The Cigar King Blog

LIVE FROM HOUSTON - THE 75TH ANNUAL RTDA SHOW - TUESDAY - DAY 3

2007-08-07T16:35:23Z

Well we just finished the final day of the RTDA show, and are we tired! These shows are a lot of work. You see, we are smoking 15 - 20 cigars a day, meeting with many manufacturers and sales people, plus we have to hoof it around 100,000 square feet of show space. It’s tiring, but it’s all part of our job to bring you the most interesting products out there.

We have to say that we are very excited by many of the new products that we saw today. We started off the day by visiting the Torano booth. They had two very interesting new releases. I’m sure many of you are familiar with the Casa Torano. It’s been out for about a year, but only available in Connecticut wrapper. This year they are releasing the Casa Torano Maduro. This will raise the profile of this brand a bit as it will appeal to people who enjoy a Medium plus bodied cigar. It has a dark and rich looking wrapper. We are expecting this to sell quite well. Their other new release is the Reserva Decadencia. This is very interesting. They start with a mild to medium bodied blend and slowly infuse fine port in with tobaccos. This is not your common flavored cigar. It has a subtle flavor of port and should appeal to all smokers.

From there we went to see a very interesting product called Colba. Colba was the original name of Cuba when Christopher Columbus discovered the island. He could not pronounce it, so he called it Cuba. This fantastic cigar his hand made in Miami, by Santiago Cabana. Mr. Cabana has been in the business for over 6 decades. A native of Las Villas, Cuba, he arrived in the United States in 1993 and began manufacturing his cigars. He is located in Little Havana and a friend of our close friend, Pepin Garica. Colba cigars are medium to full bodied, and it is something we are very excited about! Once you smoke them, we are sure you will feel the same way.

Next we stopped by the Oliva booth. They are still tweaking all of their packaging, but they did have one new release. They introduced their new Series V cigars, and we will have a launch party at the end of August for this delicious product. It is medium to full bodied and has a rich and oily wrapper. The Oliva family makes very good cigars and this one is no exception! Should be a big winner for them.

We maneuvered our way over to the La Aurora and Miami Cigar booth, and they had a slew of new products to show. The first thing we saw was the Leon Jimenes 300 series. This not exactly new, but they are repackaging the brand for a fall launch of the full line. We currently have the Limited Edition Cameroon wrapped cigar in stock in the Robusto size, but the 3 new sizes will be available soon. Next we saw Jose Blanco’s latest creation, the La Aurora Barrel Aged Oscuro cigars. He ages all of the tobacco for this baby in these giant rum barrels. This imparts a slight sweetness to the tobacco while it retains a full, round flavor. Also, he was showing us the La Aurora Connoisseur's Selection. This is very interesting. Have you ever wondered how a different wrapper can change the flavor of a cigar? Well this package should answer that question. This box comes packed with 100 cigars, but they are broken up into sections of 25 split between 4 different wrappers. Ok, I'm sure many of you are familiar with the Preferido Robusto Cameroon Limited Edition they did 2 years ago. It was fabulous! This year they are doing the Limited Edition La Aurora Preferido Robusto in the Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper. It will be full bodied but full of flavor. We're very excited by this one! The last thing we saw there was the Don Lino 1989. This is a beautiful smoke. It is gently box pressed and is easily the best Don Lino cigar ever released.

We finished our day at the Gurkha Booth. Kaizad Hansotia, owner of the brand is unbelievably creative. He told us about some excellent new releases in store for us this year. His premier release this year is the Black Dragon. As always the packaging is simply beautiful. The cigars are carefully put in Orange velvet trays. Gorgeous! Additionally, there is a new size in the Vintage Shaggy size called the XO (60 ring gage), and there is a new product in the G line called the G5, which will be available in 2 sizes. We look forward to getting our hands on of all this new product from Gurkha.

Well that’s a wrap from the show! We have many exciting new products on their way. We hope that you enjoyed our blog of the show and we look forward to sharing these new products with you.

LIVE FROM HOUSTON - THE 75TH ANNUAL RTDA SHOW - MONDAY - DAY 2

2007-08-06T16:35:17Z

After a blistering pace the first day, we decided to take a bit more time and explore. This also provided us a wonderful opportunity to sit down and talk with our manufacturers and friends in the industry.

The common theme in many of our conversations was the federal tax issue. We are not out of the woods quite yet boys and girls. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have each passed their own provisions in regards to this issue. The House lesgislation passed narrowly with a 33% tax and a $1 cap per cigar on the wholesale price with no floor tax on cigars. The SenateÕs legislation also passed and is more aggressive. Theirs is a 44% excise tax capped at $3 per cigar at wholesale. Additionally, your friendly local Cigar purveyor would be required to pay a floor tax on all products in house. This is a crippling action to many retailers throughout the country.

Congress is now on their fall recess and will resume actions on September 1st. At this point a Joint conference committee will convene, with members from both the House and Senate, to work out a compromised funding provision. It is extremely important to continue to call both your Congressman and Senators to protest this harsh, and unusually strong tax measures. The RTDA is currently hiring federal lobbyists to assist us with this, but we still need your support!

And now we move on to a lighter subject, the fins of the RTDA show. One of the more interesting, boutique products that we found was a brand called Costa. Costa is a small batch production cigar that is made in Panama. This small factory has been producing the Costa brand for Europe for 5 years. They introduced it to the American market at the show, and I have to tell you, I think this is a fabulous medium bodied cigar. It features a rich blend of Panamanian and Honduran tobaccos topped of with a silky Connecticut wrapper. It is really a special cigar that we are very excited to receive.

Next we stopped by the Ashton booth. They introduced a few new humidors and accessories, but their big introduction is the new San Cristobal cigar. This is a very interesting product made by Pepin Garcia in his Nicaraguan factory, Tabacalera Cubana. It has a dark and oily wrapper. This cigar is a solid medium body and has a rich and complex flavor with a hint of sweetness. I think this is one of the best products to come out of PepinÕs Nicaraguan factory. Additionally, they will be limited production with no more than 300,000 cigars produced the first year.

Next we stopped by the Gran Habano booth to see our friends Guillermo and George Rico. They have some new releases and line extensions that are sure to be big winners. First they have a new product called La Gran Fuma. This is a very reasonably priced product with an attractive band and packaging. It is a Cuban sandwich style cigar with superior construction. It is very smooth and is medium bodied. Additionally, they have some new line extensions that should be well received. In the 3 Siglos line they are introducing a new Corona size. In the Gran Habano Blend, they are introducing several new items in the Corojo #5 blend. First, the Imperiale (6x60) is now a regular item. Also, they will have a special 100 count factory box of the Imperiale available this year. Carrying on with the large ring gage theme, they are introducing a new size called the Triumph. This is a big stick. Measuring a stout 7x58, this cigar should be another smash hit.

Once we left the Gran Habano booth, we headed over to see the boys at Cusano cigars. They have some tremendous new products that we are very excited about. We talked at length with Michael Chiusano, President of Cusano cigars regarding his new Cuvee Cigars. Last year he released a limited edition Lancero called Cuvee Grand. This cigar received tremendous acclaim and received high ratings in many publications. This year he is extending the Cuvee line by adding 3 new wrappers and more traditional sizes for the American market. They will be the Cuvee Blanc (Ecuadorian grown Connecticut shade wrapper, the Cuvee Rouge (Sungrown wrapper), and the Cuvee 151 (they call it the "overproof" wrapper, but it seems to me to be an oscuro wrapper). These cigars are all excellent and I am confident that they will be a tremendous success. Also, there is a new size in the Cusano 18 series, called the Toro Gordo. It is a 6.25x54, which should be a solid seller in an already hot product line.

Next we stopped by the Perdomo booth to see what Nick had in store for us. His new release this year is the Perdomo Habano. It will be available in either Corojo or Maduro. This will be a very competitively priced product that is medium to full bodied. It has a gorgeous, classically styled band that is very attractive. Perdomo is also bringing back the Petite Corona size throughout the Perdomo Reserve lines. Other items of note are a few nice gift sets for the Holidays. There will be a Perdomo ESV gift box and a Perdomo Reserve gift box.

We stopped by to see our old friend Tony Borhani at Bahia Cigars. Tony has always produced interesting Ultra premium boutique cigars, and this years release is quite interesting. He was very secretive about his new blend called Icon. It uses an Ecuadorian wrapper and a unique blend of Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. It has a very mature flavor and is medium bodied.

Our final stop of the day was a quick jaunt through the Camacho booth. They had the new 2007 Liberty on display, as well as the 10th Anniversary Camacho cigar. They also had a very cool collection in the case called the Camacho Signature Blends collection. This was a very cool gift pacakage and we feel it should be a huge success as a gift item.

Well that's all for now. It's time for a quick nap before we head out to dinner with the folks from Ashton. We'll keep you posted tomorrow.

LIVE FROM HOUSTON - THE 75TH ANNUAL RTDA SHOW - SUNDAY - DAY 1

2007-08-05T17:35:51Z

Welcome one and all to our blogging of the 75th Annual RTDA Show. For those of you who are not familiar, the RTDA is our industries biggest trade show where all of the manufacturer, cigar companies, and retailers/e-tailers meet under one roof. This is usually the time of year when most companies will release their latest and greatest products. From the buzz I have already heard, this year should prove to be one of the most interesting that we have seen so far. We'll keep you posted via the blog with whats going on.

So, we got in last night. A nice quick flight from Phoenix. Our hotel is right across the Street from the convention center, which should prove convenient after our evenings of debauchery. You see, a lot of manufacturers have dinners and or parties, so they keep us pretty busy in the evenings.

Last night we had a very interesting time. We invited Pepin Garica and the El Rey de Los Habanos crew to dinner at Morton's the Steakhouse. It was quite an interesting table. Out of the eleven of us at the table, four of spoke English, two were able to translate, and a few us spoke broken English or Spanish. The rest spoke no English at all; only Spanish. As I'm sure you can imagine it was quite an entertaining evening. It was particularly interesting ordering dinner. A lot of commotion, translating and all but we finally got it done. Thank goodness that Mike Villaplana wa there to translate the entree presentation. If he hadn't been able to translate, I'm not sure what time in the evening we would have gotten dinner!

It was a tremendous evening and Pepin promised us he had some very exciting things to show us at the show. We stopped by his booth first thing in morning and we were not disappointed. The first item he introduced us to was the Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ Maduro made in his Miami factory. It is the same core medium to full bodied blend as the Natural JJ, but this time with a chocolate brown, dark and oily Corojo Maduro wrapper. It was dynamite smoke. This should prove to be another outstanding edition to the Don Pepin line. The second smoke he showed us was the El Centurion. This smoke is hand made in his Nicaraguan factory, Tabacalera Cubana using Criollo '98 binder and Corojo '99 wrapper. It is medium to full and bursting with flavor. It is absolutely his best Nicaraguan effort to date. We have high hope for this item as well.

We love searching out the boutique manufacturers. That's how we found Pepin in the first place. We came across a very interesting cigar called Canimao. What really caught our eye was they had silky smooth, beautiful wrapper leaves. The owner of the company, Mel Gonzales, is very passionate man. After speaking with him for a few minutes, we could tell that he has a deep love and understanding for tobacco. He truly has a special product. His cigars are beautifully constructed and his pride shows in his products. They are all naked (no cellophane) to ensure the cigars to continue to age in the boxes. They are a solid medium bodied smoke with excellent construction, an even burn, and a nice solid ash.

Next we stopped by the booth of our old friend Phillip Wynn of Felipe Gregorio. This man is fantastic at breaking the mold and creating truly unusual products. We saw a new line extension of Pelo de Oro line calle the arrow. It's exactly as it sounds. The cigar starts off at a nice 46 or so ring gage. it maintains this shape till about half way up and then it begins to taper to a point and topped off with a nice flag. We also saw his latest addition to the Power line, this being called the Art of Power. This product is really unique as it utilizes two wrapper leafs and the cigars are all unique shapes. They are both excellent smokes.

Later we stopped by the General Cigar Co. booth to see what they had in store for us this year. They had a few new releases that should prove to be fairly interesting. The first one is called Stradivarius. This is a super premium smoke with a super premium price. Pricing for this beauty will be between $30 and $34. It is expensive, but these cigars feature a 15 year old Connecticut shade wrapper and each cigar comes in its own cedar coffin. Now we come back down to earth a bit with the new Hoyo de Tradicion. I'm very excited by this new offering. General is using the traditional Cuban art work on this little dynamo. Retail pricing should be about $5 a stick, slightly more palatable to the regular smoker. It uses a Honduran Rosado wrapper leaf that is simply magnificent. It is a medium bodied smoke with a tremendous amount of flavor. Their other new release is the Don Tomas Sungrown. This one again is back down to earth (thankfully) priced at about $4-$5 a piece. It is a Honduran puro that is a solid medium-to-full body with rich and satisfying flavors.

Our last stop of the day was by the CAO booth. These guys have to be the most creative marketers in the business. This year they are creating some interesting line extensions as well as a new release the CAO American. The American is their last entry in the country series. This distinct product should be priced along the same lines as their Brazilia and Italia cigars. What makes this unique is the two wrappers they use on this cigar. It uses a Connecticut grown Broadleaf maduro wrapper with a thin line of Connecticut grown Shade wrapper. Another home run in my opinion from the CAO guys and gals. They also have a special CAO Sopranos gift box and new Limited edition. Additionally, they are releasing the CAO Maduro 10th anniversary. Finally, they are releasing new aluminum tubes in the Gold, Brazilia and Italia lines.

Well that's all for today. we're going to head out to dinner, cruise to the General Cigar party and then head back to the hotel to recharge our batteries for another full day. Till then...

The Lifestyle Nazis

2007-02-20T08:50:28Z

The Lifestyle Nazis

I just read an interesting article over at CigarAficionado.com . The article was about Capitol Hill Police being called by one congressman (Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)) to complain about the another's (Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO)) cigar smoking in his private office.

Recently, the new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi banned smoking in the Speaker's lobby, but smoking is still allowed in private offices. So what's the beef?

Colorado Republican congressman Tom Tancredo, who was not in violation of any law by smoking in his office, had this to say according to Cigar Aficionado's Gregory Mottola: "I have smoked cigars for 20 years, I've smoked in my office, which we are allowed to do, and I will continue to do so. In eight years I've never had anyone complain." He also commented that if freshman Congressman Ellison would have discussed this issue personally with him, they would have come to some sort of agreement. It was completely unnecessary to call the Capitol Hill Police into this matter.

He further made the following comments: "The lifestyle Nazis," rued Tancredo in reference to smoking-ban activists, "they're out there."

Ain't that the truth, the "Lifestyle Nazis". They are everywhere. First, it was no smoking in Airports and office building. Then it was sports arenas, and now bars and restaurants. How long before we are not allowed to smoke in cigar stores or even our private homes or cars? Where does it end? When do we say we've had enough of the "Lifestyle Nazis"?

We'd love to hear your comments on this one. Thanks!

WHERE CAN I STILL SMOKE IN ARIZONA?

2006-11-13T09:23:42Z

I have received a lot of calls and fielded a number of questions this past week asking if smoking will still be permitted at the King. The answer is YES! You can still smoke at the King, but some of your other options may be limited soon. As many of you may know, our fellow citizens passed 2 of the 3 anti-tobacco measures on the ballot in the recent election. So what exactly does that mean for me, you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you here, and there’s some good news and some bad news.

The good news is you can still smoke at The Cigar King. In the last year we have spent a lot of time and effort in upgrading the facility to provide our customers with the most comfortable environment in which to enjoy a fine cigar and relax with other lovers of the leaf. We have extended our outdoor patio, and we will be adding heaters to help you stay warm on those cool Arizona winter days and nights. Additionally, we are preparing for the hot summers, too. We have extended the mister system to run all along the building, and we will be adding outdoor air-conditioning as well. These additions should make both the indoor and outdoor smoking lounges the perfect places to relax and light up your favorite stogie!

Now, unfortunately, there is a bit of bad news too. It’s a two parter, and some of this information may get your head spinning or send some proverbial smoke billowing from your ears.

First, beginning May 1st, 2007, there will be no more indoor smoking in restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, sports arenas, and the like. That means no more cigars with or after your steak dinner in the bar at Mastro’s or Morton’s. But, if one of these locations currently has or creates an outdoor patio that has sufficient ventilation and is far enough from the entrance to a non-smoking facility, they may still allow smoking outdoors.

And then there’s part two of the bad news. Effective January 1st, 2007 tobacco taxes on cigars will be increasing from $0.13 per cigar to roughly $0.22 per cigar. It’s a pretty substantial increase, but it could have been worse. Arizona is still a low-tax state when it comes to cigars. For example, the state of California has a 47% tobacco tax on cigars; Illinois has a 26% tax per cigar, and the state of Washington is 120% with a $0.50 per cigar cap. So while none of us are thrilled that tobacco taxes are going up, it could have been worse.

So to recap, you can still smoke at the Cigar King. None of these propositions will affect your right to smoke at the Cigar King. And until May 1st, 2007 you can still smoke at your favorite bar, restaurant, or wherever you were smoking before. Also, tobacco taxes will be going up on cigars effective January 1st, 2007.

So what we have is a little salt and pepper, a little good and bad. Lucky for us that we live here in Arizona where the weather is fair and smoking outdoors isn’t so bad.

Remember - It’s good to be at the King!