Let’s talk about dry boxing cigars. Summer is upon us and we will soon see higher temperatures and for some of us this can mean the dreaded battles with higher humidity. So why dry box your cigars? There are a number of reasons why you would want to dry box a cigar prior to smoking
As I did last year, I thought I would take an opportunity to put down some of my thoughts and observations from the IPCRPR 2015 show that was held in New Orleans this past week. Just to be clear, these are my thoughts and opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of Blind Man's Puff or any other member of the team here.
Day two started out with a boat tour of Lake Nicaragua, which we had just seen from a distance the day before. Around the edge of the lake are a ton of tiny inlets or small islands created by the nearby Mombacho Volcano in its last eruption. Along the way, we saw a few monkeys, posh houses, and interesting birds. Unfortunately no bull sharks or American crocodiles.
Smoke Inn and Abe Dababneh are hosting a "Battle of the Bands" for cigars. Abe chose 6 of the biggest Cigar Media websites and asked each of them to make a sampler. The sampler selling the most at the end of the competition will be crowned the winner. Now through Monday use code LBRDAY and get 20% off you order at Smoke Inn including this sampler, bringing the price down to only $43. Click here to buy our sampler. Battle of the Bands ends midnight, Sunday October 4th and a LIVE virtual results show including all the competitors will be broadcast Monday, October 5th, 8PM EST.
In the case of shop events, it can be challenging for a small cigar shop. The difficulty comes in a few different forms. On one hand, a smaller cigar shop simply doesn't have as much space for customers. Also, a brand owner would typically be less inclined to spend the time money and effort to hold an event at a small cigar shop. But brands who have a broad following and dedicated group of talented sales reps can take chances on small shop events, and sometimes turn them into a success. In late July of 2018, I spent the evening at my local shop and had a wonderful time at a small scale cigar event.
At the end of August, just over two weeks ago, Smoker Friendly Hosted the 13th Annual Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival...
Imagine a car enthusiast having an opportunity to tour the Ferrari factory in Maranello, or someone who is a collector of fine watches going to visit Patek Philippe in Geneva. The chance to actually see your favorite products being constructed by hand can be a real treat for the senses, and it can also give a heightened respect for the work that goes into creating these items that we love so much. For premium cigar lovers the products that we consume are some of the most artfully and painstakingly crafted products in the world. Still, so many cigar lovers still don't have the first-hand experience of seeing what goes into growing fine tobacco and crafting great cigars. During Puro Sabor 2018 I was able to visit a number of cigar factories, large and small. In this second article of the series about the festival I will take you through these factories in the same order that I visited them.
ACMEAllBalmoralBill PaleyCaldwellCamachoCAOCrowned HeadsCubaCubariquenoDanny MoyaDavidoffDion GiolitoDominican RepublicDon Pepin GarciaDrew EstateDunbarton Tobacco & TrustEditorialFeaturedFoundation CigarFred ReweyH. Upmann (Cuba)Hendrik KelnerHondurasIllusioneIPCPRJon HuberJonathan DrewKyle GellisL'AtelierLa PalinaManuel QuesadaMax FernandezMoyaRuizNelson RuizNewsNicaraguaNicholas MelilloPartagasPete JohnsonQuesadaRick RodriguezRobert CaldwellRoMa CraftSkip MartinSteve SakaTatuajeTop 25USAWarpedWilly Herrera
·Voting Process
Each of our 16 panelists were given 10 votes to cast. Our list is made up of cigars that were RELEASED in 2015. The cigars that are eligible do not have to have been reviewed on Blind Man's Puff, but the panelist must have smoke it at some point themselves.
In my most recent trip to Nicaragua I was fortunate to attend Puro Sabor 2018. Puro Sabor is a celebration of the Nicaraguan cigar industry and the people who make it so wonderful. I had previously been to Nicaragua once before, in the fall of 2015, and I was so grateful to be able to go back again. Since there's so much to cover about this trip I'll break it into a series of different articles each covering different aspects of the trip itself. One theme that I hope you'll notice in all of these articles is the people. The people are the most important aspect of every piece of the cigar industry in Nicaragua. Nothing is more important to the industry than its people and it's the relationships that make the cigar industry in Nicaragua so beautiful and so wonderful.
The festival starts out in the city of Granada. Although not known particularly for making cigars, it is Nicaragua's oldest city. I found Granada to be much more tourist-friendly than my previous visit to Esteli. It is Nicaragua's sixth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, economically and politically. It has a rich colonial heritage, seen in its architecture and structure. Granada was founded in 1524 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, and is allegedly the first European city in mainland America.
