Jose Blanco the mastermind behind the Senorial, who is a close personal friend of mine celebrate his 65th birthday, today. To him we say, Feliz Cumpleanos. In order to celebrate the milestone that people choose to retire on, Señor Blanco is releasing a 5.75 x 55 perfecto. The cigar is a departure from the Sensorial line which features a wrapper from Ecuador. Instead, this size will feature a Piloto Cubano wrapper from the Dominican Republic making […]
Mike Bellody might not be a name you know in the cigar industry, but this isn’t his first rodeo. When El Tiante cigars relaunched with their production made at My Father Cigar, Dan Tiant partnered up with Bellody. With El Tiante currently not in production and the partnership over, Bellody reached out to the Quesada family to make a new line, Imperia The new line features a very high priming Dominican HVA, if this wrapper […]
This week on The Cigar Authority we will be joined by Victor Vitale as we continue Round 2 of the Blind Taste Test. We will be smoking cigars 9 vs 10 and 11 vs 12. Plus we will see what is new with Mr. Vitale and his cigars. The real story is the FDA, and all the consolidation going on in the industry. This might be just what the big 4 want, and is there […]
Back in September we reported on the Supreme Court in the State of Nebraska ruling that exemptions for cigar lounges and cigar bars was unconstitutional. Recently. the Supreme Court agreed to hear from the owners in an attempt to overturn the decision. The licenses for cigar bars were set to expire on October 31, which was to be the last day that smoking inside cigar bars and lounges would be legally allowed. However, the state […]
An interesting topic of conversation led to the cigar we picked for review today. That conversation was based on the recent sale of Drew Estate to Swisher International. We discussed how over the history of time, not many brands have faired well after a merger. These brands tend to go down hill as new ownership tries to tinker with the old brand. Very rarely does a brand get better. Camacho is one of these rare […]
What started as a limited edition back in 2008 continues as a yearly fall tradition. The first three years saw a variation of a torpedo with slightly different sizes. There were some production issues that resulted in a bad draw and the company eventually switched to a toro in 2011. But there were also changes in the wrapper as well in the early years. The initial release saw Connecticut Broadleaf used before switching to Habano […]
Over the last couple of years, Davidoff has turned to Asian astrology and this year is no different as the Davidoff Year of the Sheep is set to hit the shelves next month. According to Davidoff, “As people rejoice in the dawn of a New Year, no one will look on with more contentment than the Sheep. To the Sheep, happiness is other people’s happiness. Generous of spirit, the Sheep loves to see their own […]
Victor Vitale is a legend in New England. From his humble beginning with The Cigar Agency he has grown to brand owner of Ora Vivo and today’s review, Tortuga Reserva Cedro. According to their website, “Tortuga is [his] dedication to premium cigars. It defines everything [he] stands for in our industry and is a tribute to the art, culture and tradition of tobacco. After twenty years in the business [he] continues to discover more of […]
What started as a rumour on the cigar forum BOTL, before being discussed on The Cigar Authority and becoming a controversial post over at The Cigar Nut, has finally been validated. Swisher International has purchased Drew Estate Cigars. The company will continue to operate with its existing management team, but will now have to answer to tobacco giant, Swisher International. As part of the deal, Swisher acquires all of the Drew Estate brands as well […]
Miami Cigar & Company is in the midst of celebrating their 25th Anniversary. In doing so, they have released their signature brand the Nestor Miranda Collection which is an advertiser on The Cigar Authority. A few weeks back we looked at the Connecticut and today we look at the Maduro. Both cigars are made the My Father Factory in Esteli, Nicaragua and the company has adapted the motto of #OneLife. Cigar: Nestor Miranda Collection Size: 4.5 x […]