When you think of cigar tobacco you think of Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua but there is a rich history of tobacco grown for cigars right here in the United States of America. Today we explore the Connecticut River Valley with Nicholas Melillo who has his company, Foundation Cigars based in The Constitution State. We will do this with one of the newest cigars in his portfolio the Tabernacle Havana Seed CT #142. Master […]
Maine State Representative Matthew Harrington (R-Sanford) has introduced a bill that calls on the common sense of the Maine Legislature. Currently in the state of Maine it is illegal for a cigar shop to sell any type of beverage be it alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Bill LD 343 / H.P. 269 would change that by allowing cigar lounges to serve beverages. According to the summary of the bill, “This bill allows a tobacco specialty store to […]
As the 2019 Legislative session was about to get underway, State Senator Cisco McSorely (D-Albuquerque) introduced bill that would dramatically raise the tobacco tax by 204%. Shortly after introducing the bill that would be catastrophic to retailers in New Mexico the Senator resigned his seat to take a job in the administration of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. The bill sat in the legislature without a sponsor and the hope that it would go away. However […]
A pair of bills have been introduced in the state of Hawaii that would limit the tax on cigars. The bills intoduced at the Hawaii State Legislature were in the House via HB 331 from Rep. Nadine K. Nakamura, (D-14) and in the Senate via SB 222 from Sen. Ronald D. Kouchi (D-8). The introduced bills would limit the tax on cigars to a 50 cent cap instead of the current 50% of the wholesale price. […]
This weekend on The Cigar Authority podcast, we are welcoming to the show Nicholas Melillo also know as Nick. R. Agua. He’s the owner of Foundation Cigar Company and he originally hails from the state of Connecticut. In addition to smoking his new Havana Seed CT #142 we will discuss the history of tobacco in the state. In order to get ourselves in the mood we decided to fire up a Wiseman Maduro Corona Gorda […]
You can add Indiana to the growing list of states to introduce a bill this year that would raise the tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21. Senate Bill No. 425 was introduced by Randall Head (R-18) and James Merritt (R-31) and has been referred to Committee on Health and Provider Services. The bill follows a similar footprint to the one passed in Massachusetts and proposed in Vermont by proposing an exemption to those who turn […]
The state of Nebraska currently has a tobacco tax of 20% on “cigars, cheroots, and stogie.” However, that could change thanks to Sen. Justin Wayne (D-13/Omaha), who introduced a bill that would amend the current tax to a 50 cent cap. The bill has been assigned to the Committee on Finance and can be read below. LB429 on Scribd
Earlier this month the 2013 vintage of the Byron XIX Grand Poemas was released to retailers via United Cigars. Available only in 200 boxes the cigars are offered in humidors designed by Nelson Alfonso of Selected Tobacco. According to Oliver Nivaud the Director of Sales for United Cigars “This is a beautifully blended cigar offering richer notes of cedar and molasses. After resting these cigars for five years, post roll, you can truly experience the complex maturity.” […]
On the January 19th episode of The Cigar Authority we smoked a cigar in the second hour that was part of The Cigar Authority Care Package. As has become customary we feature that cigar in an in-depth review. The Tosacano Originale comes from Italy and it is distributed in the USA by Miami Cigar & Company. In the past we’ve had brand ambassador Michael Cappellini on the show and if you want to go back […]
Dave is back from his yearly trip to the Dominican Republic. He visited some factories, met with some of the biggest cigar producers and has some stories to tell. What are the rumors, how do the crops look and he brought back a test blend from a special project. What is the story behind the cigar? We he be able to tell us? What we do is smoke this young cigar and see past the […]