Sometimes I hate to be right! Another Editorial by David Garofalo Seeing a big tobacco giant like Altria, parent company of Philip Morris getting into the Premium Cigar business with their acquisition of Nat Sherman in January or 2017 was like an alarm going off to me. Oh no… they are going to screw this up for all the premium cigar makers, retailers and consumers… I just know it. Some estimated they paid as much […]
On June 25th, Altria Group the parent company of Nat Sherman submitted a letter to FDA on behalf of Nat Sherman and the other brands they own asking the FDA to not provide an exemption for premium cigars. The company which posted a revenue of over 25 billion in 2017 has made it clear they are against the small Mom & Pop companies that make up the premium cigars industry. If you listen to The […]
Today the Klin Groupe parent company of Klin Tobacco better known to most as Hammer + Sickle Cigars has a new Executive Vice President in Erik Wentworth. Erik Wentworth began working with the company five years ago where he most recently served as Director of Sales. Today via email the Chief Operating Officer, Anthony Faletra issued a statement on promotion of Erik Wentworth. According to Faletra, “It is with great pleasure that we are announcing the […]
Because fifty years as pioneers and leaders of the Nicaraguan cigar industry deserve a superb tribute, Joya de Nicaragua is proud to present Cinco Decadas. A cigar not only made with an exclusive collection of tobaccos but also with fifty years of accumulated knowledge, experience and resilience unique to the first tobacco factory to craft premium handmade cigars in Nicaragua. Joya de Nicaragua isn’t just a cigar company; it is lifeline, it is struggle, it […]
This morning Glynn Loope reached out to The Cigar Authority with the following statement. “On behalf of each manufacturer that has joined Cigar Rights of America in this fight against onerous and unjustified warning labels on artisan and culturally significant handmade cigar packaging, we applaud the decision by U.S. Federal Judge Amit Mehta. He recognized, as he noted in his May 2018 opinion that the warning label mandates of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration […]
A Washington DC court ruled this afternoon that cigar companies will not need to have warning labels in place on August 10, 2018. According to the ruling, the label placements have been delayed until 60 days after the appeal has been ruled on by the DC Circuit US Court of Appeals, if needed. According to the Judge, “Because Plaintiffs’ appeal presents “serious legal questions” on the merits, and because the likelihood of irreparable harm, the […]
Aging Room Cigars is introducing Aging Room by Rafael Nodal Core line and is repackaging the Aging Room Quattro Series while expanding its distribution of the Quattro Connecticut and Quattro Nicaragua at the 2018 IPCPR this year. The Aging Room by Rafael Nodal Core line is available in 3 different wrappers, Connecticut, Havano and Maduro. All are made at Tabacalera Palma in Dominican Republic. Aging Room by Rafael Nodal Connecticut MSRP $8.90 to $9.95 Rapido […]
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (DTT) is debuting it’s much awaited Sin Compromiso series of ultra- premium handmade cigars at the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers 86th Annual Convention in Las Vegas, NV, on July 13th, 2018. “Sin Compromiso is the result of over three years’ of experimental black tobacco harvests in Mexico, Ecuador and Nicaragua and the culmination of my experiences as a cigar blender,” states the founder and Master Ligador, Steve Saka. “The […]
Drew Estate and Debonaire House announce that, effective, January 1, 2019, Debonaire House will begin distributing its own products in the United States. Debonaire House will directly manage all facets of its U.S. business operations including distribution, sales, and marketing. The company has entered into a partnership program with United Parcel Service (UPS), “Cigars Direct” which will allow them to ship Debonaire Ultra premium and Indian Motorcycle cigars directly from their factory in the Dominican […]
Today Drew Estate announces the return of ACID Amigos, an ACID Subculture collaboration with Two Guys Smoke Shop, a Drew Diplomat Retailer in New Hampshire. In 2002, Jonathan Drew invited Two Guys Smoke Shop to be part of a small, limited group of retailers with their own unique sizes and blends of ACID cigars, known as Subcultures. The Garofalo Brothers were excited and found in their research that the first Cuban cigar to be sold […]