The Cigar Industry Report is a one stop place to catch up on the activity here at Cigar Coop and Stogie Geeks. It is a combination of our news reports, cigar reviews, and assessment updates we do throughout the week.  We will also recap what happened on our Stogie Geeks show.  Finally, each week we will look back at Cigar Coop history. Look for this report every Saturday morning at 8am Eastern time.


IPCPR 2014


Our 2014 IPCPR Digest is now live.  Follow this to keep track of all products and news related to this year’s trade show in July.

Feature of the Week: Viaje May Shipment

Andre Farkas threw a couple of surprises into his latest shipments of his small batch products.  First up, we learned that the Viaje Zombie Antidote, a cigar he broke news on during his appearance on Stogie Geeks will be hitting retailers.  However, the big surprise would be the packaging – the syringe shaped vitola will come packaged in a prescription style jar.

Another surprise was the release of the Viaje Cloudmaker, a 5 x 60 offering in the Skull and Bones with a white label will be released in this latest batch.

Finally the Viaje Roman Candle as well as the Viaje Skull and Bones FOAB and MOAB are returning and will be a part of the May shipment

FDA Regulatory Information

We are into the period of public comment for the FDA’s proposed regulations.  We have a digest below of our links and other useful links when making your response:

We also recommend some of the following in regards to the FDA:

News and Previews.

  • Alec Bradley: The company has announced a second 7 x 70 cigar, the Alec Bradley Texas Lancero.
  • Cohiba (Atladis USA):  The Comador, the project done in collaboration with entertainer Jay Z  is now available in three sizes and in more traditional boxes.
  • Edgar Hoill Cigars: We previewed the new EH Lancero.
  • La Sirena Cigars: The company confirmed that its core line La Sirena Original will be reblended and production will be moved to Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory.  The company also confirmed that Oceano by La Sirena will be the new line coming out of the Quesada factory.
  • Lou Rodriguez Cigars: Justin Andrews, VP was a guest on Cigar Chat and made several announcements including a 6 x 64 maduro extension of the Lou Rod line called the Lou Rod Jawbreaker, the return of the La Mano Negra as an annual release, a new blend called Double Nickel that Andrews played a role in blending, and a project called La Mano Dios being done in collaboration with a “gigantic name in the industry”.
  • Miami Cigar and Company: The Nestor Miranda Collection, a revamping of the Nestor Miranda line is beginning to pre-launch and will come in three blends: Connecticut (Blue), Habano (Green), and Maduro (Red).  Each blend will come in four sizes: 6 x 46, 4 1/2 x 50, 5 1/2 x 44, and 6 x 60.  A pre-release launch was held at Cigar King in Scottsdale, Arizona this past week.
  • Nat Sherman: The company announced and has made available the new Nat Sherman Host Selection Maduro.
  • Sindicato Cigars: The company’s fifth blend, the Casa Bella Maduro has shipped to retailers.
  • Torano Family Cigars: Jack Torano was a recent guest on The Cigar Authority and mentioned plans for the company’s releases at the 2014 IPCPR.  At the forefront are plans for a “Charlie Torano” branded cigar.  He also said 7 x 70 line extensions are planned for the 50 Year Exodus and possibly Loyal.  He also mentioned the re-packaged Brick is planned for launch at the IPCPR Trade Show and that it would be moving into 100 count boxes.
  • Warped Cigars: The company told us there will be an IPCPR only cigar, that the company will be releasing at this year’s trade show.  The company also announced a its I-Series Collection of cigar cases.

Legislative News

Stogie Geeks Episode 97
This week our special guest was Tom Person, founder and President of Commonwealth Cedar Spills.  While we learned a lot about Tom’s unique cedar spills offering, Tom took us in true Stogie Geeks fashion through everything you wanted to know about cedar spills.  This was an informative and entertaining segment.

We also smoked the Quesada 40th Anniversary Corona Clasica as our featured cigar of the week. Meanwhile our smokes of the week this week included:

Debonaire First Degree
Debonaire Salamone
Arturo Fuente Unnamed Reserve Robusto (2013)
Cohiba Magico Maduro
D’Crossier Golden Blend Aged 10 Years Robusto
G.A.R. Red by George Rico 660
H. Upmann Bank Note TAA Exclusive
La Flor Dominicana 2014 TAA Exclusive – The 707
Miami Cigar & Co. 25th Anniversary Dominican Edition
My Father TAA Exclusive 2014
Quesada 40th Anniversary Salomon Press
RoMa Craft Intemperance EC XVIII Brotherly Kindness
San Lotano The Bull Torpedo
Tarazona Cigars 305 Toro
Tatuaje Fausto Lancero

On this date May 31st…