Oklahoma has seen the introduction of a bill by the State Senate President Harold Wright (R-57) that would modify the Oklahoma Workplace Clean Air Act and remove an exemption for cigar smoking at cigar bars and cigar retailers in the Sooner State. The bill which was referred to the Public Health Committee exited with the recommendation to pass by a 7-3 vote. Name Yea Nay NV Absent Rep. Chad Caldwell [R] X Rep. Regina Goodwin [D] […]
In the state of Arkansas Representative Lee Johnson (R-75) has introduced a bill that would raise the tobacco purchase age to 21 in the state. House Bill 1519 has picked up 17 sponsors including Representatives Fred Allen (D-30), Mary Bentley (R-73), Harlan Breaux (R-97) , Joe Cloud (R-71), Bruce Coleman (R-81), Bruce Cozart (R-24), Brian S. Evans (R-43), David Hillman (R-13), Jasen Kelly (R-28), Fredrick J. Love (D-29), Stephen Magie (D-72), Jay Richardson (D-78), Stu Smith […]
While the regular release of the Berlin Wall is going away, the Berlin Wall box press remains in full production. The cigar still doesn’t have a band although it is still slated to get one in the very near future. After hanging out with the Director of Sales this morning, we decided to fire up the Robusto version of the Berlin Wall Box Press for today’s review on The Cigar Authority. Cigar: Berlin Wall Box Pressed […]
On the February 16th, 2019 episode of The Cigar Authority we welcomed to the show, Francisco Batista the Managing Director of Operations in the Dominican Republic for Royal Agio. During the first hour of the show we smoked the Balmoral Anejo XO Connecticut from The Cigar Authority care package. The cigar was also a contender for the 2018 Cigar of the Year. As has become customary we offer a full review of the cigar that […]
The state of Utah has introduced a bill that would raise the tobacco age to 21. The new bill would raise the age from 19 to 21 over two years. Introduced by Representative Steve Eliason (R-Sandy), HB 324 would raise the tobacco purchase age from 19 to 20 on July 1, 2020 following by another increase to 21 on January 1, 2021. The bill currently sits in the House Rules Committee and the text of […]
Each year the Tobacconist Association of America gathers in March and while past years have been in Mexico, in 2018 it was held in the Dominican Republic. The gathering consists of the top manufacturers such as Padron and top retailers such as Two Guys Smoke Shop. At the 2018 meeting it was announced that Padron would release the No. 89 as an exclusive for TAA members. The cigar affectionately referred to by many as the Padron […]
Drew Estate, a global manufacturer and distributor of premium cigars announced today that Jessi Flores, Director of Subculture Studios, is leaving the company to pursue new business ventures. Jessi is a twenty-year veteran, having joined Drew Estate in 1999 after founder Jonathan Drew discovered his unique style of street art on the walls of Estelí, Nicaragua. During his tenure, Mr. Flores has been a driving force behind the growth of Subculture Studios, the well-recognized and often-awarded […]
Another day, another state has joined the move to raise to tobacco age to 21. This time it’s West Virginia that saw a bill SB348 introduced by Senator Tamejiro Takubo (R). It has been co-sponsored by Senators Michael Maroney (R), Roman Prezioso (D), Ron Stollings (D), Glenn Jeffries (D), Michael Woelfel (D), William Ihlenfeld (D), Stephen Baldwin (D) and Sue Cline (D). The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee has sent the bill to the […]
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has introduced a bill that would lift the Cuban trade embargo and it has already received bi-partisan support being co-signed by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The bill S. 428 was read twice in the 116th Congress on February 7, 2019 and it has been referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. However, details of the bill have yet to be posted online at the Congress […]
A few months ago I was hanging out with Oliver Nivaud the Director of Sales for United Cigar when he asked if I ever smoked a Patina cigar, which I hadn’t. After going out on the road a couple of weeks he returned with one for knowing that I like to smoke everything on the market. It’s an obsession of mine and while most brands I haven’t heard of wind up being dog rockets for […]