CIGAR TAX FOR ON-LINE SALES SET TO TAKE EFFECT Editorial by David Garofalo This whole thing began with the growth on the internet and the 1992 Supreme Court case Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, that determined due to the constitutional law, states could not collect sales taxes from purchases made by their residents from out-of-state vendors that did not have a physical presence within that state, barring legislation from the United States Congress that would allow them to […]
It’s Tax Day again, and still unfair to the smoker. Another Editorial by David Garofalo The discrimination against smokers, buyers and sellers of tobacco products all began in 1794, when the secretary of the treasury Alexander Hamilton introduced the first ever, federal excise tax. It was on tobacco products only, and after some major modifications, Hamilton’s original proposal passed only to be repealed shortly thereafter. It was believed to have an insignificant effect on the federal budget. Even though Hamilton’s […]
Sometimes I hate to be right! Another Editorial by David Garofalo Seeing a big tobacco giant like Altria, parent company of Philip Morris getting into the Premium Cigar business with their acquisition of Nat Sherman in January or 2017 was like an alarm going off to me. Oh no… they are going to screw this up for all the premium cigar makers, retailers and consumers… I just know it. Some estimated they paid as much […]
The Industry That I’m Proud To Be A Little Part Of… The Cigar Industry On Friday December 8, 2017, a sea of people, turned out to the Biltmore Hotel in Miami Florida for a night of celebration, to honor the life of the patriarch and founder of a family owned and operated company. It was a who’s who of the industry. Industry leaders, including competitors, from just about every company came to pay their respects. […]
Day 6 and “The Shocking Conclusion” We all packed our bags in the morning (included would be my $100 worth of legal Cuban Cigars and alcohol combined) had my last Cuban Coffee in Cuba and 2 more cigars before we got ready to Hurry-Up and Wait! This is what I hate most about traveling, especially out of the country and even more so to and from Cuba. They want you there 5 hours early and […]
Day 5 Today we will take a walk to Old Havana Square. We met in the Hotel lobby to start our day. As we approach the area I notice the streets are crowded with people dancing in the street. The streets are paved with what looks like bricks but a closer look shows they are not bricks but wood blocks stained with brick color. In the town square the road turns to a circle with […]
Day 4 We were up bright and early for a little Cuban Coffee and a Cuban Cigar before hitting the road back to Havana. The first stop was the El Laguito Factory, the birthplace of Cohiba which was in 1968. A palace of a building, looks kind of like an old Southern Mansion which was unquestionably the most impressive looking cigar factory from the outside thus far for sure. This is where Cohiba, Behike and […]
Trip to Cuba – Day 3 I got up in plenty of time for breakfast and decided not to go off on my own in this city. I took the opportunity to talk with the waitress a bit because she spoke better English than I did Spanish. She seemed happy and said so… she liked her life in Cuba and the closeness with her family and neighbors. Although she had never been to the United […]
Day 2 Monday March 9, 2015 I skipped breakfast (that almost never happens) and chose to walk around a little before meeting with the group. “American” and “Cohiba” the Cuban people asked me as apparently I stuck out like a sore thumb. They were not asking for a hand-out or begging for my money, they wanted to sell me something. They had cigars, what locals call “street cigars” made at their homes with either their […]
My Trip to Cuba (legally) by David Garofalo My adventure began on December 27, 2014 when we interviewed Colon Ganley on The Cigar Authority podcast. Colin is the former editor of Cigar Journal Magazine and is now the owner of Twin Engine Coffee Company based out of Nicaragua. Colin also is the owner of a company called Cigar Tourism (www.CigarTourism.com) where he has put together trips to Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic for years, […]