"Flavors and construction were all good throughout. However, the format is on the larger size and the smoke time being as long as it was with a profile this linear has me a little bored by the end. This would be a great smoke with morning coffee, but I’d prefer it in a smaller size. " -Bill C. (Bill)
June 22, 2023- C.L.E. Cigar Company announces the release of Asylum 867 (formerly known as Deadwood Tobacco Co. Chasing the Dragon). The new variable for this blend is the involvement of Wild Bill Rectenwald and his team at DEADWOOD TOBACCO CO. AND CIGAR BAR in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Foundation Cigar Company has announced another brand for the upcoming PCA trade show in Las Vegas, METAPA. Inspired by the birth town of Rubén Darío, a legendary Nicaraguan poet, Metapa pays homage to Nicaragua's rich cultural heritage and the artistry behind its world-class cigars.
After being one of the "Big 4" to holdout of the PCA trade show in 2020, Drew Estate is now returning to the show for the first time since 2019, but not until 2024. The reconciliation did not occur soon enough to get them into the 2023 trade show, which takes place in about two weeks. Of the big 4, Drew Estate, Altadis U.S.A., Davidoff of Geneva USA and General Cigar Co., Davidoff is the only company left yet to recommit to the trade show.
Gran Habano Cigars and Laws Whiskey House have teamed up with retailer W. Curtis Draper in Washington, DC to release a special limited-edition cigar. La Pareja Perfecta is a collaboration between Laws Whiskey House and Gran Habano to support Little Puff, W. Curtis Draper’s annual charity event. The 6 x 52 toro cigar has been blended to match the flavors of the whiskey barrel pick by Laws Whiskey House, which will yield only 200 bottles. The blend for the cigar was created by George A. Rico, a master blender with over 27 years of experience in the industry. The bourbon is a 4-grain (60% corn, 20% wheat, 10% rye, 10% malted barley), distilled in the summer of 2015, aged in a medium char new oak barrel before being finished in a port cask. It was proofed back down to its original entry proof of 110 and bottled for this specific project. A once-in-a-lifetime project, “La Pareja Perfecta…The Perfect Pair.”
Crowned Heads will be showing off a new regular production size in the Mil Días line at the upcoming PCA Convention and International Trade Show to be held in Las Vegas (July 7-11): Mil Dias Topes. Mil Días Topes uses the same original Mil Días blend, but in this new size that measures 4 7 /8" x 56 with a pigtail head.
El Rey del Mundo is releasing a new line called “Shade Grown” in July. The line launches with two regular production sizes and one limited edition vitola. The cigar is rolled in Honduras at the HATSA factory. El Rey del Mundo Shade Grown is a Honduran puro that uses a Honduran-grown Connecticut Shade wrapper (a first for the brand), Honduran Jamastran binder, and Honduran filler from Copan and Jamastran for filler.The wrapper is said to get its complexity from the Honduran Talanga Valley soil.
"This was an excellent cigar that I wished I smoked and paired with coffee. It is a very nice mild smoke with plenty of cream, cedar, and nut flavors up until the final FINAL third then more wood and earth notes took flight. I am curious to see what this is and would pick up at least a fiver. " -Mickey T. (irratebass)
"A cigar clearly made with care and featuring a nice, if simplistic, flavor package and top-notch construction that let me focus on the smoking experience instead of fidgeting with my lighter or worrying about how frequently I should be puffing. I would pick more of these up for the right price." -Bill C. (Bill
Fratello Cigars has announced the arrival of Sorella in the United States after previously only being available in international markets. The blend for Fratello Sorella uses an Ecuadorian wrapper, Indonesian binder, Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The cigars are rolled at the Joya de Nicaragua factory and come in 20-count boxes. It comes in one size, a Toro.