In a "strategic alliance agreement," Altadis U.S.A. will begin distributing the products from Boutique Blends Cigars, a company owned by Rafael Nodal, his wife, Alina, and partner Hank Bischoff—and Nodal has accepted a position with Altadis as well. Starting June 5, all orders for brands such as Aging Room, La Bohéme, Oliveros and other cigars by Boutique Blends will be taken and fulfilled through Altadis and its sales team.
Boutique Blends
Aging RoomAlanAllBlind Cigar ReviewsBoutique BlendsDominican RepublicEricFeaturedGrupo de MaestrosHabanoIPCPRJeffNaturalRafael NodalRobertRyanToro
·“Geez, where do I begin? First off it was a joy to just look at it. The flavors were fantastic, even the one that I still can’t come up with the name too, and is flat out driving me nuts trying to get the name of it. My luck I’ll wake up at 3:30 in the morning after I submit the review with the name of it! All I can say is that I loved every minute I spent with this stogie. And it was a LOT of minutes! It was very slow burning, and lasted a long time. Don’t know what it is, or the price, but I’m figuring you’ll get your money’s worth.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Aging RoomAllCrowned HeadsCruxCubanacanDrew EstateDunhillEpicEzra ZionFeaturedH. UpmannHerrera EsteliIconic LeafLa PalinaLeccia TobaccoMontecristo (DR)NomadPuros de BallardQuesadaRocky PatelTop 25Total Flame
·We are pleased to present our 2nd annual Blind Man’s Puff Top 25 Cigars of the Year.
Aging RoomAllArturo FuenteBlack Label Trading CompanyBodegaC.L.E.CamachoCAOChinnock CellarsClaudio SgroiCuban StockDrew EstateE.P. CarrilloE.P. CarrilloEdgar HoillEiroa by CLEEspinosaEzra ZionFeaturedFlor de GonzalezGran HabanoHammer + SickleIPCPRJonathan DrewJoya De NicaraguaLa Flor DominicanaMombachoMy FatherNomadO.S.O.K.OlivaOrtegaPadillaPura SoulRocky PatelStudio TobacSWAGTatuajeVentura CigarsVeritas
·Since the show, we had been publishing the various slideshows of the different booths we took pictures of. Here you can see the full list and click directly to the slideshow as the manufacturers are listed in alphabetical order.
There's a new production of Puccini's famous La Bohéme, but it won't be playing in any opera house—it will be found in tobacconists. Boutique Blends president Rafael Nodal, has named his newest cigar brand in honor of his favorite opera.
Aging RoomAllBlind Cigar ReviewsBoutique BlendsDominican RepublicFeaturedIPCPRJeffJeff R.KyleNaturalRafael NodalStefanSun GrownToro
·"I really enjoyed this cigar. The pepper & sweetness mix was outstanding. The body & complexity rounded each other nicely." -Jeff R. (JR)
Abe FloresAllBoutique BlendsC.L.E.CZ CigarsDrew EstateE.P. CarrilloE.P. CarrilloEmmettFeaturedFratelloJackJonathan DrewLa AuroraLa Flor DominicanaLeccia TobaccoMatt BoothMy FatherNewsOmar de FriasPadronPerdomoQuesadaRafael NodalRocky PatelRocky PatelRoom101Sam LecciaVeritasWilly HerreraXikar
·The Rocky Mountain Cigar festival is always a great event with good people, and awesome vendors. It has been growing steadily since it's inception in 2011. Unfortunately I was deathly ill last year and wasn't able to attend and see the new venue. This year I was feeling great and ready to smoke, and it didn't disappoint. Joined by our panelist Jack, we conquered almost the entire festival.
This was by far my favorite new cigar from IPCPR this year and one of my favorites overall this year. This was so smooth and buttery and the flavors were always balanced and great. It had just the right amount of spice throughout. The flavor profile and aged tobacco flavors I found are usually unique to Cuban cigars. It was full flavored and complex with lots of transitions without being overly powerful. The price is a bit steep, but I will be buying a box of these, no question. I give this a personal score of 96 (Extraordinary).
This year, we decided to give you a tour of the show through the pictures we took while we were there. Some are of new items, and some are just things we thought were interesting. These manufacturers were not sharing booth space, we just combined them into a single slideshow due to the number of pictures we had from each.
AaronAllBlind Cigar ReviewsBrianCraigCriolloFeaturedGreggKing HavanoNaturalNicaraguaOliverosRafael NodalRonTorpedo
·"The lighter flavors of the first two thirds were just the ticket for a hot humid afternoon while the bolder flavors at the end gave the cigar a nice finish. I appreciate that this stick stayed true to it's flavor profile while adding enough variation to keep it interesting." -Gregg (McGreggor57)