Today, the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (“IPCPR”), Cigar Association of America (“CAA”), and Cigar Rights of America (“CRA”) were pleased to announce the adoption of language in the FY 2019 budget as approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations by a vote of 29 – 20 that works to protect premium cigars from overreaching and burdensome regulations, as proposed by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. The language addresses […]
Yesterday, Judge Amit Mehta issued an opinion on several issues raised in the IPCPR’s lawsuit against the FDA. Notably, Judge Mehta struck down the requirement that retailers who blend pipe tobacco must register their establishments with and submit product listings to the FDA. This is a positive development for IPCPR members and significantly eases the compliance burden facing many premium tobacconists around the country. However, Judge Mehta did not endorse other challenges to the FDA’s: […]
For months the cigar industry has been waiting for a ruling from Judge Amit P. Mehta. Today, that ruling came down and it wasn’t what we wanted to hear as the member of United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the FDA’s Warning Label Plan. Despite calling the rules, “grossly unfair”, Judge Mehta ruled that the Final Deeming Rule’s health warnings on cigar boxes and advertisements are not a violation […]
Crowned Heads ha announced Las Calaveras EL 2018, which will serve as the fifth installment of the highly-sought after and eagerly anticipated annual release. Originally introduced in 2014, Las Calaveras was created as a tribute to those who have passed away in the previous year and is intended to be a celebration of lives and remembrances, rather than a mournful symbol of sadness and death. As with the previous four releases the EL 2018 was […]
On this week’s episode of The Cigar Authority we fired up the La Flor Dominicana Golden Oro Anniversary, as we were joined by Stephen Poirier, the local LFD sales representative. During the course of the show, VP of Sales Jonathan Carney joined us in the chat room where he shared a picture of the box of this $24 cigar. Upon seeing the box, we had to ask what was up as it had the appearance […]
This week The Cigar Authority welcomes two guests to the show. First we are joined by Glynn Loope from the Cigar Rights of America as he gives us a two year update on the FDA Deeming Regulations. Where do we stand? What can we expect? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? During the first hour we will be smoking the Jose Dominguez Maduro from The Cigar Authority Care Package. In the […]
15 years ago, Don Pepin Garcia opened his cigar factory in Little Havana, a section of Miami that is home to a large Cuban population. From his small storefront he would begin the steps at building an empire for him and his family. To celebrate, the company that is now based in Doral, another section of Miami with a factory in Nicaragua has released a cigar that is limited to just 2,000 boxes of 14. […]
The Arturo Fuente Magnum R44 isn’t a cigar you’ll find online for sale as Fuente has a strict policy about this stick only being available inside a brick & mortar. This is something I applaud as I have always preached to support your brick & mortar. According to the official website for Fuente Cigars the wrappers used on this line are grown in Ecuador and aged for nearly a decade. How does that translate to […]
Cabaiguan by Tatuaje gets its name from a municipality and town in the province of Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. The town was founded in 1894 and is best known for its cigars. In addition to a small cigar factory the town also has a oil refinery and a prison. As for the cigar it was released in 2004 and was originally made at El Rey de los Habanos in Miami, FL before production was moved to […]
While I know we just reviewed an EPC cigar on Friday, I am opting to review another one today. The EPC La Historia was released in 2014 by Ernesto Perez Carrillo. If you don’t know the name, you should as he created La Gloria Cubana from a small factory in Miami, Florida back in 1990. In 1999, he would sell his business to General cigar before leaving them in 2009 and starting up EPC Cigar […]