Category Archives: News

by | August 21, 2019 · 9:49 am

The Tale of Two Archetype Axis Mundis and News: Ventura Rolling Event at Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival

I’m going to tie these two things together, because they are directly related!  Last month I had the pleasure of attending Michael Giannini’s rolling event at the PA Barnsmoker, and I applied the wrapper on an Archetype Axis Mundi toro. To be honest, Henry from Drew Estate jumped in and over my protestations, helped a little more than I would have liked, not understanding that I had done this before and really wanted to just have advice and not as much help. I didn’t want to be rude and say “dude, back off”, but I did make remarks like, “sorry, I haven’t done this since Willy showed me in 2013”.  Anyway, I applied the wrapper and it came out pretty good, but it wouldn’t win any beauty contests. I struggled throughout the process to figure out which side of the leaf was the outside and which was the inside. Yesterday I decided to smoke the cigar and see how it was, and follow it up with the production version to compare. I watched a movie on the porch and smoked the cigar I “rolled”, and I enjoyed it a lot. The burn and draw were perfect, although it burned faster than I would have liked, although, now that I look up the running time of the movie, it did burn for an hour and forty-five minutes, so it didn’t burn that fast. It tasted great, just like the production Axis Mundi I smoked later in the evening. I have to say, I liked the draw on the one I rolled better than the production version, it was more easy and open, and the regular version had a firm draw, and needed a few relights. It was a humid day yesterday, so it’s hard to knock a cigar when the ambient conditions aren’t optimal. These have a nice espresso flavor with a tangy spice, very nice cigars made at Drew Estate, hence their presence at the Barnsmokers. The Toro is 6″ x 52, although my version seemed a tad fatter. It was a fun experiment, and who can argue smoking two great cigars in one day! 

 

If you happen to be in Colorado Saturday, I’d encourage you to go to the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival. I attended this event back in 2014 and it was a fantastic event.  There are going to be a ton of great folks there, and Michael Giannini will be doing a rolling event as well (see below). RMCF is really one of the great events in the country, I’m fortunate to have attended and would love to go back to that beautiful area. 

 

News:

Ventura Cigar is Rolling into the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival

Michael Giannini to Host rolling event at this year’s festivities

Bringing their signature unconventional approach to their cigars, Ventura Cigar Company will be hosting a cigar rolling event at this year’s Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival. Held on August 24, 2019 in Broomfield, Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Cigar festival brings together aficionados of spirits, cigars, wines, and food, with a full day of sampling, music, games, and activities. It’s an ideal setting for Ventura Cigar Company to showcase products with attendees, but they’ve decided to take it to the next level by holding a rolling event to share the craft behind their blends. Led by Michael Giannini, industry icon and General Manager for Ventura Cigar Company, the rolling event is expected to draw several hundred people, offering a hands-on approach to cigars.

 

Guests of the rolling event will be treated to a VIP experience, as they roll their own Axis Mundi cigars, a popular blend from Ventura Cigar Company’s popular Archetype brand.

 

“Sometimes, to really appreciate the experience, you have to get your hands dirty,” says Giannini. “It’s not enough to simply smoke a cigar. To really savor it, really understand it, you have to know the backstory. We’re giving people a chance to be part of the backstory. To roll the cigar themselves, engage in the process of creation, and then truly enjoy the smoke. It’s going to be great, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

 

Michael Giannini Rolling Event at Pennsylvania Barn Smoker.

 

To find out how to reserve a spot at Michael Giannini’s Rolling Event, please visit https://rmcigarfestival.com/tickets/. For more information about Ventura Cigar Company events, or any of our cigars, please visit venturacigar.com.

 

 

About Ventura Cigar Company

Ventura Cigar Company (VCC) is a unique cigar brand born in sunny Southern California that is on a mission to create memorable, complex cigar blends that excite the senses and reward discriminating palates. Their flagship Archetype, Case Study, Project805, and PSyKo SEVEN brands offer multiple award-winning blends that earned 90+ ratings in Cigar Aficionado, Cigar & Spirits, and Cigar Snob. And Archetype’s Axis Mundi won #13 Cigar of the Year for 2017 from Cigar Aficionado. Ventura Cigar Company also distributes Tommy Bahama Luxury Cigar Accessories and the 4th Generation Tobacconist and Comoy’s of London lines of pipe tobacco products, extending its reach and tradition of offering top-quality tobacconist products. Pipes and blends under these brands are cultivated through generations of craftsmanship, making them longtime favorites of pipe tobacco enthusiasts.

 

 

That’ all for today, 

 

Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | August 6, 2019 · 11:56 am

News: Casa Cuevas Cigars Shipping Cuevas Reserva Natural and Maduro

Casa Cuevas is a brand I have yet to try, but I’ve smoked plenty of cigars that the Cuevas family has made. Hopefully when I visit Miami in September I can do something about that. These certainly look like a great starting point!  

 

THE “CUEVAS RESERVA” BY CASA CUEVAS CIGARS IS NOW SHIPPING!

Casa Cuevas Cigars, makers of handmade premium cigars announce the Cuevas Reserva Natural and Cuevas Reserva Maduro is now shipping to retailers. The Cuevas Reserva was introduced to the public at the 2019 IPCPR in Las Vegas.

The Cuevas Reserva Maduro features a Mexican San Andres wrapper, a Dominican, Pilloto Cubano binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan (ometepe) fillers, this blend is a personal favorite of Luis Cuevas Sr. as it boasts a full-flavor smoking experience, in a perfectly balanced medium to full-bodied cigar.

The Cuevas Reserva Natural features an Habano binder with a mix of fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and the U.S.A., all wrapped in an Ecuadorean Connecticut wrapper. This blend provides a perfectly smooth smoking experience which features nuanced earthy flavors.

President of Casa Cuevas Cigars, Luis Cuevas Jr. stated: “The Cuevas Reserva for my father was supposed to be the Cuevas signature brand back well over a decade ago. As with all things in life, plans always change. I am proud to have worked closely with my father and my son Alec Cuevas, who is now part of the family business recreating this blend.  I am ecstatic that this brand has come full circle, as we can now present it as a family project to the consumer.”

The Cuevas Reserva’s are beautifully packaged in vintage Cuban style 20 count boxes.

Both blends are initially released in three vitolas with more to follow in the future. 

Vitolas:                        

                                     Natural          Maduro                                         

6X50         Toro             $9.90              $10.90

61/4 X 52 Torpedo      $10.40            $11.40

5×52          Robusto      $9.50              $10.50

ABOUT CASA CUEVAS CIGARS:

Casa Cuevas Cigars was established in 2016 but with a decade’s old history. The Cuevas family is responsible for many of the cigars that you enjoy today. Cuban born Master Blender Luis Cuevas Sr. has been blending cigars from his factory in the Dominican Republic for many popular cigar brands. Now, together with son Luis Cuevas Jr., the Casa Cuevas brand was created to honor their four-generation cigar heritage.

 

Follow Casa Cuevas Cigars on social @CasaCuevasCigars #CasaCuevasCigars

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by | · 11:43 am

News: Black Label Trading Co. Announces Santa Muerte “Barrio Santo” Release

There’s a few things on tap today, the first is from our friends at Black Label Trading Co. I really liked the Santa Muerte, so I look forward to trying this one!

 

Black Label Trading Co. (BLTC) is pleased to announce the release of SANTA MUERTE “BARRIO SANTO:” Hand crafted in Esteli, Nicaragua at Fabrica Oveja Negra.

Barrio Santo will be available at select BLTC retailer events.

“These cigars will be released as event only in limited quantities. It is a unique version of the original Santa Muerte blend with a maduro wrapper. I wanted something special for our retailers who host BLTC events and this cigar is exactly that,” said James Brown, creator of BLTC and owner at Fabrica Oveja Negra.

 

SANTA MUERTE “BARRIO SANTO”
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuador Maduro
Binder: Ecuador Habano
Filler: Nicaragua, Dominican, San Andrés
Robusto – 5.5 x 48 (20 count) MSRP $10.00

 

 

“Black Label Trading Company is redefining the standards for cigar making. With a less is more philosophy, Black Label Trading Co. creates hand crafted premium cigars of the utmost quality.” For more information visit OvejaNegraCigars.com.

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by | July 18, 2019 · 9:25 am

News: Largest Premium Cigar Manufacturers Join Together to Challenge Improper FDA Regulation

This news came to me by way of Drew Estate, but involves them, General Cigar, Davidoff, Perdomo, C.L.E. and Tabacalera U.S.A. This is a big deal getting these six companies putting up a united front. I love that they use the FDA’s own studies against them. Check it out. 

Largest Premium Cigar Manufacturers Join Together to Challenge Improper FDA Regulation

The largest manufacturers in the premium cigar industry today filed a joint comment with the Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) opposing the agency’s Proposed Substantial Equivalence (“SE”) Rule, which would require manufacturers to submit to an extensive application and testing regime to keep any “non-grandfathered” cigars on the market.

 

In this joint comment, premium cigar manufacturers Davidoff of Geneva USA, Drew Estate, General Cigar Company, Tabacalera USA, Perdomo Cigars, and C.L.E. Cigar Company call for full exemption of premium cigars from FDA regulation and specifically object to the application to the Proposed SE Rule to premium cigars.  According to Dylan Austin, President of Davidoff of Geneva USA, “Our joint comment filed today shows FDA’s Proposed SE Rules to be an overly broad and unjustifiably costly set of regulations that are so lacking in scientific substantiation as to be nothing more than an illegal economic ban on handmade premium cigars that will cripple the manufacturers and retailers in this important industry.” 

This joint comment marks the first time these premium cigar manufacturers, who are all also members of Cigar Association of America (“CAA”), have joined together to file their own set of comments specifically regarding premium cigars.   Javier Estades, President and CEO of Tabacalera USA, stated, “We are all proud members of CAA, which as the cigar industry’s oldest and most well recognized trade association, continues to robustly represent the interests of the entire cigar industry at the federal, state, and local levels.  We fully support CAA’s incredible work in challenging current FDA regulations, which are wrong for all cigars, and recognize that certain aspects of FDA’s regulations uniquely and disproportionately impact premium cigars.  We therefore decided to come together to address these issues head on.”

 

Added Glenn Wolfson, CEO of Drew Estate, “Our joint comment to FDA is very powerful because it is based on data.  The FDA has undertaken extensive research about the usage patterns of premium cigars and their impact on public health.  The resulting data from this scientific research is clear and unambiguous as to two critical facts.  First, premium cigars are not used by youth.  Second, based on the usage patterns of adult premium cigar smokers, there is no statistically significant difference in mortality rates or disease rates between the overwhelming majority (over 95%) of premium cigar smokers and non-smokers.  Said differently, the FDA’s own data makes clear that FDA regulation of premium cigars will neither impact what is virtually non-existent youth usage or materially benefit the public health.  On the other hand, due to the unique nature of this artisanal, handmade industry, the costs of FDA regulation of premium cigars will be devastating, particularly to small businesses.”

 

“The Premium Cigar Manufacturers have in our joint comment called upon FDA to look at their own research and reach the only conclusion their own data can support,” stated, Nick Perdomo, CEO of Perdomo Cigars, “that the Proposed SE Rules are simply inappropriate as applied to premium cigars and that premium cigars should be exempt from FDA regulation.”

 

Regis Broersma, President of General Cigar Company concluded, “As the leading manufacturers in the premium cigar industry, all of us proudly stand together today to protect all premium cigar manufacturers regardless of size, retailers and consumers from what can only be described as unduly burdensome, grossly over-reaching, and wholly improper regulation.  We invite all industry members to review our joint comment and to speak to your local representatives about the devastating impacts of FDA’s proposed regulations on your businesses.  Together we can make a difference.”

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attract new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.

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by | July 14, 2019 · 9:39 am

Tatuaje TAA and Cuesta Rey Cigars and some UK News

Last week when shopping I picked up this year’s Tatuaje TAA release, the 51th, a box pressed robusto, with the “America” in Tobacconist Association of America crossed out on the band and “Mexico” written over it. It also has a sombrero wearing cactus in place of the Native American in the logo. I guess this has a Mexican wrapper! Previous TAA releases have had Connecticut Broadleaf, This years has the San Andrés wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler in a 5″ x 52 box pressed robusto. Being a cheapbastid that I am, I’d much prefer the $12 toro over the $12 robusto, but it was my anniversary and I was treating myself. I had a long day Friday, so when I got home late, a shorter cigar was in order anyway, so a good, shorter cigar was a perfect choice. This, my friends, was such a cigar. I like Tatuaje cigars, I like San Andrés cigars, and I really liked this cigar! It checked all the boxes for me, and if it had been a toro it would have been perfect! I even like the box press. It had the espresso with some spice that I like, and a hint of bittersweet chocolate, it was the perfect way to wrap . up the day. I’ve smoked a few of the Tatuaje TAA releases and have yet to be let down.

 

Please direct your attention to the J.C. Newman Perla Del Mar graphic on the right sidebar (or elsewhere depending on how you view the site). Clicking on it will direct you to a contest where you can enter to win a nice humidor and cap. I’ll make it easy, here’s the link—> https://www.jcnewman.com/perla-del-mar-humidor/ . The Perla del Mar is a nice smoke, and that humidor is pretty sweet. I know Bob Langmaid has probably entered already 😃. Anyway, the folks at J.C. Newman surprised me last week with some goodies, and one item stirred some memories, so I’m compelled to bore you with a tale. When I received a box of ten Cuesta Rey Centenario Pyramid No. 9  it took me back to a cigar event I attended in 1999 in North Carolina. There was a guy there who I had met for the first time who I had only previously known from his usenet newsgroup postings, much like many of the other people on that cigar crawl. Mike was a strong personality, extremely likable and overly generous. I was a young guy, had a young family, and was just starting my cigar  journey, I barely had one humidor at the time! Mike won a box of Cuesta Rey Centenario Pyramid No. 9 and gave it to me. It wasn’t to his liking, or he had plenty and felt like sharing, or whatever the reason, but I was humbled and treasured the gift. At the time, having a box of cigars was very special to me, even a box of ten! So when I received the same box, twenty years later, I was moved. what makes it more special is that Mike had passed away a dozen or so years ago (and he was a few years younger than I), so  I was able to think of Mike again and remember some old times. Last night I smoked one of the Centenario Pyramid No. 9s. It’s been a long, long time since I smoked one, so I can’t really recall if they are the same or not, I have to imagine they are close, just because companies like J.C. Newman are in it for the long haul, and pride themselves n consistency, and it’s made at Tabacalera A. Fuente. I will say that it was a very enjoyable mild to medium cigar. It has a Connecticut Shade wrapper, but it doesn’t taste like a Connecticut shade cigar, if that makes sense. It’s been added to the classic section of my humidor, with some other Fuente cigars. I’m thankful for the chance to remember a departed friend who’s generosity touched me.

 

News

From across the pond, C.Gars Limited announces that they are opening a second La Casa del Habano in the UK. The first La Casa del Habano is in Chester. At this writing, no photos were available, the photo here is from Google Street view.

 

C.Gars Ltd is delighted to announce the opening of our 2nd La Casa del Habano franchise in Knutsford- Cheshire on the 24th July.

La Casa del Habano – Knutsford

10 Minshull street

Knutsford, Cheshire

WA16 6AG UK

We look forward to welcoming the Cuban Ambassador as well as Jemma Freeman of Hunters & Frankau as guests of honour to the to the opening event.

The premises comprise of a ground floor cigar shop and walk in humidor with client lockers and a first floor comfortable sampling lounge. The full range of La Casa specialities including Coleccion Habanos books and limited edition humidors will be well represented.

LCDH- Knutsford will be managed by Turmeaus tobacconist trained team Andrew, Liz and Sandra under the guidance of Sara and Calum ( Master of Cigars ) from LCDH – Chester.

Managing Director Mitchell Orchant said ‘Opening a second La Casa del Habano is very important and allows us to continue our substantial  growth in Havana cigars sales. It will enable us to have additional availability of La Casa specialities to satisfy our customers insatiable demand.’

About C.Gars Ltd:

C.Gars Ltd was launched in 1997 and is the largest specialist cigar merchant in the UK. This family business sells premium cigars and related goods from its website, 24/7, every day of the year. C.Gars Ltd owns and operates specialist cigar shops in the UK and has an associate company in Ireland.

 

Please welcome Fox Cigars to the CigarCraig family! I’m happy to have them on board, they have some great deals and have great shops in Arizona.  Click the banner on the left to get to their site and watch for some special things we’ll be working on with them in the future. That’s all for today! Next Saturday is the Drew Estate PA Barnsmoker. If you’re going to be there, please find me and say hello! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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