All posts by El Jefe
Alec Bradley Confirms Exclusive For 2022 PCA
Fort Lauderdale, FL (June 27, 2022)
Alec Bradley Cigar Co. today confirmed a report printed by the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) on May 10, 2022 announcing the company’s participation in the trade show attendee exclusive program. To date, Alec Bradley has not substantiated the report, but due to a multitude of tobacconist inquiries, the company is now electing to provide some details ahead of the PCA Trade Show, happening July 8-12, 2022, at the Sands Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV.
Continue reading Alec Bradley Confirms Exclusive For 2022 PCAFoundation Cigars & Highclere CastleAnnounce Special Blend Commemoratingthe 100-year Discovery of King Tutankhamun
June 2022, Ellington, CT – Foundation Cigars crafted this rare blend to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun by the 5th Earl of Carnarvon of Highclere Castle and famed archaeologist Howard Carter.

LAMPERT CIGARS EDICION BLANCA
Small Batch Cigar customers will have a chance to experience the new LAMPERT 1593 EDICION BLANCA – as a pre-release – before it gets a nationwide release at next year.
Continue reading LAMPERT CIGARS EDICION BLANCAMichael Giannini joins Quality Importers as Chief of Customer Engagement
Weston, FL- June 20, 2022—Quality Importers Trading Company (QI) is proud to announce that Michael Giannini has joined its senior management team in the newly created position Chief of Customer Engagement. In this role he will be responsible for the Sales, Marketing, and Messaging initiatives of the company. Michael’s career in the premium cigar business began in the early1980s. While working on a Master’s Degree in Psychology, teaching and cooking professionally on the weekends, his true passion was in the premium cigar business. To pursue this passion, he began working at a local Philadelphia cigar shop as a store manager, and then became co-owner of an independent manufacturer’s representation firm. He left those roles to become the National Sales Manager for Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s El Credito Cigar Company – while continuing to work on his culinary and fashion skills when time permitted. After the acquisition of El Credito by Swedish Match, the El Credito portfolio merged into General Cigar, where he became Director of Marketing for the La Gloria Cubana brand.

Hiram & Solomon Cigars
Hiram and Solomon Cigars is pleased to announce its cigar production has moved to the PDR Cigar Factory in Tamboril, Dominican Republic.

In 2021 Hiram and Solomon owners, Fouad Kashouty & Romy Kashouty, began working with Abe Flores of PDR Cigars, creating new blends and forging a business relationship that allows for streamlined production and distribution channels via the PDR factory. Hiram & Solomon blends remain the same.
Continue reading Hiram & Solomon CigarsFerio Tego Generoso 2021
This is a very nice looking cigar with a medium dark wrapper. There are light aromas of tobacco with a hint of sweetness in the foot. The cold draw is perfect.

Operation: Cigars for Warriors on the ATF Podcast
Ocala, FL – Operation: Cigars For Warriors is featured on a new episode of the ATF Podcast, available on both Spotify and Apple. The podcast is a companion to ATF Magazine, a bold new publication devoted to telling insightful, educational and inspirational stories about these industries and the people that move them forward. The magazine is released quarterly in print and digital formats to subscribers and is produced (along with the podcast) by the 526 Media Group.

Warped La Hacienda
This cigar has a beautiful medium brown wrapper with very light aromas from the foot. The cold draw is perfect and has a very light sweetness to it.

LAMPERT CIGARS NOW AVAILABLE IN CANADA
LAMPERT CIGARS enters the Canadian market through Canadian Craft Cigars which is owned by cigar enthusiast Barry Hannah and Kent Plosz. LAMPERT CIGARS are now available to the Canadian public. Canadian retailers who are interested in purchasing LAMPERT CIGARS can
reach out to Barry and Kent at info.craftcigars@gmail.com.
Canadian Craft Cigars specializes in distributing boutique cigars. As a first step, Canadian Craft Cigars distributes the LAMPERT 1675 Edición AZUL as well as the Edición ROJO which were both made in Nicaragua.
Currently, LAMPERT CIGARS is available in more than 10 countries worldwide.
Ferio Tego Timeless TAA 2022
This cigar has a beautiful chocolate brown wrapper. Aromas from the foot are light and a bit fruity. The cold draw is perfect and reveals a bit of sweetness.

Muestra de Saka “The Bewitched” Shipping Nationwide to Purveyors
Dunbarton, NH – Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust® (DTT) will begin shipping its long awaited Muestra de Saka “The Bewitched” to its Select Purveyors on Thursday, June 9th, 2022.
“The Bewitched” is an intoxicating liga of choice Nicaraguan and US Grown fillers with our exclusive Cultivo Tonto San Andreas Negro binder swaddled in a Grade 1 Ecuador Habano Seed capa. Presented in a beautiful 6 5/8 x 48 prensado vitola with a spiral colita, this cigar rewards the smoker with a beguiling smoking experience with notes
of cafe, caramel, cedar, and tempered spice. It is truly an entrancing medium-plus bodied smoke, so hard to describe, yet so perfect in balance and nuance, from the moment I finished the blend I was mesmerized with it,” states DTT’s Founder & Co-Owner, Steve Saka.
Saka adds, “After over two years of waiting for the next release in our MDS series of puros, I am ecstatic to now be able to share this liga with the world. It is the perfect personification of an elegant cigar.”
Southern Draw Pecadillo Hyacinth
The cigar has a light wrapper with a short tear near the head just below the cap. The foot has a light aroma of tobacco. The cold draw is perfect.

ACE PRIME ANNOUNCES ITS PCA EXCLUSIVE
Ace Prime announces the prospective launch of “Maria Lucia” at the 2022 Las Vegas PCA Trade Show. The new smoke is inspired by the story of grit, passion and survival of Ace Prime founder and co-owner Luciano Meirelles’ mother, Maria Lucia Meirelles.

Warped Eagles Descent Toro
We are excited today to announce the return of a fan favorite which was never released on a worldwide level, Eagles Descent. Originally released as a retailer exclusive in 2019 for R Field Wine Company in Honolulu, the blend has returned as a limited edition for all Warped retailers around the world.

Rauchvernugen (RVGN) #18
This is a very good looking short Corona with a medium wrapper. There is a light sweetness in the aroma from the foot. The cold draw is perfect.

PCA Announces All-New “Fuente Friday” Seminar at PCA22
[Thu, June 2, 2022, Washington, DC]— The Premium Cigar Association (PCA) announced today a brand-new seminar will take place on Friday, July 8, 2022, from 1—2:30 PM as part of its education day before the opening of its annual convention and trade show. The seminar will kick off the education seminars and feature Jose Blanco, an industry veteran, and more recently “The Professor” from the Meet the Professor show, in a fun and interactive conversation with Carlito Fuente, Chairman of Arturo Fuente.
Continue reading PCA Announces All-New “Fuente Friday” Seminar at PCA22Falto Prominente
This short perfecto has a smooth dark wrapper. It has very light aromas from the closed foot. The cold draw is perfect.

PCA Launches Retailer Grassroots Campaign Against Flavor Rule
The Food and Drug Administration is proposing the Tobacco Product Standard for Characterizing Flavors in Cigars that would in effect ban flavored cigars. Based on a recent membership survey 93% of Premium Cigar Association member retailers acknowledged selling a flavored tobacco product and it is important for the Food and Drug Administration to hear concerns about prohibition of these products.

El Septimo Da Vinci Lancero
This is a very nice looking Lancero with a smooth Maduro wrapper. Light aromas from the foot are some earth, toasted tobacco, and hints of cocoa. The cold draw is perfect.

Premium Cigar Industry Argues Case Against Deeming Rule

(Washington, DC) Today, representatives from PCA, including President Greg Zimmerman, attended oral arguments in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia presented before Judge Amit P. Mehta in the case of Cigar Association of America et al. v. FDA. The case concerns the FDA’s 2016 “Deeming Rule,” which granted the FDA the authority to regulate “tobacco products,” including premium cigars, under the Federal, Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The question before the court is to decide whether the justifications and reasoning provided by the FDA for regulating premium cigars met the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act.
Continue reading Premium Cigar Industry Argues Case Against Deeming RuleCFW Stream-a-Thon ‘22 Results
Ocala, FL – Operation: Cigars For Warriors is proud to announce the
results of the first annual “Stream-A-Thon” in collaboration with the Cigar Talk Podcast and The Leaf of Abilene, Texas. Partnering with the Cigar Talk community and some of the top names in the cigar industry including Carlito Fuente, Al Micallef, and Jonathan Drew, the streamathon exceeded expectations by raising $3836.86 to support our troops.
DTT Announces Temporary Window for New Purveyor Accounts
Dunbarton, NH – Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust® (DTT) is announcing it will be temporarily opening New Purveyor Accounts until further notice.

Maceda Robusto
I picked this cigar up from the La Farona shop in Ybor City last fall when we visited Tampa. It has a nice smooth Habano wrapper. The cold draw is perfect.

A decade of service – CFW celebrates 10 years

Ocala, FL – Operation: Cigars For Warriors reached a significant milestone on May 12th, 2002 – 10 years in operation as a charity
devoted to deployed military service members. As a Platinum-level
certified charity (verified by GuideStar), CFW operates with the highest ethical standards of transparency and accountability.