, I think the trademark process failed the cigar industry when it comes to K. Hansotia & Co.’s registered trademark on Year of Snake, which it received last year. So far, Gurkha has sued only Davidoff in a questionable Year of the Dragon lawsuit but the registered marks for Year of Snake and Year of Tiger are far less defensible to me, and also not something that is good for the industry or its consumers.

El Septimo’s $10 Million Ashtray Shows Up at an Event, Gets Used 

In 2022, El Septimo showed off a trio of bedazzled lighters that it priced at $5.5 million. A year later, there were three ashtrays that has $10 million price tags. There were rumors about some wealthy Middle Easterner showing up at PCA 2022 to buy the lighters, but the story seemed like nonsense to me. If you asked me where I thought these items were, I would have guessed melted down to be used for something else. As it turns out, that’s not the case. While the ashtrays aren’t probably worth $10 million, allowing customers to use a very expensive ashtray is actually probably a decent gimmick for an event.

Cigar News

• AJ Fernandez 20th Anniversary Heads to Stores
• Aladino Limited Edition Shipping Next Week
• Cavalier Genève’s The Green Jacket Returning in 2025
• Diamond Crown Getting New Packaging, New Vitola
• Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Teases Year of the Duque for 2025
• Gurkha Gives Its Heritage Lines a Packaging Update with 15-Count Boxes
• Gurkha Partners with Oscar Valladares for TAA-Exclusive Gurkha V Line
• Joya de Nicaragua Adds Brazilian Tobacco to Antaño Blend for Regional Exclusive
• Kristoff Continues Rebrand with New Packaging for Pistoff Kristoff, San Andrés
• Las Calaveras Décimo Aniversario Heads to Stores
• My Father’s El Rey de los Habanos Returns
• Patina Cigars Begins Shipping LE 2024
• Quesada Makes Ownership, Management Changes
• STG Discontinues Some Forged Brands
• Stoic Cigars Debuting Next Month
• Trio of Lost&Found Cigars Shipping This Week
• Vector Adds Nickel Satin Finish to XCaliber Lighter
• VegaFina Nicaragua Terra Shipping in November
• VegaFina Series 2 Coupage, Short Magnum Arrive on Shelves

Legislation

Local

• Denver, Colo. Considering Flavored Tobacco Sales Ban — via Denver7.com
• Fayetteville, N.C. Passes Ordinance Restricting Where New Tobacco Shops Are Built — via CBS17.com
• Park Ridge, Ill. Moves to Better Regulate Signage on Tobacco, Vape Shops — via ChicagoTribune.com
• Rocky River, Ohio Bans Smoking and Vaping on City-Owned and Public Property — via FOX8.com

Reviews

• AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Corona
• Cavalier Genève Limited Edition 2024

Deals From Our Sponsors

• Atlantic Cigar Co.: Fuente y Padrón Legends — Warning: it’s a really large box. I cannot stress this enough, it’s probably not going to fit in your cabinet humidor.
• Cigars Direct: AJ Fernandez 20th Anniversary Toro — There are two AJ Fernandez 20th Anniversary cigars. This is the standard toro, the more limited humidor edition hasn’t shipped yet.
• Corona Cigar Co.: La Palina Goldie Toro Grande — The newest La Palina Goldie is beginning to arrive in stores.
• Famous Smoke Shop: Viaje Ghost Pepper S (2024) — The Ghost Pepper is back for 2024. Try one of the cigars from Viaje’s latest shipment.
• Gotham Cigars: Deadwood Girl With No Name Lonsdale — It’s the latest from Drew Estate’s incredibly popular Deadwood Tobacco Co. brand.
• JR Cigars: ADVentura The Royal Return Queen’s Pearls Corona — Probably my favorite blend from Henderson Ventura and Marcel Knobel.
• LM Cigars: Arturo Fuente Hands of Time Red Ashtray — If you’d like a large bright red ashtray, this is a large, bright red ashtray.
• Smokingpipes: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust #GFY Lancero Collection — Steve Saka doesn’t like lanceros, so he made 10 different lanceros. It’s called marketing.