They aren’t going to the 2020 PCA, but they were on hand at Tobacco Plus Expo and we caught up with Rafael Nodal who showed up Romeo y Julieta Reserve Real Nicaragua which should ship to retailers in March. The company taps AJ Fernandez once again to give a new spin to one of their showcase brands. Available in four sizes; Robusto (5 x 50 / $8.77), Toro (6 x 54 / $9.03), Churchill (7 […]
We caught up with Alan Gold from Lotus / Vertigo where he showcased a couple of new lighters with the Margaritaville branding. These new lighters showcase Jimmy Buffet inspired looks with the saying It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere which is the mantra of Barry. The lighters feature a cool window into the patented big ass tank as you can see in the video.
We caught up with Nimish Patel in Las Vegas at the 2020 Tobacco Plus Expo and he gave us a look at the Rocky Patel CSWC. The cigar is the new official cigar of the Cigar Smoking World Championship and will debut in three sizes. The Mareva which is the official size of the yearly event measuring 5 1/8 x 42 ($8.75), a Robusto coming in at 5 x 50 ($9.75) and the Toro at […]
Back in the day I ran a cigar blog by another name. It’s a blog that allowed me to carve out a career in the cigar industry. Back when PCA was known as IPCPR we ran into a lot of resistance from retailers and manufacturers about being allowed into the show where we helped create buzz around the newest releases. Back then Dave was on the board of IPCPR and he went to bat for […]
The last couple years has seen the Tobacco Plus Expo grown exponentially especially with the premium cigar industry. With a lot of manufacturers dropping out of PCA the buzz around this show is even greater then in past years. Throughout the duration of the show we will be showcasing the differences between the two shows as well as a look at some new products debuting in Las Vegas. Here Dave checks in and shows how […]
This week on The Cigar Authority After Show we take a look at what retailers should be doing to better their business as Dave is at TPE ready to moderate a panel of retailers. What can you be doing to help your business by improving the customer experience. We have this an more on The After Show brought to you by RoMaCraft Tobac. Never miss an episode by subscribing to the show via Apple Podcasts and […]
Despite not being thought of as essential, the winds play a vital role in the growing of tobacco. They instruct tobacco farmers, by way of their direction, of the best spaces in which to grow tobacco. The Greeks, geniuses in their own right, also understood the importance of wind. The collective name of their wind gods is Anemoi. The northern wind was named Boreas. The southern wind was christened Notus. The eastern wind was baptized […]
On the January 24th episode of The Cigar Authority we lit up a cigar from the care package, Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut. It served as our 2018 Cigar of the Year. As has become customary we share an in-depth featured review of the care package cigar every Saturday. Cigar Review: Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut Wrapper: Ecuador Connectiuct Binder: Nicaragua (Aganorsa) Filler: Nicaragua (Aganorsa) Length: 5″ Ring Guage: 50 Size: Robusto The Look: The Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut is laid out in two rows of ten cigars. […]
With all the controversy and separation in the cigar industry we prepare for the TPE – Tobacco Plus Expo 2020 where all parties in the tobacco world will unite. What is scheduled and what is not but will happen anyway… we’ll discuss today on The Cigar Authority. We will look at the players in the industry from giant corporations to small family businesses and from the manufacturers to the retailers. Who will be there and […]
In 2018 the members of The Cigar Authority began talking about who had the best meatball between David Garofalo, Mr. Jonathan Barbeau, Ed Sullivan and yours truly Barry Stein. But then something happened where Steve Saka joined the debate and an event was held in January of 2019 where we each would make 50 meatballs and guest of an event at Two Guys Smoke Shop would get to vote for the winner. Steve Saka wound […]