Life Goes On

Master blender Manuel Inoa comes away with the “Cigar Personality of the Year” award.                                                                                                                                         (Miami, Florida) December 16, 2015 – The Dominican Cigar Review, noted as the most important cigar magazine in the Dominican Republic, presented the third annual Dominican Cigar Review Award with La Aurora taking home top honors in two categories. The Dominican Cigar Review Awards ceremony brings together journalists, celebrated industry authorities, manufacturers etc. to celebrate and award the best of the best in the tobacco industry. La Aurora proudly accepted the award for “Best Factory Tour” and La Aurora’s Master Blender, Manuel Inoa accepted the “Cigar Personality of the Year” award. Master Blender Manuel Inoa, with La Aurora since 1996, is recognized globally as an ambassador of not only La Aurora, but of the cigar industry as a whole

A.J. FERNANDEZ CIGARS’ KRIS KACHATURIAN TO RETIRE FROM THE BRAND AJ Fernandez and family to take over distribution (Miami, Florida) December 7, 2015— A.J. Fernandez Cigars, recognized for creating some of the most acclaimed cigars in the industry, announces that managing partner, Kris Kachaturian will soon retire and shift into an advisory role for the brand. Kachaturian will continue in day to day operations for the time being, to ensure a smooth transition. Kris Kachaturian, former Managing Partner of A.J. Fernandez Cigars stated: “I recognized A.J. as a tobacco prodigy, when I first met him in Nicaragua 10 years ago. I am proud to have worked alongside him, to create the A.J. Fernandez Cigar brand. I now wish to retire from the company, and focus my energy on my family. “  A.J. Fernandez said: “I am truly grateful for Kris’ business partnership, and everything he has contributed to the success of the A.J. Fernandez Cigar brand. While Kris is no longer my business p

Limited edition cigar honors 75 years of family tradition and commitment to excellence EASTON, PA – "I do not consider a sale complete until the customer is satisfied," says Famous Smoke Shop CEO Arthur Zaretsky, who took over the modest New York City cigar store that his parents' established in 1939. Now located in Easton, PA, today Famous Smoke Shop is the leading online distributor of discounted premium cigars , specializing in offering the web’s widest selection of cigars at the lowest prices. Several thousand miles away, in Nicaragua, Jorge Padrón has been carrying on his family's primary mission: making cigars of "exceptional quality," while striving to give cigar smokers "the confidence that each cigar is perfect," as his father has done since 1964. In celebrating over seven decades of quality and integrity, these two second-generation cigar men have collaborated on the release of an exclusive, limited edition Padrón cigar – the F

Fort Lauderdale, FL - Gurkha Cigars has completed the line of Cellar Reserves with the new release of the Cellar Reserve Platinum cigar. With each of these releases, the Cellar Reserve family of cigars has been one success story after another. "When developing the new Cellar Reserve Platinum, our idea was to provide a rich and complex smoking experience for the consumer," said Juan Lopez, National Sales Director and in-house blender. "Due to the enormous success we've had with the Cellar Reserve lines made in the Dominican Republic, we felt that it only makes sense to expand the flavor profile by adding aged Nicaraguan tobaccos." The Cellar Reserve Platinum is a blend of 12-year-old tobaccos in the filler and is the first of the Cellar Reserve cigars to use Nicaraguan tobacco. It was just released this summer at the IPCPR trade show in New Orleans to rave reviews and ships to retailers this month! It comes in three sizes: Hedonism (6 x 58), Kraken

A while back I had the opportunity to review The Belvedere™ E-cigars from Smart Smoke® and found them to be high quality, top of the line products. Here are the links to the original reviews;  The Belvedere™ and The Belvedere™ Slim .  Today we look at newest models in the Smart Smoke® e-cgiar line, The Belvedere™ Flavor.  The Belvedere™ is now available in six flavors: original (cigar), cherry, grape, honey, huckleberry and vanilla. I've now had the opportunity to review five of the six. Here's what I found while testing each flavor: Original -  soft, light notes  reminiscent of fermented tobacco and brown sugar with a hint of rum Cherry  - bright, sweet and mouthwatering, much like a cherry lifesaver. Grape   - soft, subtle and fruity notes with a long semi-sweet aftertaste. Honey  - nice notes of honey, sweet but not too sweet, with a pleasant lingering aftertaste. Vanilla  - light, creamy and sweet with a warm glowing aftertaste. If you've been

Famous Smoke Shop is a leading online distributor of discounted premium cigars. The company specializes in offering the web’s widest selection of cigars at the lowest prices. Famous has just released #Famous to their repertoire of exclusive cigars available at www.famous-smoke.com .  In conjunction with this release a detailed video review on their new cigar #Famous is offered in association with their digital cigar and men’s lifestyle magazine Cigar Advisor. [Click Here for Video Review]  Cigar Advisor is an online cigar magazine that brings a fresh, irreverent, and down-to-earth perspective on all things cigars to thousands of smokers. In addition to educational cigar content and behind-the-scenes cigar industry articles from some of the business’s top names, Cigar Advisor delivers an array of content about a variety of topics of interest to people who enjoy the cigar lifestyle. #Famous has been a highly anticipated release in the cigar industry due to its immense flavo

The group known for their fundraising activities, hosts event October 3oth for a great cause. (Miami, Florida) October 15, 2015— The 9th Annual Port Authority Police Society Cigar Night,  taking place on Friday October 30, 2015, brings together consumers, manufacturers, and personalities of the cigar industry for a great cause. Event to take place at the Graycliff Banquet Hall 122 Moonachie Ave Moonachie, NJ 07074 from 8PM to Midnight. Juan Cancel, organizer of the PAPHSINC said:” I can't recall seeing an event with so many cigar companies, coming together for such a noble cause. At our first event, nine years ago we had 75 guests. Today we have 350 supporters attending, with tickets selling-out within a couple of weeks.” This year’s event will feature a welcome cocktail hour, courtesy of La Hoja Cigars, four-course dinner, and live music.  Event goers will receive over 20 cigars, courtesy of the 30 plus cigar sponsors. Guests will have the opportunity to dine, smo

(Miami, Florida) October 13, 2015— A.J. Fernandez, known for consistently producing highly rated and sought after cigars, is scheduled to represent his brand at the 6th annual Tampa Cigar Bash presented by Tampa Humidor, this October 24th, 2015. The Tampa Bash is one of the premier multivendor events which yearly attract over 600 event goers. A.J. Fernandez said,” I rarely leave Estelí, Nicaragua as I like to keep strict quality control over our tobacco fields and production of our cigars. Now that my father, Ismael Fernandez, is working alongside me, I am now able to make a hand full of appearances to thank the consumers that have allowed me to carry on in my family tradition of tobacco. I look forward to spending time with colleagues and event goers at the Tampa Cigar Bash.” The Tampa Bash, hosted by Tamp Humidor will take place on October 24 at the Pepin Distributing Hospitality Center located at 4121 N. 50 St.  Tampa, Florida. Tickets are still available at: www.tampacig

Padilla will change their current logo to avoid any potential consumer confusion with logos used by La Aurora  La Aurora agrees to allow Padilla to sell out of current inventory before changing logo October 5, 2015- La Aurora, the original factory in the Dominican Republic, and Padilla Cigars have finally signed an amicable agreement in which La Aurora will allow Padilla Cigars to use an alternate version of their current logo, "to reflect a sufficiently abstract version of a lion design to avoid confusion in the market place and make a separate commercial impression in the minds of the consumer". Padilla Cigars agrees to abandon an existing US Trademark Registration with La Aurora’s consent. La Aurora, owned by the León (lion in Spanish) family since 1903, uses the iconic lion to identify their products (La Aurora, León Jimenes, Family Reserve and Untamed) since 1926 and the American consumer has already related the symbol of the lion with La Aurora. For tha

This holiday season we will once again be racking our brain for that one gift that "WOWS" our friends and loved ones and leaves others thinking "Why didn't I think of that?!"  That gift is definitely a Gurkha Cigars Gift Set.  Gurkha Cigars, the company known for crafting the most expensive cigars in the world not only make cigars for diverse pallets but also for diverse budgets.  With gift sets that range from $33 to $30,000 there is an option available for every cigar lover in your life.  Gurkha is not only recognized for the quality of their cigar but for their ornate and embellished boxes and packaging.  When someone purchases a Gurkha box they have something they want to keep forever and hand down for generations.  They are all unique and beautiful.  Just look at some of the examples below. And if you think that smoking cigars is just for men, check this out.  A recent survey from the International Women's Cigar Society of women cigar smokers found

Here's another nice coffee, blended by  Bean Box Coffee , their True Mokha Java. The roasted beans for this blend are supplied by two roasting companies in Seattle, Conduit Coffee roasts the Mokha portion while  Fundamental Coffee roasts the Java. Mixed together these beans brew up an interesting cup of coffee.  Right from the bag I had a pretty good idea this would brew into a very nice cup as the aromas of cocoa and coffee rise from the bag and greet my nose.  As you can see in the picture, some of the beans have a bit of oily caramelization present, and I like that. To me oily means sweet and I anticipate there will be some sweetness from these beans.  Once the beans are ground into coffee and hot water is introduced on the pour, the aroma transforms as there are now notes of ripe tree fruit and some light earthiness blending with the cocoa.  The freshly cupped brew has a nice praline aroma: caramel, pecans and chocolate and the first sips are sweet and mediu

Summer is winding down, but I get to everything thing eventually. What's up with the jar you ask? Well even if you didn't ask, here's a quick tip.  Back a few  months ago I reviewed the Collar Cold Brew Coffee Starter Kit . The kit came with a twenty ounce Ball jar, a lid and a straw.  I drink quite a bit of green tea so an idea popped into my head; why not use the jar for sun tea. Well I gave it a try and it worked like a champ, I liked the twenty ounce jar so well that the next step was a quart jar. Now I drink a quart of green sun tea almost every day. I'm sure many of you probably already do something like this, but hey, I did figure it out eventually. 

It's been awhile since I've reviewed a cigar from Cuban Stock Cigars , but they have a great line that I've really enjoyed in the past. Today we look at The Private Selection Maduro Toro.  The Private Selection line comes with two wrapper choices, Connecticut and Dominican Maduro. On CubanStockCigars.com they describe this cigar as mild. Well here we have a difference of opinion. Read on and find out why.  Construction of the Private Selection is exquisite. From the striking blue, yellow and gold band to the practically vein free maduro colored wrapper the cigar just looks like it needs to be smoked. The blemish free Dominican maduro wrapper is rolled on with seamless care, the cigar is packed well full length and it's finished off with a nice triple cap.  Aromas from the cold cigar are rich and hearty. From the cold foot there are notes of rich fermented tobacco with a hint of ripe fruit, while the flavor from the free cold draw is reminiscent of sweet

I originally reviewed this entire line in a smaller vitola right after the initial release. Today we look at the Nestor Miranda Collection maduro toro from Miami Cigar and Company . The first thing you'll notice about this toro is the size. Coming in at 5.5" x 54 it's a bit shorter and a bit fatter than a normal toro, but I thought it provided a really nice smoking experience.  After the cigar's size you'll notice the impeccable construction starting with the sturdy maduro colored Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Like I said, this wrapper looks stout. It has some tooth, it contains only smaller sized veins and it's rolled on with seamless care. Under the wrapper there's a Nicaraguan binder covering  a mix of fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Peru. The cigar is firmly packed full lenght and there's a nice triple cap to finish it all off in style. From the cold foot there are aromas of sweet fermented tobacco to the nose and

The Java Gunung Biru by Fundamental Coffee has hearty notes of spice, pepper, and earth that grip your palate and say "I'm here!" But at the same time there are light, almost hidden, nuances that will heighten your sipping experience. Details Fundamental Coffee Company Seattle, WA Coffee: Java Gunung Biru Roast: Dark Brewing method: Pour-over Sample provided by:  Bean Box Doing a pour-over this  Java Gunung Biru brews a cup of coffee that is both medium bodied and full flavored. The first hot sips bright and crisp with some light acidity, but as the coffee cools the body develops producing a palate warming syrupiness.  Not only does this dark, oily, roast have complex body characteristics, the flavor nuances are complex as well. While the main flavor notes are a bold, spicy mix of pepper and earth, there are subtle notes of sandalwood, peat, tobacco, cocoa and tree fruit that peek out, then hide throughout the temperature range. I found the Java G

Here's a new stick I've been eager to try since reading the press release back in July, the Acme Route 66 Hot Rod (robusto) , created by the Acme Cigar Company .  Once this well packed cigar is free from the cellophane it looks great. The oily, seamless and vein free, Colorado Maduro colored Ecuadorian Habano wrapper covers a Jalapa Criollo binder over Nicaraguan, San Andres and Dominican long fillers. Plus it's finished with a tight triple cap.  From the cold foot the nose picks up radiant aromas of sweetly fermented tobacco mixed with cocoa, while flavors from the free cold draw are reminiscent of ripe tree free mixed with cocoa.  After toasting and lighting the foot, the first medium bodied puffs fill your mouth with smoke that's sweet with a creamy mouthfeel, plus there are tasty flavor nuances of fruit, cocoa and toast. As the even burn line moves up the body an oil ring develops on the wrapper while other notes of earth, and honey join the mix.

Martin Kaufmann becomes Senior Vice President Europe and Global Travel Retail  of Oettinger Davidoff AG. He will be joining the company on September 1, 2015.  Albert Manzone, Head Europe, will be leaving the company and Christian Vonthron,  Head Global Travel Retail, will be taking early retirement. Basel, 14 August, 2015 – Oettinger Davidoff AG, the worldwide leading manufacturer of premium cigars, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, has appointed Martin Kaufmann (48) as Senior Vice President Europe and Global Travel Retail, effective September 1, 2015. Martin Kaufmann is joining Oettinger Davidoff from the Estée Lauder Companies, where he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager North America for Aveda. Martin spent his early career at the Gillette Company, where his last position was Business Unit Director DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) for Braun. He continued at Procter & Gamble after P&G acquired Gillette, first as Global Marketing Director Braun M

Here's another tasty treat from 1502 Cigars , the Black Gold corona. Impeccable construction flavors and burn combine to make this cigar a real winner.  Covered in a seamless, vein free maduro wrapper, corona looks like it will be packed full of flavor and let me tell you it was.  From the cold foot, rich notes of cocoa and toasted tobacco greet the nose while the free cold draw has nuances of cocoa and sweet, ripe tree fruit.  Once toasted and burning the first medium bodied mouthfuls of smoke again have the pleasant flavors of toasted tobacco and cocoa. Within a few puffs the flavors start to shift as notes of earth, oak, brown sugar, ripe fruit and molasses mix to offer a different flavor experience with nearly each puff.  As the razor sharp burn moves up this cigar into the second half, the flavor mix continues to shift. with notes of burnt oak, charcoal, espresso and more cocoa that hold until the finish.  The 1502 Black Gold Corona finishes its forty-fi

TAMARAC, FL - Guests of the luxury hotel chain Ritz-Carlton now have the unique ability to enjoy the world's most expensive cigar, the His Majesty's Reserve by Gurkha Cigars , on site at Ritz-Carlton's nationwide. Starting with the Ritz-Carton in Half Moon Bay , California, through Fumar Cigars, the industry leader in high-end on-premise cigar programs, the very exclusive $2,000 cigars will now be sold. Making it even rarer is the fact that the cigars are produced in a very limited edition -- only 75 boxes are made annually.    The Gurkha His Majesty's Reserve is a very special cigar. Famous not only for its unique price point, it also has an incredibly distinctive aroma and taste. It's a blend of 15-year-aged Connecticut Maduro wrapper with 12-year-old Dominican binder and filler that's aged with one full shot of the world’s finest cognac: Remy Martin's Louis XIII. Louis XIII Cognac is a blend of 1,200 eaux de vie from the Champagne region of Franc

Punch Cigars are another line I'm pretty fond of. I've wanted to give this Signature a spin ever since it was released. This Punch Signature Torpedo contains fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua with a binder from Nicaragua. All of these tobaccos are wrapped in a Colorado Maduro colored Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper that's cultivated just for the Signature line.  Construction of this torpedo is solid. It's packed firmly full length, the hearty wrapper has nice tight seams and there are only a few smaller veins showing.  Checking the cold aromas there are notes of sweet fermented tobacco from the foot, while the free cold draw reminded me of spiced peaches, plus there's a lingering sweet and spicy aftertaste.  After toasting the foot, the first puffs from the burning cigar are medium bodied with nuances of nuts and toasty fermented tobacco. The second third was the real sweet spot of this cigar. While the flavor mix wasn't complex t

Complex and flavorful best describe this Yemen Haraaz Red Coffee roasted by the Conduit Coffee Company . It's another fantastic top-shelf coffee coming from the  Bean Box  line-up that's hearty enough to be a morning coffee, yet delicate enough to call a specialty coffee.  Details Conduit Coffee Company Seattle, WA Coffee: Yemen Haraaz Red Roast: Medium - City + Brewing method: Pour-over Sample from:  Bean Box From the bag to the hot cupped brew, this Yemen Haraaz Red radiates a wine-like fruitiness that hits your nose from several feet away.  The first sips are bright and crisp, but at the same time full and rewarding. There's an initial earthy, black tea mouthfeel and flavor, leaving behind a pleasant fruity, wine-like, mouth watering, aftertaste that seems like it will last forever.  As the coffee cools, a smooth syrupiness develops, the notes of earth subside and warm peach flavor notes dominate. This Yemen Haraaz Red by Conduit Coffee Company

Over the past week I've discovered that neither do I smoke a pipe often enough nor do I review enough tobacco.  One problem with reviewing tobacco is the fact that pipe tobacco can't be mail ordered into WA and that really bites. Speaking bite, or lack there of, let's take a look at the Archduke Ferdinand blend from Sutliff Tobacco   that I was given to review by Cigar Train . This Archduke Ferdinand tobacco is a blend of seven different sub-blends according to the can it came in. From the can it has a thick, sweet  and pleasant vanilla aroma.  Once my pipe was packed and burning the first puffs were mild and flavorful. Of course there were notes of vanilla, but there were hints of smoky tobacco and a bit of mild spice. The noom note was aromatic vanilla and there was no tongue bite present. After the second light, a bit of bite developed, but it was well within my mild limit and the strength moved into the medium range. Overall this Archduke Ferdinand tob

A 5 1/2 x 42 box -pressed Corona, with superior construction from 1502 Cigars . What's not to love? I was pretty excited to give this 1502 Emerald Corona  produced by Global Premium Cigars , a spin. 1502 Cigars are one of the House of Emilio line of brands. The first obvious observation about this cigar is the top of the line construction. The Colorado Claro colored wrapper is vein free and practically seamless, plus the cigar is packed well full lenght.  Checking aromas from the cold foot and free draw, there are notes of toast, fermented tobacco and some light Spanish Cedar spice with a pleasant aftertaste that lingered for several moments. Once burning, the first mild bodied puffs contain notes of nuts, toast, caramel and sweet tree fruit. As the clean burn line moves up the cigar a nice oil sheen develops on the wrapper and there are added flavors of oak, brown sugar, light charcoal and white pepper. The Emerald Corona finishes its fifty minute burn more

If you appreciate fine coffee like I do, here's another superb sample that I was lucky enough to get my hands on. The flavors of this Carmen Geisha Panama were sweet and bright with a crisp, lively mouthfeel. Is this another "top shelf" coffee? Let's find out... Details Kuma Coffee Seattle, WA Carmen Geisha Panama Roast: Medium - City + Brewing method: Pour-over Sample from: Bean Box Aroma From the bag the Geisha supplied prominent notes of coffee and sweet tangerine. Once ground the aroma was reminiscent of sweet, yet tart Meyer lemon. The pour-over created yet another shift in the aroma that reminded me of raspberry jam.  Mouthfeel Extraction on this pour-over was perfect. The first sips of Carmen Geisha Panama were bright, clean and full of life, with a cleansing palate wash. As the coffee cooled, a light syrupiness developed, yet it still had the same mouthwatering effect across the palate and a lingering sweet aftertaste.  Flavor Not

Fort Lauderdale, FL - In keeping with consumer demand, Gurkha Cigars, known internationally as much for their super premium luxury cigars as well as for their innovation, has created their first Lancero-sized cigar in The Classic Cigar: Havana Blend. "Gurkha Cigars has a reputation for out-of-the-box thinking," said National Sales Manager Juan Lopez. "We follow the market closely and listen to what consumers and our clientele are asking for. The Classic Cigar: Havana Blend Lancero fulfills that demand." The Classic Cigar: Havana Blend created by Lopez and CEO Kaizad Hansotia is part of the company's East India Trading Company line. "After a few years of searching for the right wrapper and combination of tobaccos, we created this beautiful Nicaraguan masterpiece," said Hansotia. It has a Mexican San Andres wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It's medium bodied and full flavored with earthy, nutty undertones. It retails for $8