Weekly News (October 11, 2010)

A pretty impressive cigar auction will be taking place in London at the end of November, items include items from Hemingway and a Fidel Castro humidor. Speaking of Cuba, the Havana Times had a look at the Cohiba Cigar factory. Habanos S.A. launched the H.Upmann Noellas Glass Jar.

Outside of that forbidden island, it’s been raining in Nicaragua. I can tell you that a certain No. 9 has already been announced in short supply due to this rain. Graycliff is doing something or other regarding Halloween. Speaking of Halloween, cigars continue to hit the shelves. This past week, the San Lotano from A.J. Fernandez hit stores and so did my beloved La Aurora 107 Lancero. In two days, Pete Johnson’s latest Monster Series creation, The Face from Tatuaje.

The fight over the proposed limits to outdoor smoking in New York City continue… The IPCPR and New York Tobacconist Association released a joint statement today:

New York, New York October 11, 2010 – The International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association is joining forces with the New York Tobacconist Association to fight for the rights of New York City citizens in opposition to the proposed expansion of smoking restrictions to the city’s parks and beaches and other public outdoor locations, including Times Square.

The associations represent thousands of small, family-owned retail businesses specializing in the sale of premium cigars, pipes, tobacco and related accoutrements.

The New York Tobacconist Association is circulating a petition which states that the undersigned are opposed to such an extension, that such decisions should be left to individuals, and that they pledge to be courteous in the use of tobacco products in those public areas. (http://bit.ly/9sIVfT)

The Association is also inviting supporters to attend the Council’s hearing on the matter Thursday, October 14 at 1:00 p.m. (http://bit.ly/beT6Sz).

“We’re against legislated smoking bans of any kind,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director for the IPCPR, “and so should everyone else, because they take away fundamental rights of citizens everywhere. In public places like these, common courtesy should prevail, not heavy-handed, misguided legislation.”

In other legislation news, Galveston, Texas reversed part of its smoking ban. While I obviously applaud the reversal, I’m unclear as to what the hell the CRA did, it seems like even by the CRA’s own press release that the lawsuit filed by business owners was the single greatest motivator. Speaking of my home state, two boom era labels (El Sublimando & El Incomparable) have been “revived” by a fellow Dallas smoker. J.C. Newman opened up a Diamond Crown Lounge at the St. Pete Times Forum, yes… a NHL arena. Camacho was at fashion week, sadly me and my Burberry blazer were not.

P.S. Drew Estate launched an online store, they have really good customer service… I’m not kidding, really good customer service…

Drew Estate Launches Online Store

Miami, FL – Drew Estate Inc. announced today that they have launched their “Drew Estate Kult Store”, an online store dedicated to Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua merchandise. The store features branded merchandise, such as cutters, hats, ashtrays, clothing and more. Artwork from Drew Estate’s Subculture Studios in Estelí, Nicaragua, will also be featured, including their custom sneakers and paintings coming in the near future.
When asked about the online store, Drew Estate co-founder Marvin Samel shares, “The store was something our customers kept asking us to create, so we decided to develop a simple, user-friendly kiosk that would feature Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua clothing and accessories.”

In addition to frequently creating and adding new products to the store, they are also asking for customer input and ideas for the development of future offerings. These ideas should be submitted through the store’s online contact form. Drew Estate will take this input seriously and strongly encourages their customers to share any merchandise suggestions they may have.

To visit the store, go to http://shop.drewestate.com. Currently, Drew Estate accepts payments from all major credit cards, and utilizes PayPal to ensure secure transactions. At launch, they are unable to accept purchases from residents of Florida and APO/FPO addresses.

For more information on the “Drew Estate Kult Store”, please contact John Brooke via [email protected].

About Drew Estate, Inc. Established in 1996, Drew Estate Inc. is a privately held manufacturer and distributor of innovative and traditional premium cigars for today’s cigar smoker. In just over ten years, Drew Estate’s ACID line of premium cigars has become one of the top five selling premium cigar brands in the nation. Regarded as the pioneer and leader in the infused cigar® market, Drew Estate’s Nicaraguan factory handcrafts ACID by Drew Estate®, Natural®, Java by Drew Estate®, and other unique cigars along with its traditional Liga Privada®, La Vieja Habana® and Chateau Real® marks. For more information, please visit: www.drewestate.com.
®ACID, Natural, Java by Drew Estate, Chateau Real, La Vieja Habana and Liga Privada are registered trademarks of Drew Estate and/or affiliated companies.

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.